Katrina totally wiped out New Orleans , ... The dealerships that were impacted are still under water. People can’t even take delivery. In that part of the country, you’ve got a real problem.

There's a new generation of people really paying attention to hybrids, and a lot of new adopters because they're seeing them in more vehicle categories.

There's a new generation of people really paying attention to hybrid, and a lot of new adopters because they're seeing them in more vehicle categories.

The water temperature up here was 57 degrees over the weekend. That's just about bedding water. The fish here don't know what to do. And with the cold weather settling in this weekend, they will probably go deep again, until it warms up.

Manufacturers should not count on automatic loyalty among first-time buyers, even if their parents are current customers. Not only is it an uphill battle to get their attention, but traditional endorsements from family members don't appear to play a large factor, especially from a retailer view.

It's humbling to see this segment call out the importance of how dealers treat them since so many first-time buyers continue to feel their first vehicle purchase is all about getting what they want for an affordable price. The results are a reaffirmation that buyers in this stage in their life walk into showrooms with similar expectations as more seasoned vehicle buyers.