Paul Ballew
Paul Ballew
again head number pockets strength winds
We had a very challenging month. We had some pockets of strength, but once again with the number of head winds for the month, we were down.
business commercial growing planning
We're still planning on growing on the commercial business. Commercial business can be very profitable.
far performance seeing solid
We're seeing a good, solid performance so far this year.
against appears caution energy general higher industry prices running slight slowing start step strong year
It appears the industry is running at a very strong rate, ... It's a very slight step down from the very blistering start we started the year with, but it's still a strong pace. There are legitimately headwinds, like higher energy prices and a general slowing of the economy. But we caution against overreacting to the headwinds.
anytime degree economic economy high industry looking prelude prospect shown soft suffer talking
Anytime you're looking at the prospect for a soft landing, there's going to be uncertainty and risks. If what we're talking about is a prelude to an economic downturn, the industry will suffer over a two-to-three-year time. But the economy has shown a high degree of resiliency.
execute time
It is the appropriate time to execute this strategy.
consumers driven march reading
I wouldn't say it was driven by the March results, but our reading about where consumers are at.
compelling conclude consumers course diversity interest lost offers rate run side
Not all consumers want an interest rate or a contract. We'll get a little more diversity going forward. But I wouldn't conclude that compelling offers on the interest rate side have run their course and lost effectiveness in the marketplace.
describe month
All in all, I would describe the month as pretty solid.
anticipate balance continue forth half held monetary people policy poor rifle sales somewhat vehicle year
Monetary policy can take a year, year and a half to rifle through the economy. Vehicle sales have held up somewhat better than what people have anticipated. You try to find balance ... When all is said and done, we don't anticipate the back end of this year to be a poor back end. We just continue to try to put forth what we think is the right balance. We're cautiously optimistic.
offset varies
It varies by category, but it's a significant offset in many cases.
overall share tough
Overall share is going to be tough for us this year.
ahead beating month number objective production response sales
On the (Tahoe), we're beating expectations on a number of fronts. We're beating the production schedule, we're ahead of our sales objective for the month and the response we're getting from dealers is positive.
challenge great lean rebuild september trying
We're still trying to rebuild inventory. We're not anticipating a great September. September will be a challenge and we will have to make do with very lean inventories.