Dealer Restoration Bill Clears Committee
Passing committee is just the first of many steps on the way to a complete episode of Schoolhouse Rocks. And the way Automotive News [sub] tells it, the latest iteration of the Great Dealer Restoration may just face a rocky path. The substance of H.R. 2743 has been attached to a 2010 financial services spending bill that passed the House Appropriations Committee. The problem is that this amendment represents a policy change, in that it would cut funding to the automakers if they refuse to reinstate dealers as ordered. Such policy changes are not technically supposed to be attached to spending bills. No worries though. According to AN’s paraphrase of Rep Steven LaTourette (R-OH),
“Some lawmakers will ask the House Rules Committee early next week to issue a rule to protect the bill from so-called ‘point of order’ challenges that would spike the dealer provision”
And that’s why I’m so particularly fond of Porsches.
More by Edward Niedermeyer
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This will be amusing and compelling to watch. This is the most interesting automotive news in weeks and yet even the MSM automotive media seems to not care. Hmmmmm.
I see what you did there Mr. Niedermeyer.
Who knows if cutting dealers is a good idea? Who knows which or how many dealers should be cut? Who knows if the cutting of dealers is fair? But this meddling by congress in how the manufacturers handle their dealers is WRONG. It is unlikely Chrysler and GM will survive but this meddling will add waste to any possible recovery and only speed up and help guarantee their failure.
This is an important untold story. The dealers are huge political contributors and they are getting this done exactly the same way they got the state franchise laws enacted in the first place: by buying and paying for their legislators. The franchise laws protect dealers from competition, by restricting the appointment of new dealers; from poor performance, by making termination nearly impossible; and from economic reality, by requiring huge payments even when a brand is discontinued. This would be the greatest hidden public bailout in America (now that we own GM and Chrysler) to some of the richest people in America. Even worse, our public servants are actually working in the interest of the WORST of the dealers. Do you think any manufacturer in its right mind would jettison GOOD dealers? Not even GM and Chrysler are that stupid.