Olds phaseout doesn't faze Wessel

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Oldsmobile has been the flagship brand of Don Wessel's car dealership for 35 years, and he isn't too happy that General Motors is phasing it out in the next several years.|ret||ret||tab|

Wessel, owner of Don Wessel Oldsmobile-Honda-Suzuki, 3520 S. Campbell, said GM's Dec. 12 announcement that it would stop manufacturing Oldsmobiles was a move dealers weren't expecting.|ret||ret||tab|

"If we sold other GM makes, it wouldn't be so bad but we are fortunate, in fact, because we have Honda, probably one of the most desirable franchises in America. So I'm not crying, I'm just upset," he said.|ret||ret||tab|

Oldsmobile sales have been on a downslide, Wessel said. "That's due to, in our opinion, bad marketing by the corporation."|ret||ret||tab|

"In 1980 or 1981," he said, "Oldsmobile sold over a million cars a year (brand-wide). In the year 2000, the final figure probably would be 230,000."|ret||ret||tab|

Wessel said the loss of key Oldsmobile models also decreased sales. Oldsmobile no longer makes its Eighty-Eight model, which Wessel described as "Oldsmobile's bread and butter, and the Oldsmobile of all Oldsmobiles." GM also discontinued the Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight, and the Cutlass Supreme.|ret||ret||tab|

"(GM) wanted us to be an import-fighter. They wanted us to have young, youthful cars to fight BMW ... and they discontinued the Cutlass Supreme, which was a magic name for us. They could've taken almost any other product and put Cutlass Supreme' on it, and it would've been a winner," Wessel added.|ret||ret||tab|

Imports, and their infiltration of the American automobile market, are at the root of the biggest change Wessel's seen during his years in the industry.|ret||ret||tab|

"When I came in 1966, remarkably, we just had Eighty-Eights, Ninety-Eights and Cutlasses, all big cars in today's jargon. The imports were zero," he said.|ret||ret||tab|

Wessel said he added the Honda line to his dealership in 1973. In recent years, he's sold a lot more Hondas than Oldsmobiles.|ret||ret||tab|

He said it will probably be a year and a half to two years before GM stops manufacturing the line.|ret||ret||tab|

"When it does happen, of course, we'll probably expand our Honda showroom and expand our used car business."|ret||ret||tab|

Wessel added, "All the money made today is in used cars," a fact he attributes to the availability of program, or off-lease cars.|ret||ret||tab|

In the meantime, Wessel said it's as good a time as any to buy an Oldsmobile.|ret||ret||tab|

"One, it's a very good product, the best we've ever had," he said. GM also has extended the Oldsmobile warranty to five years or 60,000 miles, and GM will honor all Oldsmobile warranties, Wessel said.|ret||ret||tab|

"(Oldsmobile) will always be a good car. It'll always be a strong car for trade-in, because Oldsmobile has always had such a good name," he said.[[In-content Ad]]