Some of most knowledgeable automotive insiders gathered at the second
annual Rocky Mountain Automotive Summit in Denver to discuss the
current and future state of the automotive industry.
It did not take long before the conversation turned to the recent
national news about the uncertain future of General Motors, Chrysler,
and the unexpected departure GM CEO Rick Wagoner.
"It's a sad day in the business," said John Medved the local owner of
the Medved Autoplex. "When we get into a situation like this we get a
little tribal and somebody needs to be sacrificed. He did all of the
things he needed to do and they are all in play," he added.
Medved went on to say that the real reason for the financial troubles
that face the American car industry is a lack of sales brought on by
the recession which in turn was caused by the housing crises.
The problem is not the quality of the cars Detroit is building, its the current market and housing crash, he said.
He went on to add that car buyers don't fully a appreciate the differences between buying used versus new in that new cars offer the added advantages of:
1) Significant Technological Advances
2) Fuel efficiency
3) Much greater safety
And while there was a lot of ideas and disagreement on how to best solve the current domestic car industry crisis everyone agreed that if current new car sales remain at about only 8-9 million units, both domestic and foreign car manufactures will be facing a crisis situation.
As part of the discussion entitled "Unraveling the Myths of Auto Finance" Wade Middleton Regional Business Manager for Wachovia Dealer Services said that the Colorado economy. "is doing better than other parts of the country," and that "overall lending in Colorado is up 10 percent."
The Rocky Mountain Automotive Summit is a prelude to the Denver Auto Show. Some of the other topics discussed include:
– CNG as a Fuel Source Option
– Automobiles and the new economy
– Global Green Car Technologies
The Denver Auto Show is set to open April 1-5 at the Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th Street, in
downtown Denver. This popular annual event will feature more than 500
new 2009 hybrids, crossovers, sedans, sports cars, minivans and trucks
for every driving need and every budget. Plus the 2010 “intro” cars
will be seen for the first time in the Rocky Mountain West.
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