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Local sales reflect national trends: more SUVs and trucks, fewer compacts

By Pat Cloonan pcloonan@heraldstandard.Com 5 min read
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Kelly Tunney | Herald-Standard

Ford trucks for sale at Solomon Ford in Brownsville.

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Bob Fox of Charleroi looks at a Ford Focus hatchback at Davies Ford in Charleroi on Friday afternoon with salesman Bob Crall. Fox owns a Mustang and Focus from Davies Ford already, and was just visiting the dealership with a friend in the market for a Focus.

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Chris Bonchosky, shop foreman at Centennial Chevrolet, looks over the trucks and SUVs currently at the dealership. Automakers reported healthy sales in April due in large part to the sale of trucks and SUVs.

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Chuck Christopher, detail manager at Centennial Chevrolet goes over several Chevy Cruze models at the dealership. Automakers reported healthy sales in April due in large part to the sale of trucks and SUVs which could prompt the discount of cars.

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Salesman Mike Martinez, center, helps Lloyd and Ellen Ford of Richeyville figure out their options as they look to replace their 2008 Taurus at Solomon Ford in Brownsville on Friday afternoon.

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Bob Fox of Charleroi looks at a Ford Focus hatchback at Davies Ford in Charleroi on Friday afternoon with salesman Bob Crall. Fox owns a Mustang and Focus from Davies Ford already, and was just visiting the dealership with a friend in the market for a Focus.

Nationally, small-car sales are down, while truck and sport-utility-vehicle sales are up, according to industry experts.

Those trends are reflected at dealerships throughout the region … for the most part.

“New cars and trucks are up,” said Lynn Wooley, Charleroi-based general manager for the Davies Ford dealerships in Charleroi and Connellsville. “They’re either going up or staying the same, depending on the month.”

In the 12 months ending April 30, small-car sales fell more than 6 percent, according to Ward’s Automotive. At the same time, truck and SUV sales combined grew more than 10 percent.

“We’re pretty close to national trends,” said Norman Solomon, owner of Solomon Auto Group which includes Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram dealerships in Brownsville and Carmichaels and a recently-expanded Ford operation in Brownsville.

“Ford sales are up 10 percent for the first three months of this year, over the same period a year ago,” Solomon said. “Trucks and SUVs combined are up 20 percent over the same period in 2015. Chrysler sales are about even over last year.”

Nationally, so far this year, about 54 percent of United States vehicle sales have been trucks and SUVs. Just two years ago, cars ruled the market at 51 percent.

Industry experts expect trucks and SUVs will help dealers set a new annual sales record above 17.5 million vehicles this year, while a continued slowdown is expected in the sales of cars.

With many Americans rushing to buy trucks and SUVs, there are good deals to be had on cars, especially smaller models.

In April, despite sales of nearly 1 million small cars so far this year in the U.S., supplies of small cars on dealer lots grew to the highest level in seven years.

“It’s going to become more cutthroat,” said Eric Lyman, vice president of industry insights for the TrueCar.com auto pricing site. “It means if you’re not keeping your vehicle up, you’re at a competitive disadvantage.”

A General Motors executive said compact cars remain the largest part of the market around the world.

“We think it will remain that way,” said Chris Biggs, executive director of marketing for the Chevrolet Cruze, a redesigned version of which recently was released by GM.

“Truck sales are up and car sales are down slightly,” said Debbie Peters, general manager at Day Centennial Chevrolet north of Uniontown. She cited figures “at a glance” for the year to date, adding, “used car sales are up as well.”

Peters said gasoline prices are a factor, even though Pennsylvania has a higher gasoline tax than many other states. Under Act 89 of 2013, a flat 12-cent per gallon tax was eliminated and the wholesale Oil Company Franchise Tax was uncapped.

“We did not benefit as much as other states,” Peters said. “Still, it has given (consumers) more spendable income, to buy that SUV they wanted to get.”

Chelsea Pompeani at AAA East Central in Pittsburgh said the average price of a gallon of gasoline in Uniontown rose from $2.29 in January 2015 to $2.92 in June, then started dropping in the fall, with a slide from $2.25 in December to $2.04 in January 2016 and $2 in February and March.

Pompeani said the average started rising again this spring, to $2.28 in April and $2.41 this month.

Noting that “gas is not as low as it was,” Wooley said, “a lot of it has to do with incentives, factory incentives on each vehicle. As you go throughout the year the incentives get bigger.”

A suburban Pittsburgh man drew national attention when he took six months to search for a small car with a monthly payment in the mid-$200 range, and found a better deal at a North Hills dealer.

Louis Cervi, 41, of Shaler Township drove off the Shults Ford lot in Wexford in a Ford Focus for $192 a month. The dealership even accepted his 2001 Chevrolet Monte Carlo with a failed transmission as a down payment on his lease.

“It was the end of the month, so I think I got kind of lucky there,” Cervi said. “They were trying to meet a quota.”

Shults owner Richard Bazzy said Ford is supporting dealers by funding lease deals. He says small cars remain a huge market for him and other dealers even though sales have fallen.

Some automakers are resorting to discounts and sweetened lease deals to move the metal — especially with models that haven’t been updated in a few years.

For instance, Ford’s Focus hasn’t been redesigned since the 2012 model year and has fallen behind newer products such as Cruze or the Honda Civic.

“Every car in the industry, as it ages, seeks to provide more value,” said Tom Sacoman, director of the Dodge brand at Fiat Chrysler.

Last month, Fiat Chrysler cut the price on some versions of its aging Dodge Dart, knocking $1,400 off the SXT model to $17,995. Dealers also are offering up to $2,750 cash back on some models.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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