Third-quarter auto registrations are expected to bounce back after falling in the second quarter.
The Orange County Automobile Dealers Association’s Auto Outlook report calls for 4.4% growth in the third quarter, compared to a year earlier. That follows a 6.2% decline in the second quarter.
OC registrations in the fourth quarter, meanwhile, are expected to fall 0.4%, compared to 2004. In all, OC buyers are expected to register 195,086 autos in 2005, 0.4% more than a year ago.
Korean automakers are expected to post the biggest percentage gain in OC this year, up 5.1% to 4,045. The Big Three automakers are expected to see a 4.8% decline in registrations to 60,920, with Japanese producers reporting a 3.8% gain to 98,578.
2006 is seen as being a “soft” year.
“(C)onsumers are pretty much tapped out after years of robust spending, negligible contributions to savings and escalating debt,” the dealers association reported.
High gas prices and an end to “employee discount for all” incentive programs also are expected to curtail auto buying.
|
|
||
|
V8 Vantage: Bauer Aston Martin to sell auto |
But next year’s softness won’t completely choke the local market.
“We believe there are several tangible factors that will prevent the market from falling off a cliff and should keep sales humming along at a respectable, albeit, slower pace,” the report said.
Gains in income and continued aggressive pricing should keep auto sales moving at a decent pace next year, the dealers association predicted.
Halloween Cheer
Triangle Square’s upper floor looked pretty bleak on a recent visit to the Costa Mesa shopping center.
The opening of Kelly’s Coffee & Fudge Factory hardly is enough to offset the loneliness, which is bound to worsen when Virgin Megastore departs next month.
Kelly’s owners, who are hoping to draw Sutra Lounge’s evening customers, are brave.
Sherri Hudson doesn’t think there’s anything scary about Triangle Square. She’s opening her seasonal Halloween Express store there on the bottom floor of the former Niketown.
“It’s just so visible,” she said.
Some people complain about the parking at Triangle Square, but Hudson doesn’t worry about drawing customers.
“For Halloween, they’d drive an hour to find a store,” she said.
Halloween Express sells costumes and other decorating goodies.
Hudson said she got a good deal on her lease at the Triangle Square location.
Last year Hudson rented space at the Corona del Mar Plaza on Pacific Coast Highway and next to Mother’s Market and Kitchen on 17th Street in Costa Mesa. This year she has another Halloween Express near the Brea Mall.
Halloween stores aren’t Hudson’s first retail ventures. She owned a clothing store at Fashion Island but Hudson said it didn’t last long. She didn’t make enough to pay the rent and had to close.
Recently, Hudson ran a cart at a mall outside OC. But the Tustin resident wants to stay local.
Every year, she has to find a new location for her Halloween stores. It’s challenging, she said.
Most retailers want tenants to sign a permanent lease. She begins scouting locations in June.
What’s big in costumes this year? Star Wars, Harry Potter and Batman. And the Leg Avenue line of sexy costumes, such as belly dancing garb, are big sellers in OC, she said.
Patriot Games
Family Motor Sports, the recently opened motorcycle, all-terrain vehicle and dune buggy dealer for San Clemente-based Patriot Motorcycle Corp., is taking an affordable tack to drum up sales.
Some of the Patriot motorcycles are priced at less than $2,000.
The motorcycles,except for the engines,are made in China and shipped to Costa Mesa-based Family Motor Sports, where they’re put together.
Family Motor Sports’ store on Newport Boulevard near Second Spin record shop is set to be the flagship where other store owners will be trained.
The store is awaiting its line of street-ready Patriot bikes, which have been approved for sale in all but a couple of states, including California. The Patriot off-road bikes have been approved.
“California is the Holy Grail in our industry,” said Mark Green, vice president of sales and marketing for Patriot.
The street bikes are undergoing California emissions testing.
In other Patriot news, the company last week said it bought custom bike maker Steed Musclebike Motorcycle Co. for undisclosed terms.
High-End Affair
Aston Martin North America’s $110,000 V8 Vantage is readying to be shipped to dealers across the U.S.
Here in OC, the luxury sports car will be on display at an invitation-only event at the South Coast Plaza on Sept. 9 (see related item, page 14). Those interested in checking out the V8 Vantage need to call a dealer and ask for an invite.
It looks like Bauer Aston Martin in Santa Ana is the county’s only dealer of new Aston Martins (please call me if you’re a local dealer selling new Aston Martins).
The V8 Vantage is expected to go on sale during the first quarter next year. Aston Martin is part of Ford Motor Co.’s Irvine-based Premier Auto Group.
