NY Auto Show
I got sweet talked into going to the NY Auto Show last night at the Javitz Center (which is HUGE) and I ended up really enjoying it although I know nothing about cars. In fact, I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to automobiles in general. I have girlfriends that can name the model numbers, etc, but I just know the ones I like. I've also never bought a car, but received my mother's old car-- a 91 Honda Accord. Now with 176,000 miles on it, it still starts right up when I go to visit. Honda's are for life I tell you.

Anyway my friend is interested in buying a car soon, so it was interesting for him to hear the different prices, specifications and learning tips on buying a car. Although I'm not in the market right now, I found it helpful too and am filing away the information for later use. It was also fun getting to sit in the different models and smelling the new car smell and seeing the pristine cars rotate on circular displays. Besides the more practical and luxury cars there were also of course the jar dropping ones too, like the Lamborghini with gulf wing doors that open like a Dolorian or this Mercedes that looked like a silver bat mobile, which ran for a mere $450,000!!

I had just read in the book Blink that the best car salesmen are those that learn to not make rash snap judgments of people who walk in their show rooms and who can dispel any preconceived notions towards people based on look, wealth, sex, age, race, etc. Since the book quotes a top salesmen that says that the guy coming in with overalls on can be buying a whole fleet of trucks for his farm or the petite blonde could be the main car decision maker in the family, you never know. Thus it’s best to treat everyone equal because in the end you’ll win out by giving the same offers and closing more deals in the end. With this on my mind, I watched the attitudes as we approached the different staff at each car maker section. The Audi woman was bitchy and rude to our inquires, Volvo was nicer and more personable, the Pontiac people were extremely friendly and helpful and the Mercedes dealer from Greenwich, Connecticut (my high school hood) wasn't the friendliest but he was also informative and frank and knew his stuff since he comes more from the sales side and not the corporate side like the others we had spoken with.