Jon Gray, owner of Orange Coast Chrysler Jeep Dodge in Costa Mesa, is bucking the automotive downturn by opening a store, OC Motorsports.
The store, set to open in May, will sell and install racing parts for street vehicles. It also will fix cars and sell customized autos.
Last year, Orange Coast Chrysler Jeep Dodge consolidated its two dealership locations on Harbor Boulevard and was left with 2.5 acres at Harbor and Fair Drive.
Gray put the land up for sale but got no takers. So he and his partners decided to open OC Motorsports on half of the space. The other half is used to store autos for his dealership.
His partners are Tom Kirk, vice president of the Orange Coast Chrysler Jeep Dodge, and Dan Fresh, the dealer’s service manager. Fresh also is an off-road racer.
As a Chrysler dealer, Gray is in a precarious position.
Chrysler LLC’s future is up in the air. The automaker is in talks with Italy’s Fiat SPA, which could take a stake in the company. Chrysler has until the end of the month to find a partner to stay in business.
Gray is upbeat about the possible deal with Fiat because of the Italian automaker’s focus on fuel-efficient cars and European styling.
First-quarter sales were up at his dealership, Gray said. He expects small month to month fluctuations, but said the worst is over.
“It’s my opinion that we’ve definitely hit the bottom,” he said.
Auto Sales
February auto registrations in Orange County were down 45% from a year earlier at 8,760 vehicles, according to the Orange County Automobile Dealers Association.
February’s decline followed a 32% yearly drop in January.
For the year so far, registrations, a barometer of sales, are off 38% to 14,116 autos.
Domestic brands led the decline, down 51% in February, followed by Japanese makes, down 49%, and European brands, down 37%. South Korean brands ticked up 2%.
General Motors saw a 56% decline in registrations to 70 autos. Ford saw its sales shrink 46% to 412 autos. Chrysler was down 62% to 55 autos.
General Motors Corp. is in the process of slimming its business and may shrink to just two brands, Cadillac and Chevrolet.
Hummer was down 81% to five vehicles. The future of Hummer is up in the air as parent General Motors tries to sell it.
The bright spots: Kia, which has its U.S. headquarters in Irvine, was up 26% to 54 autos; Volkswagen was up 5% to 201 autos; and Jaguar was up 75% to 28 autos. Hyundai, with its U.S. headquarters in Fountain Valley, also did relatively better with a 2% decline in registrations to 268 autos.
Hyundai’s assurance program, which allows car buyers to return their cars if they lose their jobs, may be helping sales. The automaker says no one has taken advantage of the offer yet.
Recently, General Motors followed Hyundai’s lead, announcing a similar program, excluding Saab, which the company also is trying to sell. Ford Motor Co. also came out with its own program.
On the luxury front, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus and BMW saw significant drops in February. Mercedes-Benz registered 335 autos, a 45% drop; Lexus sold 315 autos, a 45% decline; and BMW was down 43% to 301 autos.
For the first two months of the year, Mercedes led with 1,022 autos sold, down 35%; Lexus had 879 registrations, down 40%, and BMW, 839 autos, down 31%.
Local Sears Launch
Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based Sears Holdings Corp., parent of Kmart and Sears, is getting into the home energy audit business, which could boost its sales of appliances such as energy efficient refrigerators.
Sears is launching the service in Orange County and Los Angeles.
The retailer’s service arm does a four-hour test and then offers homeowners recommendations on lowering energy bills. Sears charges $275 for the audit. Southern California Edison offers free audits.
The $275 can be applied to the cost of services (excluding appliances) if the costs are more than $5,000. Some of the costs qualify as a tax credit as part of the federal stimulus. Sears has 3,800 stores nationally, including a store at Buena Park Downtown and Brea Mall.
Ritz Closures
Beltsville, Md.-based Ritz Camera Centers Inc. is closing 300 of its 700 Ritz camera stores nationwide, including stores at Shops of Mission Viejo, Brea Mall and the Irvine side of the The Market Place. The closure is part of a bankruptcy reorganization.
Stores began liquidation sales last week.
Irvine-based Ritz Interactive Inc., which sells camera equipment online and operates BoatersWorld.com, got its start as the online site of Ritz Camera Centers. It is a separate company and is not part of the bankruptcy.
Also holding liquidation sales and going out of business is Northbrook, Ill.-based Boater’s World, which has 129 stores, including one in Huntington Beach. Boater’s World sells fishing and boating gear. Ritz Camera Centers owns Boater’s World.
Boater’s World is not related to Ritz Interactive’s BoatersWorld.com. Boater’s World’s site is BoatersWorldStores.com.
