hear from their constituents, Molino said, so all dealership’s and their employees are vital to this effort. RVDA sent letters to President-elect Barack Obama and Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson with the important message that banks and other financial institutions receiving aid under the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) and other initiatives need to make consumer loans available for RVs on an equal basis with loans for automobiles, educational expenses, and purchases with credit cards.
"Your letters and e-mails on this issue will also raise the industry’s visibility in Washington," Molino said.
Molino suggested incorporating these talking points into letters sent by dealers and their employees:
- The year, a sharp drop in consumer confidence and credit problems that are rooted in real estate and sub-prime lending practices that the recreation community had no role in creating.
- There are an estimated 12,332 RV-related businesses in the nation with a combined payroll of nearly $5 billion for American workers in the manufacturing, retail and service sectors – employment which totals some 150,000.
- One out of every 12 American households owns an RV – a category that ranges from inexpensive pop-up tent campers to large, self-propelled motorhomes. Today, there are 8.5 million RVs in operation, three-quarters of which are towed units, not motorhomes.
- Describe your personal story and detail what has happened to your business in terms of sales and jobs. Humanize the impact and talk about the pain of cutting back on jobs, benefits and expansion plans.
- Include a clear “ask.” You, your employees, and your customers need help. You need the member to make sure that congressional support for businesses and consumers includes help for the RV and outdoor recreation industry. Ask the congressional member to write a letter to President-elect Obama making these points:
- Economic recovery depends heavily on a rebound in consumer confidence, and consumers who are credit-worthy and encounter barriers to financing purchases will make this rebound more difficult.
- Both banks and non-bank financial concerns being aided under Troubled Assets Relief Program and other initiatives need to make consumer loans available for all traditional uses, including purchases of recreational items including boats and RVs, on an equal basis with loans for automobiles, educational expenses and purchases with credit cards. Note the special importance of this provision to employment in the United States associated with the RV industry, where an overwhelming majority of the new units are US-manufactured.
- The Treasury Department should address the issues faced by recreation businesses in commercial lending – often referred to as floor-plan financing – which has exacerbated the challenges faced by recreation businesses across the nation as sales have slowed.
To view a copy of a letter sent by RVDA and RVIA to President-Elect Obama and Treasury Secretary Paulson, click here.
SOURCE: RV Dealers Association
December 15, 2008
