• • ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE & ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY - ELECTRIC VEHICLE INFRASTRUCTURE REBATE PROGRAM FOR FISCAL YEAR 2013
• • KPA'S DEALERWEBINARS.COM LAUNCHES MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM
• • LEGAL REMINDER: RIGHT TO VOTE
• • REMINDER OF COUNTERFEIT AIRBAGS -- SAFETY ADVISORY
• • IADA FEATURED SERVICE
• • THE LATEST ON HEALTH CARE REFORM
• • ATTENTION 2012 DEALERSHIP WORKFORCE STUDY PARTICIPANTS!
• • BUYERS WILL TRAVEL FARTHER TO BUY CARS WITH POSITIVE ONLINE REVIEWS

Your
IADA
Partner

Upcoming Webinars

November 8th
Joni Stuker
How to Use a BDC for Fixed Ops Departments! (12 PM CST)

November 15th
Phil Kent
Best Practices for Using Benchmarks to Drive Improved Dealership Results! (12 PM CST)
 

November 7th
Bret Dunlap
How to Maximize Mobile with SMS Chat (11 AM CST)

November 14th
Jerry Thibeau
How to Turbo-Charge Internet Leads (11 AM CST)

 


IADA Executive Committee Meeting
November 7th 
IADA Offices Springfield

Board of Directors Meeting
November 15th-16th
Chicago, IL

The Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity (DCEO) is pleased to offer rebates toward the installation of Level 2 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.  Please encourage customers who are buying – or considering buying – EVs from your dealerships to take advantage of these rebates!  By participating in the rebate program, customers will reduce the cost of charging their EV and help establish a charging station network that supports EV drivers statewide.

Eligible applicants for the rebate program include units of government, businesses, educational institutions, non-profits, and individual residents.  EV charging stations must be purchased and installed prior to submitting a rebate application.  Rebate applications will be processed on a rolling basis.  The deadline for rebate applications is 4:30 pm on Thursday, December 20, 2012.

Rebates cover 50% of equipment and installation (materials and labor) costs up to the following caps: $3,750 per networked single station; $3,000 per non-networked single station; $7,500 per networked dual station; and $6,000 per non-networked dual station.  Please refer to program guidelines for definitions of these station types and details on technical requirements.  The maximum possible total rebate award is $49,000 or 50% of the total project cost for up to 15 stations, whichever is less.

Please visit DCEO’s EV website, www.IllinoisEnergy.org/EV, for links to the rebate application and information on many other EV programs and resources.

Top

DealerWebinars.com enhances features through their new membership program

DealerWebinars.com, KPA’s free education webinar series specifically for dealers, now offers an exclusive Membership Program. Webinars are focused on:
• Internet Marketing
• HR Management
• Environment & Safety

DealerWebinars.com members enjoy an enhanced webinar experience, including:
• Exclusive members only content
• One-Click registration
• Webinar attendance history
• Track personal questions and answers

Vane Clayton, President and CEO of KPA, explains, “Dealership best practices start with great education. DealerWebinars.com allows dealers to learn about the most relevant issues, directly from industry experts.”

DrivingSales.com, the largest automotive social network in the world, has ranked DealerWebinars.com as the top Internet Training resource based on reviews directly from dealers. One such review states, “They don't try to sell you a product, they actually teach you something. I don't know where else you could learn what they teach you in an hour. I highly, highly recommend KPA webinars.”

“The launch of a membership feature for DealerWebinars.com shows the growth and expertise we have developed in this webinar series. With over 100 webinars each year and 40 different presenters, there are webinars for every position at every dealership,” said Becky Ross, Marketing Manager for KPA and the manager and moderator of DealerWebinars.com.

How to Sign-up for a Free Membership
To sign-up for this free resource, click here: Dealer Webinars.

About KPA
KPA is a dealer services and Internet marketing provider for over 4,600 automotive, truck, and equipment dealerships and service companies. KPA provides consulting services and software for three industry-specific product lines: Environment & Safety, HR Management, and Internet Marketing. KPA joined the Inc. 500/5000 list of fastest growing companies in 2012. For more information, visit www.kpaonline.com.

Top

Election Day is Tuesday, November 6, and it is crucial that dealers and dealership employees vote. Those who are elected this month will make significant decisions impacting the profitability and success of your business, and it is important that your voice be heard.

An employee who is entitled to vote and whose hours of work begin less than 2 hours after the opening of the polls and end less than 2 hours before the closing of the polls is permitted, under Section 17-15 of the Election Code, to be absent from work for up to 2 hours in order to vote in any election.  The voting leave shall not cause a reduction in the employee’s compensation.  However, the leave must be requested before the date of the election and the employer may specify the time of the leave. If you have any questions about this bulletin article, please contact IADA Legal at (217) 753-0220.

Top

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently announced that vehicles that have been involved in crashes that required their airbags to be replaced within the past 3 years may have had counterfeit airbags installed.  Counterfeit airbags have been installed in only a small percentage of vehicles.  Vehicles that have their original airbags or that that had their airbags replaced more than 3 years ago are not affected.  Vehicles that had airbags replaced by a franchised new vehicle dealer within the last 3 years are also unaffected.  Vehicles that had their airbags replaced within the last 3 years by someone other than a new vehicle dealer MAY be affected.

Because the counterfeit airbag safety advisory is NOT a recall, affected customers will bear the cost of replacing a counterfeit airbag. You are not required to inspect a customer’s airbags or to replace counterfeit airbags. However, if you remove a counterfeit airbag and the customer is unwilling to pay for a genuine replacement airbag, Illinois and federal law prohibit you from reinstalling the counterfeit airbag.  If you return a vehicle that does not have a functioning airbag to a customer, IADA recommends that you have the customer sign an Airbag Disclosure Form (available at www.illinoisdealers.com).

Additional information, including a list of vehicle makes and models for which counterfeit airbags are available and manufacturer contact information, can be found on NHTSA’s website. Dealer guidance is also available on NADA’s website at www.nada.org.

If you have any questions about counterfeit airbags, please contact IADA Legal at (217) 753-0220.

Top

Top

The comprehensive Health Care Reform law that was signed in 2010 by President Obama has brought about many challenges for auto dealers. With so many moving parts, employers across the nation are struggling to understand the new requirements, figure out how to comply with them, and keep up with the changing rules.

Following is a brief summary of the latest developments in the Health Care Reform law provided courtesy of IADA’s endorsed partner, American Fidelity.

Summary of Benefits and Coverage Applicability Date Possibly Delayed

Recently issued agency FAQs clarify that plan sponsors and insurers will not be required to distribute the Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) or Uniform Glossary until sometime after final regulations are published. Under the proposed regulations, plan sponsors and health insurers were to begin distributing SBCs beginning March 23, 2012. The new guidance was issued in response to concerns that the March 23, 2012 compliance date did not give plan sponsors and issuers sufficient time to prepare and could lead to SBC “do-overs” – the unappealing prospect that SBCs based on the proposed regulations might need to be revised to comply with final regulations.

60-Day Advance Notice of Benefit Changes

Participants must be given 60 days advance notice of any material modifications in coverage, such as increases in cost-sharing or benefit reductions. A plan sponsor may satisfy this requirement by sending an updated SBC.

Form W-2 Reporting of Employer-Sponsored Health Coverage for Large Employers
Most plan sponsors must report the cost of employer-sponsored health coverage on employee W-2s beginning with the 2012 tax year, which are the W-2s that are generally required to be provided by January 31, 2013. Employers that filed fewer than 250 W-2s in 2011 are not required to report the information until at least the 2013 tax year. The IRS continues to emphasize that the W-2 reporting obligation does not make employer sponsored health coverage taxable for employees. The IRS released new guidance on January 3, 2012 on the Form W-2 reporting requirements. Last March, the IRS issued Notice 2011-28 discussing the W-2 reporting requirements in 31 questions and answers (FAQs). The new guidance, Notice 2012-9 becomes the most current guidance on the Form W-2 reporting requirements adding eight new questions and additional clarifications. Visit www.HCReducation.com for a worksheet that may be used to assist in the calculation of the amount that must be reported.

Top

• Your Dealership’s Averages
• National Comparative Averages
• Regional Comparative Averages
• State Comparative Averages—included only in the Enhanced Report
• Brand Comparative Averages—included only in the Enhanced Report

Top

Top