Pontiac G6 emerges as area’s best-selling car

By Don Shilling

New vehicle sales were up in May, while used vehicle sales fell.

The Pontiac G6 has replaced the Chevrolet TrailBlazer as the area’s best-selling vehicle.

The G6 has topped the sales charts at Mahoning Valley dealers in each of the past four months. The TrailBlazer had been the leading seller in each of the previous seven months.

Prices have pushed to the brink of $4 a gallon for regular gas recently, but one dealership official said it isn’t the G6’s fuel economy that buyers are looking for primarily. It’s the lease deal.

Mike Hudock, general manager of Stadium GM Superstore in Salem, said General Motors has changed its leasing program to focus on the G6. In recent months, lease payments have been as low as $169 a month. Hudock said that is $60 to $70 a month less than the leases being offered a year ago.

Officials at area car dealers said last year that low lease payments were behind the TrailBlazer’s success as well.

There is a difference in the fuel economy of the vehicles, however.

The TrailBlazer’s fuel economy ranges from 12 mpg in the city and 16 on the highway for a eight-cylinder engine to 14/20 mpg for a six cylinder. The G6 has six-cylinder engines that range from 15/22 to 18/29 mpg and a four-cylinder engine that offers 22/30 mpg.

Car dealers in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties sold 252 G6s in May, compared with 115 in the same month last year.

The TrailBlazer dropped to ninth in sales in May. Dealers sold 57 last month, compared with 133 in the same month last year.

Overall, the Automobile Dealers Association of Eastern Ohio reported that new vehicle sales were up 3 percent in May. Dealers sold 2,633 vehicles last month, compared with 2,552 in May 2007. For the year, new vehicle sales are up 10 percent at 12,503.

The leading dealer for new vehicles last month was Stadium GM Superstore with 219 sales. Other leaders were Sweeney Buick Pontiac GMC in Boardman, 185; Greenwood Chevrolet Hummer in Austintown, 155; Sweeney Chevrolet in Boardman, 150; and Saturn of Boardman, 125.

Used-car sales continue to lag, however. Dealers sold 3,478 used vehicles in May, which was down 11 percent from May 2007. For the year, used-vehicle sales are down 4 percent at 18,656.

The used-vehicle sales leader also was Stadium GM Superstore at 112. The other leaders were Taylor Kia in Boardman, 81; Fairway Ford Mercury in Canfield, 78; Greenwood Chevrolet Hummer, 72; and Columbiana Buick Cadillac Chevrolet, 68.

shilling@vindy.com