The class will be held from May 14 to 19, from 8 am to 6 pm each day with a one hour lunch.Tuition for this class is $799, and it will be held at the CR main eureka campus.

For working technicians with ASE certifications, only this class and one short weekend class are needed in order to apply for Smog Technician certification.

The Clean Air course will offer training on the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) smog analyzer, state regulations regarding smog testing and repair, diagnosis and repair of smog-related automobile problems, high-tech diagnosis of engine performance and smog related issues.

CR will continue to offer a selection of Smog Technician training classes, including the BAR Update class, to help current automotive smog technicians meet their continuing education requirements and stay licensed.CR will also provide the classes for people wanting to become licensed Smog Technicians but are not yet ASE certified.The class schedule is listed at this link: http://www.redwoods.edu/departments/community-ed/SmogTrainingProgram.asp .

This new program is made possible in part by funding CR received though the Headwaters Fund to help local automotive technicians increase their skills without leaving the area and to provide residents better access to smog technician services.

To learn more about Smog Technician training contact CRs Business Training Center at 269-4000 or stop by CRs Eureka Downtown Instructional Site at 605 K Street, Eureka.

Our organization concentrates strictly on suggesting bad credit auto financing options for brand new as well as second-hand automobile loans.

The funding will then be used to support wide-ranging trials designed to assess the viability of a range of alternative fuel vehicles.

To be eligible, vehicles must deliver carbon savings of at least 15 per cent compared with conventional vehicles.

These trials will show us how low-carbon technologies perform day-to-day in the real world, providing vital data to build operator confidence in these green trucks and allowing us to make policy choices based on hard evidence, said roads minister Mike Penning.

The investment in gas refuelling infrastructure will also give haulage firms a push to buy gas-powered HGVs – leaving a legacy that will support low-carbon transport well into the future.

The announcement comes several months after the government extended its electric car grant scheme to cover light weight electric vans, arguing that commercial vehicles that follow predictable routes are often more suited to alternative fuel technologies such as electric or fuel cell powered vehicles than consumer vehicles.

Bad credit auto loans are definitely the financing professional services which are available from Modern Auto Loans.

The hiring process is under way; jobs include sales staff, business office associates, automotive technicians and management assistants, spokeswoman Elia Imler said.

“Some management positions will transfer in from other stores and other positions will fly in to help train new associates, but we plan to hire as much as we can locally,” Imler said.

Landscaping and the roadside sign outside the 34,000-square-foot retail store were put in place this past week on the 18 acres on the southeast corner of Colonial Boulevard and Metro Parkway. The store is expected to open in June and will be the first Southwest Florida location for CarMax.

A second area location is scheduled to open in August at the intersection of Airport-Pulling Road and Prospect Avenue in East Naples. Hiring for that store will likely begin in July, Imler said.

Imler said the company does not disclose wages for its positions.

The company will likely find a strong supply of workers, said Barbara Hartman, spokeswoman for Southwest Florida Works.

“They should be able to fill those positions easily,” Hartman said. “There has been a great deal of expectation for that business because everyone has been able to watch that building going up.”

Lee County’s unemployment rate was 9.4 percent in February, the most recent data available. That is down from 11.4 percent in February 2011, but represents about 26,500 people looking for work.

Hartman said CarMax officials have told the center they won’t be using Southwest Florida Works’ hiring services, but employees at the career center have been sharing the jobs listings posted at the CarMax website with job seekers.

Nationally, CarMax reported total sales of $8.9 billion dollars in fiscal year 2011 and operates about 107 stores. The nearest stores to Southwest Florida now are in Tampa and Fort Lauderdale. The Fort Myers and Naples stores are among eight stores planned for the next year, including locations in Lancaster, Pa.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; and Bakersfield, Calif.

Modern Auto Loans can help you locate the best auto loan irregardless of past low credit auto history.

After substantial demand from the US Hispanic market, we are pleased
to finally make the CarMD product and information available with full
support for our Spanish speaking customers

“After substantial demand from the US Hispanic market, we are pleased
to finally make the CarMD product and information available with full
support for our Spanish speaking customers,” said Richard Amador,
director of marketing for CarMD. “CarMD is committed to offering all of
our customers the most precise information to diagnose and repair car
problems. We offer so much more than just a gadget. The true value of
CarMD is in the vast database, now available in Spanish, which provides
customers with the most statistically valid fix, down to parts and labor
costs in their postal code.”

Amador adds that in order to bring this product to the Spanish speaking
community, CarMD’s team of automotive technicians, many of whom are
native Spanish speakers, needed to ensure the product information and
database included accurate and up-to-date repair information properly
translated into Spanish, rather than just a few updated pages on a
website.

The CarMD Vehicle Health System is ready to use right out of the box,
and includes everything to monitor a car’s health – an easy-to-use
handheld device, Mac/PC software, USB cable, two AAA batteries, storage
case, and lifetime software and firmware updates. It works on all 1996
and newer cars, light trucks, vans, SUVs and hybrids manufactured for
use in North America – foreign and domestic. An ideal investment for
anyone who wants to save money on their car or truck, CarMD can be
purchased online at www.sp.carmd.com
for $119.85.

CarMD taps the same technology used by professional automotive
technicians, but no automotive experience is needed to use it. Just plug
the device into a vehicle’s on-board diagnostic port (don’t worry,
CarMD.com will show you where it is on your car), and CarMD does the
rest. The device is ideal for uncovering hidden car problems, inspecting
used cars, identifying problems that have a negative impact on fuel
economy, and diagnosing “check engine” light issues without needing to
pop the hood or get dirty. It includes lifetime software and firmware
updates and free access to CarMD’s award winning database to generate
personalized Vehicle Health Reports, which can reduce car repair bills.
These reports also reveal if your car has safety issues or recalls. When
repairs are required, CarMD tells you what’s wrong and what it will take
to fix it, including parts and labor costs in your region, so you don’t
overpay for repairs or waste time using the wrong part on a problem.

“CarMD is unlike any other product on the market – it’s both an
automotive and consumer electronics product with wide appeal to
virtually anyone who owns a vehicle from the cost-conscious
do-it-yourselfer, to the first time driver,” says Amador. “A consumer’s
most expensive investment (next to their home) is their car, and CarMD
is the only product offering the tools and information to protect that
investment. With drivers holding onto their vehicles longer than ever
before and gas prices on the rise, there couldn’t be a better time for
buyers to take notice of CarMD.”

The mission of CarMD.com Corporation is to empower consumers and the
vehicle market by providing the tools and information needed to make
better-educated decisions about vehicle health and maintenance. An ISO
9001:2008-certified company, CarMD’s premiere product is the CarMD®
Vehicle Health System(TM). The company has also built the largest, most
up-to-date database of diagnostic trouble codes, expert fixes and repair
costs. CarMD is currently available for purchase and use in the US and
Canada. It is not yet available in Mexico or Latin America.

For information about the company or to purchase products, US Spanish
speaking customers can visit www.sp.carmd.com.

(Media note: High resolution product photos and interviews with Mr.
Richard Amador are available upon request. Please contact: Ana M.
Gamonal de Navarro via email: ana@edfpr.com)

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50249731amp;lang=en

Acquire bad credit auto through absolutely no deposit or even a lower fico score quickly.

The Jena High School junior and his classmate, fellow junior Jarvis Andrews, tried to remove the bugs from a 2012 Ford Fusion and make it operational at the 2012 Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills Competition at the Alexandria Riverfront Center in downtown Alexandria.

In all, 20 students competed for prizes and $150,000 in scholarships. John Hoover and Moheb Alashmaly of McKinley High School in Baton Rouge won first place.

Jena High School took second place in the competition.

Youre competing against students from all over Louisiana, and it can be difficult, Larson said. You kind of feel like a doctor diagnosing mechanical problems. I want to thank my school automotive instructor (Ray Hodges) for helping us prepare for this competition.

Jessie Campbell, event coordinator and owner of Price Automotive in Alexandria, said the competition is to prepare students to be future automotive technicians.

The shade tree mechanic is dead because cars are becoming more complex because of the electronics installed in automobiles, he said. We call the bugs problems that the students have to find to make the car operational. We have a shortage of automotive technicians in this country and need more of them because this country takes pride in the auto industry.

Fuse and turn signal problems were some of the problems students had to diagnose and fix.

Don Redman, a AAA spokesman, said students competed for scholarships to attend Universal Technical Institute, Ranken Technical College, Nashville Auto-Diesel College and Ohio Technical College.

The top students from the competition will represent Louisiana in the National Finals in Dearborn, Mich., in early June, Redman said.

You need computers to fix the problems of automobiles, and this is a stepping stone for students to get the training they need to be automotive technicians, he said.

Students could be seen using computers and various tools to fix the cars. Tioga High School senior Nathan Spencer and junior Michael Wilson were among those competing. The team took ninth place.

Bad credit auto loans would be loan solutions sold at Modern Auto Loans.

BOISE -  Two high school seniors representing Cassia Regional Technology Center in Burley, Idaho took top honors at the May 4 state finals of the Idaho Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills competition in Boise, besting nine other teams and earning the right to represent the state at the national finals in June.

     Seniors Slade Beck and Taylor Grisham claimed top honors and scholarships and awards totaling  $44,500 each at the Auto Skills hands-on competition by correctly diagnosing and repairing a deliberately bugged 2012 Ford Fusion. The students and their instructor, Scott Street, will advance to the national finals next month in Dearborn, Michigan.

    On the strength of this teams strong written scores and perfect workmanship, this team was able to edge out a win over another top team from Mountain Home High School, said contest committee chairman Dave Carlson. This team was the only Idaho team to return a clean car, indicating they completed all repairs.

     Ten teams consisting of two students each competed against each other and the clock to repair identical, deliberately “bugged” vehicles at the event hosted by the College of Western Idaho in Boise. Teams are also judged on the accuracy and quality of workmanship. The top ten teams were selected from the highest written scores on a qualifying exam administered earlier this year.

      Mountain Home High School placed second in the competition. Students Jeffery Checketts and Austin Dejohn each received $26,000 in scholarships to various two-year automotive programs. Their instructor is Lynn Knudson.  

     A team from Pocatello High School took third place. Students David Angle and Kolter Deschamps each received $14,500 in scholarships. Their instructor is Roy Angle.

     The Blackfoot High School team of Josh Spiegel and James Montgomery earned the highest written qualifying score in the state. The schools with the ten highest written qualifying scores in Idaho advanced to the hands on competition to compete. Blackfoots instructor is Dallen Worthington.   

Scholarships and Awards

      Sponsors and schools donated prizes and scholarships totaling about $200,000. The purpose of the competition is to encourage students to pursue their education and positions in the auto technology field.

     The winning team from Burley won scholarships and prizes totaling $89,000. Students representing all ten teams were guaranteed at least two scholarships to schools that offer two-year associate degrees.

  Schools, students, sponsors and consumers are all winners in a competition that encourages these students to continue their education in this field, Carlson said. Altogether, the state and national competitions include scholarships and prize packages totaling $12 million in 2012.    

Purpose of the Competition

     Advancing technologies and the retirement of existing auto technicians will spawn a greater need for automotive technicians in the future.

     The automotive industry wants good, dependable auto technicians now and into the future, said AAA Idaho spokesman Dave Carlson. Thats fitting with our goal to encourage these high school students to pursue post-secondary education in this field.

    Beyond that, AAA said that cutting edge advancements in safety, fuel management and safety have led to an increasing reliance on computers and electronic components. The long-term prognosis is for good-paying, competitive jobs that will attract excellent candidates with computer skills.

2012 Idaho Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills Contest Winners

First Place:  Cassia Regional Tech., Slade Beck – Taylor Grisham; Scott Street, instructor.

Second Place: Mountain Home HS, Jeffery Checketts – Austin Dejohn; Lynn Knudson, instructor.

Third Place:  Pocatello HS., David Angle – Kolter Deschamps; Roy Angle, instructor.

Fourth Place: Boise Prof. Tech Ed Center, Dylan Sword – Theodore Long; Ron Martinez, instructor.

Fifth Place:  Eastern Idaho Tech Ctr, Idaho Falls,  Tyler Young – Derick Mondy; Colby Park, instructor.

Sixth Place:  Rigby HS, Gabe Mattson  – Trevor Avery; Veronica Robertson, instructor.

Seventh Place: Canyon Owyhee School Service, Tim Sevy – Alex Dow; Gary Schleicher, instructor.

Eighth Place: Blackfoot HS, Josh Spiegel -  James Montgomery;  Dallen Worthington, instructor.  

Ninth Place:  Bear Lake HS, Nic Johnson  – Quade Smith; Randy Robbins, instructor.

Tenth Place: Boise Prof. Tech Ed Center, Alex Inskeep – Jacob Yates;  John Lindsay, instructor.

#   #   #

AAA Idaho is affiliated with AAA Oregon/Idaho, which provides 746,000 members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive related services. AAA serves 52 million motorists in North America.

LOCAL EDITORS: Photos of the high school team closest to your location will be sent via email under separate cover

#      #     #

AAA Idaho is affiliated with AAA Oregon/Idaho, providing more than 746,000 members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive related services. AAA serves 53 million member motorists in North America.

 Editor:  An audio version of this news release is available on the AAA News Hotline. In Boise, call 342-9391. Outside Boise, call toll free, 1-800-999-9391. Ask for the AAA News Hotline.

News Release

?

7155 W. Denton St.

Boise, ID  83704

208-342-9391

www.AAA.com

Serving Members

Since 1920

Bad credit auto loans can be the lending solutions made available from Modern Auto Loans.

Education Reporter

WATERLOO—The whistle blew every five minutes, sending another cluster of teens off to the next table for a fresh sales pitch about another skilled trade.

Welders, technicians, chefs, and mechanics were set up in a corner of a packed Waterloo trade exhibition last week where 30,000 shuffling teens were seeking career inspiration among whining power tools and sparkling technology.

A new kind of hard-sell was underway.

In a twist on speed-dating, the handful of skilled trades workers had just five minutes to make small groups of students fall in love with their trades.

For two hours of “speed-mentoring” at the Ontario Technological Skills Competition, students were courted with first-hand tales of rich paycheques, lush job prospects and the kind of work you control from start to finish. Heady stuff as concern grows over the job market for university grads.

It’s part of a larger, urgent courtship Ontario has launched to woo young people to the skilled trade jobs that have long been the wallflowers of higher education but are key to the province’s economy.

“Do you like robots? Do you like welding? You can program robots that actually do welding,” raved welding professor Laura Potje to three Grade 9 students from John F. Ross Collegiate in Guelph. For a touch of drama, she donned a welding mask painted like a wild boar that she makes students wear if they do something wrong.

“What’s your idea of a good salary?” Potje continued. “I know a welder who makes $250,000 a year in Alberta right now — only four years out of college. What do you think of that?”

A sexy sales pitch was in progress at the automotive technicians’ table, where Jason Hardie and Mark Morris fairly bragged about being on the crew of Canada’s top-fuel dragster.

“It can go 500 kilometres an hour and does a lap in 4.6 seconds,” purred Hardie. “Every time it goes down the track we have to completely rebuild the engine. But you can make $30 an hour as a licensed mechanic, and on the racing circuit you get to see places like Las Vegas and Florida and Pomona, Calif.”

But those skills are needed here, warned MPP Glen Murray, minister of training, colleges and universities.

“Ontario needs to create 30,000 more apprentices a year to meet the market demand by 2025,” he said at the packed trades expo Tuesday. More apprenticeship funding and new tax credits for employers helped Ontario double the number of apprentices in eight years to 120,000 in 2010. But those jobs are still a hard sell to parents fixated on the professions.

“We’ve had a bit of a bias — everyone wants to be a lawyer or a doctor and there’s been a pejorative view of those who want to be plumbers or pipefitters, but they’re a critical skill set for the Ontario economy,” said Murray, who noted his son is interested in becoming a roofer.

Ontario is facing an overall labour shortage as the baby boomers retire. A report by former Seneca College president Rick Miner warned the shortfall could reach a “catastrophic” 1.8 million workers by 2031.

Auto shops are already crying for workers, as Catherine Poultney, president of Teeple Tire and Automotive, told the students at her table.

“There is such a shortage some places are bringing in foreign workers, which is too bad because this is a job that can pay $24 to $38 an hour and it’s common for dealerships to pay their technicians a six-figure salary.”

That got the attention of Steve White-Green, a Grade 9 student from John F. Ross Collegiate. “I like working with my hands and this was really helpful (talking with Poultney) because I didn’t really know how apprenticeships worked,” he said.

Yorkville hairdresser Robin Barker told the largely male crowd not to rule out hairdressing as a way to run your own business “and meet girls.” Chef Lora Kirk who has been on Iron Chef America, and won awards for restaurants in Toronto and New York City, urged students to spend at least a day visiting whatever workplace they’re considering before making any decision.

Grade 7 student Clark Whelton tagged along with his big sister and was keen on the welding presentation..

“Why not? It’s basically playing with fire and melting metals. That’s pretty cool — and you make good money.”

• Email
• Print
• Republish

• Add to Favourites

• Report an error

• Rss

Today we specialize in providing bad credit auto loans services for brand new or even used automobile loans.

But our American shade of green is only part of the spectrum. As we celebrate Earth Day this weekend, lets broaden our horizons and look at how the green consumer experience in America compares with eco-consumerism elsewhere around the globe.

Q: What exactly is green consumerism?

A: It simply means that individuals have the opportunity and desire to consider environmental impacts when making purchases and other everyday choices.

Q: Before we visit other countries, what are some key trends in environmental consumerism in the US?

A: American entrepreneurship and grass-roots innovation have helped spawn a vast selection of green products, services and activities. Many products now widely available, from organic foods to green building materials, were first developed by small businesses or individuals.

Currently, however, large corporations such as Home Depot, Ford and General Electric are driving the green-consumerism bus in this country. Although environmental activists still have a presence in America, their green power seems limited compared to the influence of big business. Much of that corporate influence is positive, because large companies do help make green products more available to the public.

Certain eco-consumer issues rise to the top in every nation, and food and health concerns have been paramount in the US

Environmental consumerism in America varies greatly depending on location, with some regions such as the Pacific Northwest much greener than others. Many green businesses have a regional customer base, and the few eco-consumer-related regulations in the US have been enacted mostly by states, not nationally.

Q: So whats going on in the rest of the world on the green-consumer front?

A: Governments play a larger role in many other countries. Regulations, legislation and subsidies help foster green consumerism, from Brazil to Australia to many European nations. Activists and political parties such as the Green Party also have significant clout in Germany and elsewhere.

Q: In the rest of the world, does environmental consumerism revolve around buying products the way it does in the US?

A: Not always. In Scandinavian nations, for instance, green consumerism is more like green citizenship and has a strong public-health emphasis. This is illustrated by high-profile programs in those countries that provide abundant, safe options for urban cycling and walking.

Green consumer sentiment may also be heavily influenced by events. For example, interest in renewable energy has soared in Japan since the earthquake-related Fukushima nuclear meltdowns in March, 2011.

Q: How about a few more green-consumer highlights from other countries?

A: Japanese auto manufacturers, who brought the world the hybrid Toyota Prius and electric Nissan Leaf, are staying in the green-technology fast lane by focusing now on developing low-cost, zero-emissions consumer vehicles.

In green-consumer education, England and Ireland have taken a bite out of food waste, with groundbreaking national campaigns providing practical tips to help consumers stop throwing out so much usable food.

A countrys overall approach to environmental protection provides the foundation for green consumerism. Peru is the most sustainable nation in the world, according to the Worldwatch Institute, based largely on the Peruvian governments efforts to protect its abundant forests and other natural resources.

Many countries, such as the Philippines, have strong traditions of home water conservation and other practical green household activities. Young consumers in China increasingly seek out electronics and other products with smaller environmental footprints.

Q: With the Internet, smartphones and social media, isnt it much easier nowadays to learn from other countries?

A: Its easier, but global exchange of green consumer information is still much less widespread than you might think. Many of the worlds citizens, businesses and governments seem to have environmental tunnel vision, focusing only on whats going on in their own country or city.

In America and around the world, well all live better and greener if we share our successes and dont always try to reinvent the green wheel.

Tom Watson is project manager for King Countys Recycling and Environmental Services. Reach him at tom.watson@kingcounty.gov, 206-296-4481 or www.KCecoconsumer.com. On Twitter @ecoconsumer.

Modern Auto Loans will enable you to locate the best auto loan regardless of recent horrible credit automobile rating.

Developed specifically for professional automotive technicians, parts
professionals and highly skilled do-it-yourselfers, the Wells video library now
includes 23 in-depth, on-vehicle diagnostic case studies of driveability issues
commonly encountered in the service bay. Video content is developed in response
to requests received by the Wells Technical Service department from
technicians, shop owners and other industry professionals. Nearly 3,400 YouTube
users a large percentage of whom are vehicle service professionals now
subscribe to the company#x2019;s three YouTube video channels, the company points
out. Thousands more gain access via the #x201C;Wells Tech#x201D; link at www.wellsVE.com.

#x201C;Our technical training series is truly user-driven, so the problems we tackle
are real diagnostic challenges that are costing shops time and money every day.
Our team details every step in the diagnosis and repair process so the viewer
can avoid customer comebacks and lost revenue,#x201D; said Steve Hildebrand, director
of marketing, Wells Vehicle Electronics.

The latest Wells video, #x201C;P0171 Challenging Diagnostics Chevrolet
Trailblazer,#x201D; tackles a recurring driveability complaint that was misdiagnosed
by a dealership service department and subsequently brought to the attention of
an independent repair facility. All of the videos are researched, scripted and
produced by the Wells Technical Services department.

#x201C;The popularity of these programs shows that technicians and other automotive
professionals are spending a great deal of time beyond their normal workday in
researching the problems they face in the repair bay,#x201D; said Wells Technical
Services Manager Mark Hicks. #x201C;We are answering a very real need for practical,
hands-on technical information that#x2019;s not about selling parts, but helping our
customers become more skilled in solving highly complex diagnostic issues.#x201D;

The Wells library now includes the following free videos:

P0171 Challenging
Diagnostics Chevrolet Trailblazer
Toyota P0441/ P0446
EVAP Vacuum Switching Valve
Odd Misfire Problems
Cummins TPS
Diagnostics/Non-Contact TPS Technology
Jeep No Crank/No Start
Four Pin Relay Diagnostics
Chrysler P0406 EGR
Diagnostics
Ford Starter Solenoid
Troubleshooting Replacement amp; Function
Chevrolet/GMC Sticky
Poppet Injector Diagnosis amp; Repair
Dodge EVAP Diagnosis
amp; Repair
ABS Diagnosis amp;
Repair
Computer #x201C;No
Communication#x201D;
Nissan Cam/Crank
Sensor Testing, Throttle Body Cleaning
amp;
Idle Air Relearn (P0507)
GM 3.1 EGR
Replacement/Port Cleaning
GM 3.1 Cam Sensor
Replacement
LS711/LS922
Chrysler/Jeep Ignition Switch
Ford#x2019;s Early EGR
Pressure Sensor Diagnosis amp; Replacement
GM Type I DIS
DR143/DR148/C860 Testing amp; Replacement
Chrysler 1995-03
2.0-2.4L Cam Sensor Replacement
Oxygen Sensor Heater
Circuit Testing
Digital Mass Air Flow
(MAF) Sensor Diagnostics
GM Type II DIS System
Cylinder Misfire Detection
Blower Motor amp;
Resistor Diagnostics
Delta Pressure
Feedback EGR by Ford Diagnostics and Repair

Each video can be accessed by entering the title in the search bar on YouTube.com or
through the #x201C;Wells Tech#x201D; link on wellsVE.com.

In addition to web-based video training and an array of interactive resources
offered through wellsVE.com, Wells offers a toll-free
technical support hotline featuring Master and L1 ASE-certified technicians.
This service is available at 1-800-558-9770, Option 3 (7:30 am 7 pm CST),
or by email at technical@wellsVE.com.

Choose bad credit auto utilizing no advance payment or even a reduced credit score fast.

(SAN FRANCISCO) – Thousand of people receive calls from telemarketers selling debt reduction services or credit cards with promised lower interest rates; selling extended auto service contracts after telling them their warranties were about to expire; or telling consumers that they have won or are specially selected to receive a vacation package.

Many of these worthless or dubious deals are offered by companies operating autodialing businesses, which deliver prerecorded messages that allow clients to deliver large numbers of prerecorded phone calls, or “robocalls.” The prerecorded messages would last just a few seconds. If a call recipient who received a prerecorded message pressed “1″ during the message, the recipient would be transferred to a live operator who would attempt to sell the product or service.

In 2003, the Federal Trade Commission promulgated the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) (www.ftc.gov/os/2002/12/tsrfinalrule.pdf), which implements the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act, 15 USC. 6101,­ 6108, as amended. The TSR covers telemarketing – any plan, program, or campaign to sell goods or services through interstate telephone calls. The TSR requires telemarketers to make certain disclosures and prohibits misrepresentations. It gives state law enforcement officers the authority to prosecute fraudulent telemarketers who operate across state lines. And it gives consumers instructions on how to stop unwanted calls.

In 2009, the TSR was amended to specifically address robocalls. An FTC Business Alert Reining in Robocalls discusses the amendment. (alt161-reining-robocalls-1.pdf)

However, companies such as banks, telephone companies, and airlines, which are exempt from FTC regulation, will now need to comply with the requirements as adopted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC rules on calls to wireless phones apply to both voice calls and text messages. (http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2012/db0215/FCC-12-21A1.pdf

Oregon prohibits political candidates and businesses from making robocalls. Washington state prohibits robocalls for commercial purposes.

In 2003, Congress gave the FTC authority to establish and enforce the National Do Not Call Registry.

The Do Not Call Registry is a list of phone numbers from consumers who want to limit the telemarketing calls they receive. The Registry is managed and enforced by the FTC, the FCC, and state officials. (http://business.ftc.gov/documents/alt129-qa-telemarketers-sellers-about-dnc-provisions-tsr) Most telemarketers should not call your number(s) once it has been on the registry for 31 days. If they do, consumers can file a complaint at the Do Not Call Registry website. Consumers are advised to place their telephone number(s) on the Do Not Call Registry. (www.donotcall.gov)

This year, under a settlement in FTC V. Asia Pacific Telecom, Inc. d/b/a SBN Peripherals, Inc., et al. (www.ftc.gov/os/caselist/1023060/120328asiapacificstip.pdf), SBN Peripherals, Inc., a robocall operation based in Los Angeles, was put out of the telemarketing business. This case is an excellent example of how a robocall company operates and the magnitude of the problem. This company bombarded consumers with more than two billion calls pitching a variety of products and services, including worthless extended auto warranties and credit card interest rate-reduction programs.

The order bans the defendants from telemarketing and requires them to give up roughly $3 million in assets.

The FTCs complaint alleges that the defendants delivered illegal prerecorded phone calls falsely claiming the caller had urgent information about the consumers auto warranty or credit card interest rate. Consumers who pressed 1 for more information were transferred to telemarketers who used fraudulent practices to sell inferior extended auto service contracts or worthless debt-reduction services. According to court papers filed by the court-appointed receiver, from January 2008 through August 2009, the defendants completed approximately 2.6 billion outbound robocalls that were answered by approximately 1.6 billion consumers, approximately 12.8 million of whom were connected to a sales agent.

To hear telemarketing sales pitches used by these defendants, go to auto warranty 1 (www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/06/audio/autowarranty-ex1.wav), auto warranty 2 (www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/06/audio/autowarranty-ex2.wav), credit card 1(www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/06/audio/creditcard-ex1.mp3), and credit card 2 (www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/06/audio/creditcard-ex2.mp3)

Of course, the plethora of laws will slow down, but not stop telemarketing abuses. Crooks dont always obey the law. What is also needed is alert, careful consumers.

What do you do if you receive a robocall?

• Never give personal information, including Social Security, bank or credit card numbers, over the telephone to an unknown caller.

Bad credit auto loans are often the finance options which are available from Modern Auto Loans.