By: Sheldon Sandler, CEO Of Bel Air Partners

January 13, 2025 02:36 PM

Bernie Moreno was sworn in as a U.S. senator on Jan. 3. He is the only member of the upper chamber with a car dealer background. During the day, his background in the automotive industry came out loud and clear. In one memorable roundtable, he was joined by Roger Penske. Can’t get more automotive-centric than that.

Bernie worked his way up from the bottom. He started as a low-level General Motors employee, later becoming employed as a dealership operative, and ultimately a successful car dealer. On a side note, he also founded a company that digitizes the whole car titling process.

Bernie’s own experience has informed his deep belief in the proverbial American Dream. He was an immigrant from Colombia. His sources of inspiration come directly from the Constitution and the Federalist Papers as well as the founders’ belief that our unalienable rights come from God.

Essentially, Bernie traded in his lucrative and comfortable life for the turbulent political sphere fraught with ad hominem insults. He believes his adopted country has given him unfettered opportunity and the time has come to give back.

Bernie wants to bring back manufacturing. That’s both an economic and national security issue for him. Similarly, he believes Stellantis should return Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep to U.S. ownership. He argues that current foreign stewardship treats Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep as a stepchild to their European brands.

Bernie believes that too much power has been ceded to our national government. As originally intended, the states should have a greater load of governing responsibilities. Congress too often introduces wide-ranging legislation that fails to consider the disparate and specific needs of individual states and regions.

He cited the federal government’s $7,500 incentive for purchasers of electric vehicles as evidence of its foolishness. He recounted the story of a friend who bought a $250,000 electric Rolls-Royce that was eligible for the incentive. Who believes $7,500 was motivation for that purchase? Where did the money come from anyway? We already have a $37 trillion national debt.

Bernie is not actually opposed to EVs but against government mandates. He rejects the notion that fossil energy needs to be immediately abolished to thwart climate change. He joked that the warning we’d all be dead in the next 10 years from car emissions has been repeated time and again over the past 40 years. Instead, he believes for both economic and national security reasons home grown fossil fuel should be developed even more with government assistance not government roadblocks.

Inflation and escalating interest rates were also addressed. Bernie used as an example the average cost of a new car and monthly payments. Before the pandemic, the average cost on a new vehicle was $32,000 and $300 or $400 a month to finance the acquisition. Today, that’s risen to unsustainable levels of $48,000 and $700 to $800 a month. He’s been assigned to the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation as well as the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs committees to find solutions.

How did Bernie get President-elect Donald Trump’s endorsement? As it turns out, this wasn’t the first time he embarked on a run for the senate from Ohio. In 2022, he realized that an endorsement from Trump would be a big advantage. So, he trekked to Mar-a-Lago to make his pitch. He was warned ahead of time that the longer the interview lasted, the better his chances, but that if Trump offered him signed MAGA hats, his chances were below zero. At first things were going well. But then Trump opened his desk drawer and pulled out a bunch of negative tweets Bernie had made about him. Out came a bunch of red MAGA hats. Game, set and match. This time, with the help of JD Vance, Trump reconsidered and endorsed him.

In summary, car dealers and the whole automobile industry have a valuable voice for their interests in Washington. In these uncertain times, the auto industry will be well served to support Moreno.