OT What happens to unsold cars?

My friend and I had a couple of brews and got into a conversation of
what happens to unsold cars. Robert Heinlein wrote a story called "Door
Into Summer" where a man gets frozen and is woken 30 years later. He
gets a job crushing up cars...basically car bodies without motors the
car mfgs made....cars made for makework. I doubt we are in that
economic model in that story.

If I went to the car lots a few months ago there'd be a bunch of 2006
models. Now the 2007 models come in. I'm sure a bunch of the 2006s
left on the lot get sold to fleets. But what happens to the 2006s that
don't get sold? Then the 2008 models come out. There's still those
2006 models that remain unsold.

Is there a place in the plains, like a huge car graveyard, where the
unsold models go? Something like the mothballed aircraft in Tucson?
People buy new cars or used cars...but in this case a 2006 car amoung
2008 models that hasn't been sold is not new (or considered new) and it
is not used.

Do some of these cars go into storage, saved as museum pieces?

I asked another friend that is into cars yesterday this same question
and he too has wondered what happens to unsold cars. Maybe one of you know.

In article k.net>,
salad > wrote:

> My friend and I had a couple of brews and got into a conversation of
> what happens to unsold cars. Robert Heinlein wrote a story called "Door
> Into Summer" where a man gets frozen and is woken 30 years later. He
> gets a job crushing up cars...basically car bodies without motors the
> car mfgs made....cars made for makework. I doubt we are in that
> economic model in that story.
>
> If I went to the car lots a few months ago there'd be a bunch of 2006
> models. Now the 2007 models come in. I'm sure a bunch of the 2006s
> left on the lot get sold to fleets. But what happens to the 2006s that
> don't get sold? Then the 2008 models come out. There's still those
> 2006 models that remain unsold.
>
> Is there a place in the plains, like a huge car graveyard, where the
> unsold models go? Something like the mothballed aircraft in Tucson?
> People buy new cars or used cars...but in this case a 2006 car amoung
> 2008 models that hasn't been sold is not new (or considered new) and it
> is not used.
>
> Do some of these cars go into storage, saved as museum pieces?
>
> I asked another friend that is into cars yesterday this same question
> and he too has wondered what happens to unsold cars. Maybe one of you know.

Can you say "Hello, auction-house"? Sure, I knew you could...

*SOMEBODY* will buy them, if the price is low enough. Thing is, for
situations like you describe, "if the price is low enough" frequently
also means "And now up for bid is lot number 1704 - a total of 417
assorted new and/or test-driven 2006 model Chevys returned from dealer
lots around the country. As usual, buyer is responsible for all shipping
to his desired destination, and the lot goes as a single unit only -
hope you brought your fleet of car-carriers, or a whole bunch of
drivers, boys! Now, who'll start the bidding at 30 grand?"

(Ever wonder how you can sometimes go to a used car lot, and without
there being any "hanky-panky", get a car that's only got like 3K on the
odometer? That 3K probably came from being driven from auction to
auction until the used lot got it, then to the lot.)

--
Don Bruder - - If your "From:" address isn't on my whitelist,
or the subject of the message doesn't contain the exact text "PopperAndShadow"
somewhere, any message sent to this address will go in the garbage without my
ever knowing it arrived. Sorry... <http://www.sonic.net/~dakidd> for more info

salad > wrote in
hlink.net:

> My friend and I had a couple of brews and got into a conversation of
> what happens to unsold cars. Robert Heinlein wrote a story called
> "Door Into Summer" where a man gets frozen and is woken 30 years
> later. He gets a job crushing up cars...basically car bodies without
> motors the car mfgs made....cars made for makework. I doubt we are in
> that economic model in that story.




Chrysler has something similar. It's called the "sales bank". The cars
don't get crushed, they just sit in a big lot in a rail yard somewhere and
rust for a year before going to auction.



>
> If I went to the car lots a few months ago there'd be a bunch of 2006
> models. Now the 2007 models come in. I'm sure a bunch of the 2006s
> left on the lot get sold to fleets. But what happens to the 2006s
> that don't get sold? Then the 2008 models come out. There's still
> those 2006 models that remain unsold.



Auctions get rid of them. Anything will sell for the right price.

If you visit some used car dealers, you'll discover there are a certain
percentage of them that have some unusually new cars that appear to have no
collision damage or significant mileage. Those are the unsold ones. The
used cars dealers picked them up cheap at auction.

It's part of the reason the domestics are in trouble. Honda and Toyota
can't even keep them on the lot, much less have to make them sit in "sales
banks".

--
Tegger

About five months ago,a Ford dealership near me went out of business.Of
course they had a lot of brand new 2006 cars and trucks and vans and
suvs and also a used car lot too.Did the new 2006 vehicles go to
auction?
cuhulin

wrote in news:16405-45CA5C6A-153@storefull-
3257.bay.webtv.net:

> About five months ago,a Ford dealership near me went out of business.Of
> course they had a lot of brand new 2006 cars and trucks and vans and
> suvs and also a used car lot too.Did the new 2006 vehicles go to
> auction?


Can't you ever quote the post you're replying to? Damn that stupid Web-TV.

To answer your question, maybe, maybe not. The dealership would have been
making payments to Ford on those cars. Ford may have simply repossessed the
vehicles and got rid of them themselves, either by offering them to other
dealers or auctioning them.


--
Tegger

salad wrote:

Thank you all for your feedback. I never considered auctions. A couple
of other people I know will appreciate the update.

On Feb 7, 3:10�pm, salad > wrote:
> My friend and I had a couple of brews and got into a conversation of
> what happens to unsold cars. *Robert Heinlein wrote a story called "Door
> Into Summer" where a man gets frozen and is woken 30 years later. *He
> gets a job crushing up cars...basically car bodies without motors the
> car mfgs made....cars made for makework. *I doubt we are in that
> economic model in that story.
>
> If I went to the car lots a few months ago there'd be a bunch of 2006
> models. *Now the 2007 models come in. *I'm sure a bunch of the 2006s
> left on the lot get sold to fleets. *But what happens to the 2006s that
> don't get sold? *Then the 2008 models come out. *There's still those
> 2006 models that remain unsold.
>
> Is there a place in the plains, like a huge car graveyard, where the
> unsold models go? *Something like the mothballed aircraft in Tucson?
> People buy new cars or used cars...but in this case a 2006 car amoung
> 2008 models that hasn't been sold is not new (or considered new) and it
> is not used.
>
> Do some of these cars go into storage, saved as museum pieces?
>
> I asked another friend that is into cars yesterday this same question
> and he too has wondered what happens to unsold cars. *Maybe one of you know.

I would think that the percentage of new cars which go unsold would be
very small. They can just drop the price and sell them. Actually the
prices of 2007 models are already starting to go down.