Auto Dealers

Anne Arundel County Executive John D. Gary testified yesterday in favor of a bill to allow auto dealers in the county to open and sell vehicles on Sundays."

Car wars '96 is being fought in Howard County. But like most regional conflicts, there is a good chance that the fighting will spill over into the rest of the state.The clash arose from a plan by Circuit City Stores Inc., a retailer better known for marketing televisions and stereos, to open one of its giant CarMax used car stores at the old Freestate race course just south of Savage.That alone is a threat to neighboring auto dealers, who are seeing an increasingly larger share of their profits derive from sales of used rather than new cars.

I am about to violate a solemn oath and reveal one of the most precious trade secrets of the automobile industry. But if I can save just one child from poverty, it will be worth it.Perhaps I should start at the beginning.People who are annoyed at the high cost of welfare often use a compelling argument against so-called ''deadbeat dads'' -- men who have a better record of maintaining their car payments than their child-support obligations.According to the Children's Defense Fund, for example, less than 3 percent of people default on used-car payments, while 49 percent fall behind on child support.

Maryland's long-running new-car sales boom seems to be losing some of its pep, but 1994 is still shaping up to be auto dealers' best year since the pre-recession late 1980s.According to figures compiled by the Motor Vehicle Administration, new-car sales rose 3.4 percent last month, compared with the previous September. While that kept intact a 16-month string of higher sales, it's a far more modest pace than the double-digit gains of the spring and early summer. Sales growth has slowed every month since April.

New car sales -- an important barometer in measuring the country's economic health -- have been on the rise this year. Across the country, sales of cars and light trucks are up about 9 percent over the 1993 selling pace.In Maryland, the gain is even greater. According to figures compiled by the Motor Vehicle Administration, vehicle sales for the first 10 months of the year are 17 percent ahead of the 1993 sales pace.Can this strong sales pace continue? What is your forecast for 1995?Alfred ShockleyPresident, Maryland New Car and Truck Dealers AssociationI'm cautiously optimistic that 1995 will be another good year for dealers in the state.

The owner of Baltimore's Monument Ford plans to open Columbia's first auto dealership, and the development of a small auto park at the Snowden River Parkway site may follow.George Doetsch said his company is negotiating with two other automobile manufacturers that have expressed interest in forming an auto park in the Columbia Corporate Park at McGaw Road and Snowden River Parkway."There is some strong interest in that immediate area," said Mr. Doetsch, who acquired the Baltimore dealership in 1987 and previously owned dealerships in Elkton, Easton and Leesburg, Va.Several times since the 1970s, the Rouse Co. has attempted unsuccessfully to develop an auto park in the east Columbia area, said Ed Ely, Rouse Co. vice president and director of land sales and marketing.

New York -- A small but growing number of auto dealers are picking up on "one-price" selling. That's the no-hassle way to buy. Each car in the showroom is ticketed at the dealer's best price. It may not always be the lowest price in town, but it's still pretty low, and you don't have to dicker in order to get it. So you don't have to wonder whether, with more nerve, you'd have gotten another $100 off.A survey last year by J.D. Power and Associates, a consulting firm, found that about 1,500 auto dealers engaged in one-price selling.

Would you buy a used car from this retailer?Circuit City Stores Inc., the giant home electronics chain, startled Wall Street, auto dealers and much of the retail world yesterday with an announcement that it was going into the used-car business.The news, tucked near the end of a news release detailing the company's financial results, overshadowed a 38 percent increase in profits in Circuit City's fiscal fourth quarter."I was a little surprised that the media picked up on that when we announced earnings that were above expectations and described our keymarkets and plans for expansion, all of which will have a big impact on our business," said Ann Collier, Circuit City's spokeswoman.

Steve Stern of Rockville estimates that he saved $2,000 on the purchase of a new Toyota Camry last summer by taking advantage of a service offered by Consumers' CHECKBOOK, a Washington-based non-profit consumer advocacy group."

Steve Stern of Rockville estimates that he saved $2,000 on the purchase of a new Toyota Camry last summer by taking advantage of a service offered by Consumers' CHECKBOOK, a Washington-based non-profit consumer advocacy group."

Most Maryland auto dealers participating in "Cash for Clunkers" have yet to be reimbursed by the federal government, raising concerns about the financial pressure the program is putting on dealers. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Transportation said it is working overtime to process an overwhelming number of claims and trying to make sure that taxpayer money is paid out only for legitimate transactions. The Car Allowance Rebate System, better known as Cash for Clunkers, offers $3,500 or $4,500 to consumers who scrap a gas-guzzler and buy a more fuel-efficient new vehicle.

"Cash-for-clunkers" may be a hit with consumers and a boon to the struggling auto industry, but it's no bonanza for junkyard operators, who say they're being left quite literally with the scraps of the federal economic stimulus program. While some salvage businesses are eagerly buying traded-in gas-guzzlers from auto dealers for parts and scrap metal, others are steering clear of the government program, with some complaining that it comes with more red tape than it's worth. "We just ain't getting involved in it," says Roland Reiser, manager of Glory Days Auto Salvage in Hanover.

WASHINGTON -- A significant increase in imports of automobile brakes containing asbestos over the past decade is raising renewed concerns for the health of the nation's auto mechanics. Most U.S. automakers stopped installing brakes with asbestos in the 1990s, amid worries about the health hazards. As the perceived risk of exposure declined, so did government warnings to mechanics outlining the possible dangers. Despite an 83 percent rise in imported brakes with asbestos over the past decade, there has been no renewed effort by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to notify mechanics that they might again be at risk of asbestos-related disease, which can be fatal.

The past four years have been the best in history for the nation's auto retailers, and dealers in Maryland have shared in the boom times. According to an economic impact study released yesterday by the Maryland New Car and Truck Dealers Association, nearly one of every four motorists in the state bought a new or used car this year, and dealers rolled up impressive gains in total sales and vehicle sales, while enjoying a slight increase in profits....

Developers, auto dealers, energy companies and port businesses were among the interests that helped Republican Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. raise more than $620,000 in a 2 1/2 -week period this month for his campaign for governor. The GOP candidate, whose fund raising eclipsed that of Democrat Kathleen Kennedy Townsend during the period, raised more than 90 percent of his money from Maryland sources, according to campaign finance reports filed yesterday. Townsend's fund raising, meanwhile, seemed to melt away during the Aug. 7 to Aug. 25 filing period.

Maryland motorists went on a fourth-quarter buying spree that boosted sales of new vehicles to a record last year, according to figures released yesterday by the Motor Vehicle Administration. Lured by low-interest financing - zero on many models - motorists bought 101,193 vehicles in the last three months of the year - nearly 13,000 more cars and light trucks than during the last quarter of 2000. It was the strongest fourth-quarter selling period for dealers since 1991, when the MVA resumed releasing vehicle title registration figures, which equate to sales.

For Chevy buyers, it doesn't get any easier than this. With a few clicks of a mouse, car buyers will soon be able to use their computers to select the Chevrolet car or truck of their choice, agree on a purchase price and give their business to the dealer they like best. Beginning May 1, General Motors Corp. will team with Autobytel.com Inc., an online auto referral service, and 22 Chevrolet dealers in suburban Maryland, Washington and Northern Virginia to test a new approach to Internet car selling.

The state Motor Vehicle Administration yesterday approved the license application of two Houston auto dealers to operate four new car stores in the Baltimore area owned by General Motors Corp. It also approved a fifth to be opened later this year. The approval came a week after the MVA launched an investigation into the transaction to determine if it was in violation of a state law prohibiting auto manufacturers from owning retail outlets. Other GM dealers in the region complained to their trade group, the Maryland New Car and Truck Dealers Association, that GM's ownership of the outlets amounted to factory stores.

The state Motor Vehicle Administration said yesterday that it will begin an investigation into General Motors Corp.'s recent purchase of five new-car dealerships in the Baltimore area. As part of what it called a "reconstruction project," GM acquired the dealerships and has partnered with two Houston auto dealers who will operate the stores and, eventually, plan to buy out the factory. Charles D. Schaub, manager of business licensing at the MVA, said yesterday that he wants to make certain that the transaction is not a violation of a Maryland law that prohibits auto manufacturers from owning retail outlets.

Anne Arundel County Executive John D. Gary testified yesterday in favor of a bill to allow auto dealers in the county to open and sell vehicles on Sundays."