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Uncle Phil said in May 4th, 2008 at 12:50 pm

I think the oil companies may have stepped a little too fast on this latest round of price increases. Moving from $2 to $3 a gallon seemed to take a lot longer than the move from $3 to $4. People haven’t had a chance to get used to the the $3 price point so the $4 price point seems like a much bigger jump. Lot’s of folks were surprised at how little behavior changed at $3, but the combination of the slowing economy and the rapid acceleration in gas prices seems to be hitting home. Time to add a SmartCar franchise to your dealership.

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Dale Pollak said in May 5th, 2008 at 8:39 am

Mr. Krouse,

Thanks for your insights. There’s no doubt that these are wild and wacky times and we’re seeing a lot of shifts in the market place spurred by the economy and fuel prices. I don’t know how any book can possibly keep up with the turbulent changes, hopefully things will settle down.

The worst things for us as dealers are not the bad conditions as much as the uncertainty of how bad the conditions really are. Such uncertainty keeps consumers on the side-lines and us guessing as to what to stock and how much to pay. It’s times like these that really expose the weakness of so-called “core” or “optimal” stocking modules. My best advice is to keep your eye on the market day’s supply of your inventory. Your attention to this metric will keep you between the lines.

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Dale Pollak said in May 5th, 2008 at 8:42 am

Uncle Phil,

Amen. Yesterday while filling-up the family cruiser the pump shut off not because the tank was full, but because my credit card hit the $75 per fuel charge limit. That’s a depressing moment.

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