May 2017 SDADA Column

Relying on the government to protect your privacy is like asking a peeping tom to install your window blinds.

– John Perry Barlow

New technology related to connected cars is evolving quickly. Many of the new features associated with this connectivity require new types of data, which puts privacy in the spotlight for manufacturers, government and consumers. Needless to say, that means that the dealers need to be on top of the issue as well.

When that vehicle is traded and that info remains, both the customer and the dealer remain at risk. Do you have a procedure for deleting the info from a trade?

The Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) and the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) released a first-of-its kind consumer guide, Personal Data In Your Car. The Guide helps consumers understand the kind of personal information collected by the latest generation of vehicles, which use data to further safety, infotainment and customer experience.

The Guide describes several components that are integral to properly protecting consumer data. For example, services that collect and share personal information should be accompanied by a clear privacy policy. The reality is that yes, cars are starting to know more about you, but what it knows may save your life.

Personal Data In Your Car highlights that nearly all leading automakers have committed to protecting consumer information by committing to the Automotive Privacy Principles. These Principles guide privacy practices in the automotive industry. They went into effect beginning with model year 2017 vehicles and for subscription services beginning on January 2, 2016.

This guide will help you and your customer protect their private information.

October 2015 SDADA Column

What if you were asked to travel over 1,400 miles to a place of complete dysfunction, where people
think differently (not raising the budget is viewed as cutting it); act differently (people says things they don't believe to get recognition); fight with their friends (members are known to battle it out on the Hill before breaking bread together later that day); and generally act like they have no connection to the people who sent them there in the first place?

Your mission (should you decide to accept it): to change minds, affect policy change and to make it all happen fast (before the makeup of Congress changes again!). Sounds easy right?

Our South Dakota delegation to the NADA Washington Conference in September (Chairman Bruce Eide, Jim Burgess, Dutch VanSanten, NextGen delegate Nick Simon, Myron and me) accepted the mission. The jury is still out on the success of the mission!

As any South Dakota dealer who has attended the NADA Washington Conference can attest, the experience of traveling to DC to learn the issues and lobby our Congressional delegation is invaluable. Not only do dealers learn the current issues that NADA is addressing, they get an opportunity to meeting Senators Thune and Rounds and Representative Noem on their turf and seeing how our government works up close and personal.

The addition of the NextGen program keeps our national association relevant. Many trade organizations are struggling to remain pertinent to their young members. I am extremely pleased that we have brought a NextGen member of the delegation each year that NADA has offered the program. I believe that Nick found this year's NextGen program to be of value.

The Washington Conference is one of the best investments of time and money our South Dakota Automobile Dealers Association makes each year.

Safety Recalls into the Foreseeable Future

One of the issues we discussed with our South Dakota Congressional delegation was legislation that would ground all vehicles under open recall at a dealership. This "one size fits all" concept is flawed because it fails to differentiate between recalls that involve a defect that should be immediately addressed and those with a negligible impact on safety, such as an incorrect phone number in the owner’s manual, or an airbag warning sticker that might peel off the sun visor.

At our October NADA board meeting, we had an extended discussion about how dealers should handle safety recalls. NADA has issued guidance for this topic. It can be found here. (Because of the sensitive nature of this topic, you must log on to nada.org with your user id and password to access this guidance.)

I want to encourage you to look at this valuable information. Dealing with recalls will be a significant part of our business going forward. We are the front line for almost all safety recalls and thus promote the safety of the motoring public. We need to handle these recalls effectively and correctly.

NADA Convention Registration Now Open 

Considered the “Automotive Industry Event of the Year,” the NADA convention includes dealer-manufacturer franchise meetings, new educational workshops for dealers and managers, hundreds of exhibitors on the expo floor showcasing the latest equipment, services and technologies for dealerships and numerous networking events for attendees.

The NADA convention—which runs from Thursday, March 31, through Sunday, April 3, 2016—will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Dealers and their managers who register by Nov. 27, 2015, will receive the early-bird rate—a $100 discount from the onsite registration rate.
For more information or to register, visit www.nadaconvention.org.

ICYMI (In Case You Missed It…)
A 60-year dealership employee receives a 2015 Chevrolet Colorado truck as a parting gift.

The mind-numbing number of automobile color choices and color names can paralyze customers.

One industry consumer magazine asks the question: Why Do We Keep Buying Vehicles at Dealerships? 

Will Volkswagen AG's twelve brands survive the recent emissions cheating scandal?

Do as I Say; Not as I Do!

According the the Governors Highway Safety Association, thirty-nine states have distracted driving laws. Michigan just became the most recent. Some localities have additional regulations. (FYI: South Dakota is not on the list though several of our larger cities are.) So that means you are safe on the roads as there is no texting and driving in those states - right?

I doubt that is the case. Though we live in a culture that acts as if all we have to do is pass another law and we have changed the behavior, I think we all realize that is not the case. I am not big on passing "feel good" laws.

Perhaps distracted driving laws help us drive home the point but it will take much more than passing laws. This is both an education issue and a behavioral issue.

We need to educate people, not just young people, (that does not necessarily mean spend more money) on the dangers of distracted driving. Who's responsibility is this and how do we do it?

I believe it is everyone's responsibility. We need an effort like the one that caused young people to tell their parents to "buckle up". It starts in the schools but does not end there. There are various efforts afoot now. But there is no education effort like the one that happens at the dinner table!

While there are ideas for how parents can control their children's behavior, there is no substitute for talking to your kids! Don't know what to say or how to say it? Here are some ideas.

We car dealers have a responsibility in the education process. It is our customers that put themselves at risk using our products.

Teens get a bad rap on this issue. While plenty of teens are guilty of texting while driving, there are many parents and other adults who set a bad example and who need to "look in the mirror" when it comes to how they act behind the wheel. .

I have never done much texting while driving and I tend to be a hands-free phone user. But I have, in the past, tried to read and answer emails while behind the wheel. What's the difference? NONE! So while I'm telling my two daughters and son not to text while driving, I am guilty of it my self.

"I can't hear what you are saying because you actions speak so much louder than your words!!"

So my New Year's resolution is to not be distracted while driving. No texting! No email! No dialing! No eating! (that one coincides with another of my 2013 resolutions!)

As Jim Morrison and the Doors sung, "Keep your eyes on the road and your hand upon the wheel!" (Don't forget to buckle up too!)