Latest news with #rule
Economist
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Economist
Brazil's Supreme Court responds to our leader
I would like to clarify a few points in your leader on Brazil's Supreme Court ('The rule of law', April 19th). You recount some of the threats to democracy in Brazil, though not all. These include the invasion of the headquarters of the three branches of government by a mob incited by extremists; encampments of thousands outside military barracks calling for the ousting of the elected president; an attempted terrorist attack at Brasília's airport; and an attempted bombing of the Federal Supreme Court. And, of course, an alleged coup attempt, which included a plan to assassinate the president, the vice-president and a justice of the court.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Court strikes down car dealer junk fee ban, leaving buyers vulnerable
A federal appeals court has struck down a Biden-era regulation aimed at protecting car buyers from deceptive dealership practices, Automotive News reported. The rule, known as the Combatting Auto Retail Scams (CARS) rule, sought to eliminate bait-and-switch pricing, surprise fees, and charges for unnecessary services. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) estimated the rule would have saved consumers $3.4 billion. However, a legal challenge from dealership groups resulted in its repeal. The ruling, issued by the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, said that the FTC had not followed the proper rulemaking procedures. While two judges sided with the dealership groups, a third dissented, emphasizing that Congress had already granted the FTC authority to implement consumer protections in the auto industry. The ruling means that dealers can continue practices that many consumers find deceptive, such as advertising vehicles at attractive prices only to add thousands in hidden fees once a buyer is ready to overturned regulation targeted several common but controversial dealership practices, many of which have been widely criticized by consumer advocacy groups, including tactics like bait-and-switch pricing, where dealerships lure customers in with low advertised prices only to claim the vehicle is unavailable or attach hidden conditions to the deal. The rule also prohibited dealers from charging junk fees, such as fees for oil changes on electric vehicles or extended warranties that duplicate manufacturer coverage. Under the rule, dealers would also be required to be upfront about optional add-ons, mandating that dealers obtain explicit consent from consumers before adding any extra costs to their purchase National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) and the Texas Automobile Dealers Association led the challenge against the rule, arguing that it would complicate the car-buying process and increase dealership costs. NADA President Mike Stanton said the decision was a "great outcome for consumers," arguing that the rule would have led to more paperwork and delays, according to Reuters. Critics of the decision argued otherwise. Judge Stephen Higginson, the lone dissenter in the ruling, said that the rule was developed 'after a decade of roundtables, comments, and over 100,000 consumer complaints, many leading to federal and state law enforcement actions against unfair and deceptive motor vehicle dealer practices.' With the FTC's leadership shifting under the new administration, the likelihood of reviving federal action against junk fees appears slim. FTC chair Andrew Ferguson, who has worked to end the agency's DEI program since being appointed to the position by President Trump earlier this month, has not commented on the ruling or indicated if he has any plans to reintroduce similar protections in the now, car buyers remain vulnerable to hidden fees and misleading advertising, making it more important than ever for consumers to scrutinize pricing and question add-ons before finalizing a vehicle purchase. Experts recommend that buyers request an itemized breakdown of all charges before signing any paperwork and be prepared to walk away from deals that contain surprise fees.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Love's in California: Gauging impact of Advanced Clean Fleets rule demise
When Love's Travel Stops announced a new location in Bakersfield, California in August, it was not only a new travel stop in its network. It added 111 parking spots and was described as one of the biggest outlets in the Love's network. But it also raised a question: why build a travel stop that dispenses diesel fuel as a major part of its business in a state that had a pair of regulations in place, the Advanced Clean Truck (ACT) rule and the Advanced Clean Fleet (ACF) rule, that were designed to mostly eliminate diesel use in more than 20 years? That question is now moot, at least for now, with the recent decision by the California Air Resources Board to withdraw its request for a waiver from the Environmental Protection Agency that would have cleared the decks for the ACF to proceed. The ACT is still in place, but its effectiveness has been brought into question given that the ACT's mandate for truck suppliers to sell zero emission vehicles into California may run up against the fact that there is, for now, no mandate to buy them. In what is becoming an annual discussion with the media about the company's plans for the coming year, Love's President Shane Wharton said the company is still reviewing the demise of the ACF and its impact on its customers. But he also indicated that the ACF was not a factor in deciding to build a big new travel center in Bakersfield. 'The way we look at it is we're in the highway hospitality business,' Wharton said. 'We're in the business of taking care of customers on the road. So we know what the customers are using (for fuel) today, and we know what they will be transitioning to, whether it's an electric vehicle or hydrogen. So it's a combination of being ready for that. And whatever our customer needs, we have always said, that's our business.' Wharton said Love's will 'continue to build in the right places to be' and will be ready to transition on the fuel side when that need occurs. Love's actually has a hydrogen subsidiary: Trillium. Trillium has hydrogen fueling facilities at four Love's facilities in California and one near Urbana, Illinois. Trillium is not operating any public fueling stations; all the customers are private. Its experience with hydrogen through Trillium is part of what Wharton said is 'just having to be prepared to provide the products and services our customers need.' Wharton's presentation is an opportunity for it to lay out the company's new construction plans as well. Love's is planning on opening 20 new stores in 2025 and will begin updating 50 existing outlets under what it calls its Strategic Remodel Initiative. The SRI involves extensive remodeling, not just on the margins. The pace of new construction and remodeling means Love's is on track to have what amounts to new or redesigned facilities at more than half its 655 outlets by 2035. Love's truck parking is free. Wharton said the company plans to add about 1,000 new parking spaces this year, in line with what the company projects most years. Wharton, asked about how much of that parking capacity is utilized each day, said Love's does not have a direct technology tracker of its parking spot to know how many are occupied at any given time, but that the company has 'explored and talked about some technology solutions that would track that and report it out.' But he said on an average evening, all of those spots that are now approaching 50,000 through the network are being utilized. 'Days of the week can matter but not dramatically, because the truck traffic is so heavy,' Wharton said. When Wharton was asked about acquisition activity, he gave a standard response of 'we're always looking at opportunities to build our travel stop network.' But when he got specific, he turned to factoring as a likely area of growth. Love's did make one factoring acquisition in 2024: REV Capital. Wharton made clear they are looking to build that factoring group at Love's. 'Our freight factoring business is something that we've been aggressively growing,' Wharton said. 'We did an acquisition in 2024 to add to that book of business and we think there could be some opportunities in 2025 in that space.' Among other developments at Love's discussed by Wharton: The company is a sponsor of the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder, located in the same city where Love's is headquartered. A Love's patch is visible on all the jerseys of the Thunder players. 'It's turned into a pretty decent recruiting tool in terms of people noticing it and the size and scale of the presence that we have here in Oklahoma City,' Wharton said. But the Love's sponsorship also helps give the company exposure when the Thunder games are broadcast elsewhere, which they are increasing this year; at this writing, the Thunder have the best record in the NBA. It won't help fuel any class 8 trucks, but Wharton and a company news release said Love's received a grant of $83 million to build chargers in 13 states. Fast charger construction is expected to start this year in eight states. Love's hired 250 veterans last year, and will try to increase that by 10% this year. 'We've also launched a hire program for military spouses, so we have our talent acquisition team that's out attending recruiting events across the country to help us attract and get the right talent on the team,' Wharton said. More articles by John Kingston Western Express prevails at federal appeals level in 'wall of water' case ATA saw as important Drivers settle class action with Lytx over in-cab surveillance, data gathering Connectivity, generative AI's impact key supply chain software themes at NRF '25 The post Love's in California: Gauging impact of Advanced Clean Fleets rule demise appeared first on FreightWaves.
