If there is one other sector of the corporate world I trust implicitly to tell the truth, it is used car dealers. Yeah right. ( I repeat myself when under stress I repeat myself when under stress)
Dealerships fight used-car legislation
Law would open up state's crash recordsIn the face of heavy opposition from car dealers, lawmakers are battling to give the public the right to see tightly held accident histories of used vehicles so that people will know, literally, what they are getting into.
and my old boss gets quoted:
llinois is one of two states that explicitly prohibit public release of a vehicle's accident record, according to the bill's supporters.But many people shopping for cars don't realize that the vehicle history reports they are buying--or being given by dealers--don't list any Illinois wrecks, the supporters say.
“It's lunacy not to make these public records available to Illinois consumers,” said Sen. Kirk Dillard (R-Hinsdale), who is sponsoring the measure along with Chicago Sen. James Meeks, a member of the Senate Democratic caucus.
The auto dealer industry, which has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to lawmakers over the last five years, is fighting vigorously to keep the status quo. Opponents of the bill question the accuracy of the accident records and its potential to hurt used car prices.
I personally don't see the downside to making this information public. More excerpts below the jump, mapping out which lawmakers gets fat contributions from the Illinois Auto Dealers Assn and cohorts. Of course, there is absolutely no correlation to the lawmakers subsequent opposition to a consumer friendly bill. None. Got that. None. Ahem.
Leading the opposition to the legislation are the Illinois Automobile Dealers Association, which contributed more than $375,000 to lawmakers since 2001, and the Chicago Automobile Trade Association, which gave more than $200,000 to legislators during the same period. The dealers adamantly insist there is no tie between the contributions and opposition to the bill. ... Meeks' decision followed arguments by several lawmakers, including Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson (R-Greenville), one of the biggest beneficiaries of the auto dealers' political generosity.Watson questioned whether the measure would benefit car buyers, saying the vehicle identification numbers are often inaccurate on reports and would lead to giving consumers false or misleading information.
Watson has received $32,550 from the Illinois and Chicago auto groups over the last five years, and the Republican State Senate Campaign Committee has received $9,000 since he became minority leader in 2003.
Schuh vigorously dismissed any connection between Watson's opposition and the contributions, saying the financial gifts did not play a role in the Republican leader's stance.
Senate Assistant Majority Leader James DeLeo (D-Chicago), who also opposes the bill, received $30,000 from the Illinois and Chicago auto groups since 2001.
DeLeo said he opposes the bill because it would not protect consumers. “No contribution makes a difference to me,” DeLeo said. “If the check's $1 or $20,000 it's not going to influence what I think the right decision would be for the consumers.”
Sure, and this is why these paid off politicians are so adamant in insisting they aren't paid off.
