After Arnold whittled down car buyers' protections in the "Car Buyers Bill of Rights" law last year, you might think that the $500K he has received from car dealers and auto manufacturers over the past two weeks is just a thank you. But the Gov had already received over $2 million from dealers and other auto industry interests prior to this half mil, including $642,000 last year after he signed the bill.
One largely unnoticed change to the car buyers legislation might explain why the money is starting to roll in now, as dealers prepare for the law's July implementation. The bill placed Arnold's Dep't of Motor Vehicles in charge of overseeing enforcement of key provisions of the law. Dealers want to keep Arnold happy so Arnold keeps the DMV from aggressive oversight. ArnoldWatch readers will remember that one of Arnold's first acts as Gov. was to ax former DMV head Steve Gourley, who was despised by car dealers for cracking down on deceptive dealership practices (http://arnoldwatch.org/blogs/blogs_000031.php3). So if you go to buy a car this summer keep one hand on the bill of rights and hold onto to your wallet with the other.
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