Panama car dealers feel US chill

Good news for Panama motorists; car prices fall as gas prices rise. But will it last?

PHILIP EDMONSTON
lemonaid@earthlink.net

Now is the best time in 40 years to buy a new car or truck and more bargains will appear as we go into 2010. All carmakers are stuck with a bulging inventory and huge debts. And, it’s going to get much worse in the new year. GM’s expected bankruptcy will spew out hundreds of thousands of new 2009-10 models at 30 percent +discounts and the automaker’s orphaned Hummer, Pontiac, Saab, and Saturn models will sell for two recycled Tiny Tim albums (maybe, just one, if you haggle).

In Panama, we are already seeing the importers dropping their prices, with Hyundai and Suzuki leading the way. By year’s end, Mazda, Mitsubishi, and Nissan will likely follow suit. So far, sales leader Toyota has kept prices fairly stable.

Less-expensive new cars also make for cheaper used cars. Local used car prices of mid-sized SUVs are steady and economy-car prices are rising as fuel prices near $3/gallon.

GM and Chrysler’s Fedex-delivered ‘letters of termination’ sent to thousands of dealers has dealt a death blow to both automakers. Dealers have a substantial war chest to finance lawsuits that will probably drag on forever with no one to sue— most of the corporate head honchos have headed for the hills (Lutz, Nardelli, and Wagoner).

Many dealers in the States are bitter. They were fired with no explanation given. And, as they scrambled to sell their huge inventories, banks delivered a second punch by shutting off their credit. Doomed dealerships are now liquidating everything— at prices that are depressing the surviving dealerships' transaction prices. The knockout blow? Chrysler and GM say they won’t buy back stocked parts and that dealers should sell the parts to their competitors (who aren’t selling many cars, either). Psssst? anyone want a new Chrysler automatic transmission for $300?

AUTO ACRONYMS. One of my more irrepressible readers reminds me that there’s another acronym for Ford: “Fix or Repair Daily”. Well, here are some more for this week: BMW: “Break My Wallet”; Acura: “Automobile Contains Unbearably Rude %&*__hole”; Cadillac: Crazy And Demented Idiot Likes Large American Cars”; Chrysler: “Can't Have Refund, You're Stuck Leasing Edsel's Replacement”; Isuzu: “It Sucks, Unless Zero Used”; Jaguar: “Junk Always Going Under At Repair Shop”; Jeep: “Junk Engineering Executed Poorly”; and “Just Enough Engine Power”. Next week, we cover the rest of the alphabet, beginning with Kia and Mercedes.

ACCORD OR MAZDA? Maggie asks me which would be the better buy, a Honda Accord or a Mazda6?

The Accord would be my first choice. It has plenty of power with its small engine, a proven reliability and performance record, a large dealer body (smaller in Panama), good parts distribution, and very slow depreciation. The Honda four-cylinder is more responsive than the Mazda base powerplant and it will likely have fewer factory-related glitches inasmuch as it is a carryover of the 2008 model. Still, the Mazda6 has been revamped for 2009 and has lots of improved features.

If you go with a Mazda, choose the 6-cylinder engine for adequate power. Honda will perform well with the base four-banger. Both vehicles are relatively fuel thirsty, though. Mazda’s retail prices are softer than Honda's, starting about $2,500 less than the Accord.

COMPUTERCIDE. Mounties in Surrey, British Columbia (often referred to as “California North”), report that a young woman who recently died in a car accident appears to have been killed by her laptop computer. Her vehicle was hit by a tow truck and her laptop was unsecured in the rear seat. The vehicle's abrupt stop sent the computer flying into the back of the woman’s head, killing her instantly. Accident investigators say the accident was survivable and that car occupants should secure their belongings while driving.

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