CADA Open Road eNewsletter

mEMBERSHIP SURVEY:
We Want YOUR Input!

CLICK HERE for a copy of the membership survey that is being mailed today to all
CADA members. This survey is designed to gauge your top areas of concern and the key challenges you face at your dealership. CADA works on your behalf at the Colorado capitol, with government regulators, the media, and others to address issues of importance to you. This is your opportunity to ensure that CADA priorities and decisions of the board of directors and staff made on your behalf fully reflect the collective views of our members.

We need participation from every dealer to ensure that we as an association are adequately placing our priorities in the areas that most directly impact your day-to-day business. Your responses will remain anonymous. An outside company will tabulate the survey results.

Please mail or fax your completed survey

by WEDNESDAY, Nov. 21 to the following:

Resource Center for Associations

CADA Membership Survey
10200 W. 44^th Avenue #304
Wheat Ridge, CO 80033

Fax: 303.422.8894

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COLORADO AUTO OUTLOOK: THIRD QUARTER REPORT AVAILABLE

The Colorado Auto Outlook is filled with valuable, objective information on the state's new retail automotive market that can't be found anywhere else. This newsletter has been mailed to CADA members, or you can CLICK HERE to download a copy.

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AUTOMOTIVE NEWS AT A GLANCE

Listed here are several articles pertaining to the auto industry that appeared recently in newspapers and other media outlets across the nation.

Cost of driving could rise under climate change proposal
The Denver Post Journal, Nov. 12
Coloradans may face stricter and more costly pollution controls on their automobiles as the state struggles to combat smog on the Front Range and greenhouse gases around the world.
Dealer Alert: Theft ring targeting metro area dealerships
The honeymoon is over: Ritter's union move may have burned
the Capitol's bipartisan bridge
The Greeley Tribune, Nov. 11
To some in Colorado, "union" is a four-letter word. To others, it's a beacon of light.

Business groups and Republicans say the state shouldn't kowtow to labor bosses and make it more expensive to live and work in the state by allowing unions to actively recruit workers.

Meanwhile, Democrats and labor groups say workers would have better health care benefits, salaries and other job securities -- which leads to greater services for customers -- when they can bargain as a group and leverage their necessity to a company or government entity.
Ritter ends up in hot seat over hot topic
The Denver Post, Nov. 9
Drowned out by the racket over bargaining partnerships for state workers is another debate: whether Gov. Bill Ritter overstepped when he enacted such a hot-button policy by executive order.

The governor argues it's well within his power to create policy targeting employees in the executive branch. And many of his fellow Democrats say they don't consider Ritter's week-old order any big deal.
Fuel economy standards
The Colorado Springs Gazette, Nov. 11
There’s a battle going on in Congress today that not many people are aware of, yet the result could have a devastating impact on a huge component of America’s economy. I’m talking about the Democratic leaders in the House and Senate who are trying to push through a controversial Senate bill that has unrealistic fuel economy mandates and doesn’t take into account the difference between cars and trucks.
'I'm lovin' GM'
The Wall Street Journal, Nov. 12
Ten years ago we quoted a famed short seller from the 1980s who, in a casual meeting at a dinner, shared the insight that made him rich: "People always underestimate how bad things can get."

Our subject at the time was McDonald's.

Since then, the world's biggest restaurant chain has committed one of the great turnaround stories of the business world, with most of the gains coming in a U.S. market saturated with competitors (everyone from Subway to Starbucks).

We'll save the burger-by-burger account for another day. If McDonald's can do it, so can the Detroit-based auto industry.
This year's model
LA Downtown News, Nov. 12
For the second consecutive year, the L.A. Auto Show is coming to the Los Angeles Convention Center earlier than before, and lasting longer, in an attempt to surpass the nation's largest car convention held every winter in the Motor City.
Canadian couple challenges denials of new car purchase in U.S.
Dealers Edge, Oct. 23

A Canadian couple who say they were turned down dozens of times when they tried to buy a new car in the United States is now challenging what they regard as illegal discrimination, according to the Bangor Daily News.

CADA forwards news articles and opinion columns of interest through Open Road
to inform members of current events. These in no way reflect the views, opinions,
and/or positions of CADA or its member dealers. They are sent for informational
and educational purposes only.

car-pec get away weekend and fundraising efforts

CAR-PEC fundraiser benefits interests and political objectives of Colorado auto dealers

In light of the new wave of “green” standards blanketing our state and country…it is imperative that dealers become active supporters of the Colorado Auto Retailers-Political Education Committee (CAR-PEC) fund. The monies in this fund support educating the public on issues of importance to the dealer community.

A recent event was held to raise money for the CAR-PEC fund this past weekend. The “Get Away Without Going Away” weekend at the Broadmoor was supported by many to assist in our political education efforts. At this time we anticipate raising nearly $30,000. Attendees chose from a variety of activities including golf and a visit to the luxurious Broadmoor Spa.

The photo on the left shows golfers Jeff Carlson and his wife Nancy of Glenwood Springs, CADA Vice President Nancy Burke, and Rep. Bill Cadman (R) of Colorado Springs.

If you were unable to participate in this year’s event, and have not yet contributed to CAR-PEC, please consider doing so. You may contact Nancy Burke at nancy.burke@cadaonline.org or simply write a check made payable to CAR-PEC and send it to CADA. CAR-PEC can also accept corporate contributions.

A big THANK YOU goes to those who supported CAR-PEC. A few supporters were unable to attend, but sent contributions anyway. Thank you to all. Together we can make our voices heard.

ReMinder: Dealer Sales Tax Collection Audits
& let us know about Audit experiences

CADA staff has been receiving several complaints over the past few months from dealerships being audited by metro area cities in counties. Much of this audit activity centers around disputes over whether certain deals were subject to a particular city or county’s tax based on the consumer’s actual, “primary residence.” Just to remind all dealerships, if a city or county finds there was not “sufficient” evidence of the primary residence, and they find any evidence to the contrary, dealerships can be assessed the back-tax, plus interest and penalties (which can be significant). As we are all aware, many consumers will try to select the most advantageous tax forum, and policing such behavior as a dealer is very difficult. All dealerships need to make a business decision regarding how stringent to be on questioning or requiring additional documentation from consumers—given the consumer can easily go elsewhere and may get upset if questioned too much. In assessing this cost-benefit trade-off, dealerships are just reminded that you, as the licensed vendor, are liable to cities and counties for taxes they deem should have been assessed but were not; state statutes and local ordinances put the onus on you to pay any taxes that were incorrectly assessed. While you would then have the right to seek payment from the consumer, as you are all keenly aware, that would likely cost more that it would recover for many practical reasons.

As an additional clarification, while there is a state statute with a “hold harmless provision” that protects you from back-taxes, interest and penalties if you utilize one of the state-certified tax jurisdiction databases, this only protects you on the actual rate to be applied after you have identified the correct primary residence address.

CLICK HERE to review key state statutes on “primary residence.”

CLICK HERE to view the state’s hold harmless provision and current certified vendors; note that Denver is the only home-rule locality that has also adopted the hold harmless provision.

CLICK HERE to view the related article in the Aug. 29, 2007, issue of Open Road (REGULATORY & LEGAL UPDATES, Department of Revenue Letter Regarding Motor Vehicle Purchases to be Registered Out-of-State)

Tell us About Your Experiences...
CADA has made contact with Denver city/county, and will contact others as needed to begin to compile more detailed information about precisely what dealerships can rely on, how these back-end audit determinations are made, and perhaps other sources of state information that may be available to dealerships to confirm primary residence. To assist with this effort, if you have audit examples or experiences to share or provide to us, please contact us..

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If you have questions on any legal or regulatory topics, please contact:

Tim Jackson, President, tim.jackson@cadaonline.org, 303.282.1448
Tammi McCoy, VP, tammi.mccoy@cadaonline.org, 303.282.1449

DISCLAIMER: CADA is not authorized to dispense legal advice. The Information contained in this weekly email is intended to provide important updates and reminders regarding statutes, litigation, and regulations. CADA always advises that dealers
should consult legal counsel on the specifics of any laws or regulations to ensure proper compliance.

Service director legal compliance seminar

Four legal compliance seminars will be held in November for service directors across the state (see the CALENDAR below for specific dates and locations). The following three timely and valuable topics related to service department best practices and legal compliance will be covered, as well as much more information:

Part I : Workers Compensation – Compliance and Best Practices

– Best practices to ensure you reduce your workers compensation

premiums and costs

– How accidents directly affect profitability
Part II : KPA – Safety & Environmental Compliance Update
– On the surface, you may think you are covered…but are you leaving                         your dealership exposed?

– Dealership fined $37,700 for not having
   proper A/C certification documentation
– Dealership fined $50,000 for not having DOT
   certification

Part III : Attorney Michael Dommermuth of McGloin, Davenport, Severson
    and Snow – Service and Repair Law

– Colorado Motor Vehicle Repair Act – Review of
    often overlooked provisions
    covering service and repair law.
– Legal provisions and disclosures -
    Including: disclaimers, payment

    terms, lien rights, damage clauses,
    arbitration.

CLICK HERE for more information and to download a registration form.

TO REGISTER ONLINE FOR
ANY CADA SEMINAR OR EVENT, PLEASE VISIT: www.cadaonline.org/registration

Topics
City

Date/Time

Location

Service Director Legal Compliance Seminar
by Wells Fargo Insur. Services, KPA, & Attorney Mike Dommermuth Glenwood Springs
THIS FRIDAY!

Friday, Nov. 16
8 - 11 a.m.

breakfast included

Hotel Colorado

526 Pine Street

Glenwood Springs, 81601

Phone: 800.544.3998

CLICK HERE to download a registration form.

Service Director Legal Compliance Seminar
by Wells Fargo Insur. Services, KPA, & Attorney Mike Dommermuth Montrose
THIS FRIDAY!
Friday, Nov. 16
12:30 - 3:30 p.m.
lunch included

Holiday Inn Express-Montrose

1391 S. Townsend Ave.

Montrose, CO 81401

Phone: 970.240.1800

CLICK HERE to download a registration form.

Event Description Date/Time Location

CPEx Quest for Excellence VI
THIS WEEK!
Nov. 15-16 CLICK HERE for information on the upcoming workshop to learn how to apply for the Malcolm Baldridge Award.

MDADA
Annual
Membership
Meeting Tuesday, Nov. 27
11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

lunch included
Cherry Hills Country Club
4125 S. University Blvd.
Cherry Hills Village, 80113 Attendees can register through
CADA via phone, fax or e-mail.
P: 303.831.1722
F: 303.831.9100
E-mail: rsvp@cadaonline.org

NADA 91st Annual Convention & Expo Feb.9-12, 2008 Moscone Center,
San Francisco, CA

Denver International
Auto Show March 26-30, 2008 Colorado Convention Center, Denver

CADA Golf Event

Monday, Sept. 8, 2008
Columbine Country Club
17 Fairway Lane
Columbine Valley, 80123

Land rover Denver east celebrates 35th anniversary

Congratulations to Land Rover Denver East, who is celebrating its 35th anniversary at the same location on Havana in Aurora in 2008 to coincide with Land Rover's 60th anniversary building "The Best 4 x 4 x Far!" campaign.

Each year Land Rover Denver East contributes as much as $30,000 to various charities, notably Advocates for Children on East Bethany and The Excelsior Youth Center on East Oxford in Aurora.

Land Rover Denver East also celebrates the highest CSI year-to-date for not only all Colorado Land Rover dealerships, but also all the Land Rover stores in its Market (West and Northwest U.S. and Rover dealers.) As the centre manager (GM), Kevin Clay brought Land Rover Denver East from 68th place in the nation in 2006 to 32nd at this point in 2007.

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Request for Dealer vendor names/recommendations

CADA periodically receives calls from members seeking recommendations or at least names of vendors that other CADA members currently utilize for various products and services. We have received calls lately for names and/or recommendations (both good and bad) of companies that provide the following types of services:

Pre-employment testing
Background checks (employee references and criminal background checks)

If you have a vendor with whom you work that you would recommend to others and want to add it to a list of vendors that we can provide to other CADA members on an informational basis, please contact Tammi or Tim (see contact information in Regulatory section). Similarly, on the flip-side, if you have a vendor that you would recommend against, please
let us know that as well.

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LET US KNOW ABOUT YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS!!!

Have you or anyone else at your dealership won an award recently? Has your dealership provided any outstanding community service? We want to recognize such accomplishments. Please send us a brief write-up of the award or event along with any other information to milestones@cadaonline.org. Also include your contact information for further follow-up.