Car business picking up in locally, nationwide

After about 11 months of construction and more than five years of planning, Michael Hohl's Honda and Subaru dealerships are expected to open this month amid what appears to be increasing rates of car sales regionally and nationwide.

Hohl's dealerships will be the final touches to Carson City's auto row along South Carson Street, that now includes Hohl's new dealerships as well as Dick Campagni's new Toyota and Scion store that opened in March.

Four other dealerships also line the half-mile-long auto row, including Hohl's GM Superstore, Campagni's Capital Ford, Mazda and Hyundai, Carson Dodge Chrysler and Carson City Nissan.

Matthew Hohl, the general manager of the Honda and Subaru Carson City locations who is Michael Hohl's son, said the dealerships will have more space, quick lube service and improved waiting rooms for customers.

Meanwhile, Carson City auto sales have made strides so far this year, recording a 22.4 percent increase in March and 21 percent hike in February compared to the same months in 2009, according to the latest state tax report.

Sales also appeared to climb in April and May, according to the local car dealerships.

"It's not to where it once was, but we're finally getting people in here after work looking at cars," Hohl said. "Cars are once again on people's minds."

Sales taxes earned from car sales amount to about a third of all sales tax revenue the city gets, said Mayor Bob Crowell. Sales taxes are about 40 percent of the overall city budget.

"I think the effect on the city will be extremely positive," Crowell said of the new dealerships. "With the increase in auto sales hopefully it means the economy is starting to turn around a little bit."

Hohl said the completion of the auto row will help car sales, too.

"A lot of people want to cross shop," he said. "Having all of those stores within spitting (distance), it's not an auto mall (but) it's every brand within a very short drive."

Dana Whaley, the general manager of Carson City Toyota and Scion, said interest and sales continued to strengthen in April and May, especially over the Memorial Day weekend.

Despite a lag in the middle of May, Whaley said sales have been strong, especially as the prime car-buying season, which lasts from now until October, gets underway.

"We were very busy and traffic was extremely high for a holiday weekend," he said, adding each month continues to get a little better.

Nationwide, auto sales were expected to record a 17.9 percent increase in May compared to May 2009 and a 10.8 percent increase compared to the previous month, according to Edmunds.com.

"This month hasn't been particularly good for the car business so far, but we anticipate that the holiday weekend will more than make up for it," said Jessica Caldwell, director of industry analysis for Edmunds.com. "In the last three years Memorial Day weekend car sales averaged about 40 percent higher than the four non-holiday May weekends, and sales on the last day of May were about 130 percent more than the average sales day."