At Jim Harte Nissan in Mount Kisco, Jeremy Abramson is ready for the new-model shopping season to kick into high gear.
In its latest U.S. sales report, released Aug. 24, Nissan announced it is having its best year on record in the United States, with sales of more than 733,000 units through July. Nissan is nearing the completion of an aggressive growth effort that saw the brand introducing all-new versions of its five top-selling models in 15 months, a process that culminates with the all-new Rogue coming out later this year.
Some new models are already on hand in Mount Kisco.
“We have a couple of ”™14s that have hit, and a lot more that are coming,” Abramson, director of New York operations for Harte Auto Group, said on a recent afternoon.
Harte, which also has dealerships in Newburgh and Connecticut, is a family-owned and operated dealer group that was founded in 1951. Abramson, who”™s been in the automotive industry since the late 1990s, joined the group in June.
When those shoppers come in to the Mount Kisco showroom on North Bedford Road, Abramson said they will be more knowledgeable than ever before.
“I think the market”™s a lot different than it used to be,” he said, noting that customers typically do more than 11 hours of online research. “People are spending a lot of time on the Internet.”
But Abramson said Nissan is ready to meet most drivers”™ needs, lifestyles and budgets. As Fred Diaz, the Nissan divisional vice president of sales, marketing and service and parts, said in the recent report, “2013 is a pivotal year in Nissan”™s U.S. growth strategy.”
Abramson added, “This is the car for everybody: white collar, blue collar, no collar. We have cars priced in the teens up into the 40s, actually the 50s.”
Across the board, he said, there is one overriding theme.
“You can”™t beat the value,” Abramson said. “I think that”™s what people are looking for.”
Though Abramson said the toughest economic times of a few years ago seem to have eased, people are not being frivolous.
“I feel that car sales have definitely come back,” he said and also noted that leases are up. Some leases, he said, feature monthly payments that are less than a typical cable bill. And, he added, the first year”™s maintenance costs are covered by the dealership.
The inventory and choices at Jim Harte Nissan, Abramson said, showcase Nissan”™s versatility.
“Altimas and Rogues are our bread and butter,” Abramson said. “The Rogue”™s hotter than a pistol.” He added that the Pathfinder (the reinvented SUV, Nissan reports, has year-to-date sales up more than 207 percent) is another perennial bestseller.
Eco-minded drivers, he added, will find the LEAF, Nissan”™s all-electric car, an option. There”™s a charging station right at the dealership.
“We”™re trying to talk to the town to try to get a charging station at the train station,” he said.
And when a classic sports car is the goal, Nissan has its trademark option.
“The Z”™s a Z,” he said. “It”™s an enthusiast”™s car.”
It”™s been dazzling for years but it”™s not the only bit of glitz from Nissan. The company, Abramson said, is “not afraid to put toys in a car.”
These include, he said, ground lights, elaborate navigation systems and advanced tech panels.
People, he noted, remain concerned about safety and economy.
“Fuel economy is obviously a hot topic overall,” he said. “We do great.”
Pointing to 2013 EPA fuel economy estimates, Abramson showed that a 4-cylinder 2013 Altima gets 27 city miles per gallon and 38 highway. This model”™s sales, Nissan reports, continue to rise, up more than 7 percent over the same period in 2012, which was a record year for the Altima.
When it comes to negotiating for a car, things have also dramatically changed, Abramson said.
“I think people want fast. They want quick. They don”™t want the back and forth,” he said. “That”™s something we”™re pretty strong on.”
In addition to an emphasis on sales and service, Abramson said the dealership, two years under the Harte group, in coming months is going to step up its community events and programs.
“It”™s very important to (Jim Harte), and it”™s very important to me that we”™re embedded in the community,” Abramson said.
Abramson said the quality is also there for customers in search of a previously owned vehicle.
But, he admitted, sometimes it”™s the showstoppers ”“ like the Murano convertible that holds court in the middle of the selling floor ”“ that get drivers, even Abramson, daydreaming.
As he said with the slightest sigh, “I was going to take one of those, but I have three babies now.”
