At the very top of the automotive food chain in the rarefied company that includes the marques Ferrari, Maserati or Lamborghini, there�s a new sheriff in town.
Don�t look to Maranello, and don�t think Munich or Stuttgart, either.
Think Bowling Green, Ky., General Motors and the recently revived Corvette ZR-1.
The newest exotic offering from GM is a Ferrari-killer at a price just into six figures � expensive compared to everybody else�s Corvette but less than one-third the price of last year�s 430 Scuderia and just as fast. And the �Vette includes a stereo system lacking in the Ferrari.
No, it�s not for everybody. But the ZR-1 leads up a product lineup at GM that hasn�t been equalled in decades with names like Camaro, Malibu and Equinox, and Cruze, Volt and others to come that industry insiders say compare very favorably to imports in their segments.
In March, auto manufacturers led by Toyota � and incentives the Japanese giant hopes will enable consumers to push aside thoughts of out-of-control Prius acceleration � reported dramatic increases in sales that suggest the auto industry could be turning the corner on a very dismal 2008.
It�s a buyer�s market for car shoppers in America, with good deals expected to last at least another month as automakers continue to match Toyota discounts that lured thousands of buyers in March.
Seeking to repair the damage from a series of safety recalls, Toyota Motor Corp. offered unprecedented incentives last month, including low-interest financing and free maintenance for returning customers.
The deals worked so well that Toyota�s U.S. sales jumped 41 percent and the automaker sold just 1,683 fewer cars than General Motors Co., the closest it has ever come to overtaking GM in monthly sales, according to auto research site Edmunds.com.
GM and other automakers matched the deals, boosting the industry�s sales by 24 percent compared to the same month a year earlier, according to figures released recently and compiled by AutoData Corp.
GM reported a 21 percent hike in sales in March.
Local GM dealers Soechting Motors on Kingsbury Street and Seguin Chevrolet off Interstate 10 report solid sales in 2010 boosted by a very busy March.
�Sales were never really bad,� said Marciel Soechting. �It was slower in 2009, but December was especially good, and January wasn�t slow. February was a little slow, but March was excellent. Our shop is busy. I don�t know what April holds for us, but we�re seeing more of the same. We�re doing great.�
Over at Seguin Chevrolet, Sales Manager Shawn Driscoll said that even with last year�s bankruptcy and all the uncertainty that followed, this is an exciting time to be selling Chevys.
�We�re building the best product we�ve ever built,� Driscoll said. �As far as the imports go, look out! I�m proud to be a part of GM right now. GM�s heading in the right direction and coming back! No one can touch us right now.�
Driscoll said he took heart to see Ed Whitacre, former AT&T chief, heading up the company.
�You look at the 2010 Equinox, a small SUV that�s world class in my opinion,� Driscoll said. �They�ve got the Corvette ZR-1 coming out. It�s going to have a price in the $120�s, and it rivals anything by Ferrari or Lamborghini � with much better reliability.�
Next winter, the Chevy Volt promises to be a game-changer for the American new car market.
�The Volt is the automotive future,� Driscoll said.
GM vehicles also come with the second-generation OnStar system that monitors the vehicle and important systems and has become popularized through television commercials where the system is used to help vehicle occupants in the wake of an accident.
�Our OnStar system is world-class. I think of my mother reaching her 70s, and in an accident with an air-bag deployment, OnStar is activated so we know where she is, and it can communicate with her so we know how she is and get help to her. How cool is that? If you�re driving and the check engine light comes on, it can diagnose the problem and tell you, that�s an oxygen sensor. You can take 50 miles to get it to the shop for repair.�
Business at Seguin Chevy is looking up, and Driscoll says it�s not all about incentives, although he acknowledges their impact in the market.
�GM has talked about doing away with incentives, but the public has a taste for them,� Driscoll said. �GM is supporting its dealerships and allowing us to compete.�
The incentives only get customers through the door. After that, the vehicles do the work themselves, Driscoll said.
�If you haven�t driven a Chevy lately, you have to come try one,� Driscoll said. �It really started when they came out with the Malibu. That was the vehicle Car and Driver magazine called the �Camry Killer.� Sit in the car, close the door, start it up and start down the road. You feel like you�re driving a world-class automobile, and you are. Dollar for dollar and pound for pound, we have the best sports car in the world � and it looks very cool.�
If you thought Driscoll was talking about the new ZR-1, you�d be wrong. He�s talking about the new retro Chevy Camaro that, depending on options, sells for between $23-$33,000 and looks so cool NASCAR will bring the car back into big-time stock car racing next year � competing with Mustangs just like in the old days.
As consumers feel more comfortable with improving economic conditions, Driscoll expects to see still more traffic. And in June, when GM pays down a $1 billion installment on its debt to the taxpayers, Driscoll is confident the public will begin to see what those on the inside already know � that the times are changing at GM.
�This is a time of revolution in the automotive industry,� Driscoll said. �Technologies are changing, and we�re on top of it.�
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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