Auto Group Agrees To Halt Pricing Activities

The largest automobile dealers association agreed Wednesday to stop coaching its members on how to limit price competition, marking an end to a major 16-month Justice Department probe of the industry.

The National Automobile Dealers Association’s goal often was to undermine discounts, deals and rebates offered by the “big three” - General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Corp. - according to Anne K. Bingaman, assistant attorney general in charge of the anti-trust division at Justice.

“NADA stepped well over the line by trying to keep various players in the auto industry from taking steps that would reduce car prices for consumers,” Bingaman said. “Trade associations must not be allowed to become a cover for cartel-like activity.”

Bingaman said the Justice Department couldn’t put a dollar figure on how much consumers might have lost because of the trade group’s activities over the past six years. But she noted that the association has 25,000 franchise members, or 84 percent of U.S. auto dealers.