Auto dealerships gear up for strong sales season

How do you put a car wash inside an auto dealership without making a mess? If you ask the folks at Hercules Car Wash System it is "like putting a big bathtub in the service bay. "We have them in more than 16 different countries and allow one hour time savings per vehicle," said Robert Flaxman, Hercules manager.

"They allow the dealership to add another selling point to their inventory and another service to provide for the customer," said Flaxman as he explained about the ability of the dealership to apply various coatings to the automobiles quickly.

Hercules' car wash system was just one of many innovations and services featured as The National Automobile Dealers Association met this past week in the Las Vegas Convention Center. And according to the association, the economy is on the move upward.

Sales of small cars, sport utility vehicles and other light trucks will lead the way toward what Paul Taylor, chief economist of the National Automobile Dealers Association, predicts is a rebuilding year for the auto industry resulting in 13.945 million new cars and light trucks purchased and leased in 2012.

Although Taylor predicts that sales will grow this year to a stronger level, the industry is not yet ready to return to a repeat of the 16 to 17 million unit highs seen during the 2000 to 2007 years.

"Those figures were not obtained during normal sales conditions," Taylor said at a press briefing during the NADA Convention and Expo in Las Vegas, which ran through Feb. 6. "Recent sales are what we would expect from a normal growing economy coming back from recession.

"With the age of cars and trucks on the road today at an average 11.1 years, many consumers feel they can no longer delay making a purchase of a new or newer vehicle," he said. "The pent up demand for these vehicles will drive the resurgence of automobile purchases in the coming year."

In an effort to spur the U.S. economy, the Federal Reserve has kept interest rates low.

"Interest rates on new-car loans will remain historically low in 2012 and 2013, due in part to policy decisions by the Federal Reserve Board to keep rates low and the U.S. economy growing," Taylor added. "As a result, affordable credit will be widely available in with more automaker finance companies offering low-interest and interest-free loans for up to 60 months."

Dealers were able to attend seminars and presentations almost hourly to learn of the exciting news about sales and products. The entire gathering was geared to new and existing dealers and providing the latest gadgets or computer programs available to allow the dealers to reach the maximum number of sales.

From miniaturized mock-ups of auto dealerships to hydraulic lifts that can stand a vehicle up on its nose at 45 degrees, the experience was very focused and driven. Ford had its Rotunda Services group prominently displayed along one side of the convention center and it offered Ford dealers every conceivable option for servicing their products.

Along with Ford were many other name brand dealers as well as support companies that provide everything from the Carfax fox to companies that provide giveaways such as key chains, stickers and special coasters to put in your cup holder to absorb drips from your coffee cup.

Among the show exhibitors was Michael Butler, president of Sutter's Mill Specialties, which provide those same key chains and discs. He has been in the industry since 1965.

"The auto industry is leading the comeback of today's economy," Butler said. "They lost 3,500 dealers and have come through the worst. They are focused on the future and are starting to use promotional products to help their sales."

Butler has been attending the NADA convention for the past 18 years and felt this year's attendance was definitely up from recent years.

The overall atmosphere and attitude at the convention was one of optimism and the ability to offer the consumer whatever is necessary to personalize his vehicle and keep it operating at peak efficiency. That sentiment was echoed from exhibitors large and small, including the guy with animated trailer hitch covers that wave when the brakes are applied to the vehicle or just a set of antlers to turn your pickup into a six-point buck going through the car wash.