Shahan

"This gives students a creative way to talk about what they can do to respond to bullying," explains Shahan Panth, co-founder of Bitstrips.

Suzie Boss: Stop Bullying and Speak Up Suzie Boss 2011

The practices at some dealers are enough of a concern that the Federal Trade Commission has invited Archer, Shahan and other experts to speak at a public hearing Aug. 2 in San Antonio to focus on the problems servicemen and women face when they try to buy cars on credit.

The Center for Public Integrity: Borrower Nightmares: Soldiers battle car dealers over inflated prices, loan terms The Center for Public Integrity 2011

Shahan points out that most fraud cases against car dealerships have been brought by federal agencies in response to corporate complaints such as those from “floorplan” lenders--the banks that loan money to car dealers to finance their inventory.

FTC to investigate deceptive car dealer practices 2011

“The single most important thing the FTC could do is enforcement,” Shahan says.

FTC to investigate deceptive car dealer practices 2011

When it comes to dealers that fly American flags and post signs that say "Welcome Military," consumer advocates often joke that "the bigger the flag, the worse their practices are," said Rosemary Shahan, president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, a California-based advocacy group.

The Center for Public Integrity: Borrower Nightmares: Soldiers battle car dealers over inflated prices, loan terms The Center for Public Integrity 2011

Rosemary Shahan, president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, agrees that current laws already forbid many the types of deception that lead to complaints today.

FTC to investigate deceptive car dealer practices 2011

"This gives students a creative way to talk about what they can do to respond to bullying," explains Shahan Panth, co-founder of Bitstrips.

Suzie Boss: Stop Bullying and Speak Up Suzie Boss 2011

Shahan responds that dealers set interest rates and terms when they originate the loans, so she contends that they should be included in federal oversight.

Senate votes to exempt car dealers from new consumer protections 2010

OMAHA Andrea Shahan sat in section 101 of the Qwest Center on Sunday, her 10-year-old daughter at her side, watching a middle-aged mother like herself set an American 50-meter freestyle record in the U.S. Olympic trials pool below.

Forty-one-year-old Olympian Torres gains pool of 40-ish fans 2008

"More power to her," Shahan, an Omaha resident, said of Dara Torres, who at the trials qualified to become the oldest Olympic female swimmer and did so emphatically, winning the 50 and 100 freestyle events.

Forty-one-year-old Olympian Torres gains pool of 40-ish fans 2008