Leadpile’s Blog

I was not aware there was such a thing as a recession proof car, but there is! Take a look at some of the cars that Business Week defines as recession proof cars.

1. Honda Fit
2. Honda CR-V
3. Mini Cooper
4. Toyota Prius
5. Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetech
6. Lexus LS460
7. Toyota Sienna
8. BMW 328I

Business Week describes a recession proof car as a car that no matter what gas prices are these are all good cars to have. For instance, when the gas prices were peaking at $4.00/gallon, these cars would still be good cars to have because of their good gas mileage. These are all cars that are in high demand now, and most likely going to continue to be in high demand down the road. The other big factor that has determined this list, is none of these auto makers are in “big ” economic trouble right now.
Leadpile Lead Exchange generates a lot of car purchase leads and auto finance leads. These are all people looking for a car. Maybe these cars listed above will be the next hottest models people are running out to get. We will see…..

Last year first half of 2007, Toyota sold 4.5 million vehicles while General Motors came out winning selling 4.54 million vehicles.  Pretty close in sales.  

2008, first half the year, the numbers have arrived.  Toyota automaker sold 4.8 million vehicles for the first half.  That’s about a 2% increase from the same period of last year while GM sales drop 3% the first half.

With the gas price increase more consumers are staying away from the bigger trucks and SUV’s that GM is well known for.  The percentage difference on Toyota’s increase and GM’s drops are somewhat related.  My theory is that consumers are going after the gas saving cars that gives the more miles per gallon.  GM, being a leader in sales until this half of 2008, should  take different approaches to catch the consumers interest?  Maybe it’s time for the engineers to start developing more smaller cars to bring out, less expensive with more miles to the gallon.

All in all the economy is not doing that horrible as critics are proclaiming.  Look at the sales, they are pretty steady, meaning consumers are still spending and they are still buying new vehicles. 

Great time for Auto Groups to take advantage of leads in a lead exchange.  More cars to sell!

Looking over some posts myself and others have posted in the last few weeks, I see a common topic of conversation. A large amount of the Leadpile blog consists of some good postings from my peers about what is going on with the economy. The sad part about the troubling economy is it is affecting so many people in the world in a BAD way. However, did you ever think about the people that this struggling economy is benefiting? I mean really… one person’s failure is another person’s gain. So, who is gaining in this credit crunch and declining market?

1. Honda- the auto maker has struggled like all other auto makers with producing newly desired hybrid models. Honda will be rolling out 1 more hybrid variations in addition to it’s 2 models that are currently at Honda dealerships. However, consumers are looking for smaller more economical cars VS trucks and SUVs. Them not being a car maker that had been highly focused on trucks, has allowed them to be the only car maker to increase their sales numbers, and that was only 1%.

2. Public transportation- more and more people are now taking public transportation and now cities are even adding new routes to take care of all the additional people. Cities have wanted this for years- save the environment, cute down on pollution etc. Now they have what they wished for!

3. Credit repair and debt settlement companies- these companies could have seen some slower times with everyone going the refinance route. Loan officers were advising consumers to do a refinance to consolidate their debt, amongst other things, with the new found equity in their homes. The credit repair companies are now seeing consumers coming to them because they have no other options.

4. Payday loan industry-consumers have an ability to take out a payday cash advance loan as a last resort for a really hard time. However, are there now more consumers that normally are not taking out a payday loan, having to consider it to pay that next mortgage payment or other outstanding bill?
How about car warranty providers, gas companies, loan modification companies, bankruptcy attorneys, and home buyers looking for a good deal? All these types of companies should be feeling an increase in business.
There are some more that are benefiting from this downturn in the economy, and we really have to say hats off to them. Some of these companies like Toyota have been in the shadow of other auto makers and now it is their turn to shine!
With regards to lead generation companies and lead exchanges, how are we going to adjust to this change, and satisfy any new demand for different products and services? Why not look at the economy in a positive light, that there are some out there that are not going through any economic hardship? Glass half full VS half empty: YOUR choice.