Pub. 2 2020-21 Issue 3

Last month, CNCDA announced exciting improvements to our member exclusive online compliance resource, CNCDA Comply. With enhanced features and new content, this valuable resource is designed to provide you with the ease of electronically accessing all CNCDA publications and compliance materials.

Providing Service and Repairs
Neither the early automakers nor the dealers were especially concerned with service and repairs. Dealers focused on selling cars, not repairing them. They kept a few tools in the back of their showrooms but were not equipped to handle even relatively minor repairs. Instead, they referred their customers to local mechanics. The earliest cars were hand-built and assembled from parts purchased from suppliers that were rarely standardized or interchangeable. The factories did not provide manuals for guidance, and repairs were often a matter of guesswork.

While CNCDA’s No. 1 priority over recent months has been providing compliance guidance and support to our dealer members on how to navigate the challenges and unexpected implications of COVID-19, these efforts have also been supplemented by the development of a Dealership Coronavirus Resources Page on our website. In recent months we have tracked, collected and refined timely and relevant information and resources specific to Coronavirus that CNCDA members can rely on to help guide you through this unprecedented time.

If you aren’t committed to incorporating risk management into the culture of your business, a seemingly small change can make it all crumble, leaving you without a solid foundation to help prioritize the safety of your workers and customers. If you intend to make risk management a core value of your business, your risk management culture needs to be strong enough to withstand any obstacle.

What is the difference between a manufacturer requiring a dealer to comply with a program and a manufacturer providing an optional incentive if a dealer complies with a program? Often, it seems that they are functionally identical; both requirements and incentives seek to coerce dealers into engaging in behaviors that dealers would otherwise not consider.

When the California legislature reconvened Jan. 6, 2020, they had no idea that just a few short months later, they would be faced with a wholly different set of priorities and responding to a directive from both Senate and Assembly leadership to drop all bills unrelated to addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.

As I reflect on this year’s legislative session, I cannot thank our members and our metro associations enough for your support and engagement. We navigated a less than traditional legislative session this year because of COVID-19, which resulted in truncated processes and most subject matters being abandoned outside of urgent pandemic issues, resulting in an uphill battle. However, dealer participation remained strong, and the fruits of our collective labor, despite less than ideal conditions, paid off greatly in the end.