February's harsh weather blamed for slumping car sales

LORDSTOWN

The Lordstown-built Chevrolet Cruze did not surpass its sales record of February 2014.

Instead, the compact car took a 16.2 percent hit in sales with 18,301 delivered last month compared with 21,836 in February 2014.

Glenn Johnson, head of United Auto Workers Local 1112 at the Lordstown plant, believes the Cruze was just fighting the

elements last month.

“I still think that [number of sales] speaks volumes for the Cruze with the climate we had in February,” Johnson said. “Let’s face it: [The Cruze] has held its own.”

Overall, February’s auto sales took a hit from the harsh weather much of the U.S. had, causing automakers to fall short of analysts’ sales predictions.

“It takes a special person to go out and buy a car at zero degrees,” said Tom Brittain, owner of Brittain Motors in East Palestine.

Read more about the sales situation in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.