Legislation is supposed to serve the public. To my mind, that means that commerce laws are supposed to keep the consumer from getting screwed.
Does anybody else here find it offensive that if you (or your lobby) can give enough campaign money or have enough influence over voters you can get legislation presented and maybe even enacted that actually serves to prevent free trade, to prevent that natural market mechanism that prevents consumers from getting screwed? And it’s not just the auto industry; real estate and even the business of cutting hair (along with many others) have statutes designed to limit competition within their industries.
Anybody want to buy a legislator? There’re plenty for sale!
It's amazing that a REPUBLICAN governor would sign a law that prohibits a free market.
As with all the other beliefs they spout, Republican leadership is only interested in the free market when it’s convenient for them and their rich constituents.
I fail to see why a car is treated any differently than any other purchase.
I remember a couple years ago when I was shopping for a treadmill. I went to a specialty store that arguably had the best product. Great, I’ll take one- my trailer is out back. Nope. First we don’t stock them (OK, no biggie) and secondly, we have to deliver and set it up (for a fee). ??? It’s not rocket science pal, it’s a treadmill. Next argument, we have to be sure it will arrive safely and is set up safely. I’ve been transporting stuff for myself for a long time and I can follow simple directions for set up. Next argument, what are you going to do with all the cardboard? Ummm, recycle it? Sensing he had run out of gas, but was unwavering, I left.
I literally drove across the street to the mall. Went in to Sears, walked up to the most expensive one they had and bought it. 45 minutes later it was at home, inside and set up. It took al of 5 minutes to chop up the cardboard BTW.
I’m probably not alone in wanting to be able to buy a car the same way. The last purchase I made, a Honda, the pre-delivery inspection and set up was a joke anyway. Among other things, I had to remove some of the protective film myself and they actually damaged some stuff during their “inspection”. Just deliver the car directly from the railyard to my driveway on a flatbead and be gone… I’ll take the dealer set up fees and buy some gas instead…
VDCdriver, you can pick up a Corvette at the factory and if you want to, you can visit during its assembly and actually help assemble parts of your new car, yourself.
There’re a lot of things you can do if you have gobs of money. The rich and powerful are not the ones laws are supposed to protect.
Besides, I’ll bet money that if you buy one of these deals in a state with auto dealer protective statues (which is probably all states) you’ll have to do it through a dealer.
The laws designed to prevent Tesla (and anyone else) from offering a different and more direct business model, which IMHO the consumer should have the right to choose, are there for one purpose only: to protect the dealers from a better business model undercutting them. No other reason. And they got there through lobbies putting up large campaign contributions and promoting candidates selected to protect their business model. Legislators are bought and paid for. They’re expected to vote the way the “purchaser” wants them to. And, for the most part, they do.
As I pointed out previously, I don’t entirely blame the dealers. The multimillion dollar expenditures for facilities updates, computer updates, and countless other things, required of them by their franchisers in order that they may sell the manufacturer’s products almost makes such immoral activities necessary for them to maintain their dealerships.
The real problem is under the state house domes. I don’t have an answer, but that’s my honest opinion.
What happens in New Jersey, New York, and California doesn’t necessarily represent the rest of the country. While I agree, they should be free to sell their cars through WM if they want, lobbiests are after all, paid by us to represent us, to express our interests. Maybe some have gotten out of hand, but its still a way for a bunch of little guys to make their concerns known.
Also, rules are not laws although they have the effect of laws. Rules are promulgated by agencies and paid staffers, not legislators, governors, or congress. True, they hire the beauracrats that promulgate the rules, but do not pass the rules themselves. You go after the elected officials as being bought and paid for, but its the career employees that come up with the hideous, crippling, rules that we all have to live with-and we don’t vote for them.
The latest news is that the NJ legislature may enact a statute to prevent our esteemed governor from shutting down the current Tesla business model in NJ. If this legislative effort is successful, it would be a victory for consumers in NJ.
Lobbyists are paid by us to represent us? In what world?
Lobbyists are hired by and paid by private concerns via their trade organizations to represent the interest of the members of the trade organization that’s paying them. Representing the interests of the consumer is exactly the opposite of what they’re paid to do.
It’s a way for a bunch of little guys to get their concerns known?
You mean little guys like the oil companies, the auto manufacturers, the ethanol producers, and the agricultural conglomerates?
^
Again, I am 100% in agreement with mountainbike.
What people outside of NJ may not be aware of is that our esteemed governor’s legal experience prior to buying the office of US Attorney for NJ was solely as…a lobbyist!
Among his clients was Bernie Madoff. What is that old saying about judging people by the company that they keep?
Christie was able to be named US Attorney for NJ (despite having no courtroom experience) because his brother donated HUGE sums of money to the GW Bush campaign. Where did his brother get the money that he contributed to Mr. Bush? From his job as a Wall Street broker!
The firm that Christie’s brother worked for was investigated by the feds for illegal insider trading, and all of the principals of the firm were later convicted. The charges against Christie’s brother were dropped AFTER Christie became US Attorney for NJ. If you want to find out the particulars of the dropped charges, you can’t because the records are sealed!
So, I have to say that, while I am extremely dismayed by Mr. Christie’s attempt to restrict free trade in NJ, I am not surprised, given his past as a lobbyist for some the sleaziest members of our society and the…interesting…fact that his brother somehow escaped prosecution after CC became US Attorney for NJ.
Those of you outside of NJ are probably not aware of the huge amount of information about likely corruption within this administration.
I’ve always hated these stupid laws. Yes, the dealers incur big expenses meeting the requirements of their franchise agreements, but that’s between them and the manufacturers. Tesla is no doubt going to have to spend some money building sales and maintenance facilities, especially as they introduce additional models, but there is no reason they need to be as elaborate as current dealerships, or refreshed whenever the ad agency comes up with a new sales theme. If Tesla wants to sell directly, good. I have no doubt there will be greater transparency to the sales process and less wasted time.
For now it’s a specialty product, though for many households this could be their principal car, with something else for long trips, or just renting a car when you take a trip. The Tesla range covers almost all commutes and day trips. We’d need something with more range about six times per year. If Tesla gets enough fast charging facilities built or battery swap locations (even faster) we might still have to rent a car no more than once a year when we’re going somewhere remote.
Wow, jt. And for only $795/hr! Plus expenses. How can he possibly afford to work for that little?
Um… where is the money coming from??? THAT’s who’s hired him. And who he’ll represent.
And, let’s be honest, the “Onion” is not “the nation’s best source of news”. If they were, they’d have provided a lot more of the important information… like the fundiing source.
Ask me to look it upp, I will, Duke Energies, subject of massive coil ash spills.
McCrory is a former employee of Duke Energy who still holds stock in the company in his 401(k) account. The company has also been a major donor to the McCrory campaign and to third-party groups that have spent large sums on the governor’s behalf.
The General Assembly doesn’t like you,” an official in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources told supervisors called to a drab meeting room here. “They cut your budget, but you didn’t get the message. And they cut your budget again, and you still didn’t get the message.”
From now on, regulators were told, they must focus on customer service, meaning issuing environmental permits for businesses as quickly as possible. Big changes are coming, the official said, according to three people in the meeting, two of whom took notes. “If you don’t like change, you’ll be gone.”
I seriously doubt if they would have any objections. The founders of Tesla are not from the automobile industry. They’re from Silicone Valley, where new business models are considered a part of the natural world. They didn’t even follow the traditional business model for their Tesla venture, using groundbreaking technology and a sports car for a development platform. Nothing about Tesla follows the traditional rules.
I’ve long been a believer in Tesla. I hope those aforementioned legislators don’t ruin what is, I believe, a business that will yield huge technical benefits and permanent improvements in the business model if they’re supported rather than barred by the self-serving legislation now being proposed.
‘the “Onion” is not "the nation’s best source of news’.
But they are the source of some obscure satire.
For the benefit of those who might not be aware of it, The Onion is a humor website containing faux news stories. Nothing on The Onion’s site is real.