October was another bad month for Orange County’s auto dealers.
New automobile registrations, a barometer of sales, were down 27% to 14,659 autos in October from a year earlier, according to the Costa Mesa-based Orange County Automobile Dealers Association’s monthly report.
Through October, 2008 registrations were down 20%, making it one of the worst years ever for OC’s auto dealers. In the U.S., auto sales were down 13% year to date.
For the month of October, registrations for every brand,except Jaguar, Kia and Subaru,were down double digits.
Those that did gain were small brands: Jaguar’s registrations were up 85% to 37 autos; Subaru’s registrations were up 20% to 78 autos; and Kia was up 100% to 58 autos.
Of the luxury brands, Mercedes-Benz held on to the top spot while its competitors saw bigger de-clines.
Mercedes registrations were down 27% to 643 autos. BMW was down 33% to 452 autos. Lexus was down 37% to 437 autos.
For the year through October, Mercedes has seen a 14% decrease in registrations to 7,158.
Toyota, which sells the most autos in OC, was down 41% to 2,155 autos in October. Honda, the No. 2 brand in OC, was down 31% to 1,176 autos. Ford, the third top-selling brand in OC, in October was down 34% to 641 autos.
For the year through October, only eight auto brands saw an increase in registrations.
Kia led the pack, up 99% to 739 autos, followed by Jaguar, up 23% to 376 autos. Mini Cooper was up 20% to 1,074; Volkswagen 14% to 2,806; Subaru 12% to 819; Mazda 3% to 2,884; Hyundai 2% to 3,063; and Buick 1.6% to 319.
Clean-Diesel Tax Credit
Mercedes-Benz dealers are hoping a tax credit of up to $1,800 will boost sales of its clean diesel models, which recently hit dealer showrooms.
The 2009 diesel models use German automaker Daimler AG’s BlueTec technology to meet emission standards that qualify for the alternative vehicle tax credit.
BlueTec converts polluting nitrogen oxide emissions into non-polluting nitrogen and water vapor.
The sport utility vehicles sell for $45,000 to $55,000 and get about 30 miles per gallon. The models include the ML320, GL320 and R320.
Newport Beach’s Fletcher Jones Motorcars has the largest allotment of the clean diesels to sell.
Hybrids and electric autos also qualify for the federal tax credit.
Toy Boat Docks in Wonderland
Newport Beach toy store Toy Boat is selling Newport Beach-based Wonderland Bakery’s collection of bears, tea sets, aprons, dessert mixes and other products.
Toy Boat has a handful of stores in the county, including in Newport Coast and Fashion Island.
Wonderland Bakery has created a line of products based on the ideas of chef Allyson Ames, who owns the store with her mother, Sondra Ames. Wonderland, which has its own store in Newport Beach and has sold seasonal treats at South Coast Plaza, eventually plans to sell its bakery products at other retailers.
New Jersey-based Gund Inc. makes an Allyson Wonderland Bear and other products for the bakery, which opened three years ago.
Mike and Lori Curtin own Toy Boat.
Holiday Sales
While national Black Friday sales were up 3% from 2007, many retailers are concerned that sales may die off before Christmas and profits may be minimal because of deep discounts offered to lure shoppers.
Chicago-based ShopperTrak RCT Corp. is predicting a 10% decline in shoppers for the holiday season (November and December) and a 0.6% decrease in sales for both November and this month.
