It seems Springfield is not immune to the poor profits plaguing the auto industry nationwide.
"Either you change with what's happening or you're going to get behind."
Or you do both.
Thompson GM changed; it cut its SUV inventory and some of its more than 100 employees' hours, but it still got behind.
Co-owner Lynn Thompson tells KSPR, “We’re down 20%” in sales of new vehicles compared to this time last year.
To stay afloat in a floundering auto industry, however, the trend today is out with the new and in with the old.
“We have more used vehicles than we've ever had on our lot because our used vehicles are very strong,” Thompson says.
The key to making sales in a slow market is going used, but those kinds of dealerships are dealing with a whole different dilemma.
Across town, The Car Guy sells strictly pre-owned vehicles on a small-scale.
Sales there aren't down at all.
“Cheaper cars are selling a lot better but they're harder to find,” says owner Brandon Buckmaster.
That’s because Buckmaster buys at auctions, but fewer cars are getting sold at the block and now the big guys are out-bidding The Car Guy.
“Some of your bigger car lots are trying to buy the smaller cars now, cheaper cars."
That drives the prices up, but Buckmaster keeps his prices low, so he's looking at a 30% drop in profits.
He tells KSPR, “The same cars I used to buy for a thousand or 15 are bringing 18 to 25."
So big business and small business are in the same boat, or maybe we should say car… only neither are in the driver's seat.
Both businesses agree- with or without the bailout- this down turn will be followed by an up-swing.
It’s just a matter of time.