xcel
10-21-2008, 08:14 AM
“Even though he wants a new car, he says, he's determined to get a good deal. So for now, like many potential car buyers, he says he'll wait on the sidelines.” (usatoday.com/money/autos/2008-10-20-auto-dealerships-credit-crisis-loans_N.htm)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Chrysler_Cars_on_Dealership_lot.jpgSharon Carty and Chris Woodyard – USA Today – Oct. 20, 2008
Rows of unsold Chryslers – Auto sales across the country have slumped during the economic downturn.
What if Ford, GM and Chrysler’s sales this month are down 50%? Can a domestic dealership survive by selling just 3 vehicles per day given the overhead? -- Ed.
DETROIT — They may be folks you love to hate, but it's hard not to have sympathy for car dealers these days. These business owners are manning the bucket brigades in an auto industry meltdown.
"Things are going disastrously," says Ray Ciccolo, owner and CEO of Village Automotive Group in suburban Boston. "Most car dealers were down over 30% last month, and that is a catastrophe."
Many won't survive. Almost 600 of the about 20,000 U.S. new car dealers have shut their doors this year, and an additional 2,000 will close within 18 months, predicts Mark Johnson, president of a Seattle consulting firm that helps auto dealers buy, sell or merge operations.
In September alone, 61 dealers — two a day — closed shop or downsized to used car lots, says the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA). Wounded by gas prices that killed sales of their most profitable SUVs and trucks, dealers are being hammered as the economy depresses sales of all models.
Even people with good jobs feel poorer and less confident to take on years of payments for a big purchase. Those who still would are finding it harder to get credit — General Motors credit arm GMAC now requires a credit score of 700 or better for a car loan… http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2008-10-20-auto-dealerships-credit-crisis-loans_N.htm
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Chrysler_Cars_on_Dealership_lot.jpgSharon Carty and Chris Woodyard – USA Today – Oct. 20, 2008
Rows of unsold Chryslers – Auto sales across the country have slumped during the economic downturn.
What if Ford, GM and Chrysler’s sales this month are down 50%? Can a domestic dealership survive by selling just 3 vehicles per day given the overhead? -- Ed.
DETROIT — They may be folks you love to hate, but it's hard not to have sympathy for car dealers these days. These business owners are manning the bucket brigades in an auto industry meltdown.
"Things are going disastrously," says Ray Ciccolo, owner and CEO of Village Automotive Group in suburban Boston. "Most car dealers were down over 30% last month, and that is a catastrophe."
Many won't survive. Almost 600 of the about 20,000 U.S. new car dealers have shut their doors this year, and an additional 2,000 will close within 18 months, predicts Mark Johnson, president of a Seattle consulting firm that helps auto dealers buy, sell or merge operations.
In September alone, 61 dealers — two a day — closed shop or downsized to used car lots, says the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA). Wounded by gas prices that killed sales of their most profitable SUVs and trucks, dealers are being hammered as the economy depresses sales of all models.
Even people with good jobs feel poorer and less confident to take on years of payments for a big purchase. Those who still would are finding it harder to get credit — General Motors credit arm GMAC now requires a credit score of 700 or better for a car loan… http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2008-10-20-auto-dealerships-credit-crisis-loans_N.htm