Elkhart, Elkhart, Elkhart.
I have not heard the word voiced so much since I ordered truck caps from Century Truck Caps in the late 80’s and 90’s when I was operations manager for a distributor and retailer of pickup truck accessories.
When our president held his news conference to discuss his immediate plans for the economy and also take general questions I was glued to the TV set. It actually reminded me a bit of the “Special News Bulletins” from the early 1960’s. I was struck by what he had to say in particular to the RV industry. People in Elkhart told him that they can produce the units but consumers can’t get the credit to buy them.
Now truck caps, tonneaus and accessories are not the big ticket item that RVs are but, our light truck accessory sales have always been directly related to new pickup and SUV sales. So the message to me is similar, if we can get the economy moving in the mode that good credit rebounds, more cars and trucks will be purchased.
Another question looms on the horizon. That question is what will become of the pickup truck? We will always need pickup trucks for hauling and towing. Business and industrial use will, of course depend on them. Does the automotive industry have a plan to bring these back to where Americans can afford to drive them with regularity?
In the past we have seen the pickup being purchased and used as a second or even third vehicle. Americans love to personalize and accessorize their trucks, they have to be able to buy and fuel them to make that happen.
I know that to a large extent this will depend on gas and diesel prices but these seem to fluctuate at uncertain and unstable levels. Hopefully inventive and clever minds are hard at work in Detroit and seeking information from every available resource.