February 2014 SDADA Column

I'm sure I don't need to tell you that it has been a long, cold, brutal winter. While we can see spring in the
windshield, I am troubled by what I see in the rear view mirror.

There are not many natural gas lines in central South Dakota, so rural residents and small towns primarily use propane for heating. You can see many metal propane tanks sitting in backyards and behind businesses. Propane is bought by hundreds of gallons at a time, so if you’re running low and the price spikes a couple dollars per gallon--it can really hit hard.

Neither Winner nor Chamberlain-Oacoma have natural gas and while it has cost my dealerships a considerable amount of money this winter, I am much more concerned with the amount of car payments that have gone up chimneys in our area.

I know that propane is a supply-demand driven commodity. When demand is high and/or supplies are low, prices will escalate. According to the Energy Information Administration, propane reserves were at their lowest level in January in at least 20 years.

The irony is that we have so much natural gas in this country that we burn it off the tops of oil wells. You can see the net effect of that practice below as the oil wells in western North Dakota burn off enough natural gas to light up the area more than the Twin Cities.

Those of who live in rural area or small towns would benefit from getting that gas being burned off  those wells. I am hopeful that we can find a more efficient way to liquefy that gas or somehow transport it to those of us held hostage to propane costs. Our customers would benefit and our bottom lines would benefit.

NADA Supports Efforts to Reform CFPB 

NADA sent a letter on Wednesday, Feb. 26, to House Members in support of H.R. 3193, a bill to be considered by the House of Representatives today that would bring greater accountability to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

The letter highlights the bureau's effort to eliminate a consumer's right to negotiate a better interest rate on an auto loan offered by a dealership. As the letter notes, “If the CFPB, like other agencies, were subject to customary congressional oversight, it is doubtful it would have attempted to fundamentally change and regulate the $783 billion auto loan market via guidance without (1) prior public comment or hearing; (2) answering direct and specific questions by Congress for nearly a year; and (3) first assessing the impact of its guidance on consumers."

NADA’s Service Provider Data Access Addendum Now Available for Download

Last month, NADA’s Legal and Regulatory Affairs department issued a sample Service Provider Dealer Data Access Addendum (“Addendum”) and cover memo for dealers to use with their third party service provider vendors. This follows a memo sent last August from NADA to all members that contained an overview of the primary regulatory issues surrounding dealer data, numerous practical tips for dealers to consider when protecting their data, as well as samples of the contract provisions required under federal law when a dealer wishes to allow access to dealer data with a third party service provider. The Addendum is now available to dealers as a Word document at www.nada.org/dealerdata.