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a N J. af = . 7 __-r-Ola " . A} 4 : P, . O = . I Q 2 'R, l , Life in the fast lane Drivers from all walks of life are buckling up in luxury cars lhey would speed down the streets in their fast con- verlihles. stirring envy in onlookers stopped in their trucks hy the sleek look of their exterior» ememlrer the days Rn‘hcn you would unly see lawyers and doc- um driving their Mercedes? But it \ nut like that any more. says Terry Dean. a sales manager of Victoria Star Motors, 1450 Victoria St. N., in Kitchener. even if their automotive, have still main- tained their smooth and sleek appearances. Despite the various fea- tures the luxury cars, sedans or Sle on the market sport today. and despite the dras- tic cost in everything from gas to insurance. luxury automotives can't be some- thing classified only to peo- ple with the perceived high- paying occupations. Ht used to be your doc- tors, lawyers and top-line professionals (who would buy Mercedes-Benz). But that's not the case anymore." said Dean. "There's nurses and school teachers driving SUVs. I have school princi- pals and farmers driving Mercedes. so there's quite a mix." Dean has seen a drastic turnover in the marketplace over the past couple of years. which he equates to 0m- detining detail. "These people are mak, irrg a lot more money." he v.xvlaimed, And although sales of their popular rum-enihlrs and SU'LK still remain Very pupulur. Dean my» his Mer tiulvs,-iiotr dculership has wen it considerable decline in the salvs 01 their luxury I itrh. " stoppvd arlaly/irtp, thc I.” rnarkct \rur's ugh hm .uN- you Jtisl dont know “Inn will llélppl'n,' [1mm mud, "Hm ‘dll wcrtd '\ .mmum of "mum 'm mar BY Rum Cour,” Fur thet Hmnn le one gift certificate - three restaurants! annivrrsarics . staff incentives . stocking ,ituffers . hirthdays . weddings Lt-ling Mu as strung as the cmnumy appears ttt be in fwulhcru (Imam), there s so many can in the market- place hul only so much money that can he spent." With the decline that Mercedes has been experi- encing this year in compari- son to previous years, the xume isn't exactly hulding true for many other high- end autorttotive dealerships in the area. "lt's been one of our biggest years ever tor (IndiL Ian." said Alan Chalmers, the general manager of Forbes Motors. 165 Weber 51. S., in Waterloo. "That's par- ticularly because of all of the new sporty models we have out." The Cadillac (ITS sport sedan is among the dealer- ship's most popular sellers with a reasonable price tag for belonging to the luxury car family. starting at around $35,500. The automotive's computer-designed archi- lecture is just one predomi- nant feature Cadillac brags as being the most advanced among what is currently in today's market. A Gift of Great Taste "The (ITS is out to com- pete with the younger mar- ket like BMWs," Chalmers said. "lt"s smaller. easier to handle and is perfect espe- cially for a lady on her own because things like oil changes are taken care of." As part ofCadillac's qual- ity assurance efforts, the hrand offers a maintenance policy which covers warmlr ly. maintenance and oil changes Mr the next four wan. "The only mum-y the rus- tomer is havirtp, to spend on [he car after ”my buy it is money on gas and maur anu’. You don't have In spend any other rnunvvf Chalmers vxplairwd, as usual, But lhvir gm 5111/ Illng \ll\"~. Imu-n'l \Iuwml [lawn m Mlll". other. th"pu' Mvrruuics' \urH-swx oi the pasl year inrhuh. the" humus runu'nihll- mtrdcls BUSINESS the record gas prices. Just last week. Dean said, his dealership sold six SUVs, which is on the unusual high-end for SUV sales. "People are going to buy cars regardless nfwhal gas is likv. there are mmv gah-gurr- zling vehicles (In the mad man over "vfore," IJean added, citing how gas rises vu'ry year hm Itixmry-rar sulex, dott't dramtically fall "Prunk‘ who are buying lux, my furs don't (we. People Hun really tarp ulmul the (‘lhl of luv] un- the pulplv who Hulk? the I‘u‘runn- inunm-. dw pl-uplt- wlm art' \uuginng ttt nme with Corporate rams & volume incrntiu‘s available. meet. "If fuel was such an issue there'd be a lot more people using public transit. but that's not the convenient part of it. People want a car in their driveway," Dean said. who has been in the car business for 17 years. Dean says his dealership normally Iargets douhlv- invome families who make in vxcexs of ammo annual- lv for MercvdevBemr. sales. The newly rum-signed Morn-(it's SUV MI, 3130 and MI. not) are arming Drunk mp returmrtuuuiatit"ts tor high-0nd vvhirleson his Int. Its brand up“ (It'sign new style and new change that a lot of people are com- ing in and are looking at," he said, Robert Williams. a sales manager at B-k Volvo. 533 King St. N., in Waterloo, has seen aura-s5 with their X090 SUVs with winter on its way. "But right now we're in a market mange-mm so what scams to be popular now is uur tttid-sized sedans." Williams said, who has been in the business for 36 yea rs. Williams said his dealer- ship. like infill-s Minors. has awn a (nnsklrmhlv mac-em: in sale, this your 7* which he Elllrilllllt‘\ In tlw induslry's employee pricing pmgmnh this year. However. Williams has now seen a lull in sales this past month now that the employee pricing prom"- tions concluded last month. "Really all it (employee pricing programs) does is pull future customers into that particular month (for sales) so we are all suffering from that now." Williams said. "Berartse the companies sold at lot of cars to cus- lumen. who normally wouldn't have bought them until January or February. there are no Customers new. Demand has dropped off which just means we need to market differently and be more strategic now. When- ever we have a boom month. we always look at that and say we just know what we have to work with. It can be hard, especially in high-end cars because you have much fewer customers. "The higher up in price you go. the lower the market is you have to deal with." _ Even with the lull the Volvo dealership is now fac- ing, Williams still relies on their price values to get them by andmake them stand out among their com- petition. "I think Volvo is the best- kept value secret in the world." he modestly brags. "They should market it that way because you can gel into our mid-sized Cars so affordably. If you ask the competition what they might think our S-tio may cost, they'll likely tell you $70,000, but the reality is you can get into it for as low as 545.0111." The aim) Volvo that corn- hines Iiumpean perfor- mann- with its aerodynamic huild and all-wheel drive is among Williams' popular sellers right now. along with the $740 Volvo, which is srnallvr in build but alsoviv,- ivr an gas while still having Continued on page 28