ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 13, 1996 TAG: 9601140001
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MICHAEL CROAN STAFF WRITER
SINCE THE SNOW, the phone has been ringing off the hook for foul- weather transportation.
Snow was covering the state when Back Creek resident Rodney Goldston was buying a brand-new four-wheel-drive Chevy Blazer last Saturday at Pinkerton Chevrolet GEO Inc. in Salem.
Considering his daughter's recent health problems, Goldston wanted to make sure he could get her to a hospital if necessary, even in knee-deep snow. "We were tired of being trapped up on a hill every time it snowed," he said.
Goldston isn't the only resident willing to buy a new car to be assured of foul-weather transportation.
"We sold 12 cars last Saturday," said Berglund Chevrolet Inc. general manager Robert Harper, "and 11 of those cars were four-wheel drives."
"The phone has been ringing off the hook with people calling in asking about what kind of four-wheel-drive vehicles we have available," said Pinkerton sales manager Steve McDaniel.
"After people can get out and get around, they come in wanting to buy a four-wheel drive," said Mike Morris, general sales manager for Shelor Toyota in Roanoke.
There is a near-immediate reaction to winter storms, according to Andy Kaplan, president of Dominion Dodge in Salem. In fact, First Team Subaru-Volkswagen sales manager John Bradshaw said he expected to run out of all sport-utility vehicles by this weekend.
However, Bradshaw said he has an ample supply of Subaru Outbacks, a four-wheel-drive station wagon with more ground clearance than most trucks.
"Once we get dug out, I guarantee you that's all the business we'll do," First Team Isuzu sales manager Les Sweeney said. "The problem is that [four-wheel-drive vehicles] are difficult to keep in stock."
Kaplan, whose company also owns Dominion Dodge of Bedford, agreed that the biggest problem is availability. "The manufacturers simply can't build enough four-wheel-drive vehicles to satisfy the demand of dealers and their customers," he said.
"The four-wheel-drive market in this part of the state has always been stronger than the national market or other parts of the state," a result of the mountainous terrain and rural roads, Harper said.
Still, Morris said that on a national level, "Four-wheel drives are the best-selling vehicles in the business right now."
Botetourt resident Julia Adams said mobility was a major reason why she bought a new four-wheel-drive truck.
Adams, a nurse who is on call in case of an emergency, traded in her first Chevy Blazer for a newer model with more features the Wednesday before the snow hit. "I don't think I'll be without one as long as I live in this area," she said.
Trading up as Adams did is common among four-wheel-drive owners. Kaplan said most trade-ins for the vehicles come during the fall and winter, when owners are upgrading for new ones, and even the used vehicles sell quickly. "There are not very many late-model four-wheel drives on the market," he said.
"Few people trade their four-wheel drives," Sweeney said. "If [people] do trade them, they bring top dollar."
"Trucks are in short supply relative to the demand for them, and cars are in heavy supply relative to the demand for them," Kaplan said.
That was most apparent in this week's announcement by Ford Motor Co. that it would offer $600 rebates on nearly every nonspecialty vehicle it makes. But missing among the discounted models was the Explorer, Ford's top-of-the-line four-wheel-drive sport/utility vehicle, which has never been discounted.
To combat the high price of four-wheel drives, usually costing $20,000 to $30,000 for sport/utilities, McDaniel said manufacturers offer attractive leases and banks allow extra months to repay loans, among other special payment plans.
"We try to work with you, because it is a higher-priced vehicle," he said.
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: DON PETERSEN/Staff. Area residents with four-wheel-driveby CNBvehicles were able to venture out sooner in the recent snow. Since
the storm, local dealers have been struggling to keep the vehicles
in stock, and some expect to sell out this weekend.