$12k Off WASN'T Enough To Excite People To Buy BEFORE The Pandemic. What WILL They DO To Get People Buying AGAIN? $25k Off?

As I was out prepping for Easter celebration tomorrow, I took a drive through a local auto mall and if this wasn't depressing ENOUGH, that would take you over the edge.

Saturdays are normally the best day of the week for dealer traffic. I can tell you that after driving past a dozen or so dealerships mid-day, I saw ONE person on a lot looking at inventory. And I was the ONLY vehicle driving the circle where you tour all the locations.

Not just sad, but scary.

Yes, this pandemic is awful. But the devastation it's leaving in its path to this economy in my personal opinion, is even worse.

You know we write about cars but we also check the pulse of many dealers around the USA, and follow the deals closely.

SO that truck in the cover pic with the $12k off advertisement plastered on it is NOT a Pandemic deal, it was the going discount BEFORE all this hit. And even at THAT price, they weren't flying off the shelves.

SO our question today is...What WILL they do to restart a healthy sales flow? Cause just zero percent long term financing just ISN'T cutting it.

What would they have to do to get YOU to take QUICK action? $25K off AND ZERO percent? Or will even that not energize a quick rebound?

Spies, discuss...

Cleankutazn - 4/11/2020 6:06:20 PM

+7 Boost

American cars....I need 100% off :)

MDarringer - 4/11/2020 6:10:58 PM

+1 Boost

We need to catch on to the fact that we are using a mathematical/statistical paradigm to solve the supposed high death rate of the coronavirus. We were supposed to have 2.5 million die in the USA and that got revised down several times to 60K and now they are saying fewer that 30K or 1/2 the death rate of the flu.

If we all went outside and went on with our lives we would be developing "herd immunity", but this is a medical/scientific paradigm that people won't accept. We would be over the coronavirus and 2-3 weeks. Hospitals are NOT clogged with coronavictims. In fact, hospitals are losing money because they are largely empty of all elective surgeries which is a massive amount of their traffic.

The answer is to open America for business.

The sales slide for brands in our group are all massive, but some more massive than others.

Agent001 - 4/11/2020 7:55:40 PM

+1 Boost

But you didn't answer the question. What kind of incentives will have to be offered to kick start it back up to volume levels? Cause, no offense, 0% for 84 months ain't workin'.

001

MDarringer - 4/11/2020 8:13:34 PM

+1 Boost

I did answer the question: "The answer is to open America for business."

Incentives won't be that effective.

In California, Governor Newsom decided to govern rather than stick to his sexual impropriety and has bankrupted a lot of Californians. A lot of those people simply won't bounce back anytime soon, so incentives simply are not going to be the trick.

It's easy for him to put people out of work because he still has his six-figure income, cockails at 5:00 with his denture-sucking Aunt Nancy, and gourmet meals while the people he was elected to govern--many of them--are living on crumbs.

It's time to go back to work and let what happens happen.

MBKing - 4/12/2020 2:56:56 PM

+3 Boost

MDarringer based on your comments I am assuming you don't have any direct understanding of how bad it is in NY right now. Because of the states slow response to this virus they really dropped the ball up front and they are now paying for it with everyone in complete panic. If you don't talk to anyone in NY or have any coworkers or friends who live there, I get it, you don't have the same sense of exposure, however, once you have multiple friends get sick and have to be intubated and on a ventilator you start to understand how scary this can be. You can open up all businesses in NY right now and no one will leave their house or commute to work because they in fear of this pandemic because they have witnessed what it has done to people they know first hand.

MDarringer - 4/12/2020 3:20:13 PM

+1 Boost

Actually, I am very much up on the real data, but you're being 100% emotional which means 0% factual. You aren't capable of conversation because emotion leads to illogic. I have no patience for the stupidity of illogic. #AsYouWere

MBKing - 4/12/2020 4:40:06 PM

+2 Boost

I think you are missing the point. It doesn't matter if you open the economy, tell every restaurant they have to open, hand people more socialism dollars, etc. If people don't feel comfortable going back into society and spending the money, it won't change anything.

MDarringer - 4/12/2020 9:25:29 PM

0 Boost

Not missing the point at all. The death rate is 0.0000457% currently. The flu is more than double that. The COVIDiots believe it's the end of times but they simply are too unintelligent to look at the data.

It's time to open for business and if you don't show up, you're fired.

ricks0me - 4/11/2020 8:51:03 PM

-2 Boost

Well said Matt.

In an unrelated rant, I am in no hurry for the Ford Bronco. I was looking forward to the 2004 (I believe I have that correct) retro Bronco that looked amazing. You can keep the next release. Big Fail. I would have put one in my driveway. You could not give me what's in the pipeline.
Why do car companies show amazing concepts (I'm looking at you Cadillac) and then give us BS for a car?

Agent 001: Sales lost because of what I just wrote. Not related to COVID19 in anyway. Just Detroit stupidity !!!

MDarringer - 4/11/2020 9:04:06 PM

+1 Boost

Cadillac is the worst of all.

They showed us the Elmiraj and we got the dull CT6. I still think it would have sold a lot better as an Elmiraj.

They showed us the heavenly Escala and we got the Aztek-hideous CT5. The CT5 is dead in the water for sales for us. We've refused all incoming stock because we have too many on the lot that no one is interested in.

We have some leftover CTS models and invariably people will take a leftover CTS over a steeply discounted CT5.

SanJoseDriver - 4/11/2020 11:21:05 PM

+3 Boost

I'm surprised Tesla has not discounted anything at all yet. Last year there were major price cuts in Q1 with the drop of the Federal incentive. At this point, there is $0 in Federal incentive and the whole Coronavirus situation, and there are no discounts or incentives whatsoever. Either they have a great backlog or there are some new things coming that haven't been announced yet.

MDarringer - 4/12/2020 11:44:07 AM

+2 Boost

It would be interesting to know how much unsold stock Tesla has. By contrast, FCA over produced so their storage lots are full of cars.

SanJoseDriver - 4/13/2020 3:45:45 AM

+3 Boost

Right now I think they have absolutely nothing in inventory for the US. If you go on the website you can only custom build a new car, with delivery in 7-11 weeks for the S/3/X and you can't even get an ETA on the Model Y which is sold out for ages.

Q2 is going to be rough with no cars to sell. I don't even see an option to buy used cars. Helps explain why all the retail and delivery people were furloughed.

bmw7er - 4/11/2020 11:52:22 PM

+5 Boost

The trouble with the truck in the picture is there is not enough discount for me to buy one. There was one behind me yesterday, and it was so ugly I couldn't get my eyes off of it. All I could think of is the Trukster from Vacation. I found myself shaking my head as it went by. Are there no test groups for these things to look at before production?

qwertyfla1 - 4/12/2020 8:31:31 AM

+1 Boost

They aren't selling because they are FUGLY. I don't think Ford has any issues selling F150s which have been around in the current body style for many years. Sure they have discounts but trucks are also simple and lucrative as they are all sheet metal for the most part unlike cars that have much more internal components and trim pieces...

ctsang - 4/14/2020 11:18:55 AM

+1 Boost

free?

MDarringer - 4/14/2020 11:39:18 AM

+1 Boost

Even then would you want to put up with its ugliness?