Ortonville-These days, Joe Carrier is smiling. And he should be.
Carrier, the general manager of Randy Wise Ford, 989 S. Ortonville Road, had customers waiting to buy new cars in his showroom’a welcome sight considering the dismal economy. Thanks to the ‘Cash for Clunkers? program which started last month, Carrier has joined in on an auto-boom that has not been seen in a while.
Vehicle owners will receive $3,500 to $4,500 for their old clunkers that get 18 miles or less to the gallon and are less than 25-years-old. The clunkers program took aim at sagging auto sales, and to prompt consumers toward fuel-efficient vehicles. Congress OK’d $1 billion in funding in mid-June; however, the popularity of the trade-in deal was so great for consumers that it quickly ran out of money.
‘We have 11 clunkers on the lot within the first week of the program,? said Carrier. ‘That’s more than I anticipated. The majority of customers received the maximum of $4,500 for their old car’many are anxious to get the deal before the money runs out. The buyers are excited and urgent.?
Carrier said the Ford Focus was the top seller followed by the Escape, Fusion and Flex.
‘This is great for the automobile industry,? said Carrier. ‘The administration through the government is another story’the first of 11 registrations took six hours to process. Still, this is what the economy needs’the additional sales have boosted us over 20 percent compared to last year. Ford told us last week that production will increase due to the program.?
After the vehicle is turned in, the oil is drained and the vehicle is destroyed.
‘Despite the economic challenges out there right now we are not pulling back on the key components’the best products and service to our customers,? he said. ‘It’s like the old days when customers were just rolling into the showroom.?
Carrier’s sales spike may have a lasting impact on the auto industry in the near future.
Erich Merkle, president of Grand Rapids based Autoconomy, LLC, has been working in the auto industry as an economic analyst and automobile sales forecast expert for more than 10 years.
‘If there is a price to pay for Cash for Clunkers in the future it will be small,? said Merkle. ‘GM had a massive sales spike in 2005 with employee incentives’this spike does not come close. The economy was not in a recession at the time and there was no limitations then. We do now, and so this should create a lift.
‘New buyers that would not have purchased a new car are doing so now. They were used car buyers driving off in a new car. Secondly, there’s a lot of ‘pent-up? demand. Every year 12.5 million vehicles are taken out of circulation nationwide’the sales to replace those cars have been under that amount. It’s now time to replace some of those cars.?