Car Dealer Daily

It’s no surprise that nearly every automaker has been hit by declining sales this year compared with 2008. However, despite the bad economy and bad press for the automotive industry, Reuters’ recent tally of the top-selling vehicles of this year through October shows some relatively shocking results.

Despite the “smaller is better” trend, and the desire for high-mileage vehicles, the top selling vehicle overall appears to be the Ford F-Series pickup truck. Sure it faced a sales decrease of about 23 percent, but this full-size truck still retains plenty of popularity even amid the craze for fuel economy, crossovers, and hybrids. Although both the Chevrolet Silverado pickup and the Dodge Ram pickup lost ground in the rankings, both trucks still remain in the top ten. Continue reading ‘Surprises Inside 2009 Top Selling Vehicles List’

Over the years, car dealers have become synonymous with less than honest sales tactics. Consequently, the information that dealers provide during a sales deal is usually not taken at face value. With the seemingly sly nature that car dealers have been associated with, consumers think that the dealers profit much more than they actually do.

Recently, the National Automobile Dealer Association (NADA) conducted a survey examining the profits of car dealers around the country. The survey found that only one and a half percent of car sales yielded a profit, while more than 20% of dealers reportedly lost money. Another finding in the survey was that foreign auto dealers are faring somewhat better in the current market place than dealers of domestic cars.

Needless to say, car dealers have many new challenges. Consumers have more choices than ever, and the economy and price of fuel has contributed to an abrupt shift in buying habits and demands. For example, among dealers selling domestic makes such as Detroit Chevrolet Dealers, inventory of full-size trucks and SUVs like the F-150 and Expedition generally had no trouble selling in recent years, but in recent months have been increasingly difficult to move off the lot, even with attractive incentives. Instead of new car buyers gravitating towards large vehicles and sport utility vehicles, consumers are now looking to small, efficient cars and crossovers. Those dealers that sell brands with a full lineup of economical and even “green” offerings are therefore reaping more of the benefits.

But even dealers with plenty of hybrids or high MPG models are not on stable ground as nationwide car sales are down overall, with June marking the lowest point in auto sales in over a decade, and each subsequent month not being much better.

In such an adverse environment, car dealers such as our Saint Louis Mitsubishi are changing their ways in order to stay profitable. Dealers are reducing the amount of new hires, reducing customer perks and the availability of loaner cars, and streamlining operations to help save money.

In addition to generating less money than what’s perceived by consumers, much of the money auto dealers do make on a vehicle goes back into the dealership according to Los Angeles Toyota dealers. Like most businesses, income needs to be reinvesting back into the business to help it grow, whether it means new facilities, employee benefits, or increasing inventory. Revenue from an entire sale is not simply pocketed by the sales person involved.

The dramatic changes in the automotive industry have caused car dealers to have vastly different operating strategies. Rather than new cars being the main profit center, dealers are now promoting service centers more and more as they now provide a more steady flow of income. In addition, Texarkana Used Car dealers and other dealers are focusing on their used car inventory more so than their new vehicle inventory.

This is not intended to defend all dealerships and their practices. The important thing to remember is that consumers should do their homework and utilize resources such as Edmunds.com or Kelley Blue Book to understand what a vehicle really costs and try to get within reason of that price point. Make sure you focus on your deal and feel good about, and don’t worry what the dealer potentially is or isn’t getting on his end. Continue reading ‘Car Dealerships May Not Be As Profitable As Consumers Think’

With gas prices down a bit this fall, truck and SUV sales conveniently appear to be on the rise. Trucks back in May accounted for about 9.2 percent of auto sales, while September truck sales accounted for about 14.1 percent of sales. The peak of truck sales was back in July of 2005 when sales accounted for about 18.2 percent of total sales according to JD Power and Automotive News.

Pickup and SUV sales have also been helped by incentives. As truck sales have slowed over recent months, manufactures have offered huge discounts on these vehicles to help increase sales, especially among Chrysler, Ford, and GM models. Even Durango CO Chevy dealers have drawn-in customers from such inventive programs.

Despite small sales increases in vehicle sales, all automakers are still rushing to add smaller, fuel efficient models, which is exactly what has helped dealers such as Honda Denver dealers thanks for their attractive compact lineup. In fact, automakers are planning for the worst, and vehicles currently coming down the pipeline are based on high future gas prices, not lower gas prices. While automakers are rushing to supply these cars, dealers such as Richmond Used Cars are biding their time selling a high volume of high-value used cars.

When it comes to gas prices and demand, automakers will continue to work on getting incentives in-line with demand, which is good news for Bob Watson Chevrolet and other dealers who are eager to move slowing inventory. With the cost of fuel remaining a huge concern among consumers, expect more incentives on gas-guzzling vehicles even despite the sales increases. Continue reading ‘Truck and SUV Sales Up Slightly’

With gas prices on the rise and the economy making consumers and lenders nervous, it’s truly no wonder why auto sales overall are down. And with fewer sales, competition for auto sales is intense, especially among high-demand segments such as among compacts and subcompacts.

The highest selling subcompact cars are the Toyota Yaris and the Honda Fit. Both offer reliability and excellent fuel economy, not to mention an affordable price tag. The Honda Fit, says Honda Lexington, has also recently been redesigned, which should already be in Honda showrooms. With the new model, the previous generation models should be available with outstanding deals as dealers want to move those models first. Domestic automakers are struggling in this segment, with the Chevrolet Aveo suffering from dwindling sales and being the only subcompact in Boonville Chevrolet inventory to compete against fresh imports, such as the Fit.

Among compact cars, Ford is gaining momentum thanks to the recently redesign Ford Focus, which provides efficiency and attractive features for Littleton CO Ford dealer customers such as the Sync system. However, Ford can’t quite compete with the Toyota Corolla which has seen strong sales at Yakima Toyota, although they’re still down compared with last year. A stronger seller at the moment is the Honda Civic, which has boosted sales recently. Although they’re far behind, sales of the Chevrolet Cobalt, and Pontiac’s G5, are up slightly.

Compact SUV sales are in high demand. The appeal of the SUV remains among many new car buyers. Many simply want their SUV to be smaller and more fuel efficient. The Ford Escape, which was redesigned relatively recently, has remained popular, although it has sold few models than last year. A hybrid is Escape also appeals to plenty of buyers. The Honda CR-V and the Toyota dealer Minneapolis’s Toyota RAV4 remain the top sellers in the segments. Meanwhile, larger crossovers have lost ground, such as the Taurus X.

The luxury SUV segment is perhaps the hardest hit. Many consumers who can afford to buy a luxury SUV don’t really care about the cost of gas, but many consumers do. There are simply too many changes and in the economy not to consider such costs. As such, despite strong sales at Lincoln Mercury Los Angeles, the Lincoln Navigator and the Cadillac Escalade overall have both dropped in sales compared with last year’s figures. There has been a spike in sales among the Toyota Land Cruiser and the Lexus version, the LX, due to a redesign that was long overdue.

Trucks are also having difficulty when it comes to sales.  The once dominant Ford F-series has recently suffered a 40 percent decrease in sales nationwide. In response, Ford actually delayed production on the all-new 2009 model F-series. However, trucks have remained decent in pre-owned sales according to Used Cars Richmond VA who have offered plenty of dealers to keep inventory moving steadily. But even better than used trucks are used hybrids at Used Cars Shreveport, where pre-owned models don’t stay on the lot for long. The Toyota Tundra has also been hit by sales declines, but sales have increased slightly due to a recent redesign – redesign that has also helped the Sequoia SUV, which is based on the new Tundra. Sales of the Chevrolet Silverado have done decently at Birmingham Chevrolet dealers considering, and the Employee Pricing incentive program has helped the sales of the Silverado and other GM models.

Continue reading ‘Which Cars are Selling, and Which Cars Aren’t’