Monday night the governor confirmed yet again that he is directing the DEP to adopt the California Advanced Clean Cars II rule, which will require all new light-duty vehicles sold in the state by 2035 be zero emissions. This means no gasoline or even hybrid would be sold in New Jersey after 2035. And while 2035 may seem far away, the rule requires that starting as early as three years from now, 35% of new cars be zero-emission, even though currently only about 8% of current sales are electric vehicles. It’s still not entirely clear how this will work, presuming that there won’t be enough consumer demand to meet these goals. It sounds like there will be penalties to car manufacturers that can’t comply that will then pass on to the motorists with higher charges on internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. The formal language of the regulation will be published in about a month, with a public comment window starting then running through mid-October.
Theres a wide coalition of advocacy groups that do not support this mandate. In addition to NJGCA, the NJ Business & Industry Association and the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers have publicly opposed the rule. California, New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Oregon, and Washington have already adopted the program or soon will. As we’ve said before, there won’t be any law against buying a used ICE vehicle. Some are already speculating that consumers will go to Pennsylvania to buy an ICE car, which has led to further speculation that one day the state may try to ban the registration of ICE vehicles altogether. It’s also worth noting that the governor is doing this without the approval of the legislature, which we think he wouldn’t be able to get. While the first phase takes effect in 2026, it’s likely not coincidental that’ll be when Governor Murphy is leaving office. Therefore, it’ll be up to the new governor to either delay or repeal the mandate.
A national lawsuit has also been filed by a wide variety of groups (including the National Association of Convenience Stores) that questions the constitutionality of this system, claiming that California and the states that adopt this mandate are being treated differently than others, and challenges California’s authority on the matter as the original law was intended to address emissions that lower air quality. Current regulations are being pushed because of climate change, not public health, and therefore are not valid. It sounds like while the odds of winning that lawsuit in the US Supreme Court look good, but it’s expected to take another three to four years to be sorted out.
UPS Strike
You may have seen in the news recently that there is potential for a complete strike of all UPS workers looming. The union which represents the drivers has 340,000 drivers and their contract expires July 31st. One study estimates a 10-day strike could cost the country as much as seven billion dollars, which would be the costliest strike in a century. In terms of the impact on you and your business, it would severely disrupt supply chains, with auto parts specifically being cited as one of the most affected industries of the strike. Our advice? If you rely on these deliveries, you may want to try to order extra or stock up now before August 1st just in case.
This will also impact lottery retailers, since tickets are delivered via UPS. We have been in touch with the State Lottery Commission and they are preparing for this. You may have noticed they are increasing scratch off ticket order sizes to allow for more inventory. They’ve moved the launch date for August tickets to July 27th. They are shipping out extra roll stock (the paper the tickets are printed on). If the strike goes through and drags on they are even prepared to have their regular field sales force start delivering in order to keep the tickets flowing. We will keep you updated on any strike updates.
Ballgame
Looking to have some fun this summer? We have been looking for ways to engage our membership and get people out again. These events we run are for you, our members, to show you that your association is not only working for you, but we hope to be able to get members more involved in the work that we are doing. Again, this event is completely FREE for our members, you just need to sign up ASAP as tickets are limited!
We have a small number of tickets remaining for the Jersey Shore Blueclaws game! Looking for something fun to do on July 28th? Bring your family and/or colleagues for some BBQ, baseball and fireworks! First come first serve on these last few tickets, so RSVP right now if you are interested in attending!
If you can’t make it July 28th, we will be hosting another baseball night at Bridgewater Patriots! Arrive by 6 PM to enjoy BBQ and stay after the game for fireworks. Find the registration form at njgca.org/baseball, and sign up before August 10th to secure your tickets, we have a limited amount!
Member Spotlight
Mighty Joe’s Deli & Grill has been in business since 1979 and is a hard-to-miss Shamong landmark that features a 25 ft tall “Mighty Joe” gorilla that greets motorists. Mighty Joe’s features gas pumps, a convenience store, and a full deli with made to order sandwiches. The business is currently going through several upgrades and updates, with an entire new building face, new canopy, and restriped and redone parking lot coming soon. We look forward to featuring those updates when they are completed!
All classes held at NJGCA HQ -- 615 Hope Road, Building 2, 1st Floor, Eatontown, NJ 07724
ASE Training Course - Reach Out Today!
Are you (or an employee) getting ready to take your A6, A8, or L1 in preparation to recertifying your Emission Repair Technician (ERT) credentials through the State's Emission Technician Education Program (ETEP)?
We can help --- but we need to hear from you, first! NJGCA wants to hear from students interested in our ASE-prep training program, so we can gauge demand and schedule our next session series.
As you know, the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has always maintained a "dual-track" system to allow technicians to earn their Emission Repair Technician (ERT) credentials through New Jersey's Emission Technician Education Program (ETEP). In doing so, technicians were allowed to certify as ERTs through either an ASE-test track or an ETEP-educational class track. Starting on January 1, 2020, NJDEP amended the ETEP criteria, and the ETEP-educational class track was abolished.
Today, only the ASE-test track remains, and all ERTs must certify or re-certify their credentials though ASE to remain in the Program.
NJGCA has recently offered an ASE-prep class to help you get ready for the A6, A8, and L1. In doing so, students were welcome to participate in a ten-session preparatory class that covered material for all three ASE exams. We also had a handful of students who joined us only for the A8 or L1 sections.
Once completed, students took their ASE exams with a local ASE-approved test proctor (NJGCA can train you to prepare for the ASE exams, but are not permitted to offer the actual exam - students must make these arrangements individually themselves).
Building on that success, we are now seeking student participation in our next training series session. To make arrangements and organize a session, we need to hear from you!
Rarely has a government, at least the U.S. government, banned specific products or behaviors that are so widely used or undertaken. Indeed, there have been only two comparably far-reaching bans in U.S. history: the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibited the consumption of alcohol (repealed by the Twenty-First Amendment); and the 1974 law prohibiting driving faster than 55 mph. Neither achieved its goals; both were widely flouted, and the first one engendered unintended consequences, not least of which was criminal behavior. So the precedents are not encouraging, and consumer embrace of electric vehicles may not be as enthusiastic as it appears.
Gas station owners in Atlanta may soon be required to install cameras on their properties. Why it matters: Cameras — particularly high-quality systems — are vital in helping police solve crimes. Driving the news: The Atlanta City Council's Public Safety & Legal Administration Committee on Tuesday approved an ordinance mandating these businesses to install video surveillance systems. Details: The legislation, which notes that a large number of violent crimes take place at gas stations, requires owners to install a "continuous video recording system dedicated to each fuel pump." . . . Several residents spoke in favor of the ordinance at Tuesday's meeting.
. . . Although some still desire the ability to self-serve. Proponents argue that by offering consumers a choice, gas prices could slightly decrease as stations would not need to pay a full staff of gas attendants. Additionally, “many motorists would like the convenience of not having to wait for an attendant to do something so simple,” wrote Eric Blomgren in an email to the Two River Times. Blomgren is the director of government affairs for New Jersey Gasoline, C-Store, Automotive Association (NJGCA), a group that advocates for small businesses in the petroleum retail, convenience store and automotive repair sectors. “The government should not deny them that choice,” he said. Blomgren also mentioned the difficulty for station owners who must find attendants amid the labor shortage. “They still find it very difficult to find employees who want to work as attendants, even at wages well above the minimum.”
In fact, a new study by the Research Team at Consumer Affairs found the most deadly cities for drivers shows that Newark has the worst drivers in the state, but they only come in at 140 in the nation for U.S. crash scores. The three next worst cities in the Garden State are Elizabeth, which came in at 188, Jersey City, which came in at 230, and Paterson, which finished 287th. In the tri-state area, New Jersey has the best drivers. New Jersey has an average crash score of 12.907, Pennsylvania 13.357 and New York is 18.17.
The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is the world’s largest supply of emergency crude oil, with a storage capacity of 714 million barrels in four underground salt caverns along the Gulf Coast, according to energy.gov. Around the start of the pandemic, there were about 635 billion barrels in the reserve; however, reserves have shrunk to around 363 billion barrels. The country has not seen levels this low since the ’80s, when the stockpile was still growing, and depletions of the scale of the past few years are a first in its 46-year history.
The old debate about whether electric cars should be powered by batteries, Tesla-style, or with hydrogen fuel cells, such as the Toyota Mirai, appears to have been won hands-down by batteries in recent years. So why are companies still investing in hydrogen cars? The facetious answer is that they may be designed to convey political messages more than actual passengers. The serious one is that there are still plenty of doubts about battery EVs as a universal solution for decarbonizing road transport. . . The hydrogen-powered Grenadier is just a proof of concept: Ineos is years away from committing to mass-producing a fuel cell EV. Still, why is a startup such as Ineos Automotive, which was founded in 2017, bothering with hydrogen at all when sales of EVs driven by batteries are so much stronger? Ineos hopes to launch a battery EV in 2026 that it envisages being used in urban and everyday settings. But it also wants a low-carbon way to deliver the same kind of extreme off-road capability and long range its customers might expect from its gas-guzzling Grenadier. This is where hydrogen excels.
New Jersey is moving to ban the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035. Gov. Phil Murphy's administration announced Monday it was formally planning to adopt a plan to phase out gas-powered cars announced several years ago by Murphy's fellow Democrat, California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The rule proposal signals the end of the internal combustion engine's era. “Our commitment to bringing the [rule] proposal to fruition is a commitment to every New Jersey family and the air they breathe, air that will be cleaner and healthier tomorrow thanks to the steps we’re taking to reduce emissions today,” Murphy said in a statement. A Murphy administration press release portrayed the rule as one that “does not impose any obligations on consumers or car dealers.” It technically requires the sale of zero-emissions vehicles, but gas-fired combustion engines can’t meet such a standard.
7/19/23
Murphy’s Crazy Obsession with Electric Cars Is Bad For All Of Us In NJ (Opinion) Electric vehicles are great. They are amazing pieces of technology and incredible innovations in the automotive industry. But like most things the government tries to cram down our throats the marketplace and consumer trends should drive the advancement. Murphy‘s latest "edict“ is to force electric cars even sooner than his original plan of 2035 who wants all car dealerships in New Jersey to only sell EVs. Murphy expedited the Advanced Clean Cars II (ACCII) proposal with the Office of Administrative Law and will ramp up a requirement that all new vehicles sold in New Jersey be 100% electric by 2035. This totally bypasses the NJ Legislature and negates our voices through our elected representatives.
More and more New York and New Jersey residents are buying electric vehicles, but charging the car can be a challenge for owners who don’t have a garage or driveway. . . Although electric vehicles still make up a tiny percentage of cars in the New York City metropolitan area, ownership has more than doubled over the past three years, putting pressure on the limited number of charging stations. And on Monday, Gov. Phil Murphy announced a proposed rule that would ban new gas-powered cars by 2035. Cameli’s charging setup also points to another trend: A number of apartment, condo and co-op residents are filling up their cars from their own walls. Nationwide, about 80% of electric vehicle owners charge at home, according to a 2021 report from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Each week, the Energy Information Administration publishes a list of average gasoline prices for the previous three weeks. NJGCA will begin including this list with the Weekly Road Warrior. Remember, these prices are reflective of self-serve everywhere except NJ.
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