Make TBO Your Home Page| Subscribe To The Paper| Advertise With Us| Contact Us| Login| Edit Profile| Register
Hernando Today
Email
Print
Car Lots Filled With Smaller Cars
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: March 26, 2009
BROOKSVILLE - A few extra miles to the gallon is no longer a difference-maker for car shoppers - at least that is what the national and local trends suggest.
Dealerships have noticed a glut of smaller-sized cars in their lots. The high demand for hatchbacks and two-door compacts isn't what it was six months ago when gas prices soared to $4 per gallon.
Mid-sized sedans are outselling their smaller counterparts.
"People just aren't opting for the smaller cars," said Sean Walsh, the general manager at Hernando Mitsubishi. "More are opting for a Gallant instead of a Lancer. With rebates and incentives, they're roughly the same price."
Even pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles are surging back to normal sales levels. That has not come as a surprise to Ron Davis, general sales manager at Crystal Chrysler Jeep Dodge in Brooksville.
"The larger cars are what we need for our lifestyles," he said. "It's a convenience issue more than a luxury issue."
It also is a safety issue.
Smaller cars are equipped with the same airbags as the larger cars, but the widespread notion a bigger car is safer is still rampant.
"A large percentage of the public still have that fear," Davis said. "Some people in their own minds think a mid-sized car is a safer car."
Walsh said a Lancer normally stays on the lot for three months before it is purchased. That is about average for a smaller car. The Gallants and other larger models usually are driven off the lot more quickly.
A manager at AutoWay in Clearwater recently told The Wall Street Journal the typical compact car remained on the lot for more than 140 days.
Manufacturers such as Honda, Toyota, Ford and Chrysler all have reported surpluses in their small car inventories.
General Motors announced it has enough Chevrolet Aveos in stock to last 14 months.
Tom Wiley, the general manager at Register Chevrolet, said people changed how far or how often they drive, not what they drive, since last summer.
"People changed their driving habits rather than the size of their car," Wiley said. "They quit driving to so many places."
Reporter Tony Holt can be reached at 352-544-5283 or wholt@hernandotoday.com.
Email
Print
ADVERTISEMENT
Advertisement
TBO.com - Tampa Bay Online ©2009 Media General Communications Holdings, LLC. A Media General company. Member Agreement | Privacy Statement | Work With Us
