The Real Reason Auto Sales Climb At Auto Show Time

This past weekend I had the chance to visit the Toledo Auto Show at the Seagate center and sit in numerous new vehicles. The show was a pleasant experience, I got to sit in numerous cars I cannot afford, met some Jeep enthusiasts. I also had a chance to discuss the fact that Yark Automotive Group in Toledo Ohio sold us an ’05 Equinox which had a major and potentially fatal safety issue with someone from Chevy corporate. The individual gave us advice on getting the problem resolved. A few things bother me about the setup of the Toledo Auto show but for now I’ll focus on the perception that the shows will increase sales due to .

Every time I have heard mention of the any of the big auto shows the author referred to an increase in sales for all of the local dealers. Many people pin this increase on the dealer incentives which usually increase near the time of local auto shows. I believe that the real reason sales increase post auto show is for a completely different reason! I cannot think of any other environment in which the consumer has such unfettered access to all of these vehicles in a low pressure setting. Good luck showing up on any dealership lot and hoping in and out of every model on the lot without getting a high pressure sales pitch.

In short sales increase not due to incentives or general the excitement of consumers but because consumers can get in and at least partially experience all kinds of makes and models without any pressure.  I’ll be following up later this week with a method for dealers to replicate the low pressure environment and boost car sales, all while having happy and satisfied customers.