Columbus Fair Auto Auction is pleased to introduce Gary Burkeen as our new Dealer Sales Manager. Welcome to the CFAA team Gary!

The Federal Trade Commission will host its second roundtable to gather information on consumers’ experiences in the sale and financing of motor vehicles at dealerships. The roundtable will be held in San Antonio, Texas, on August 2-3, 2011, and will cover topics regarding military consumers’ experiences in buying and financing motor vehicles, the role of financial literacy in consumers’ understanding of that process, and fair lending issues.The Federal Trade Commission will host its second roundtable to gather information on consumers’ experiences in the sale and financing of motor vehicles at dealerships. The roundtable will be held in San Antonio, Texas, on August 2-3, 2011, and will cover topics regarding military consumers’ experiences in buying and financing motor vehicles, the role of financial literacy in consumers’ understanding of that process, and fair lending issues.

The FTC held its first roundtable on consumer protection issues involving dealership sales and financing of cars, SUVs, and light trucks, in Detroit in April 2011. A third roundtable is expected to be held in the coming months.

The FTC release states “Buying or leasing a car is among the most expensive transactions that many consumers make. Financing obtained at a dealership may provide benefits for many consumers, such as convenience, special manufacturer-sponsored programs, access to a variety of banks and financial entities, or access to credit otherwise unavailable to a buyer. Dealer-arranged financing, however, can be a complicated, opaque process and could potentially involve unfair or deceptive practices.”

The roundtable will be held at St. Mary’s University School of Law, Classroom Building, One Camino Santa Maria, San Antonio, Texas. The first day will cover the issues of military consumers and financial literacy; the second day will cover fair lending. The roundtable is free and open to the public.

Pre-registration is not required but is encouraged to help staff plan the event. Details can be found at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/workshops/motorvehicles/. The FTC will offer a live webcast of the event. The Commission staff will identify and invite people with relevant expertise to participate and may invite others to participate who have submitted requests. Those who want to be panelists at the roundtable may e-mail their name and affiliation toMotorVehicleRoundtables2@ftc.gov, on or before July 15, 2011.

The EPA issued fuel pump labeling and other requirements for gasoline blends containing more than 10 percent and up to 15 percent ethanol (known as E15) to help ensure E15 is properly labeled and used by consumers.  The new orange and black label must appear on fuel pumps that dispense E15 and is designed to inform consumers about which vehicles can use E15.

Remember, E15 fuel is not for use in vehicles from the 2000 model year and older.  It is also not designed for motorcycles or off-road units such as boats and snowmobiles and off-road equipment such as lawnmowers and chain saws.

Google is working in partnership with Ford to produce a fuel efficient car using Google’s Predictive API. The system would “learn” driver’s patterns, predict destinations, and then suggest routes that are energy efficient and tailored to driver and vehicle.

It was great to see so many friends at the Cooper & Elliott Automotive Industry Briefing yesterday at J Liu’s. Thanks to all who attended, especially those who traveled a few hours to be there. Information on the subjects covered is available here on auttr.

Crude oil prices dropped $16 a gallon last month, but gas prices rose $4 a gallon – $1.10 higher than last year: go figure.

Toyota just recalled some 2007-2011 Tundras due to faulty tire pressure monitoring systems.

And good news: AT Kearney’s annual US vehicle sales forecast says new vehicle sales will be 13.2M units in 2011 & hit 16m by 2013: hope they’re right!

This is really cool!  Brochures for American made cars dating back to the early 1900′s: check it out: http://www.lov2xlr8.no/broch1.html

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has updated the motorcycle helmet law in an attempt to stop people from wearing improperly certified helmets and novelty helmets. The law doesn’t change the construction of helmets directly, but changes the way they’re labeled, to make it more difficult to mimic DOT compliance certifications.

Now, helmets that conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 218 will carry a sticker with the manufacturer’s name, the helmet model and the words “DOT FMVSS No. 218 Certified.” The move to make helmets safer comes after the number of riders sporting unsafe and novelty brain buckets increased dramatically in 2010 over 2009.

According to NHTSA statistics, in 2010, only 54 percent of motorcyclists wore a DOT-approved lid. Around 14 percent wore a novelty helmet, and 32 percent went without a helmet altogether. In 2009, those numbers were 67 percent, 9 percent and 24 percent. In 2010, 75 percent of riders who did elect to wear a helmet wore a DOT-compliant one. In 2009, that number was 86 percent.

If so, you will have to do your homework and shop around to get a good deal. Bloomberg reports that automakers reduced spending on discounts & incentives to US customers in April by 14% to an average $2,320 per vehicle, the lowest level in 5 years.

CNW Research reports that franchise dealers enjoyed their strongest April for used-car sales in five years selling 1.32 million used vehicles, up 10.7% from April 2010.  Independent dealers saw an increase of over 17% selling 1.33 million units.  There were also 1.04 million casual sales of vehicles, up 8%. Overall, there were 3.69 million used vehicles sold last month, improving 12.3% over last year and 47.6% over last month.