Posted by
Auto Care News
on
November 23, 2020
BETHESDA, Md. – November 23, 2020 – The following statement
can be attributed to Bill Hanvey, president and CEO, Auto Care Association:
“On Nov. 3, the citizens of Massachusetts made their voices
loud and clear on the issue of vehicle data access, with an overwhelming 75% of
voters supporting ballot Question 1. Unfortunately, the vehicle manufacturers are
once again ignoring the will of the people and have instead chosen to pursue
legal action against the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in an effort to halt the
implementation of Question 1. The Auto Care Association is very disappointed to
see this pattern of behavior from the vehicle manufacturers against the
American people, who want the right to control their vehicle mechanical data
and to share it with their independent repair shops.
“Over the last several years, the Auto Care Association has joined
with cyber security experts to develop international standards that could be readily
implemented and will permit the cyber-secure sharing of data. Further, we
have offered to work with the manufacturers to adopt these standards in order to
ensure competition for their customers. However, instead of working to
find common ground, the manufacturers have continued to engage in a scare
campaign regarding access to wireless mechanical data, aimed first at voters
and now the courts. Just like Massachusetts voters, we trust that the courts
will see through the manufacturers’ scare tactics and will throw out this
baseless lawsuit.”
For questions or more information, please contact Aaron Lowe,
senior vice president, regulatory and government affairs, Auto Care Association,
at aaron.lowe@autocare.org.