How Did Auto Safety Advocacy Get Started?
Advocates for protecting car buyers made a big push in the 1970s. Ralph Nader founded Public Citizen, and he and Clarence Ditlow of the Center for Auto Safety (more on these groups in a moment) led the way pushing for reforms. These efforts helped get the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975 passed into law. That provided federal requirements on consumer product warranties, which included vehicle warranties.
Progressing into the 1980s, the first lemon law was established in 1982 in the State of Connecticut. Other states would follow suit, and then efforts were made in succeeding decades to establish a national database for checking if vehicles were being sold fraudulently. In 2009 advocacy groups helped make this a reality. The database became known at the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS). Vehicle title status can be checked across state lines. Consumers can check a vehicle’s theft history, its “junk,” “salvage,” or “flood” brand history, its odometer reading, and if it has been declared a “total loss” by an insurance company. While it doesn’t list a vehicle’s repair or maintenance history, this database is a huge help to consumers so they can avoid defective or fraudulent vehicles.
Three Groups That Fight for Automotive Consumer Protections
If we look at consumer advocacy through the last six decades, we’ll find a number of groups that stepped up to help shape current lemon laws. They’re still advocating today in the face of evolving automotive technology, pushing for even greater protections for vehicle owners. Let’s dig deeper into some of these groups’ work and see how it has contributed to the protections we now benefit from:
Consumer Reports Advocacy: For over 90 years, Consumer Reports’ advocacy division, formerly known as Consumers Union (this is separate from their product testing), has been a key advocate for automotive consumer protection. The organization’s knowledge of so many automotive safety areas and data helps it to push for important regulations. Consumer Reports Advocacy successfully pushed for electronic stability control to be required in all new vehicles. Today they work on advocacy to make autonomous vehicles safer and also on getting better vehicle warranty protection for consumers.
For more information on arbitration and other frequently asked lemon law and lease questions, click here.
The Center for Auto Safety: Ralph Nader’s work in 1970 included working with Consumers Union to establish The Center for Auto Safety.
The Center for Auto Safety is the leader in automotive safety advocacy. Their advocacy work was vital in creating state-level lemon laws. Above we discussed how they were the main advocates for Magnuson-Moss. They pushed for the implementation of airbags as standard safety equipment. Continued attention to vehicle defects led to numerous significant recalls, including issues with the Ford Pinto in the 1970s and Firestone tires in the 1990s. They provide a vehicle recall database and are well-known as a resource. Improvement of federal safety standards and the expansion of manufacturer warranty obligations are directly tied to their work.
Public Citizen, founded by Ralph Nader in 1971, has been a leading advocacy force. Their work includes pushing for the establishment of the previously mentioned NMVTIS. They lobby Congress, monitor the Department of Transportation, and conduct public awareness campaigns.
Decades of Advocacy Efforts Helped Establish Today’s Lemon Laws
All of the decades-long advocacy we’ve discussed here was the precursor to today’s lemon laws. These laws vary in each state, but they help consumers get a refund or replacement vehicle if they have purchased or leased a vehicle with substantial defects within a set period of time and after multiple failed repair attempts.
Our current lemon laws are important protections, but consumer advocacy groups aren’t stopping there. Recently, some states’ lemon laws have expanded to cover used vehicles and offer longer warranties due to Consumer Reports and the National Consumer Law Center’s advocacy. Consumers can sue manufacturers in federal court and recover attorney fees under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, the foundation of federal warranty protection.
How Does Advocacy Strengthen Lemon Laws?
It’s of great benefit to consumers that advocacy groups continue persistent lobbying efforts to establish standardized lemon laws at both federal and state levels. They do more than lobby lawmakers. They collect data on vehicle defects. These groups also document and track consumer complaints. With this data they can then demonstrate to legislators the need for stronger lemon laws and more auto-related consumer protections.
Advocacy groups were particularly influential in developing what lemon laws cover, including:
- Clear definitions of what constitutes a “lemon” vehicle
- Specific timeframes for manufacturers to address defects
- Requirements for reasonable repair attempts
- Mandatory buyback or replacement provisions
- Attorney fee provisions that make legal action accessible to consumers
Lemon laws are confusing. Read our guide to the lemon law complaint process.
How Are Advocacy Groups Working Today for Better Automotive Standards?
We owe so much to the groups we’ve discussed here and many other organizations that have fought for automotive-related consumer protections. These organizations continue to serve as watchdogs by:
- Providing consumer education about their rights
- Offering resources for filing claims
- Publishing reports on vehicle reliability
- Advocating for stronger enforcement mechanisms
With the emergence of hybrid and electric vehicles, consumer advocacy agencies are advocating for lemon law updates. Their goal is to help protect consumers who may purchase newer technology cars and find they can sometimes be defective with problems previous generations of cars weren’t subject to, such as faulty charging capabilities, driver assistance system issues, and more.
Keeping manufacturers accountable is another key area where advocacy groups will continue their work. Advocacy will continue in this area by pushing for:
- Better quality control
- Improved defect report response time
- Establishing better customer service protocols
- Broader definitions of what constitutes substantial defects
- Creating more transparent warranties
Where advocacy groups’ involvement really shines is in how they are examples of how to mount successful campaigns based on educating the public, conducting and analyzing research, and combining those with effective legal action.
Get Expert Representation for Your Lemon Law Claim
It’s because of the work of many consumer advocacy groups that we have our current (and still developing) lemon law protections. Allen Stewart, P.C. offers expert lemon law representation in Texas and many other states. If your vehicle is experiencing a substantial defect that the manufacturer cannot or will not fix after several attempts, please contact us. Our expert lemon law attorneys will evaluate your claim and determine if you have a case. We have successfully represented hundreds of vehicle owners to win their lemon law cases when they faced persistent, unfixable vehicle defects.
Contact Allen Stewart, P.C. by calling 866-440-2460 or contact us online.