It shall be unlawful for any person to act as a dealer or salesman, wholesaler, manufacturer of vehicles or a manufacturer, distributor, factory branch, or distributor branch representative, without first having procured a license from the department. It shall be unlawful for any person other than a licensed dealer to display a vehicle for sale unless the title is in the name of the displayer. It shall be unlawful to solicit sales of vehicles without a dealer’s license, unless the title is in the name of the seller. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the sale or solicitation of specialty vehicles to governmental entities within the state. Specialty vehicles shall be defined as fire trucks, fire engines, urban transit buses, ambulances, street sweepers and hazardous material response vehicles.