An important message from the Auto Care Board of Directors

Dear Auto Care Members,

now is the time when you need your auto care association—and your auto care association needs you!

You need your Auto Care Association.

In the last 20 months as we have worked through the pandemic, your association has been hard at work tackling the issues that matter to you most. The benefits of having the Auto Care Association to speak on behalf of the industry have never been more apparent:

• Essential Industry Status – Your Auto Care Association went to work at the federal and state levels, when many other industries were shutting down, to ensure our industry’s businesses were able to continue to operate—supporting the mobility of doctors, nurses, other health care workers, emergency responders and transportation specialists to keep things moving. We were there as consumers started moving again, finding new ways of travel and recreation as the economy reopened, with many of our businesses seeing a large rebound in demand for our products and services.
  
  
• Right to Repair – Your Auto Care Association lead the way with other associations both financially and with boots on the ground to ensure a ballot initiative was in place to secure the passage of Question 1 in Massachusetts last November. Massachusetts voters resoundingly supported the right to consumer choice of where to have their vehicle repaired and the independent aftermarket having access to repair data on an equal footing to the new car dealer. The fight continues as the OEMs have gone to court to overturn the will of the voters and your association is there to ensure we prevail.
  
  A federal bill will be launched in the coming weeks to expand the win in Massachusetts across the country by Congressman Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) to build on the momentum for Right to Repair across agricultural machinery, technology and other areas. Your association has been called on to share the methods used successfully at the state level to ensure fairness across the country.
  
  
• Supply Chain – Your Auto Care Association has been out in the forefront providing information and resources during recent turbulence in supply chains and trade relations to help suppliers manage through tariffs, port congestion, and raw material shortages—keeping the shelves stocked with products needed by the motoring public. As this continues to be an issue with potential 2022 impacts of contract negotiations with West Coast dockworkers, your association will continue to fight for the industry’s interests and keep you informed.

Your Auto Care Association needs you.

You can help your business, the industry and the association through:

• Advocacy – Passage of the Federal Right to Repair bill will need all of us to speak up in support to make sure our congressional delegation understands its importance and its impact on our $380+ billion contribution to the national economy. Contact your elected officials, or better: host them in your facility, ask them to co-sponsor the bill, and to become a member of the Auto Care Caucus. Your association is prepared to help you and make it easy to be an advocate. Your voice, along with your contributions to the ACPAC, is vital to ensuring the passage and long-term viability of our industry.
  
  
• Information and Standards – Use of ACES/PIES, Demand Index and UniLink™ tools are key to facilitating transactions and the sale of our products. Your association has invested heavily over the years to ensure we are speaking with a common language and using data for maximum efficiency – sign up and use these tools!
  
  
• Events – Although we missed AAPEX in 2020, we are moving forward in 2021 with the first industry get-together in Las Vegas this fall since the start of the pandemic. While smaller due to less international participation, the key buyers have indicated they will be there to meet with their suppliers. There is still time to ensure you can take advantage of this event and have quality face-to-face time with your customers to review the challenges and maximize the opportunities we face.
  
  
• Membership - Renew your membership when it comes due. For the first time in more than a decade, membership dues increased to more closely reflect the unparalleled benefits you receive compared to other industry associations. Talk up the association with other industry companies and encourage their participation and membership. As expected, we have seen the loss of international members that join only for the AAPEX show, which means we need the support of our core domestic members now more than ever!
  
  
• Volunteer – Your association is short-staffed, commensurate with lost revenues that would have come from having a more robust show, but the work on behalf of the industry remains. Your help in ensuring this work continues is critical to moving our industry forward.

Now is the time when you need your Auto Care Association and your Auto Care Association needs you!  Thank you for your support, it helps all of us!

Sincerely,

The Auto Care Association Board of Directors