Cars that Sell
By Stefan Budricks, Editor

One approaches automobile sales figures with trepidation these days — performance of late has been, to put it mildly, disappointing. Their significance stretches far beyond the health of the auto manufacturing industry. Ups and downs in the numbers have direct bearing on the wellbeing of several related industries (car washing among them) and can, in fact, act as a barometer of the economy as a whole.

The November new-car-sales numbers carry with them some good as well as some disappointing news. The Los Angeles Times (December 2, 2009) reports that 746,928 cars and light trucks were sold in the United States in November 2009 compared to 746,789 in November 2008. It’s a miniscule difference. It’s an improvement nevertheless. The improvement is all the more significant if one considers the lofty 2007 sales level from where the 2008 numbers fell into the abyss. Turning a huge drop into a gain, however small it may be, has to be a welcome development. At the very least, it could be said that new-car sales are stabilizing.

Although still soft, even the used-car market is showing signs of settling down. According to Adesa Analytical Services, wholesale used vehicle prices in October 2009 (the latest figures available) dipped 3 percent from those recorded in the previous month — a slightly larger drop than the expected usual seasonal moderation. Compared to October 2007, however, October 2008 prices show a 9.5 percent increase. Adesa estimated that auction industry inventory levels stood at 35 days at the end of October 2009 compared to 66 days one year ago. Interestingly, dealers are reported to have bid more aggressively on trucks than cars, perhaps reflecting a perception that consumers have become less concerned about gasoline consumption over the past 12 months.

The big winner in the new-car sales stakes was Hyundai with an increase of 46 percent (November over November), an impressive gain, though it sells only about a fifth of Toyota’s volume. Nissan clocked gains of 20.8 percent, while Toyota’s sales rose by 2.6 percent. Ford’s sales slowed less than one tenth of 1 percent. General Motors was down 1.5 percent, and Chrysler slid 25.5 percent.

It seems the auto industry has gotten the message. In its preview of the Los Angeles Auto Show, the same issue of the Los Angeles Times reports that the industry “wants the spotlight on vehicles it can sell,” that much of the preshow buzz concerned “mass-market economy cars,” and that the “big global debut” at the show was a redesigned Toyota minivan. Absent from the show: Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Maserati.

Truth be told, I’d miss those exotic beauties. One of the joys of spending time at the auto shows is drooling over these dream vehicles that are destined for ownership by few. But in times like these, bread-and-butter issues prevail; the quest is for car ownership by many. Whether we make, sell, or wash cars — or even serve breakfast at the diner near the assembly plant — we need the volume.

Will we see larger numbers of smaller, more sensible (dare I say boring) cars entering the wash tunnel in the future? Possibly so, but don’t expect it to herald a long-term trend. We’ll be practical only for as long as we need to. This, after all, is car crazy country. As soon as circumstances permit, we’ll again start testing the limits of imagination and design.