Dec. 30--The waning days of 2000 are quiet ones in the showrooms of local car dealers.
Despite a frenzy of ads on radio and in newspapers hawking bargains, end-of-the-year sales are running below normal, according to some local dealers.
'Business is off compared to what it was last year,' said Dan Leighton, a salesman at Grand Strand Nissan near Myrtle Beach.
A mix of bad weather and economic uncertainty has kept many car shoppers home during what is typically one of the busiest car-buying weeks of the year, said Rick Sparks, president of Sparks Toyota.
Some manufacturers are offering their cars at cost, while others are pushing big rebates. But December sales remain 15 to 20 percent down from the same time last year, both salesmen said.
'There is a conservative atmosphere out there,' Sparks said. 'But with an interest rate cut and some sunshine, you'd see a different world here.'
The end of the year traditionally has been a big time for car sales, especially among buyers angling to deduct the vehicle from their taxes, dealers said. This year, though, sales aren't what they used to be.
Optimism among car dealers nationwide has been on the decline all year, said Paul Taylor, chief economist for the National Automobile Dealers Association.
That means lower sales in 2001, he said.
NADA expected 2000 sales to reach 17.5 million nationwide, eclipsing 1999's record by half a million or more.
That prediction is shaping up to look more like 17.4 million sales still a record, but also the peak before a downward trend, Taylor said. Next year's sales are likely to be closer to 1999's total, he said.
'The means remain for consumers to spend strongly, but the will is waning,' Taylor said.
Jeff Stathes, general sales manager for Fowler Motors Inc. in Conway, shares the outlook that 2001 will be less productive than the last six years.
He said sales at the dealership, which boasts high-end automobiles such as BMWs, has been slow the past 60 days. But he has noticed an increase in sales this past week.
Shoppers at his dealership are more affected by dives in the stock market than by high gas prices or increases in interest rates, Stathes said.
Conway Ford has pumped up its inventory to attract more buyers.
As the clock ticked toward Jan. 1, Conway Ford sales manager Mike Upton remained enthusiastic.
'We are here to make a little bit of money and sell a lot of vehicles,' he said.
At Grand Strand Nissan on Friday morning, Stephen Sweetnam of Surfside Beach was the lone customer in the quiet showroom.
Sweetnam, 22, was on the hunt for a new car after his regular car died. But with little credit history, he was having a tough time finding someone to sell him a car.
'I'm hoping to get a deal,' he said, admiring a new sports-utility vehicle.
NADA and local dealers think things will turn around in January, when the Federal Reserve is expected to lower interest rates.
'That is always a positive sign for us,' Sparks said. 'I think things will level out, and we'll be OK.'
Staff writer Natalie Burrowes contributed to this report.
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(c) 2001, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, S.C. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.