The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Two auto masters discuss third-quarter car sales for 2014
Examining third-quarter car sales is a lot like describing the proverbial elephant in the room.
Number crunchers and pundits will pontificate about the trunk or the ears, missing the entire beast.
However, two masters in the profession have offered their unblinking glimpses of the bigger picture.
They are Michael N. Abraham, executive manager at Nick Abraham Auto Mall, and Alan Spitzer, chairman and CEO of Spitzer Management Inc.
Both men were asked the same questions regarding car sales in July, August and September 2014.
The first question was how were car sales in general for the third quarter of this year?
“Sales for both new and used vehicles for Buick, GMC and Ford were very good for the third quarter at Nick Abraham Auto Mall,” Abraham said.
“Car sales were very good for the third quarter at Nick Abraham Auto Mall because of aggressive lease payments from Buick, GMC and Ford and great incentives. Plus the great products.”
Spitzer said virtually all of their automotive operations were up for the third quarter.
“Used car operations have been especially strong, up 20 to 30 percent each month (July, August and September),” he said. “New vehicle sales were solid versus 2013 in July and September; both months showed double-digit increases.”
August new vehicle sales were flat primarily due to an exceptionally strong August for the industry last year, Spitzer said.
Both were asked what were some of the big sellers over the third quarter, in terms of types of vehicles and in terms of brands.
“The big sellers for Nick Abraham Buick GMC were the 2014 Buick Encore, 2014 Buick LaCrosse, GMC-Terrain and Sierra pickup truck,” Abraham said.
“At Nick Abraham Elyria Ford, the hot sellers were the 2014 Ford Fusion and Ford Escape and F-150 truck.” Spitzer said pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles and crossover vehicles had the biggest
increases. Jeep sales were nearly double, he said.
“The resurgence of the housing industry has fueled the increase in pickup demand,” Spitzer said. “All segments have been aided by the overall economic recovery from the recent recession.”
“Interestingly, unlike most recoveries, the auto industry has actually recovered some- what faster than the overall economy. Typically, the reverse has been true.”
This is most likely due to pent-up demand from the recession of 2007-2010 when many consumers put off trading their vehicles, Spitzer said. Fuel prices have been stable, which always helps, he said.
Both men were asked if they were happy with the third-quarter sales.
“Yes,” Abraham said. “We were very happy with third quarter sales compared to last year. Sales continue to improve year-over-year.”
Spitzer also was pleased with third-quarter sales.
“Our organization’s yearover-year sales, I believe, have increased for 52 consecutive months,” he said.
“We expect fourth-quarter sales to continue to be solid, on par with the third quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis. Most auto manufacturers are predicting at or near double-digit increases in 2015.”