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.
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.
coming hopefully
What's going to be coming to G.M. hopefully through this process, will be a leaner and more competitive manufacturer.
advantage brands build continue focus retail
What's important for us is to focus on stabilizing the retail part of our business, take advantage of new products, continue to build our brands and be competitive.
exploded sales seen truck
Truck sales were just phenomenal. They just exploded like nothing I've ever seen before.