Light Truck and SUV Blogs

Forrest Gump liked to use the phrase, “Stupid is as stupid does.” Well, a news item I just read fits that statement to a tee.

Trucks and SUV owners often have shops install alarm systems in order to protect their investment. And for a good reason — it appears some dregs of society enjoy taking joy rides in stolen trucks and SUVs.

Newsnet5.com reported yesterday that a truck was stolen from Sheffield Lake, Ohio (in the Cleveland area) the other day. The truck was later recovered in Westlake, about 14 miles from Sheffield Lake, where an SUV had been reported stolen.

Seems the truck thief wanted to upgrade to an SUV and swapped vehicles.

The SUV was later found in Sheffield Lake – right back where the first truck was stolen.

Oddly enough, the thief put gas in the stolen SUV before abandoning it. What the heck was he thinking? If the SUV was low on gas, why steal it in the first place? If it was running out of gas, why not just abandon it and trade up once again?

It gets even better. You see, police knew that the thief had put gas in the SUV because he left a receipt from the gas station in the vehicle. The police went to the store and reviewed security tapes. There, in plain view, was the thief waiting to pay for the gas he put in the stolen SUV.

Stupid is as stupid does.

You can read the news story and see a picture of the idiot here.

Thanks for reading.

Joe Escobar

If you keep up with current events, you are aware of the sub-prime mortgage problems affecting the U.S. You see, a few years ago, lending institutions were luring potential homeowners (with lower than average credit) special “sub-prime” mortgages. These would allow people with lower credit scores to get into a house. The benefit? The ability to get a mortgage. Lower payments during the first few years. The drawback? Everything else. High interest. Higher payments once the introductory period ends.

Now, many of those sub-prime mortgages are maturing and transitioning over to higher payments. As a result, economists are expecting a record-number of foreclosures in the upcoming years. Already, 2007 has seen a skyrocketing number of foreclosures.

So, you may be thinking, “Joe, what the hell does this have to do with my truck and SUV accessory business? I don’t sell houses.”

Well, I’m glad you asked.

This sub-prime crisis has started an avalanche. Markets (even international ones) have declined. Credit companies are tightening their belts on who can now get a loan. People with less-than-perfect credit are now having a harder time getting approved for loans.

This definitely affects aftermarket accessory businesses. You see, August new vehicle sales figures have just been released (and the market overall has seen a decline). Just about every report you read mentions two factors affecting declining sales. Number one, a lot of people have less disposable income because of increased mortgage payments. Second, because of the tightening of the credit belt, less people are being approved for new car loans.

Less loans being approved means less new vehicle sales.

Less new vehicle sales — less new vehicles to accessorize.

And that affects the sales in truck and SUV accessory shops.

What do you think? How do you think this will affect your business?

Joe Escobar