The consumer affairs office of Nassau County, N.Y., has proposed rules that would spell out what it considers to be deceptive advertising practices for auto dealers.

The proposal is intended to reduce what the consumer affairs office calls pervasive abuses in dealer advertising, reported Newsday.com. In the past few months, 62 dealers have agreed to pay Nassau County $27,000 to settle advertising-related charges, said Roger Bogsted, county commissioner of consumer affairs.

The proposal cites specific advertising practices such as using footnotes that contradict or unreasonably qualify the main message of the and not listing when a special offer ends. It also considers deceptive the practice of making financing with the dealer a condition of the offer.

Bogsted said the final regulations could be issued by the end of November 2004. He believes the rules would help dealers better stay within the bounds of fair advertising.

But Stuart Rosenthal of the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association disagrees. He said many of the dealers who settled with the county were wrongly accused but paid the fines to avoid litigation.

Rosenthal said the proposal goes too far beyond advertising guidelines established by the state attorney general’s office with the industry’s input. He plans to submit some written objections.