SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California lawmakers are fast-tracking a bill to tighten a loophole in the way U.S. auto safety law treats recalls of used cars, even though consumer groups and other key stakeholders aren't on board.
Safety advocates decry the bill as a dangerous half-measure, while rental-car agencies and automakers want the matter resolved at the federal level. That leaves California's car dealers as lone champions of the initiative.
"At this point, there's a general but no army," Brian Maas, president of the California New Car Dealers Association, said in an interview at the group's office here.
The conflict spotlights a question that could shape many of the efforts to change U.S. laws on safety recalls in the aftermath of the General Motors and Takata crises: Is warning a customer good enough?