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NADA to Testify at Senate Insurance Hearing

             Vehicle Total-Loss Disclosure to be Highlighted

  WHAT:  The National Automobile Dealers Association's (NADA) Vice President
  of Legislative Affairs, David Regan, will testify before the Senate
  Commerce Committee in support of vehicle total-loss disclosure
  legislation, S. 545, during an oversight hearing on the property and
  casualty insurance industry.

  WHEN:  Wednesday, April 11, 2007, 9:15 a.m.

  WHERE:  Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, 253 Russell
  Office Building

  WHY:  Roughly five million vehicles were "totaled" in 2005 due to severe
  damage, flooding, or theft, including 570,000 from the Gulf Hurricanes
  alone.  Thousands of these vehicles are cleaned up and resold to
  unsuspecting customers who are not aware of the car's troubled past -- a
  problem called "title washing."

  Title washing takes a double-hit on consumers.  First, it's a significant
  and unnecessary public health and safety risk to the entire motoring
  public because more unsafe cars are on the road (i.e. airbags or anti-lock
  brakes fail due to previous damage).  And second, it's a significant
  economic risk to buyers of used vehicles who may overpay for a rebuilt
  wreck.

  Unfortunately, because state motor vehicle titling laws are confusing and
  incomplete, consumers do not have access to timely and complete total-loss
  data.

  The National Automobile Dealers Association and a coalition comprised of
  automakers, service organizations and others, have been building
  bipartisan support for S. 545 introduced by Senator Trent Lott, R-Miss,
  which requires insurers to make total-loss data commercially available to
  vehicle history providers such as Experian's AutoCheck and Carfax.  The
  Lott bill would effectively and permanently "red-flag" insurance-totaled
  vehicles.

  By disclosing total-loss information, used car buyers can make a better-
  informed decision about the safety and fair market value of a used
  vehicle.

  For more information, please visit: http://www.nada.org/tld

  Contact:  Bailey Wood
            NADA Legislative Affairs
            (202) 547-5500
            Cell: (202) 557-1674

PRNewswire -- April 10
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