South Florida auto show offers dreams at a discount

If you're one of those lucky people with a secure job and some money to spend, now may be the right time to buy a new car.

Even as car makers show off their latest and greatest models at the 39th annual South Florida International Auto Show over the next 10 days, their showrooms and lots are full of vehicles that need to move, often at deep discounts. Some of the best deals will be 2009 models, as dealers try to make way for the 2010s on display at the show.

``You're seeing discounts pretty much across the board -- even Mini Coopers, which you couldn't even get last year at this time,'' said Jessica Caldwell, a senior analyst for the automotive website Edmunds.com.

According to the website, there are now 84 models -- including the Ford F-150 pickup, the Infiniti G37 coupe, and the Honda Accord -- that are available for sale at prices lower than a year-old model.

And if you don't have a safe job or money for a car payment? If you're a car enthusiast, you'll still probably want to be there.

``No matter how the economy is, whether you are in the market or not, you'll still go,'' said Ruben Alvarez, president of the Miami branch of the Speed, Style & Performance Car Club of Florida. About 30 of his members will be among the half million people expected for the show.

``It's nice to dream and say, `I'll have that someday,' '' he said.

Nearly 1,000 four-wheeled dreams will be on display starting Friday night at the Miami Beach Convention Center. For $10 per person, you can see 'em all.

Surveys show that more than half the people who visit the show are planning to buy a car within the next 12 months, said Richard Baker, manager of the show and president of the South Florida Automobile Dealers Association.

``There are still people out there who are afraid to come to the dealers because they are afraid they'll get pressured,'' said Gary Feil, general manager of Ocean Cadillac in Miami Beach and the show's chairman this year. ``This is an opportunity to see a little bit of everything in a non-pressure atmosphere.''

The dealers hope that visits to the show will be followed by visits to the showroom.

``You can sit in the vehicles, see them, smell them,'' Baker said. ``Then, if you saw something you like, you can go to the dealership.''

The dealers say they could use the business. Car sales are down 30 percent compared to 18 months ago. Seven or eight of the association's members have gone out of business in recent months, Baker said, and most dealerships have cut staff.

The association's members employed about 20,000 people in South Florida a year and half ago, but more than 4,000 of those jobs have since vanished.

Now, many in the industry say the worst has passed, but the road to recovery is likely to be a long one.

So dealers hope the auto show generates some excitement. A few manufacturers -- Jaguar, Saab and Volvo -- will be unveiling new models for the first time in North America. Others will have factory representatives, alongside local salespeople, available to answer questions.

Of course, the dealers' financial troubles can be an advantage for consumers. Dealers normally cut prices on outgoing models this time of year, Edmunds.com's Caldwell said, but this year's offers are better than average.

Manufacturers also are doling out generous incentives through their internal finance companies, Caldwell added. For example, a Honda Insight hybrid, which gets 40 miles per gallon in the city, can be leased for $199 a month with $2,000 down, according to Edmunds.com. Mini is leasing Cooper hardtops for $259 a month with $1,000 down.

Caldwell cautioned, however, that while credit has loosened from last year's near-freeze, terms remain strict and not every buyer will qualify for the most generous lease or financing offers.

For lovers of the classics, the auto show also will include a ``Memory Lane'' exhibit of 26 vehicles including a 1936 Ford Cabriolet, a '55 Chevy Bel Air, and both the Batmobile and the Batcycle from the campy 1966 television series. Pow!

And dreamers such as Alvarez can see cars from Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lotus and Bentley at Million Dollar Alley.

Alvarez, however, may be less of a dreamer than he makes himself out. Turns out he has been saving up for a year and a half for a used Corvette. He even has a special bank account, which his wife calls his ``mistress account,'' where he deposits funds for his purchase.

Now, however, with another baby on the way, he is wavering on his Corvette dream and may go with one of those new retro-looking new Camaros instead.

``I'm torn,'' he said. ``I have a 3-year-old son and a daughter on the way. So that back seat would come in handy.''