TO THE EDITOR:
Regarding “FTC needs better insights before adding new rules,” autonews.com, July 17: As someone with more than 40 years of experience in the retail automotive space, may I suggest it is time to stop protecting an industry that has earned its much deserved reputation? The only thing holding the industry back from completely transforming how cars are sold in this country is, well, the industry itself.
It is past time to recognize the need to clean up the mess created by the bad dealers out there. It is time to embrace the Federal Trade Commission proposals and pledge to run out of business those who give the industry a black eye. It is time to pledge to the American people that we as an industry will indeed make the purchase, leasing and financing not only transparent but customer-centric. It is time to honor those who put food on our tables by no longer wasting their time through false and misleading advertising or questionable sales and F&I practices.
The comments left on the Your Advocate Alliance website and YouTube channel show that average Americans are completely disapproving of the tactics that they encounter when buying and financing a vehicle at dealerships all across our country. Maybe then Automotive News will realize that it is time for the industry to stop protecting its past and finally move the process forward.
RAY SHEFSKA, Co-founder, Your Advocate Alliance, Ventnor City, N.J. Your Advocate Alliance is a consumer advocacy organization dedicated to transparency in the auto industry.
