Your point evidences a certain practical wisdom. Having said that, however, what’s the alternative? Can we afford to ignore the current market in favor of that which we know from our past? How much longer can we accept the relatively slow process of procuring, reconditioning, setting up and selling times? Isn’t it all about speed and efficiency in terms of the time that it takes to buy a car, put it through the shop and get it over the curb? Perhaps you could criticize my argument as being full of theoretical wisdom, and that might be fair. I think the real answer, however, is somewhere in between. What I mean is that we need to keep a close eye on the current market, move fast and stay light. In the words of Bob Dylan, “Times are a-changing,” and this business is not getting any easier. I really appreciate your perspectives. Thanks. Dale

I agree of course. The numbers don’t lie.
But there is other factors that need to be considered, such as preparadness of the sales floor to handle different line of products, familiarity of service department with these vehicles, etc.
It is interesting you gave the exact date and time that list was produced.
Due to the high volatility of today’s market, I would suggest caution.
It is very possible that PT Cruiser Touring SUV could drastically cool off and drop in price by the time those two truckloads make their way into the dealership, through the service department, detail, the net…
I guess, what I am trying to say is that those numbers talk about NOW, and even the best of us would need considerable amount of time to acquire, recon, train, etc.
Further more, the fact that the above data surprised all of us, only leads me to believe that by the time some believer stocks up on PT Cruisers and has them truly ready for sale, that list of top 20 may look entirely different

Great post about PT Cruisers. I agree with you but it’s all about getting buy in from your used car sales managers and buyers on this philosophy of using real data to improve our stocking practices. We have been using your tool for some time now and I think it is largely responsible for our profits, our volume and our used inventory turn rate being higher.

With that said, I would love to see the top 20 list for my area. If you could email that to me it would be great. I guess I would be defined as the Allentown, PA metro area or maybe the Philadelphia, PA metro area. It all depends who you listen to.

By the way, trade ins have been our best source of compacts and subcompacts. Being a Honda and Hyundai dealer, I am fortunate because I see a lot more of these cars at the door than other dealers. Having said that, the auctions this past week have been crazy. As usual, I think guys are panic buying paying stupid numbers for Civics, Fits, Elantras, Corollas, etc. If it’s a compact Asian import the numbers are stupid. One year old Fits are doing over sticker and the same is almost true for Civics. There is a lot of opportunity in other areas that we have to find. Incidentally, I was talking to a Ford dealer buddy of mine the other day about used cars and he was telling me how he was worried about the pick ups he has in stock that he is $3000+ wrong in. I felt like telling him to just take the hit on these and go buy replacements at fair market value. People still want trucks and SUV’s especially at the right numbers so dealers have opportunity there. We found that out with Pilot’s in particular.

I look forward to seeing that list. Have a great holiday. If you are ever in my area, it would be great to meet you in person and talk about the business.

Best Wishes,

Andy