Dallas' Billion Dollar Drop: Automobile sales plunge for area dealers

[mjd1001]

$1.4 billion in potential revenue slips away; Big Three hit hardest

Wednesday, April 5, 2006
TERRY BOX / The Dallas Morning News



If the phones ring a little longer at your neighborhood car dealer these days and the service lanes move slower, blame it on Dallas' billion-dollar drop.

New-car dealers in the Dallas area, once among the hottest operators in the U.S., lost more than $1.4 billion in potential revenue as car and truck sales plunged 15.8 percent between 2000 and 2005, according to statistics compiled by the CAR Report.

"I think what you saw here is the bubble burst," said Drew Campbell, president of the New Car Dealers Association of Metropolitan Dallas. He also thinks business has hit bottom.

But virtually all of the decline hit domestic dealers, posing another challenge to automakers like General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. as they struggle to restructure, according to the report, compiled recently for The Dallas Morning News.

Moreover, as Dallas' economy faltered, dealers were hit a second time: Used-car and truck sales plummeted 28.2 percent, the report said.

Full article here: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...s.8b9a7f7.html

[mystikranger]

Living in the Dallas area, thats pretty harsh news to hear. I hope new products will help out.

[give_it_all_]

I like that blue Chevy. Maybe I'll get one of those instead of the Aveo....

[Whirling_Dervish]

With gas climbing again it will be a harsh summer.

[01cavalier]

Ouch, that's one hell of a bite.

[cfch3399]

Meanwhile, in California's car sales are booming, especially for imports.

[mgescuro]

Originally Posted by cfch3399

Meanwhile, in California's car sales are booming, especially for imports.

Yeaaaa... but I think that will change with the new Saturn lineup because of the enw Euro look and the Green Line.
Saturn is still pretty big here... especilaly VUE.

[mystikranger]

The Metroplex (Dallas-Fort Worth area) always had the highest gas prices in the state, so I guess that could be a big reason.

[sigma]

Saab, Cadillac and Saturn for the Peninsula and South Bay. Chevy and Saturn for the East Bay (go A's!).

[GM-10]

Originally Posted by give_it_all_

I like that blue Chevy. Maybe I'll get one of those instead of the Aveo....

Me too..I like it.

[BurnOut]

The deal with the Dallas area is that it's still feeling the effects of the .com/telecom bust. SERIOUSLY feeling the effects.

Like, I recently (this week) got my first permanent job since I got laid off from my telecom job in January '04. My mom has been out even longer, having gotten the axe in June '02. Even some of my old co-workers... my old boss couldn't find a job so she became a public school teacher. A guy that was peer of mine is now working as a bank teller. The stories go on and on... and when you get a significant chunk of the population taking between a 50 and 100 percent paycut, sales suffer. Sales of EVERYTHING (except perhaps houses that people are trying to get out from under because both people lost their jobs or had to take a sharp pay cut) suffer... from cars to trucks to motorcycles to electronics to vacations to... you get the point.

We in the Metroplex keep hearing all this noise about "the recovery", how the stock market is back up, etc..., but for the most part, it's just not happening here.

Add to that the other issues in the automotive industry, and yeah... the big three have taken it in the shorts around here.

[asim]

Wow.

[corvete001]

Very sorry to hear that but I still feel that this country is in worse shape than they want to admit. It's not just Dallas. Here in my town those hot selling
SUV's are pretty much sitting on the lots. Now today gas prices went to
$2.75

[ChevroletRevived]

Wow, that's a big drop.

[mjd1001]

Originally Posted by corvete001

Very sorry to hear that but I still feel that this country is in worse shape than they want to admit. It's not just Dallas. Here in my town those hot selling
SUV's are pretty much sitting on the lots. Now today gas prices went to
$2.75

I echo your sentiments about the new Tahoe, Yukon and Escalade. The last month I have spent most of my time in Buffalo, NY and a little time in Northeaster Florida. I see them on the lots, in some cases the sames ones there for a couple of weeks, but very few on the roads, especially in Western NY.

I too read the articles that these things are hot and selling well, I just haven't seen evidence of it myself. Especially when you see the sames one sitting in the exact same spot out front of the dealer lots (and virtually none on the road).