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“New Camaro headlines excitement at GM
04/13/2010
Although most people are aware of the problems GM has experienced in the last year, the company hit one out of the ballpark with the 2010 Camaro. Thanks to some favorable exposure in the hit movie, "Transformers," the newly designed Camaro has been one of the most highly anticipated vehicles in recent years.
04/13/2010
"The Camaro has been a huge hit in every market," says Mark Miller, general manager with Ed Bozarth Chevrolet. "It´s been a great success story. We can´t keep them on the showroom floor."
Miller says the dealership received its first Camaro in June, and the average time most Camaros spend on the showroom floor is about three days.
The base price starts as low as $24,000 and goes all the way up to $45,000 for a 2SS version with a V8, six-speed manual transmission, leather seats, Bluetooth technology and too many other bells and whistles to mention. Price hasn´t been the determining factor in local sales.
"It doesn´t matter what comes in, they sell," says Miller. "They´re flying out of here."
Also selling well nationwide is the Malibu, which was redesigned for 2009. The Malibu was priced attractively, giving buyers a great value with a wide variety of options and great fuel economy.
The Equinox was also redesigned for 2010, making it a great option for those who want a smaller SUV at a lower price point.
The Equinox also gets great mileage, with a best-in-class estimate of 32 miles per gallon on the highway and 29 in town. With a maximum highway driving range of 601 miles, those who travel in an Equinox don´t need to fear those long stretches of lonely highway with no gas station in sight.
The Equinox has a 2.4-liter engine, with 182 horsepower and 1,500 pound towing capacity. It comes with front-wheel drive, but has all-wheel drive available. Other standard features include 17-inch aluminum wheels, six-speed automatic transmission with electronic range select (ERS) and auto-hill braking and StabiliTrak with rollover mitigation and traction control.
Both the Camaro and the Equinox also have USB ports, making it possible to download music directly onto the hard drive in the car and bypassing the need for an expensive MP3 player.
With all the new vehicles garnering attention and excitement, Chevy´s got a workhorse that´s always a popular vehicle in Western Colorado.
"We don´t want to forget the Silverado," says Miller. "We sell more Silverados than any other product. This is truck country, and there´s always good incentives on trucks."
Trucks hold their value in this country, and the right truck goes a long way.
"We see trucks come in on trade with more than 200,000 miles on them," says Miller. "It´s not uncommon."
Ed Bozarth recently built a new showroom for their pre-owned vehicles and a smaller building in anticipation of a Saturn stand-alone store. The recent announcement of no deal between the Penske automotive group and GM regarding Saturn was disappointing, but not devastating.
"We´re excited about the new buildings even though one was built for Saturn," says Miller. "Saturn was only one percent of our sales. The new pre-owned building gives us a lot better frontage; it should help with our pre-owned sales."
The dealership has 24 Saturns and 13 Pontiacs and is offering great incentives to move all the 2009 Saturns and Pontiacs, although the dealership has until 2011 to sell out of the two brands.
"We´ll still be able to service them under the manufacturer´s warranty," Miller promises.
The bigger pre-owned facility will allow the dealership to carry more inventory. Currently, they carry between 150 and 200 cars at any given time. Miller would like to see that increase to 300.
