Dealers and Consumers Ready to Take Advantage of Cash for Clunkers Program

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration officially launched the new Cash for Clunkers program on Monday July 27. Here are some great resources to help guide you through the CARS process:

• For program details, guidelines, and helpful hints, click here: http://www.nada.org/legislativeaffairs/economy-financial/cash-clunkers/
• For the official program site, click here: www.cars.gov
• For dealer support, click here: www.cars.gov/dealersupport
• To find out how much of the funds are remaining, click here: http://www.cars.gov/index.php/balance

SBA Ready to Accept Floorplan Loan Application from Dealers

Beginning July 1 under a new pilot program, eligible dealerships can apply for Small Business Administration (SBA)-guaranteed floorplan financing. Dealer Floor Plan (DFP) financing is available through SBA's 7(a) loan guarantee program through Sept. 30, 2010. Click here to read more about eligibility for the program and program details. Contact the SBA's St. Louis District Office at 314-539-6600 for more details on how and where to apply for a loan.

If You Are Leaving the Business: A Dealer Checklist

2008 will certainly go down as one of the most difficult years the United States economy has ever experienced. Each sector of the economy was affected. Particularly hard hit were new franchised passenger car and truck dealers. NADA membership data tells us that 930 new vehicle dealerships closed in 2008. The number of dealerships expected to close in 2009 may well be an additional 900. Click here to read about planning tips and questions to ask if you happen to be a dealer who is or might be leaving your days at the dealership behind.

"What Are Those Banks Thinking" by Dave Keller, Principal in the Dealership Group at LarsonAllen

The most important, and very disturbing, thing I see happening in the automotive industry right now is the lack of lenders willing and or able to loan funds to dealers to capitalize their operations, finance a dealership purchase or new equipment, or just loan money on existing collateral. Click here to read the entire article.

St. Louis Auto Outlook

The St. Louis Auto Outlook is filled with valuable, objective information on the metro area's new retail automotive market that can't be found anywhere else. The St. Louis Auto Outlook tracks monthly vehicle registrations in the greater St. Louis metro area. Click here to see the latest monthly report.

SLADA Member Spotlight: Honda Makes the Car, but Mungenast Makes the Difference at Dave Mungenast St. Louis Honda

Since Dave Mungenast St. Louis Honda was first established in 1965, it has today become a staple of the entire St. Louis community. The dealership began by selling Honda motorcycles and expanded to add Honda automobiles in 1974. Since then, they have grown to be Missouri's number one Honda sales volume dealership for the past 14 years. To read more, click here.

Calendar of Events

Register for the 2009 SLADA Charitable Foundation Golf Tournament on August 3 - Time is Running Out!
Presented by Valvoline	Monday, August 3, 2009 Greenbriar Hills Country Club Lunch and Registration at 11:00 Shotgun Start at Noon Dinner, Awards, Auction at 5:30
DEALERS GOLF FOR FREE! CHECK OUT SOME EXCITING SILENT AUCTION ITEMS at www.stlautos.com Reserve your spot as a sponsor or in a foursome today by calling Katie Heineman at (314) 822-0333. Click here for the Save the Date