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Road Warrior Newsletter


October 05, 2017

Dear NJGCA Member:

Thank you for reading this week's NJGCA Road Warrior!

Here is what you will find in this edition:

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE:
• Minimum Wage to Increase on January 1, 2018; 2017 Auto Care Legislative Summit in Washington, DC; NJGCA Training Classes; Operator Training Reminder

NJGCA CLASSIFIEDS
- Monmouth County: Gas Station and Repair Shop Business Since 2001
- Asbury Park: Commercial Building for Sale. Possible Sale of Business
- Bergen County: Shell Gas Station with 6-Bay Repair Shop for Sale

NEWS AROUND THE STATE
Cost of Premium Gas Skyrockets
Warren Buffett’s Surprising Move into C-Stores
Get ready for a big drop in N.J. gas prices. Just how low could they go?
What Do Consumers Really Think About E15 Fuel?

TRAINING CLASS SCHEDULE!
• Entire Emission Repair Technician Course - Starting Nov. 7th
• ONE DAY EMISSIONS INSPECTOR CLASS - TUES. Nov. 14th

MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER MESSAGE BOARD
• The Amato Agency: Garage Insurance and Workers Compensation! 
• ATS Environmental: Confidence in your Tank & Compliance Testing

• Bellomo Fuel: Exceptional Service, Aggressive Petroleum Marketing
• CBIZ Insurance: Our Business is Growing Yours!

Gill Energy: Getting you There!
• Lending Capital: "Commercial Loans Made Easy" Program
• Salomone Brothers: Tank Testing and Environmental Compliance
• TMP Energy Solutions: Another Way to Save On YouEnergy Bills

POLITICAL PARTICIPATON: THE NJGCA PAC
• Participate in the NJGCA PAC today and help us keep our Agenda rolling in Trenton!

*NEW*Energy Information Agency Weekly Retail Gasoline Prices

JOIN NJGCA ON FACEBOOK -- CLICK HERE
TO SEE OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL -- CLICK HERE

                                                                                                                                                                 

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE: GREETINGS & SAL-UTATIONS!

MINIMUM WAGE TO INCREASE ON JANUARY 1, 2018
2017 AUTO CARE LEGISLATIVE SUMMIT IN WASHINGTON DC
NJGCA TRAINING CLASSES
REMINDER OPERATOR TRAINING
 
As you all should be aware, a constitutional amendment was passed in 2013 which required an annual Cost of Living Adjustment to the minimum wage. In the past 4 years, the minimum wage has gone from $8.25 to $8.38 to $8.44 and now to $8.60, which will be the minimum wage starting on January 1, 2018.  Minimum wage has increased 35˘ in the past four years, but we have continually defeated efforts to raise the wage to $15/hour across the State. However, that won’t remain the case for long if Phil Murphy is elected in November.  Murphy has campaigned specifically on the PROMISE that he will raise minimum wage, and many other taxes and fees across the State, if he gets elected.  As we do every year, NJGCA is in the process of putting together our Voter Guide issue of the On the Road magazine, and with so much at stake in the coming election, we ask that you please pay close attention to the information that we provide and the important issues that will affect the future of your business. 
 
I spent the beginning of this week in Washington DC with of the Auto Care Legislative Summit to lobby members of Congress on a number of Auto Repair related issues.  I’m sure you all remember the way we used to talk about Right to Repair… These are the new issues with regard to repairs and technology that we are going to get involved in. If we aren’t successful, and we can't solve these problems, over time you won’t be able to repair your customers’ vehicles.  This is going to become a major focus for NJGCA moving forward.  The two issues are explained below:
  • You are all aware that a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the car manufacturers that goes into effect for all MY2018 vehicles. One issue that wasn't covered in the MOU is the issue of telematics. Currently, every car being built is broadcasting data about that vehicle’s health and even how it is being driven, to the car manufacturer.  If an alternator is beginning to fail, the car manufacturer is notified, and the manufacturer notifies the owner of the vehicle that the car needs to be taken to a local dealership for immediate repair. Of course, in ANY situation where a vehicle requires service, a motorist is never obligated to go to the dealership, and would be well within their rights to visit an independent shop for repairs. However, since vehicle owners are receiving instructions to visit a dealership and not “any shop" for repairs,” the industry has found many motorists who believe they MUST bring the car to the dealership as the manufacturer directed, and are bypassing your shops.  We argue that the data being transmitted by a vehicle belongs to the motorist, not the car manufacturer, and the motorist should been able to decide where the data is transmitted, whether it is transmitted directly to the car manufacturer, or an independent repair shop, if the motorist so chooses.
  • Second, car manufacturers are attempting to use the Digital Millennium Copyright Act as a “cover” to say that all of the software that controls the different components of the cars’ operating systems is copyrighted. Car manufacturers want to keep all of this software protected, so that even if the automotive aftermarket parts manufacturers can build a part, they are not able to load software into the part to make it work. This will effectively eliminate manufacturing of aftermarket parts, which allows manufacturers to maintain a monopoly over this industry. During my visit to DC this week, we helped members of Congress understand that legislation may be required which will specifically clarify that the manufacture of automotive parts is not covered by the DMCA. This issue could also potentially be decided in a courtroom if a lawsuit is filed against the manufacturers, but we would like to avoid that by simply having clarifying legislation passed. I will keep you in the loop on both of these issues as we continue to seek to protect the auto repair industry.

TRAINING UPDATES:
  1. NJGCA has recently scheduled our ENTIRE Emission Repair Technician Training Class (ETEP curriculum), our Re-Certification Class (Sections 8, 9 and 10), and Emissions Inspector Training Classes starting in November. Don’t miss your opportunity to get the training, licenses and certifications that you need before the end of the year. For more information on any of these classes, please call the office at 732-256-9646 and ask for Debbie.
  2. Recently NJGCA sent out invitations for you and your techs to attend a Training Class given by our MBP Auto parts International (API) The class is titled “OE+ Rotating Electrical (Alternators, Starters, etc.)” Rotating Electrical - Starters & Alternators receives the highest “defect” and return rates of all products, regardless of the vendor or brand. Unfortunately, only a small percentage of returns are actually defective. Almost always it’s a mis-diagnosis or something else in the vehicle that causes the starter or alternator to go bad in the first place. The class will show what has been done to provide a quality product, and why it’s so important to do a thorough diagnosis before simply replacing the starter or alternator. The mis-diagnosis means the shop must do the repair again and maybe a third time, resulting in lost time and lost confidence by the customer.  This class is to show how to do a proper diagnosis for customer satisfaction and time saving. THIS CLASS WILL BE ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 10TH FROM 5-7 PM AT NJGCA HQ IN WALL TOWNSHIP. It is free to attend. To register your attendance, please reply directly to this email.
  3. All gas station operators must undergo Class A/B Operator Training before October 1, 2018. You have a full year to complete this training, but classes are being offered as early as November and December of 2017 in New Brunswick and Bordentown, NJ. For more information, CLICK HERE.

Thanks for reading -- See you next week!

Sal Risalvato
Executive Director

                                                                                                                                                         

TRAINING CLASSES!!

All classes held at NJGCA HQ -- 4900 Route 33 West, Wall Township, NJ 07753

Emission Technician Education Program (ETEP) - Entire Repair Technician Curriculum - Starts Nov. 7th
Stop turning away work!!  The New Jersey Inspection Program requires vehicles that fail emissions inspection to go to a Licensed Certified Emission Inspector for Repairs!
 When the new program begins, a list of Certified Emission Repair Shops will be given to vehicle owners! If you want your business name on the list – make sure you have a Certified Licensed Emission Repair Technician & an Emission Repair Facility License!

This class runs on Tuesdays and Thursday from 2:00 PM to 10:00 PM for
FIVE consecutive weeks.
Class begins on Tuesday, November 7th and ends on Tuesday December 12th.
NO CLASS ON THANKSGIVING, THURSDAY, NOV 23.

Fees for members are $2,195 and non-members are $2,495.
$500 deposit is due at time of registration.

Click HERE for registration form.

Emissions Inspector Training Class - One Day Only!
TUESDAY, November 14th -- 7am to 3pm

Want one of your technicians to become a NJ Emissions Inspector? We can help! Our one-day class will provide all the information for becoming a NJ Emissions Inspector, and the State will administer the written test the very same day at our offices!  We are offering the class: Tuesday, November 14 from 7:00am to 3:00pm. Cost $275.
Click HERE for the registration form.


FUTURE CLASSES WILL BE ADDED UPON REQUEST AND ACCORDING TO DEMAND. CONTACT DEBBIE at 732-256-9646 or DEBBIE@NJGCA.ORG TO LET HER KNOW YOU ARE INTERESTED IN TAKING A SPECIFIC CLASS.  THIS WILL ALLOW US TO GAUGE YOUR NEEDS AND KEEP TRACK OF THOSE WISHING TO PARTICIPATE!!

                                                                                                                                                               

 CLASSIFIEDS! -- FOR SALE & HELP WANTED ADS

FOR SALE:

Business For Sale: Monmouth County gas station and repair shop in business since 2001 is for sale. Owner is relocating out of state and is interested in selling business and equipment. Owner is open to limited financing. Business has a strong 10 year lease. The building has two repair bays and the gas pumps are leased to a large independent tenant. Repair shop business currently employs a Manager and two full-time Technicians. For inquiries and more info, please call Mark at 908-670-7798.

FOR SALE:
Commercial Building in Asbury Park, Possible Sale of Business, Too!  For listing information, please click HERE.
FOR SALE:
Shell Gas Station with 6-Bay Repair Shop for Sale in Bergen County!

Business established in 1980. Fully equipped repair shop with 5 lifts including an alignment rack with a 2-year-old Hunter Hawkeye alignment machine. New Hunter tire machine & wheel balancer. AAA aproved and very busy.
Towing business also available which includes 3 Freightliner/JerrDan flatbeds (2015, 2016 & 2017), a 2012 Dodge crew cab wrecker with a Jerrdan Quick Pick & dual cable winch & 2 service trucks (a 2012 GMC 2500 utility truck with a plow & a 2014 Ford transit battery/service vehicle).

Pumping over 1,000,000 gallons per year. 100x300 lot with plenty of parking. Excellent location!!! Call Jim @ 201-851-3084.

         

                                                                                                                                                                         

NEWS AROUND THE STATE: THE NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW


10/04/2017:
Cost of Premium Gas Skyrockets
Sales of premium gas has risen to a 14-yr high recently, fueled by late-model vehicles requiring higher-octane gasoline. According to the US Department of Energy, the difference between regular unleaded gasoline and premium stands at 50˘, the highest in recent memory. “Demand for premium has led to a supply imbalance,” said Jeff Lenard, NACS vice president of strategic industry initiatives. “Because of that, there are some wider spreads than there traditionally were.” Luxury car sales, which usually are designed for premium fuel, have increased more than 8% between 2006 and 2016, according to Edmunds. Also, smaller engines in cars like the Ford Escape have to meet federal standards known as Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE), which needs higher-octane fuel. With federal fuel-efficiency standards tightening, some analysts are predicting that soon 30% of U.S. vehicles will need the more costly fuel.  “We’ve seen, in the last year, 15% growth,” said István Kapitány, Shell’s executive vice president of retail. “It’s very important for consumers to be absolutely sure that they buy the highest quality of fuel for their vehicles.” Sales of premium gasoline rose 20% to nearly 43 million gallons per day by 2016, according to the Energy Department. Tom Kloza, chief analyst for Oil Price Information Service, noted that within 10 yr, the federal government will mandate the average passenger vehicle to get 55 miles per gallon, which will mean engines requiring higher octane levels in the fuel. “There’s a bright future for higher-octane gasoline, but most of the consumption will come thanks to the requirements of high-compression engines as opposed to a natural move by consumers,” he said.
 
10/03/2017:
Warren Buffett’s Surprising Move into C-Stores
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has made a significant minority investment in Pilot Travel Centers LLC, doing business as Pilot Flying J, the companies announced. Berkshire Hathaway will acquire a 38.6% equity stake in the travel-center company. The Haslam family will continue to hold a majority interest with 50.1% ownership in the company, and FJ Management Inc., owned by the Maggelet family, will retain 11.3% ownership until 2023. In 2023, Berkshire Hathaway will become majority shareholder by acquiring an additional 41.4% equity stake, and the Haslam family will retain 20% ownership in the company and remain involved with Pilot Flying J. Jimmy Haslam will remain as CEO. Pilot Flying J President Ken Parent and the company’s management team will also remain in place. The company's headquarters will stay in Knoxville, Tenn.
 
10/02/2017:
Get ready for a big drop in N.J. gas prices. Just how low could they go?
Gas prices could slide by as much as 30˘ a gallon during the last quarter of the year, which starts Monday, experts said. The fourth quarter could deliver gas prices cheaper than the $2.40 average price per gallon drivers paid in 2015, but not as low as the $2.17 average price seen last year, said Tom Kloza, Oil Price Information Service, Global Head of Energy Analysis. "Gas will drop, you'll see more of that slide," Kloza said. There is potential for gas prices to drop 10˘ to 30˘ per gallon for the next 90 days, he said. But drivers shouldn't expect to see a repeat of the low 2016 average price, which Kloza said was an anomaly. Gas and crude prices were lifted by Hurricane Harvey, which temporarily knocked out about one-fifth of the nation's refineries. Increased prices for crude oil have prompted talk by commodities speculators about a bull market, which Kloza said drivers can ignore. "I don't agree with the bulls. They got excited because finally this year prices spent some time around $50 a barrel for crude oil," he said. Crude oil prices went up and down last week before flat-lining at $51.57 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, NASDAQ reported. Wholesale gas had a five-day price slide, landing at $1.61 a gallon on Friday morning, which dropped to $1.58 close to the end of the trading day. 
 
09/28/2017:
What Do Consumers Really Think About E15 Fuel?
At the gas pump, consumers are more or less creatures of habit, turning time and time again to whatever fuel they’ve long used to fill up their vehicles. Growth Energy, a trade association working to advance pro-biofuel policies and expand consumer access to higher blends of ethanol, recently went to consumers to investigate what really matters to them in a fuel. Mike O’Brien, vice president of market development at Growth Energy, shared the findings of this consumer research study, the results of which he says can help interested convenience store and fuel retailers market E15 to their customers. E15 is gasoline blended with 15% ethanol, compared to standard fuel that’s blended with 10% ethanol. The EPA has certified vehicles 2001 or newer as E15 compatible. Washington, D.C.-based Growth Energy aims to accelerate the use of renewable fuels, increase energy security, create jobs and improve the environment by advocating for E15. In order to successfully accomplish these aims, the association must understand the consumers they want to buy it, O'Brien explained.  “Consumers, in general, don’t really care about gas, let’s be honest. It’s not something they lay awake worrying about, ‘Gosh, what gas should I use?’ So, they kind of prompted [our study] by saying, 'Why should we even care about this?'" he acknowledged. However, O'Brien pointed out that once consumers are given an answer to their question of “why,” they just might care after all.  To read more about the findings of the study, click the link above.

                                                                                                                                                                 

MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER MESSAGE BOARD:


      







TMP Energy Solutions

Another Way to Save on Your Energy Bills

We have had a number of NJGCA members successfully reduce their rate per kWh signing up through our energy saving program. We know it's difficult to collect 12 months worth of previous electric bills to get an "accurate" analysis when comparing a variable rate to a fixed rate, but we now have another option available. 

This new solution is a power purchase option; the other program is still in full force and has saved members thousands of dollars. If you sign up for the power purchase option, you will be grouped with other NJGCA members until the minimum kW demand is acquired. By pooling the member's usage together, you will be able to take advantage, as large energy users do, and receive a lower kWh rate.

Each member will receive their own contract. Each member is responsible to sign and return the agreement the day it is received in order to secure the price for their group.

Please do your due diligence, so when you receive the proposal and the agreement you will be able to make an intelligent decision.

If by chance, you still want us to assess you bills, to give you a price to compare, we will require 12 months of your most recent utility bills.

There are no bills required, but we would still like to have one bill per meter on file to check account #'s, meter #'s  service addresses and other pertinent information incase there is a problem.

The term of the agreement is for 12 months. During this term period, you will have price protection against any energy price increases along with a low fixed kWh rate.

If you are interested in becoming part of this power purchase option, please contact Greg Cannon at the NJGCA.

Remember when you sign up your energy through the NJGCA Energy Program, TMP makes a considerable donation to the NJGCA Scholarship Fund through their proceeds. This has no affect on your rate, and costs you nothing out of pocket.

We hope to help hundreds of NJGCA members reduce their utility costs by participating in this and our other cost reduction programs.  Our purpose, in the endeavor, is to help NJGCA members lower their energy costs while supporting the NJGCA Scholarship Fund. 

Contact GREG CANNON at 732-256-9646 or email Greg at greg@njgca.org. Mention that you are interested in saving money on your energy bills. NJGCA & TMP Energy Solutions will handle all the rest. 

                                                                                                                                                                        

POLITICAL PARTICIPATON: THE NJGCA PAC

DEFENDING OUR MEMBERS.
PROTECTING YOUR INTERESTS.
ANSWER THE CALL & CONTRIBUTE TODAY!!

Promoting our agenda in Trenton is of utmost importance to NJGCA and our members.

However, in order to truly affect the debate, we must ensure our friends in the Legislature are re-elected. It is for this reason that your Association has established the NJGCA PAC.

For too long, the weight of funding our Political Action Committee, the arm of the Association responsible for political donations, has rested upon a few. This is not only unfair to those few members who have shouldered this burden, but means we are not utilizing our full strength to affect the debate in Trenton.

To truly understand the importance of supporting our allies, consider our successes in Trenton:

We defeated BELOW COST SELLING
We made history in getting FIRST RIGHT OF REFUSAL signed into law!
We have built large support for RIGHT TO REPAIR and got it passed out of the Assembly
We defended your small business against the false accusations of Attorney General Anne Milgram
We gained wide support to move New Jersey to an all PIF Inspection System and close the CIF lanes
...and MUCH MORE!!

In each instance, we achieved these goals with the help of our friends in the Legislature!

If every member contributes just $100.00 we will be able to provide the help necessary to ensure victory for our allies. 

PLEASE SEND YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO:
NJGCA PAC
4900 Route 33 West, Suite 100
Wall Township, NJ 07753
Please make your donation payable to NJGCA PAC

I understand that times are tough for all NJGCA members, but this is just as important as any battle we have fought in the past.

We have made great progress in Trenton. I hope that you will answer the call. 

                                                                                                                                     

*NEW* Energy Information Agency Weekly Retail Gasoline Prices

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.