[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 239 (Wednesday, December 12, 2012)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 73912-73916]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-29901]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
16 CFR Part 455
Used Motor Vehicle Trade Regulation Rule
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'') has
completed its regulatory review of its Used Motor Vehicle Trade
Regulation Rule (``Used Car Rule'' or ``Rule'') as part of the FTC's
systematic review of all current Commission regulations and guides. The
Commission has decided to retain the Rule and to issue this final rule
making nonsubstantive revisions to the Spanish translation of the Used
Car Buyers Guide and nonsubstantive technical changes to the Rule. The
revisions to the Spanish translation were published for public comment
when the Commission announced its regulatory review of the Rule.
DATES: Effective Date: This rule is effective on February 11, 2013.
ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of this document should be sent to:
Public Records Branch, Room 130, Federal Trade Commission, 600
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20580. This document, and
public records related to the FTC's regulatory review, are also
available at that address and at www.ftc.gov.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John C. Hallerud, Attorney, Midwest
Region, Federal Trade Commission, 55 West Monroe, Suite 1825, Chicago,
Illinois 60603, (312) 960-5634.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Commission promulgated the Used Car Rule in 1984 and the Rule
became effective in 1985.\1\ The Used Car Rule is intended primarily to
prevent oral misrepresentations and unfair omissions of material facts
by used car dealers concerning warranty coverage. To accomplish that
goal, the Rule provides a uniform method for disclosing warranty
information on a window sticker called the ``Buyers Guide'' that
dealers are required to display on used cars. The Rule requires used
car dealers to disclose on the Buyers Guide whether they are offering a
used car for sale with a dealer's warranty and, if so, the basic terms,
including the duration of coverage, the percentage of total repair
costs to be paid by the dealer, and the exact systems covered by the
warranty. The Rule additionally provides that the Buyers Guide
disclosures are to be incorporated by reference into the sales
contract, and are to govern in the event of an inconsistency between
the Buyers Guide and the sales contract.
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\1\ 49 FR 45692 (Nov. 19, 1984).
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Among other information, the Buyers Guide includes: (1) A
suggestion that consumers ask the dealer if a pre-purchase inspection
is permitted; (2) a warning against reliance on spoken promises that
are not confirmed in writing; and (3) a list of fourteen major systems
of a used motor vehicle and the major defects that may occur in these
systems.
The Rule prescribes Spanish language versions of the Buyers Guide
when dealers conduct sales in Spanish.\2\ In 1995, as part of its
periodic review, the Commission amended the Used Car Rule by,\3\ among
other things, adopting several minor grammatical changes to the Spanish
language version of the Buyers Guide.
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\2\ 16 CFR 455.5.
\3\ 60 FR 62195 (Dec. 5, 1995).
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II. Analysis
On July 21, 2008, the Commission announced in the Federal Register
its regulatory review of the Rule as part of the FTC's systematic
review of its rules and guides.\4\ The Commission has decided to retain
the Rule, to revise the Spanish translation of the Buyers Guide as
proposed in that Federal Register document, and to make three
nonsubstantive technical changes to the text of the Rule.
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\4\ 73 FR 42285 (July 21, 2008). In a separate Federal Register
document, the Commission is publishing a notice of proposed
rulemaking (``NPR'') addressing the comments received during its
review and inviting public comment on whether to amend the Rule and
to revise the Buyers Guide. The NPR seeks comments on, among other
things, adding a statement, in Spanish, to the English Buyers Guide
suggesting that Spanish-speaking consumers who cannot read the
English Buyers Guide ask for a copy of it in Spanish.
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A. Changes to Spanish Translation of Buyers Guide
During the regulatory review, the Commission received one comment
favoring the translation changes,\5\ and none opposing them. The
Commission received two comments recommending that the Rule require
translations of the Buyers Guide into the language used to conduct the
sale.\6\ Two comments state that the Buyers Guide should not be
translated into Spanish.\7\
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\5\ Joint letter from the Consumer Action, Consumers for Auto
Reliability and Safety, Consumer Federation of America, Consumer
Federation of California, National Consumer Law Center, U.S. Public
Interest Group, Watsonville Law Center (collectively referred to as
``CARS,'' which signed the joint letter) at 31-35 (page numbers
added for convenience). The comment from CARS and other comments
that were received by the Commission in response to the regulatory
review are available at http://www.ftc.gov/os/comments/usedcarrule/index.shtm. Additional comments on the regulatory review, submitted
during a second comment period, are available at http://www.ftc.gov/os/comments/usedcarrulereopen/index.shtm.
The comment from CARS also proposes numerous corrections to the
Spanish translation, such as correcting missing accents and
typographical errors. These errors appeared in the Spanish Buyers
Guide available on the FTC's Web site, but were not part of the
amended Spanish Buyers Guide that was adopted by the Commission and
published in the Federal Register in 1995. After receiving the CARS
comment, the FTC Web site version of the Buyers Guide was corrected.
The current Federal Register notice document incorporates those
changes and makes the additional translation revisions described in
this document.
\6\ CARS at 24-25; Broward County, Florida, Permitting,
Licensing and Consumer Protection Division at 7 (Sept. 19, 2008).
\7\ Sachau, Barbara (consumer) (July 21, 2008); King, Monty
(Oregon Vehicle Dealer Association) (Aug. 27, 2008).
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During the original 1984 rulemaking, the Commission chose to
translate the Buyers Guide only into Spanish. At that time, the
Commission considered whether to require a translation of the Buyers
Guide into the language used to conduct a used car sale.\8\ The
Commission concluded that such a requirement could result in
translations of the Buyers Guides of varying linguistic quality and
accuracy unless the Commission published official translations of the
Buyers Guide into the various languages used in the United States.\9\
The Commission decided to limit the translation of the Buyers Guide to
Spanish because, besides English, Spanish is the language most
frequently used in the United States during used car transactions.\10\
The Commission sees no reason to revisit its earlier decision and
declines to propose requiring translations of the Buyers Guide into
languages other than English and Spanish.
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\8\ Trade Regulation Rule Concerning Used Motor Vehicles,
Statement of Basis and Purpose and Regulatory Analysis (``SBP''), 49
FR 45692, at 45711 (1984).
\9\ Id.
\10\ Id.
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B. Technical Revisions to the Rule
The Commission is also making three minor nonsubstantive changes to
the Rule. First, the Commission is correcting a typographical error by
changing ``diffential'' to ``differential'' in 16 CFR 455.2(b)(2)(ii).
Second, the Commission is correcting the terminology used in 16 CFR
455.2(d) by changing the term ``name'' to ``make.'' Finally, the
Commission is changing the example of an automobile make in 16 CFR
455.2(d) from ``Vega'' to ``Corvette'' because the Vega has not been
manufactured since 1977.
III. Procedural Requirements
A. Administrative Procedure Act
Section 1029(d) of Title X of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and
Consumer Protection Act \11\ authorizes the Commission to use
Administrative Procedure Act \12\ procedures to issue or amend rules
with respect to motor vehicle dealers predominantly engaged in the sale
and servicing, or leasing and servicing, of motor vehicles. Pursuant to
this authority, the Commission is implementing several technical
amendments to the Used Car Rule.
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\11\ Public Law 111-203, Title X, Sec. 1029(d); 12 U.S.C.
5519(d).
\12\ 5 U.S.C. 553.
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The Commission finds good cause to adopt these changes without
further public comment. Under the APA, notice and comment are not
required ``when the agency for good cause finds (and incorporates the
finding and a brief statement of reasons therefore in the rules issued)
that notice and public procedure thereon are impracticable,
unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest.'' \13\
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\13\ 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B).
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In this case, the Commission finds that additional public comment
on the rule is unnecessary because the Commission has already provided
an opportunity for public comment on these revisions to the Spanish
[[Page 73914]]
translation of the Buyers Guide. Specifically, the Commission requested
public comment on these revisions to the Spanish translation of the
Buyers Guide as part of its regulatory review of the Buyers Guide. See
73 FR 42285. In response to the Commission's request for comment on
these proposed changes, the Commission received one comment favoring
the translation changes,\14\ and no comments opposing the changes.
Accordingly, the Commission has determined that the public has had
sufficient opportunity to comment on the proposed changes. As a result,
additional opportunity for public comment is unnecessary.
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\14\ Joint letter from CARS, at 31-35.
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Moreover, additional public comment is unnecessary because the
changes are merely nonsubstantive revisions to ensure the clarity and
accuracy of the translation of the Buyers Guide. The Commission finds
that these technical, nonsubstantive changes are minor, routine
clarifications of the text of the Spanish translation that will not
have a significant effect on industry or the public, and therefore
additional public comment is unnecessary.
Accordingly, the Commission finds that there is good cause for
adopting this final rule as effective on February 11, 2013.
B. Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (``RFA'') requires an agency to
provide a Final Regulatory Flexibility Act Analysis (``FRFA'') when
promulgating a final rule that cannot be promulgated without publishing
a proposed rulemaking.\15\ An FRFA is not necessary if a general notice
of proposed rulemaking is not required for promulgation or if the
agency certifies that the rule will not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities.\16\
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\15\ 5 U.S.C. 604(a).
\16\ Id.
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The Commission anticipates that the final Rule will not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
The amended Rule, like the current Used Car Rule, does not contain
reporting or recordkeeping requirements, but does require that dealers
disclose certain information. The amended Rule requires only that
dealers use a revised Spanish Buyers Guide when conducting sales in
Spanish. The amended Rule does not impose additional recordkeeping
requirements or change the information that dealers themselves must
disclose on the Buyers Guide. Dealers will experience only an initial
cost in obtaining revised Spanish Buyers Guides and will be permitted
to use existing stocks of Spanish Buyers Guides. As such, the economic
impact of the Rule will be minimal.
This document serves as notice to the Small Business Administration
(``SBA'') of the agency's certification of no significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities.
C. Paperwork Reduction Act
The final Rule revises the Spanish translation of the Buyers Guide
that the Used Car Rule requires used car dealers to display. The final
Rule does not require dealers to disclose additional information that
they are not already required to provide under the current Rule. Thus,
the final Rule does not give rise to changes in the FTC's previously
submitted and approved ``collection of information'' requirements and
related Paperwork Reduction Act burden analysis for public comment \17\
and cleared by the Office of Management and Budget.\18\
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\17\ 76 FR 144 (Jan. 3, 2011); 75 FR 62538 (Oct. 12, 2010).
\18\ OMB Control No. 3084-0108 (exp. Feb. 28, 2014).
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D. Regulatory Analysis
Section 22 of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 57b, requires the Commission
to issue a preliminary regulatory analysis when promulgating a final
rule amending a rule if the Commission: (1) Estimates that the
amendment will have an annual effect on the national economy of
$100,000,000 or more; (2) estimates that the amendment will cause a
substantial change in the cost or price of certain categories of goods
or services; or (3) otherwise determines that the amendment will have a
significant effect upon covered entities or consumers.
A final regulatory analysis is not necessary because the Commission
has determined that these amendments to the Used Car Rule will not have
such an annual effect on the national economy, on the cost or prices of
goods or services sold by used car dealers, or on covered businesses or
consumers. Commission staff estimates that each business affected by
the final Rule will likely incur only minimal initial added compliance
costs as dealers obtain revised Spanish Buyers Guides.
IV. Conclusion
Accordingly, after review of the public comments, the Commission
has determined to amend 16 CFR 455.5 by translating the term ``dealer''
into Spanish as ``concesionario'' in footnote 4 of the rule and in the
accompanying illustration of the Spanish Buyers Guide. The Commission
is also revising the translation of certain other terms in the Guide as
follows: ``regardless of'' shall be translated as ``independientemente
de''; ``Frame-cracks'' shall be translated as ``Grietas en el chasis'';
``Cooling System'' shall be translated as ``Sistema de enfriamiento'';
``Air conditioner'' shall be translated as ``Aire acondicionado'';
``Defroster'' shall be translated as ``Desempa[ntilde]ador''; and ``Not
enough pedal reserve'' shall be translated as ``Distancia insuficiente
del pedal.'' \19\ Finally, the Commission is amending the Rule by
making the three nonsubstantive textual revisions described in Section
II.B. above.
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\19\ Dealers may use remaining stocks of existing Spanish Buyers
Guides.
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List of Subjects in 16 CFR Part 455
Motor vehicles, Trade practices.
Accordingly, for the reasons stated above, the Federal Trade
Commission amends part 455 of title 16 of the Code of Federal
Regulations as follows:
PART 455--USED MOTOR VEHICLE TRADE REGULATION RULE
0
1. Revise the authority citation for part 455 to read as follows:
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 2309; 15 U.S.C. 41-58.
Sec. 455.2 [Amended]
0
2. Revise Sec. 455.2 as follows:
0
a. In paragraph (b)(2)(ii), by removing the word ``diffential'' and
adding, in its place, the word ``differential;''
0
b. In paragraph (d), by removing the word ``name'' and adding, in its
place, the word ``make'' and by removing the word ``Vega'' and adding,
in its place, the word ``Corvette;''
0
3. Amend Sec. 455.5 as follows:
0
a. In footnote 4, by removing the word ``vendedor'' and adding, in its
place, the word ``concesionario;'' and
0
b. By removing the current illustration accompanying Sec. 455.5 and
adding, in its place, the following illustration:
Sec. 455.5 Spanish language sales.
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By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012-29901 Filed 12-11-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-C