After Arnold whittled down
car buyers’ protections in the "Car Buyers Bill of Rights" law last
year, you might think that the $500K he has received from car dealers
and auto manufacturers over the past two weeks is just a thank you. But
the Gov had already received over $2 million from dealers and other
auto industry interests prior to this half mil, including $642,000 last
year after he signed the bill.

One largely
unnoticed change to the car buyers legislation might explain why the
money is starting to roll in now, as dealers prepare for the law’s July
implementation. The bill placed Arnold’s Dep’t of Motor Vehicles in
charge of overseeing enforcement of key provisions of the law. Dealers
want to keep Arnold happy so Arnold keeps the DMV from aggressive
oversight. ArnoldWatch readers will remember that one of Arnold’s first
acts as Gov. was to ax former DMV head Steve Gourley, who was despised
by car dealers for cracking down on deceptive dealership practices (http://arnoldwatch.org/blogs/blogs_000031.php3). So if you go to buy a car this summer keep one hand on the bill of rights and hold onto to your wallet with the other.