Pub. 3 2021 Issue 1

TODAY, NH HAS ONE OF THE STRONGEST “DEALER BILL OF RIGHTS” IN THE COUNTRY, BUT THOSE STATE LAWS DIDN’T EXIST UNTIL THE LATE ’60S AND ’70S. IN 1935, THE BOARD WAS ALREADY DISCUSSING FACTORY RELATIONS, AND THERE WAS A FOCUS “…TO EXERT ALL POSSIBLE EFFORT WITH THE MANUFACTURER’S TO INCLUDE USED CAR CONTROL IN THE DEALER’S CONTRACT.” A uthor's note: I’ve only been at the helm of the NHADA since 2007, so I’m not going to try to recap NHADA’s 100 years, nor that of the automobile. Rather, this is more of a rambling reflection of what we have seen in the rear- view mirror (patented in 1921, FYI) and what might be await- ing us around the next turn. I’d welcome your thoughts on the same during this centennial year. First, one needs to reflect on how lucky we are even to be allowed to band together to form an association: a collec- tive of businesses that can work together to better their business environment, solidify their investments and effect legal and legislative changes. Many countries ban such activities even today. Guilds, merchant groups, and cham- bers of commerce were a part of our fabric even before we were fully knitted into the United States. I’ve heard from business groups in other countries that had to ask their government to form an association and then operate on eggshells going forward. Not long after the automobiles were mass-produced, some intrepid group of NH auto dealers banded together back in 1921 to form what is now the NH Automobile Dealers Asso- ciation. No doubt they were encouraged by seeing their fellow dealers do the same on the national level and in some of the surrounding states in the Northeast. NHADA joined the NADA in 1933. In 1935, one board member “gave his viewpoints on strong state organization and told the advantage of the same.” NHADA’s official records are mostly non-existent in the ’20s; however, according to Automotive News, the 1920s was the first Golden Age of the automobile in the United States. Americans bought nearly 26 million cars and 3 million trucks in the 1920s, including a whopping 4.3 million new vehicles in 1929. YTD 2020 December numbers nationally show overall sales of cars and light trucks just short of 14.5 million. 2019’s (non-Covid numbers) hovered near 17 million. For most of the 1920s, Henry Ford’s Model T dominated the sales charts. In 1921, an astounding 61 percent of the cars sold were Model T’s. Looking at 2020 YTD numbers, Ford controls about 13.6% of the market place. Today, we have well over 30 manufacturers, and none control more than 20% of the overall market. General Motors has about 17.5% of the market, with Toyota at 14.6%. When 1921 dawned, the US was just six months or so beyond the Spanish flu’s last ravages, which killed millions worldwide. As the sun first rose in January of 2021, the current pandemic was still peaking, with new variants appearing in parts of the world; however, the 2021 sunrise is tinged with optimism as various vaccines are working their way into the U.S. and world population. I look towards the late summer and fall optimistically. Today, NH has one of the strongest “Dealer Bill of Rights” in the country, but those state laws didn’t exist until the late ’60s and ’70s. In 1935, the board was already discuss- ing factory relations, and there was a focus “… to exert all possible effort with the Manufacturer’s to include Used Car Control in the dealer’s contract.” At another board meeting, “An informal discussion ensued as to the wisdom of the association becoming more active for the benefit of the dealers of New Hampshire.” At that meeting, they elected a paid “executive secretary” to “further the prog- ress of the state association.” In looking at minutes from 1937 (handwritten, by the way, in lovely cursive) the association voted to raise funds “to employ counsel for the purpose of prosecuting the consti- tutionality of the present insurance law.” In 1941, we voted to support HB321, “relating to the financial responsibility of owners and operators of motor vehicles,” and opposed HB213, which was going to do away with “recording of con- ditional sales contracts.” Also, in 1941, NHADA opposed a federal bill that “would increase the amount of Excise Tax on automobiles 500%”. In August of 1941, NHADA was closely following the federal attempts to curtail the production of automobiles, governmental price-fixing, and governmental control of the distribution of automobiles. Later in the war years, there was a discussion on the used car price controls, gasoline availability, and hope that syn- thetic tires would be more widely available. Since then, we’ve dealt with keeping vehicles safe, ensur- ing the investments made by franchised dealers weren’t randomly taken away by the manufacturers, policed our own through AutoCAP, helped to grow our auto tech work- force, passed and improved the Dealer Bill of Rights, and so much more. For the past 100 years, the automobile has been part of and the cause of much of our economic success. Nearly every single item you see in a store (or online) was trans- ported at some point on a truck. And don’t forget about repairs – without intrepid auto techs and body techs to maintain and fix what broke, we would still be using Continued on Page 8 N E W H A M P S H I R E 7