Topping the line: new car innovations - new car dealers in New Mexico - Making the Case for New Mexico's Small Towns

New Mexico Business Journal, Oct, 1993 by William Diven

WITH THE ARRIVAL of the 1994 model year, new car dealers in New Mexico will be touting technical advances, safety improvements and new names in their product lines.

A sea of change is underway in marketing new vans and utility vehicles too.

The battle over quality of domestic versus import is producing tangible results, and consumers are in the driver's seat when it comes to product features, the proliferation of one-price, no-haggle sales and the customer-focused attitudes of dealers from Auge to Zangara.

The major drive this year will be customer satisfaction and quality," says general manager Dennis Snyder of Rich Ford in Albuquerque. "Ford is telling us from this point forward, if it's not customer-driven, we're not going to have it as a program."

Other dealers cite similar goals and report growing sales due to improved products, lower interest rates and cyclical demand as new car buyers from the last sales surge five or six years ago return to the marketplace.

Sylvia Lyon, marketing coordinator for U.S. New Mexico Federal Credit Union, says through July, U.S. New Mexico financed 50 new cars valued at $2 million.

Consumer interest also remains high in one-price, no-haggle retailing intended to eliminate buyers and sellers frantically thrusting and parrying with offers and counter offers.

According to a J.D. Powers & Associates Survey, the number of retailers offering one-price models rose by 71 percent from 1991 to 1992 although that growth rate has slackened considerably. Five percent to 8 percent of the nation's new car dealers offer one-price sales.

Two new European models destined for Albuquerque showrooms are the Land Rover 90 Defender and BMW's first station wagon, the 530i Touring.

"The marketplace is so sophisticated today," says Dean Melvin, sales manager for Melloy Jaguar. "It doesn't matter if you sell a car for $10,000 or for $80,000. It better be quality or you won't sell very many and people won't come back."