I got lost for two weeks and haven’t been visiting with you.  Last week it seemed like we are back to Thanksgiving.  Nothing was hot from high to low, good or slop.  Absolutely no direction.  No export, no woodys on fat units, and no bottom feeders looking to steel.  Just flat nothing.  As always we sold everything because I don’t know how to do anything different.  It’s in my DNA so I don’t have a choice. If you had to dream up some non-sensical reason for a  completely lack luster market it would be the end of the month.  I say it’s stagnation without representation.  Programs on new cars, big inventories, cars that got bought for the Spring and now are growing a little moss on the north side, they are trading on new cars and a big one that will take time to prove me right or wrong. 

I have seen it through the decades and I am seeing it like crystal now.  Dealers are keeping units that don’t make no sense because there is theory in the air that this is what they should do.  The worst thing that could happen is that they have some success with that.  Then they feel like this is what they should do and go in deeper water that they don’t swim in.  The next thing that happens is they don’t get sold and there ain’t no parachute, missed the market and it’s choke time.  Choke time means their appetite to dig in and buy is non-existent.  Voila, here we are in Mudville, an unexplainable mud market with no direction.

Here’s my solution.  Buy ever car that moves under it’s own power and sell straight through the circumstance.  I’m back and ready to bang Friday.  700 units that looks like a car show.  Name anything and I have multiples of everything.  60 Audis, unbelievable merch.  100 Lexus, all trades and all units that are not  in any other location in North America.  Incredible domestics, a Toyota, Honda, Acura, Nissan, Infinity run that only happens here, no place else.  Volvos, Saabs, Mercedes, BMWs and Rovers en-mass.  We top it off with 150 mile challenged chubbies in lane 22 at noon.  I hate to brag, but I can’t help myself.  We got cars.  We got good ones.  Do your finger exercises and get ready to take advantage of a car whore that can’t say no, me.  Cruise the inventory and drool.  Call the bank and tell them there is an opportunity looming.  It’s called me at the 17545 looking to turn cars into cash.

The self-appointed, statistically undeniable Maestro of Manheim.

Robert Hollenshead

Founder and President

R. Hollenshead Auto Sales Inc.