Text Box: CSSARA NEWS FAX June 22, 2005 Phone 415/  892-1243  FAX 415/ 892-4173 Text Box: Issue 10.05   Text Box: California Service Station & Automotive Repair Association 1202 Grant Ave., Suite B1 Novato, CA  94945 Text Box: Independent Valero Retailers Chapter Oppose Valero-Premcor Merger CSSARA’S IVRC Chapter (Independent Valero Retailers of California) has officially opposed the merger of Valero and Premcor.  CSSARA’s Executive Director Dennis DeCota has written to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) bringing up issues of the misrepresentations Valero made to California dealers.  The IVRC Chapter is currently in litigation with Valero for pricing as well as environmental issues.  When Valero entered into the market after purchasing the Exxon Mobil refinery in Benicia, California retailers were promised that Valero would have a competitive price methodology – that is, a discounted product to compete with majors such as BP/Arco.    That has not been the case.  Valero has emulated the other major oil companies in their pricing policies, which is a complete turnaround from what their President William Greehey stated.  The IVRC group believes that further consolidation of the petroleum industry is not in the best interest of independent retailers who need an independent refiner in order to purchase cost effective unbranded gasoline as well as Valero branded gasoline. In their response to CSSARA the FTC has asked us for information about anti-competitive pricing conduct and other possible anti-trust violations.  CSSARA is in the process of putting this information together.  CSSARA has also contacted the California Attorney General’s office about this and will be meeting with them in July.  CSSARA - ARC Merger Being Considered   Text Box:   Text Box:       CSSARA - ARC Merger Being Considered The Automotive Repair Coalition (ARC) and the California Service Station and Automotive Repair Association (CSSARA) are exploring the possibility of the two organizations merging.  ARC is a strong advocate of the automotive aftermarket in Sacramento, and their Executive Director is former Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) Chief, Marty Keller.   CSSARA and ARC are evaluating the creation of a single large association with increased buying power in order to be able to offer membership services at discounted rates.  Both Boards are in the process of due diligence to see how the merger would benefit each entity.  We will keep you updated.   Text Box: Update on CSSARA-Sponsored Legislation – Consumer Choice on Smog Check       CSSARA-sponsored AB 578 (Horton) has made it through the entire Assembly process, including the floor vote, without a single dissenting vote on the measure.  This bill would allow consumer choice on smog check.  The bill is set to go through the Senate Transportation & Housing Committee on July 5th.  It is imperative that those who are in support of this legislation provide financial support to CSSARA’s efforts in this endeavor.  To pass this meaningful legislation, CSSARA has spent far more than it has received in contributions.  As a non-profit, we are used to working on a thin budget, but these expenses have created a large shortfall for CSSARA.  Our members need to step up now with their contributions to enable us to make effective change in legislation to help small business.   Text Box: Valero Delivery System Hurts Dealers       Valero Refining has had a great deal of trouble getting their act together when it comes to making timely deliveries of gasoline to their retailers.  CSSARA and the Independent Valero Retailers Chapter (IVRC) have formally put Valero on notice regarding this practice.  In a letter to Vice President of Marketing, Michael Ciskowski, CSSARA has informed Valero of the damages they are causing by not delivering gasoline to their marketers in a timely manner, causing many run-outs.  Action correcting this delivery problem is required and we will keep you informed on Valero’s response on this important issue.   Text Box: CSSARA Web Page for Keeping Abreast       A valuable source of information for CSSARA members and others is our web page.  Through the efforts of our webmaster Jim Zalpis, owner of JLZ Business Services, a service station accounting firm, www.cssara.org is receiving more than 500 hits per month.  Jim has done an outstanding job of creating and maintaining a top-notch informational site for keeping abreast of important issues happening within the petroleum and automotive aftermarket industries.