Ghost Town

[OVERKILL]

A good friend and I went for a drive this evening up to the local Ford dealer to check out the new Mustangs.

Our little dealership shop-around got me severely depressed.

Things started off OK. Ford has a Shelby GT500KR in the showroom, a gorgeous blue Mustang GT, a black GT vert...etc. Fifteen Mustangs in total on the lot (that's HUGE for Peterborough), as well as a solid selection of the entire Ford lineup in various trim levels.

We then went next door to the Pontiac/Buick/GMC dealer. Things were looking sparse. The nice G8's they had a few weeks ago are all gone save one now, and overall vehicle selection was thin. I will say that the new Buick vehicles look to be VERY well put together, and I was quite impressed.

Things went downhill from there. Headed over to Toyota where the (external, didn't get to really see inside all that well) fit and finish was worse than anything on the Ford lot and most of the GM lot. But they had a lot FULL of new vehicles.

Then hit up Dodge. NINE NEW CARS IN THE ENTIRE LOT. Everything else was on clearance with huge orange tags....... That's not a good sign......

Drove by Saturn to find that it was GONE. The dealership is no longer there. Empty building.........

Even the Chevy dealer, probably the biggest dealership in town, had limited selection and far less inventory than they had, even recently.

Then hit Mitsubishi, where the fit an finish again were miles ahead of Toyota, and they had a solid (albeit limited) selection of new vehicles as well.

It is one thing to read and hear about the decline. It is quite another to see it hitting your home town. Saturn gone, and what would APPEAR as though one GM dealership and one Dodge dealership headed that way as well.

VERY depressing

 

[d00df00d]

I know what you mean: it's a totally different game when you see it happen for real.

I always used to crow about how much Chrysler deserved to go down. Then I read their bankruptcy filing and haven't been able to summon that vitriol since. It's carnage.

 

[oilyriser]

and gas prices are ramping up again to pre-crash levels

 

[Boomer]

Your observations on Toyota match mine. Living on their reputation, providing less than you should get and generally beginning the same decline that started at GM in the 70s and 80s. And yet peole pay through the nose for them. I know a number of folks who are having MAJOR problems with their Toys. Trannies, engines and auliary parts all showing issues. How long Toyota can keep this up is a good question but they need to get their act together and realize that they have the same big company disease that their American counterparts have. Add to this the dealer arrogance, at least around here, and you have a recipe for disaster.

 

[Mr Nice]

I drive by a gigantic Dodge/Jeep/Chrysler dealership (4 story parking garage) all the time and I've always wondered what was the advantage to having so many cars.

This place must really be hurting with nobody buying cars, especially these brands.

 

[mpvue]

it's sadly ironic that this is the best time to buy a car yet no one can afford to.
there are SO many cars I would be into getting, based on my mood at the moment; dodge charger, 300C, mustang gt, mazda6 (like the mazda5 also), lexus IS, saturn aura, outlook.

 

[Tornado Red]

I would much rather see the dealerships carry a representative selection of vehicles for demonstrations and test drives, but then able to get exactly the right car in the right color with the right options for next-day delivery.

If car salesmen are not being pressured to sell the least-desirable cars on the lot, then it will make for a more enjoyable buying experience for the customers.

 

[addyguy]

Originally Posted By: mpvue
it's sadly ironic that this is the best time to buy a car yet no one can afford to.
there are SO many cars I would be into getting, based on my mood at the moment; dodge charger, 300C, mustang gt, mazda6 (like the mazda5 also), lexus IS, saturn aura, outlook.


This is EXACTLY the way I feel!

 

[mstrjon32]

Originally Posted By: Tornado Red
I would much rather see the dealerships carry a representative selection of vehicles for demonstrations and test drives, but then able to get exactly the right car in the right color with the right options for next-day delivery.

If car salesmen are not being pressured to sell the least-desirable cars on the lot, then it will make for a more enjoyable buying experience for the customers.


+1. They also make getting cars shipped in a huge pain, not surprisingly, they'd rather sell you whatever is on their lot. My ideal dealership would be one with test drive examples, where you could just buy the car and have it shipped in.

 

[PT1]

All the auto manufacturers especially GM & Chrysler have shut production to allow inventory levels to subside as they were at 130 vehcles per dealer at GM. (they should be at 50-60). So while your dealers have no cars now, others have many. When the inventory levela go down you may not see anymore rebates again as production rates will be cut so low there will be no need for incentives.
Bottom line: If you are planning on getting a new car in the next 2 years...better get it now. At the current rates of pent up demand ( about 2 million cars right now) and cuts in production rates...the price of a new car will go up. The current used car & rental used car fleets are being consumed at an all time record and the average age of a car on the US highways in now about 9 years which is a record. When the economy turns the auto industry will turn on a dime but there will be 50% less dealers and much fewer cars.

This year more cars will go to the scrap yard than will be manufactured. Just think about the supply/demand implications.

 

[Drew99GT]

Our biggest Chevy dealer is also a ghost town. The last 2 times we took our 07 Impala in for warranty work, the lot of new GMs was basically empty, and the sharks were just out walking around in circles. They didn't even come up for a bite when I looked at some cars.

I've read that being a car salesman right now is, well, fruitless. If you don't get the $2K month draw like many do (ie pure commission), you're starving to death.

 

[andrewg]

Sad observation but that's the nature of business and the free market (not very 'free' lately). Regardless of what vehicle is better made, performs better, or has higher reliability numbers etc., the public decides (as they should) what products to buy. I'm 100% against any bailouts and if ALL of GM fails...so be it. Ford has managed to survive for now and I salute them for that. They seem to be the only American auto maker that has managed to get by without crying for taxpayers money.

 

[Mr Nice]

I am also against auto bailouts. If GM fails, too bad.
All those people will just have to find another line of work.

 

[CivicFan]

A Cadillac dealer nearby has started selling used Chevy small cars (the ones that look like Cavaliers but are newer model).