Tidbits #3

–       Edmunds predicts 15.5 million new vehicles will be sold in 2013 and 16.4 million
in 2014.

–       Fake reviews on consumer review websites are being cracked down upon by the NY Attorney
General. There are a number of companies that offer “reputation management” services
that write reviews for dealerships and other businesses to increase their desirability.
This amounts to false advertising and unfair business practices – should we be surprised?

–       Hybrids continue to depreciate faster than gas-fueled versions.

Midsize trucks – think Toyota Tacoma – will hold value because some popular models
are currently out of production.

–       Full-size cars are getting a lot of action in the used market.

–       Senior citizens are the most likely consumer group to buy a vehicle these days, 
according to a new study by the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research
Institute.

–       Delinquency on auto loans is steadily declining and repossessions have fallen to
a seven-year low.

–       Domestic vehicles are worth more at auction this year than they were in 2013, gaining
2.6 percent, according to Kelly Blue Book.

–       There are more than 17,500 new car franchised dealers and over 45,000 used car dealers
in the USA.

–       According to ALG there will be 84,000 Accords, 65,000 Camrys and 58,000 Altimas 
that will come off of lease in 2014. That’s a lot of cars in that segment  that 
will enter the market next year.

–       The balance of auto loans in August increased 9.7 percent from last year, rising
from $760.8 billion to $834.4 billion, according to Equifax’s National Consumer
Credit Trends Report. WOW! That’s a lot of debt.

–       According to Dealer 20 groups, the average new car dealership service department’s
labor gross profit equals 68.06% of sales. WOW – that’s a lot of profit and we are
not even including the profit on the parts!

–       Based on the more than 247 million passenger cars and light duty trucks registered
in the US, the average age has reached a record 11.4 years. I bet that this will
continue to increase in the coming years because the vehicles just keep getting
better as well as more expensive to replace.

–       Manheim Consulting predicts that there will be 3.2 million lease originations in
2013. That translates into the highest lease penetrations ever.

–       There have been 42 consecutive months of sales gains year over year for Chrysler.

–       11,773,338 new vehicles have been sold through September 2013 compared with 11,589,844
new vehicles sold in all of 2010.

–       Automotive News reports that a shortage of skilled machinists could mess up US auto
industry’s recovery. There are 20% less tool and die shops than there were 8 years
ago. This could lead to quality issues and higher prices.