Hawai'i car show hopes to inspire, motivate purchases

By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer

Organizers of this week's 2002 First Hawaiian International Auto Show hope to inspire potential customers to buy at a time when Hawai'i's sales are up slightly after a post-Sept. 11 drop.

Auto sales in Hawai'i had been bouncing back from a low point in the 1990s when the Sept. 11 attacks triggered an overall 1.8 percent decline for 2001. But in the first two months of 2002, retail sales are up 1.5 percent, said Eric Miyasaki, president and CEO of Nissan Motor Corp. of Hawai'i, who tracks sales for the Hawai'i Automobile Dealers Association.

Miyasaki predicts that auto sales will go up even further, rising to 3 to 4 percent in the first six months of the year.

"In many ways," said David Rolf, executive director of the Hawai'i Automobile Dealers Association, "new car sales can be a bellwether indicator of the economy."

The recent rise in car sales reflects a faster-than-expected recovery of Hawai'i's economy following Sept. 11. Low interest rates have encouraged consumers to buy big-ticket items, such as cars and homes. A growing recovery in the Mainland economy is translating into more tourists and helping the state's No. 1 industry pull out of its post-Sept. 11 slump.

Dealers won't be using any hard-sell pitches at the auto show, which runs Thursday through Sunday at the Hawai'i Convention Center. It's what the industry calls a "non-selling environment."

Still, auto shows typically inspire people to visit showrooms afterward, said Charlie King, president of the Hawai'i Automobile Dealers Association.

"It gets people interested in our product," King said. "Any time you have more exposure like that, people pay attention. It's a good thing. It develops some excitement."

The auto show comes at a time when potential customers face a barrage of manufacturer deals put in place after the terrorist attacks. General Motors was the first to offer zero percent financing after Sept. 11 and has forced other American companies to follow.

"They're throwing cash at things, and now they've got 0.9 percent financing," King said. "If you want to turn in your (leased) car now, they won't dock you for the payments for an early turn-in."

Miyasaki believes that manufacturer deals have little effect on Hawai'i customers, many of whom belong to credit unions that offer aggressive financing.

His Nissan sales are up 12 percent for January and February, led by demand for the Nissan Ultima. "It's being driven more by new products than cheap financing incentives," Miyasaki said.

Sales are up overall now in part because last year's impending teacher strike created a slowdown in the industry, Miyasaki said.

He expects his dealership will post a 12 percent increase for the first quarter, pushed in part by "the auto show, which tends to increase showroom traffic. That's why we're pretty bullish."

Most of the show's more than 200 cars and trucks, representing 2002 and 2003 models, come directly from local car lots, King said.

But there also will be the Chevrolet SSR concept car, which blends the features of a truck into the lines of a roadster. Joe Nicolai of JN Chevrolet also imported a $325,000 Lamborghini Murcielago from Italy that has never been on U.S. soil.

"The auto show lets people dream, lets them shop for all those cars at once," Rolf said. "An auto show is very much a long-range assist to the purchase of a new car."

In 1989, Hawai'i retail auto sales reached an all-time high of 57,456. As the economy soured, sales slumped and finally bottomed out in 1998 at 40,673.

Retail sales began to climb again and reached 52,456 in 2000. Sales figures were on track for 2001 but plummeted in the last quarter and ended up overall at 51,521.

"It's been said that the American economy has never been healthy when the auto industry is sick," Rolf said. "Conversely, as our sales increase so follows the economy."

Three years ago, the auto show outgrew its old location at the Neal Blaisdell Exhibition Hall. It's now produced by Motor Trend and this year features more than 30 domestic and import manufacturers.

The show runs from noon to 10:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.

Tickets are $6 for adults, $4 for senior citizens and military, $3 for children 7-12; admission is free for those 6 and younger. For more information, call 943-3500 or visit autoshowusa.com.

Reach Dan Nakaso at 525-8085 or dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com.