Vehicle Owner's Right to Repair Act
By Mechlogs.com
Pennsylvania
Published: Fri, May 19, 2006

Congress is once again considering the "Vehicle Owner's Right to Repair Act", which if passed would allow vehicle owners greater ability to repair and/or modify their vehicles as well as give them the right to have it repaired or modified by whom they wish. If it passes, this would be a win for SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Manufacturer's Association, but an even bigger win for consumers. As cars get more complicated, with on-board navigation, satellite radio and diagnostics, this will prevent auto manufacturers from forcing consumers to buy only their equipment. This is especially needed since so many of us bought aftermarket stereos. Why did we do this? Because the factory head units were often pretty lousy. And over time, the AM radio was replaced by FM, which was combined with an 8-track, the 8-track was quickly over come by cassettes and this continues with FM working hand in hand with satellite radio and MP3 players.
And that's just the most obvious example. I could go on and on, but I won't.
The short and sweet of it is simple, proprietary equipment is not the best equipment. Write your representative today to encourage the passage of the "Vehicle Owner's Right to Repair Act". Gary Shapiro, President and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association has, you should too.