US new car sales are down... but Honda is okay

Despite the soaring fuel prices, it's nice to know that new auto sales are continuing to do well... at least for Honda. According to Steve Haworth, General Manager of Berkeley Honda Auto Center, "Honda had their best month by 6000 units this past June than they ever had". This equivocates to Honda sales increasing by approximately 1% in June 2008 versus June 2007. I can only assume that many of the sales were attributed to the 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid. This definitely a good sign for the overall economy.


I only wish the same results were true for the other U.S. auto manufacturers. According to the percentages below, other than Honda the other companies were in double-digit percentage this June 2008 compared with last June 2007.
Honda +1%
GM -18%
Nissan -17%
Toyota -21%
Ford - 28%
Chrysler -36%

According to news reporter Rita Williams of KTVU, Toyota could have sold more cars if their inventory of their smaller fuel efficient cars were there to meet demand. After speaking with dealerships such as Toyota Vallejo, most of the salesmen wish that they had more 2008 Toyota Prius or 2008 Toyota Camry Hybrid on the lot. If a certain color or trim is not available most customers were not prepared to wait so they moved onto the next dealership. This indicates a huge need for the hybrid despite the approximate 5 years of fuel saving that it would take to offset the cost of the new car.

Hopefully new car sales will pick up soon. According to the latest estimates, the automobile industry expects 14.5 Million new vehicle sales in 2008 which will be the lowest since 1993.

Source: KTVU news, 7/2/08, Rita Wiliams

Thank you Joe Simitian - Father of the hands free phone law

July 1, 2008 marks a day many decades in the making and something that I felt was important since I first laid my eyes on a cell phone in the 1980's.  For the first time Californians (and many other states) are requiring drivers to use a hands free headset or speaker phone when they drive.  It's not a catch all rule, but California Senator Joe Simitian is helping our roads become a little safer.  As of today we cannot hold a phone to our head, but we can continue to send text messages or browse your favorite blog in the Internet from your handset.  In addition to the hands free law, young adults under the age of 18 are forbidden to use their mobile phone with or without a hands free headset.

I could remember back to the 80's when the use of cell phones started to become popular.  It was an accessory of the rich - the drivers of Mercedez-Benz or BMW's.  The would take their Motorola brick phone and talk, not for anything important, but usually to be seen.  They would carelessly fidget with their phone while going quickly down the freeway.

The same scene occurs today.  Unfortunately, what was once see as the accessory of the rich and the few is now an essential utility for everyone.  It would be a difficult task to drive down the freeway and not see anybody with their phone to their ear.  You see student drivers using it to find out where their "homeys" are.  Soccer parents are trying to locate their children.  Businesspeople are trying to close their deals.

Today's law may not be the catch all deterrent.  The fine for the 1st offense is $20 and each subsequent offense is $50, but with all the publicity it should be a nice wake up call for people to invest a few dollars in a hands free earpiece.  It made me laugh back in the 1980's when I saw the rich touting their large phones cell phones around, and I continue to laugh when I see people with their Bluetooth head pieces on as if they are anticipating the most important call of their life.  However, I'm happy to say that I'll take the latter any day knowing that my drive will be just a little safer.

New product feature: comment notification

Not only is DealerDrop's blog used to discuss automotive trends, we want to use it in a friendly way to introduce new product features.  One of the most requested features that we introduced a few weeks ago was the ability to discuss individual deals.  It was great at the time, but there was no way to notify the individual users that a comment was posted.  Users were going days or weeks without knowing that one of the members of the DealerDrop community had a burning question.

Today we're happy to announce the comment notification system.  By default, the original submitted ("dropper") will always be notified via email when somebody comments on their deal.  After the commenter leaves that first comment they will be notified by the original "dropper" or if anybody else sends submits a comment.

We understand that spam can be pain.  Nothing bothers me more than useless email.  Because we do not want to add to the spam, we allow both the original "dropper" and commenters to unsubscribe from the comment notification.  To opt out of a thread, follow the instructions below:

1. Login to your DealerDrop profile
2. Go to your My Profile page
   
3. On the left-hand column, you will see a Subscriptions box.  Click on View Details.
4. You will see a list of subscriptions that you have.  Uncheck any subscriptions that you want to opt-out of and click Update.
   

Direct Subscriptions link (login first):

http://www.dealerdrop.com/subscriptions

Mandatory MPG Gauges Needed

With gas getting so expensive and the importance of conservation being very important, one simple way which I think would encourage drivers to slow down and "take it easy" on the gas would be to mandate that all new cars have gauges showing the Miles Per Gallon (MPG) as they drive.

I don't have a scientific basis for supporting this because I haven't been able to find a study on this, but speaking from my own experience, having a MPG guage right on the dash staring me down as I drive really gets me to use less gas. In instances when my foot presses down on the pedal and I happen to see the MPG shoot down, I tend to let off on the gas to the extent possible.

A MPG Gauge is a good way to remind you that flooring it sn't always necessary. I know i've experienced it and am sure many others with MPG gauges in their cars have taken notice on at least one occasion.

I might not save a whole lot amount of gas by having that guage there, but even .5-1% savings multiplied by all the consumers who buy new cars is a big deal. Not to mention that it isn't some revolutionary upgrade which needs years to develop and even more years to test. This seems like it could be mandated and take effect within 12 months.

So, if you think this is a good idea, I encourage you to write your representative in Congress. The government makes it easy to do, just click here to lookup your congressman and send an email to them.

DealerDrop Out There

We've begun the process of officially launching. Earlier this morning, we issued a press release announcing our introduction. We're happy to finally announce our existence openly to the world.

We'll continue to add features to DealerDrop and encourage you to contact us and tell us how we can improve the service.

Now you can leave comments on DealerDrop

One of the most discussed features that has been requested by our users is the ability to discuss the deal. Some people think the deal is too good to be true. Others think that their fellow DealerDropper got ripped off.

Introducing... DealerDrop Comments. We've provided you the ability to leave comments on each deal. Go ahead and select "click for more info" after you have searched for your next new car and comment about each deal.

Thanks to all that have provided us feedback. Please continue with the suggestions and Phil (our lead programmer) and I will crank it out as fast as possible.

Big Al

Secret in timing a purchase of a new car

So you're ready to buy that new car. You know what you want after checking out sites such as DealerDrop.com, Edmunds.com or Cars.com. You have already read the previous blog posting of Top 10 secrets in getting a new car at the price you want. At this point you already have a ballpark estimate of what you'll pay for this car. Here is one trick that you need to know to save those few extra dollars.

Buy on the last weekday of the month

Like many sales occupations, the car salesperson is on a quota. The good ones will usually meet their quota by mid-month, but the bottom dwellers will be waiting until the last day to get at or near that target number. These bottom dwellers usually have about 2 months sitting below their quota before they are canned. You can use this information to your advantage.

The mentality of the top dawgs is this: (a) I want to be salesman of the month. I need a couple of more sales to put some separation between me and #2. (b) I need that bonus escalator to kick in. I need a couple of more sales so that I can qualify for the trip to Hawaii or that extra monetary bonus.

The mentality of the bottom dwellers is this: (a) I need that sale so that I can meet my quota. It doesn't matter if the sale breaks even. I just need the sale. (b) My job is safe for this month, but I'm barely covering my rent. My spouse is going to leave me with the kids for somebody better

Given this, it is to the buyer's advantage to go on the last weekday of the month. Why the last weekday. The weekend is usually the busiest day where the salespeople may not be motivated to budge on the price. The weekday is usually slow and the salesperson will do whatever it takes to make the sale.

Armed with this information. Call or go into the dealership and find out who the previous salesperson of the month is. Or find the salesperson that looks the youngest or is wearing the ugliest tie (although stereotypical it is a good indication of the bottom dweller). Go straight up to them and say, "I know it's the end of the month. I want Car Z at price $X. I know you either have a quota or nearing your bonus escalator, so sell me a car". If they don't budge, walk away! They'll chase you out the parking lot. Be firm! Worst case scenario, wait until the end of next month and go to another dealership. The unofficial sale day is only 30 days away.