Quote:
Originally Posted by SPF2245
Ok, let's look at the arguement for "selling a car higher" because of limited production numbers to be allocated to each dealer. If you're allowed X number of cars, and hold on to them to try and sell them at a higher price...what you've done is slow demand for the car. If you sell out of the vehicle, what does that tell the marketing and production lines? It tells them to produce MORE and gets the marketing guys to look at the reason for the increase in sales to introduce those concepts/ideas into other product lines. If not, all you've done is slowed down the demand which hurts alot worse then the potential loss of a couple thousand dollars extra profit over MSRP. That is why the Mustang has basiclly always kicked the f-body in the butt in sales numbers. The dealers sell them quickly and keep demand high. The reverse is the GT500, look on yahoo autos for how many dealer marked up '08s are still sitting on the lot with prices over MSRP verses how many dealers are currently selling numerous '09s at MSRP.
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If you're only allowed X number of cars, isn't that because, marketing and production planning has already slowed demand for you? I'm not sure "slowing demand" makes sense. The demand will probably remain, but the supply is limited. If you really want a new Camaro (or GT500, etc), you might just wait until the initial hype is over and get the car later. That argument falls apart for the buyer who thinks that Camaro, Mustang, Miata, Mini, Hummer and Caravan are all interchangeable good choices. In that case, Chevy does lose out on a sale. But Chevy is not going to lose out to the Camaro fan who thinks only the new Camaro will do.
Perhaps marketing and product planning should be adding more shifts and putting together more tooling for another plant and getting more idled worker busy making more Camaros. Perhaps they have anticipated a surge of demand in the beginning that will not be sustained in the long run. If so, scaling up production to meet the initial surge might be problematic with having to cut back on extra shifts, etc.