Recent Streetsblog LA posts about Car Culture

Update: Villaraigosa/Garcetti/Englander Plan Would NOT Apply to Used Car Dealers

By Damien Newton | Nov 9, 2011 | 1 Comment

I just received an update from the Mayor’s Office on the proposal to eliminate business taxes for car dealerships. The motion submitted by Councilmen Eric Garcetti and Mitch Englander for city staff to draft a motion that would exempt car dealerships from city business taxes applies only to new car dealerships, so our concerns about […]

Vallianatos: Policy Shifts Towards Walkable Communities Anathema to “Buy Here Pay Here”

By Mark Vallianatos | Nov 9, 2011 | No Comments

(This is part two of our series on reader’s response to last week’s series on Buy Here Pay Here used car dealerships. Yesterday we summarized the statements of Joe Linton, Roadblick, Adrian Martinez, Damien Goodmon and Allison Mannos. Today we bring a more detailed response from Occidental College Professor Mark Vallianatos. Tomorrow, we’ll have a […]

The Hypocrisy of Chrysler’s “Imported from Detroit” Campaign

By Angie Schmitt | Nov 9, 2011 | No Comments

I’ll admit it: I love the Chrysler ad campaign “Imported from Detroit,” which debuted in February’s Super Bowl spot starring Eminem. What can I say? I’m a sucker for hometown pride. I was born about 60 miles downriver from the Motor City in Toledo, Ohio, a town sometimes known affectionately as “Little Detroit.” I remember […]

Mayor, Garcetti, and Englander Call for Exempting Auto Dealers from City’s Business Tax

By Damien Newton | Nov 8, 2011 | 9 Comments

Picture this. One day one of the most important political figures in the city stands in front of a major Downtown attraction and announces that train service to this attraction will be increased dramatically in the coming weeks. The next day, a major political figure, flanked by an up-and-coming political star and the City Council […]

Streetsbloggers Respond to the Times’ Buy Here Pay Here Series

By Streetsblog | Nov 8, 2011 | 6 Comments

First, let’s state for the record that Ken Bensinger and the Los Angeles Times did a public service by shining a harsh light on the largely unregulated “Buy Here Pay Here” used car dealership industry. Too many dealers in this industry and preying on poor people desperate for a car by intentionally driving up their […]

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