# Discounts are back

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/discounts-are-back/195078>\
**Category:** Buying/Selling\
**Created:** [June 6, 2024, 12:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/discounts-are-back/195078 "2024-06-06T12:39:41Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 12:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/discounts-are-back/195078/1 "2024-06-06T12:39:42Z")

</div>

I read a reprint in my local newspaper from The NY Times this morning. It shows some discounts in new cars and trucks from the manufacturers. A new 2023 RAM Classic has a discount of $4000. A dealer in Michigan said that he has several Chargers and Challengers with up to $11,000 off. The author also quoted Edmunds saying that the average new car price is about $47,000. Some manufacturers are regulating production to keep inventory low while others have more than 100 days worth of vehicles on dealer lots. The latter are the discounters.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 1:04pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/discounts-are-back/195078/2 "2024-06-06T13:04:54Z")

</div>

> [@jtsanders](#):
>
> Some manufacturers are regulating production to keep inventory low while others have more than 100 days worth of vehicles on dealer lots. The latter are the discounters.

Yup! This bar graph, published about 1 month ago, show which brands are selling in adequate numbers, and which ones are languishing on dealers’ lots.

 ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/0/a/0ad9855b00bdc811cef97c30535cdd21de12e7c4.jpeg)

The biggest “loser” in this situation is the new Dodge Hornet (an “American” vehicle with the reliability of a vehicle made in Italy), for which there is currently a **646 day** supply sitting on dealers’ lots. As a result, someone could score $15k+ off the sticker price at a Dodge dealership in PA:

> **[You Could Save Over $16,000 On A New Dodge Hornet Right Now - The Autopian](https://www.theautopian.com/you-could-save-over-16000-on-a-new-dodge-hornet-right-now/)**
>
> Like that one week your best friend miraculously started for the high school football team, the Dodge Hornet is having a tough time out there. And in the car industry, one rule holds true—when the going gets tough, the prices get going. Dodge has...

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 1:09pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/discounts-are-back/195078/3 "2024-06-06T13:09:13Z")

</div>

Manufacturers would like to keep their workers working, even at a slower pace, than lay them off but the “holding companies” that take delivery of those cars after assembly do not want inventory piling up on their lots waiting for dealer orders.

Car building is a tough business to be in during economic swings.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 6:52pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/discounts-are-back/195078/4 "2024-06-06T18:52:04Z")

</div>

> [@Mustangman](#):
>
> Car building is a tough business to be in during economic swings.

… especially when a manufacturer misreads public buying behavior.  
I seriously doubt if most folks in the US are aware that the Dodge Hornet is made in Italy, and is a low-rent version of the unreliable Alfa Romeo Tonale.

So, why are so few people interested in buying a Hornet that there is now a 21 month supply of them sitting on dealers’ lots in The US? I don’t know the answer to that question, but I think that if the mfr conducted sufficient focus groups and other types of research, they might not have stumbled into this sales disaster.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 8:29pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/discounts-are-back/195078/5 "2024-06-06T20:29:10Z")

</div>

I’m afraid the hornet is not the only models collecting dust at the dealers. Yeah it’s a tough business and what is not needed is the government deciding what should be manufactured and what the dealers should sell. In class we used to discuss the folly of the Soviet five year plan folly.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 8:36pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/discounts-are-back/195078/6 "2024-06-06T20:36:16Z")

</div>

The government’s been involved in specifying various aspects of cars since at least 1940 (sealed beam headlights).

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 8:42pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/discounts-are-back/195078/7 "2024-06-06T20:42:59Z")

</div>

> [@bing](#):
>
> it’s a tough business and what is not needed is the government deciding what should be manufactured and what the dealers should sell

The government told Stellantis to build a poor-quality vehicle in Italy, and try to pass it off as a “US” marque? Who knew?

As to government incentives, the stats seem to indicate that hybrids are favored by the public. Not necessarily poor-quality hybrids built in Italy, however… 😏

[https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=61344](https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=61344)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![VOLVO-V70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@VOLVO-V70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VOLVO-V70)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 8:48pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/discounts-are-back/195078/8 "2024-06-06T20:48:25Z")

</div>

I just looked at the Dodge Hornet build it site . The first thing that stood out was Premium fuel , no thanks . Second at the listed price it does not appear to have a lot of features that vehicles listing for less have. Third, the same problem that a lot of vehicles have now is the styling just is not much different from other vehicles.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 10:02pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/discounts-are-back/195078/9 "2024-06-06T22:02:15Z")

</div>

Possibly related. Some of the major retailers in this area (e.g. Target) are also now cutting their prices. Many of their customers apparently are simply refusing to pay the inflation-caused price hikes, so the items sit on the shelves for months. They figure it is better for the company’s profits in the long term to keep items moving briskly off the shelf, sell them for a little less profit.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 11:16pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/discounts-are-back/195078/10 "2024-06-06T23:16:20Z")

</div>

Now that dealers are slashing Hornet prices by $7k to $16k, somebody can buy one “relatively” cheaply. I still wouldn’t want one, but if someone is looking for a deal and isn’t wary of the likely reliability problems, it might be something to consider… and then dump it when the warranty expires.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Rainflurry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cab0a1/32.png) [@Rainflurry](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Rainflurry)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 11:18pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/discounts-are-back/195078/11 "2024-06-06T23:18:47Z")

</div>

> [@bing](#):
>
> what is not needed is the government deciding what should be manufactured and what the dealers should sell.

I think we should still be able to drive cars with carbureted engines and no catalytic converters, don’t you? To heck with people with respiratory issues. They just need to toughen up, right?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 11:29pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/discounts-are-back/195078/12 "2024-06-06T23:29:09Z")

</div>

> [@VDCdriver](#):
>
> why are so few people interested in buying a Hornet that there is now a 21 month supply of them sitting on dealers’ lots in The US?

My guess, if this vehicle is perceived to have a quality problem, it is b/c the only non-hybrid versions uses a 4 cylinder turbocharged engine linked with a 9 speed automatic transmission. I doubt its build-location is the problem. More likely it’s the complexity/reliability compromise.

The only way to know is if they also sold a similar vehicle with a NA 4 cylinder engine and manual transmission.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![davesmopar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/davesmopar/32/41750_2.png) [@davesmopar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davesmopar)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 11:32pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/discounts-are-back/195078/13 "2024-06-06T23:32:43Z")

</div>

> [@Rainflurry](#):
>
> I think we should still be able to drive cars with carbureted engines and no catalytic converters, don’t you?

People are able to still drive vehicles with carbs and no cats… I have one… lol

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 11:33pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/discounts-are-back/195078/14 "2024-06-06T23:33:42Z")

</div>

@Rainflurry is probably referring to new cars.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Rainflurry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cab0a1/32.png) [@Rainflurry](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Rainflurry)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 11:35pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/discounts-are-back/195078/15 "2024-06-06T23:35:06Z")

</div>

Good catch! That’s my mistake. I meant to say “we should still be able to _ **buy new** _ cars with…”

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![davesmopar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/davesmopar/32/41750_2.png) [@davesmopar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davesmopar)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 11:40pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/discounts-are-back/195078/16 "2024-06-06T23:40:03Z")

</div>

> [@George\_San\_Jose1](#):
>
> @Rainflurry is probably referring to new cars.

Yes George, I knew exactly what Rainflurry meant, But as lots of folks on here have to nitpick every little thing that someone says, I thought I would get in on the fun… 😁  
RainFlurry was obviously being sarcastic, so I was being sarcastic also, having a little fun…

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![VOLVO-V70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@VOLVO-V70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VOLVO-V70)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 11:51pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/discounts-are-back/195078/17 "2024-06-06T23:51:59Z")

</div>

> [@George\_San\_Jose1](#):
>
> The only way to know is if they also sold a similar vehicle with a NA 4 cylinder engine and manual transmission.

That maybe they would find 10 people that want that vehicle .

Just stop George !!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![davesmopar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/davesmopar/32/41750_2.png) [@davesmopar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davesmopar)\
**Post date:** [June 7, 2024, 12:11am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/discounts-are-back/195078/18 "2024-06-07T00:11:52Z")

</div>

> [@VOLVO-V70](#):
>
> That maybe they would find 10 people that want that vehicle .

And then willing to buy it, I know we have multiple people on here that say that the OEM’s should offer a truly basic vehicle, but they also all drive 25+ yo vehicles and I doubt any of them would actually buy one even if it was offered…

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![wolyrobb](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/wolyrobb/32/45497_2.png) [@wolyrobb](https://community.cartalk.com/u/wolyrobb)\
**Post date:** [June 7, 2024, 3:37am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/discounts-are-back/195078/19 "2024-06-07T03:37:10Z")

</div>

Compared to a CRV Hybrid or Rav4 Hybrid the hornet really doesn’t have much to offer even with some of the discounts. Priced too high and unknown reliability aren’t helping Hornet sales. Unless you can get a decent lease deal and hand it back before the warranty’s up.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ledhed75](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f6c823/32.png) [@ledhed75](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ledhed75)\
**Post date:** [June 7, 2024, 10:04am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/discounts-are-back/195078/20 "2024-06-07T10:04:21Z")

</div>

Agreed.

I miss leaded gasoline, too, and hand cranking the starter on my engine. And seat belts are for wusses too.

[Next page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/discounts-are-back/195078.md?page=2)
