Car Sales

An effort in the General Assembly to lift a ban on Sunday car sales has again brought out car dealers protesting that they and their customers like the day off.The huge AutoNation USA retailer would like to see the ban lifted by the time it opens a store in Glen Burnie and possibly one elsewhere in the Baltimore region. The company's competitor in fixed-price, late-model used-car sales, CarMax, opened a lot in Howard County last year after lawmakers lifted that county's ban.The state law has exempted Montgomery and Prince George's counties for years, allowing Sunday car sales in those counties, although few dealerships are open there seven days a week.

It's a Sunday afternoon ballet you can see wherever there's a closed auto dealership, a touch of spring and no rain.Couple No. 1 (or 2 or 20) pulls into the lot and gets out of the car.The duo starts with the scan -- a sweeping, 360-degree look at every vehicle on the lot.Next comes the stroll -- a leisurely, deliberate walk past car after car after car, pickup truck after pickup truck, sport utility after sport utility.Finally, there is the full stop -- leaning to study the sticker on the window, cupping one hand at the window to peer inside the shiny, locked car with the long, slow look that says, "I want you."

Hoping to quell a firestorm of opposition, state legislators are trying to scale back a bill to allow Sunday car sales in Howard and Anne Arundel counties, and make it apply only to Howard.The bill -- which is intended to pave the way for CarMax, a "superstore" used car dealer, to locate in North Laurel -- threatens to ignite the perennial issue of blue laws barring Sunday car sales in most of Maryland.Legislative leaders, including Sen. Walter M. Baker, chairman of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, want to avoid such a statewide debate and have delayed action on the bill, which was to have come to the Senate floor today.

An attorney for CarMax, a used-car "superstore" that plans to open a 700- to 900-car retail operation in the spring of 1997 just south of Savage, said the company will submit the project's site plans to the county by mid-May and expects to break ground by July 1.John F. Breitenberg, representing CarMax, said that before the site plans are submitted, he plans to meet with residents to hear their ideas. No date has been set for the meeting, but the attorney said he plans to schedule it for this month.

Hoping to quell a firestorm of opposition, state legislators are trying to scale back a bill to allow Sunday car sales in Howard and Anne Arundel counties, making it apply only to Howard.The bill -- which is intended to pave the way for CarMax, a "super-store" used car dealer, to locate in North Laurel -- threatens to ignite the perennial issue of blue laws barring Sunday car sales in most of Maryland.Legislative leaders, including Sen. Walter M. Baker, chairman of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, want to avoid such a statewide debate and have delayed action on the bill, which was to have come to the Senate floor today.

A committee of the House of Delegates yesterday gave the green light to a bill that supporters say would clear the way for a used car "super-store" on the site of the former Freestate harness track in North Laurel.The 18-4 vote by the House Economic Matters Committee paves the way for action by the full House on the bill, which would let car dealerships in Howard County open on Sundays. Currently, only Montgomery and Prince George's counties allow Sunday car sales.The measure, already passed by the state Senate and the target of intense lobbying, was read on the floor of the House after the committee action.

Officials for CarMax -- the used-car "super store" -- filed site plans Wednesday for the operation that is expected to bring about 300 jobs to Howard County when it opens on the Freestate development near Savage early next year.The project will sit on 45.9 acres of the more than 100-acre Freestate property.With more than 32,000 square feet of building space, CarMax plans to maintain 800 or more cars at the Freestate site.CarMax, owned by Richmond, Va.-based Circuit City Stores, is known for its high-tech showrooms and no-haggle pricing.

John F. Breitenberg is trying to peddle up to 1,000 used cars at once -- and Savage-North Laurel residents seem to be warming to his pitch.For the past two months, the Clarksville attorney representing the CarMax used car company has been giving a hard sell to residents in hopes that they will support the Richmond-based company's plan to open its next branch at the Freestate Development off U.S. 1 near Savage.Freestate is the company's first choice for a location in the area, although CarMax -- a subsidiary of Circuit City Stores Inc. -- has said it is also considering a site in Northern Virginia if Maryland lawmakers deny its request to allow Sunday car sales in Howard County.

The race horses have long since gone, but Mustangs -- along with Toyotas, Hondas and hundreds of other used cars -- may soon be arriving at the former Freestate racetrack just south of Savage.Circuit City, a nationwide electronics retailer that recently entered the used-car business, wants to open a used-car mega-store on the site. The company this summer sent a letter of intent to Freestate's developers, indicating interest in purchasing 46 acres of the 108-acre site, said John Breitenberg, a Maryland attorney representing the retailer.

Maryland's already sputtering new car sales industry suffered another setback last month as sales dropped further than those for the rest of the nation.New car and truck sales fell 18.4 percent in June, according to figures released yesterday by the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. For the nation as a whole, new car and light truck sales were down less than 1 percent."We're seeing a lot more cautious buyer today," said John Fratta, general sales manager at Ernie Swanson's Oldsmobile on North Crain Highway in Glen Burnie.

I called my mortgage company last week to ask about a refinancing rate and closing costs. The electronic message said I might have to hold for an hour. I hung up. The Obama administration's gargantuan guarantees and monetary injections into the mortgage market are bearing fruit, even if the system is temporarily clogged. Now we need the same kind of action on car finance. Maryland new-car sales fell 37 percent for the first two months of this year versus the corresponding period in 2008, and 2008 sales were down from 2007.

Despite a sharp drop in sales of one of the nation's most popular vehicles and fewer selling days, Maryland's new-car dealers had a remarkably strong May, according to figures released yesterday by the Motor Vehicle Administration. Dealers sold 37,494 new cars and light trucks last month, the MVA said, down 0.28 percent from the 37,601 vehicles sold during the comparable period last year. Dealers had 21 selling days last month and 23 in May 2000. Sales in May 2000 were the best for that month since 1991, when the MVA resumed releasing title registration figures.

It's a Sunday afternoon ballet you can see wherever there's a closed auto dealership, a touch of spring and no rain.Couple No. 1 (or 2 or 20) pulls into the lot and gets out of the car.The duo starts with the scan -- a sweeping, 360-degree look at every vehicle on the lot.Next comes the stroll -- a leisurely, deliberate walk past car after car after car, pickup truck after pickup truck, sport utility after sport utility.Finally, there is the full stop -- leaning to study the sticker on the window, cupping one hand at the window to peer inside the shiny, locked car with the long, slow look that says, "I want you."

An effort in the General Assembly to lift a ban on Sunday car sales has again brought out car dealers protesting that they and their customers like the day off.The huge AutoNation USA retailer would like to see the ban lifted by the time it opens a store in Glen Burnie and possibly one elsewhere in the Baltimore region. The company's competitor in fixed-price, late-model used-car sales, CarMax, opened a lot in Howard County last year after lawmakers lifted that county's ban.The state law has exempted Montgomery and Prince George's counties for years, allowing Sunday car sales in those counties, although few dealerships are open there seven days a week.

Officials for CarMax -- the used-car "super store" -- filed site plans Wednesday for the operation that is expected to bring about 300 jobs to Howard County when it opens on the Freestate development near Savage early next year.The project will sit on 45.9 acres of the more than 100-acre Freestate property.With more than 32,000 square feet of building space, CarMax plans to maintain 800 or more cars at the Freestate site.CarMax, owned by Richmond, Va.-based Circuit City Stores, is known for its high-tech showrooms and no-haggle pricing.

An attorney for CarMax, a used-car "superstore" that plans to open a 700- to 900-car retail operation in the spring of 1997 just south of Savage, said the company will submit the project's site plans to the county by mid-May and expects to break ground by July 1.John F. Breitenberg, representing CarMax, said that before the site plans are submitted, he plans to meet with residents to hear their ideas. No date has been set for the meeting, but the attorney said he plans to schedule it for this month.

A committee of the House of Delegates yesterday gave the green light to a bill that supporters say would clear the way for a used car "super-store" on the site of the former Freestate harness track in North Laurel.The 18-4 vote by the House Economic Matters Committee paves the way for action by the full House on the bill, which would let car dealerships in Howard County open on Sundays. Currently, only Montgomery and Prince George's counties allow Sunday car sales.The measure, already passed by the state Senate and the target of intense lobbying, was read on the floor of the House after the committee action.

Hoping to quell a firestorm of opposition, state legislators are trying to scale back a bill to allow Sunday car sales in Howard and Anne Arundel counties, and make it apply only to Howard.The bill -- which is intended to pave the way for CarMax, a "superstore" used car dealer, to locate in North Laurel -- threatens to ignite the perennial issue of blue laws barring Sunday car sales in most of Maryland.Legislative leaders, including Sen. Walter M. Baker, chairman of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, want to avoid such a statewide debate and have delayed action on the bill, which was to have come to the Senate floor today.

Hoping to quell a firestorm of opposition, state legislators are trying to scale back a bill to allow Sunday car sales in Howard and Anne Arundel counties, making it apply only to Howard.The bill -- which is intended to pave the way for CarMax, a "super-store" used car dealer, to locate in North Laurel -- threatens to ignite the perennial issue of blue laws barring Sunday car sales in most of Maryland.Legislative leaders, including Sen. Walter M. Baker, chairman of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, want to avoid such a statewide debate and have delayed action on the bill, which was to have come to the Senate floor today.

John F. Breitenberg is trying to peddle up to 1,000 used cars at once -- and Savage-North Laurel residents seem to be warming to his pitch.For the past two months, the Clarksville attorney representing the CarMax used car company has been giving a hard sell to residents in hopes that they will support the Richmond-based company's plan to open its next branch at the Freestate Development off U.S. 1 near Savage.Freestate is the company's first choice for a location in the area, although CarMax -- a subsidiary of Circuit City Stores Inc. -- has said it is also considering a site in Northern Virginia if Maryland lawmakers deny its request to allow Sunday car sales in Howard County.