THIRD CAR

111. 111:1 E

IF

111:11JULIE CANDLER

or a house to in-
clude a three-
car garage, it
once had to be
in the $300,000
to $350,000
price category.
"Now," says
Dave Robertson, administrative
manager of Robertson Brothers
Company, "we are trying to ac-
commodate people buying in the
$250,000 price range who want
three-car garages.
"There's a definite trend to
them," adds Robertson, whose
firm is developing a community
of single-family houses in Oak-
land Township.
There are two reasons for the
trend to three-car households, ac-
cording to Ray Windecker, own-
er of American Autodatum, an
automotive research firm in Livo-
nia.
Most people buy a third car be-
cause of necessity, says Mr.
Windecker, a three-vehicle
owner. The second reason for

SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

car #3 is the ability to support
what is believed to be the neces-
sity. "I could get by with one
car by scheduling trips different-
ly," says Mr. Windecker. "But
it's much easier to have two
cars and a van or pickup for a
hauler."
Of the neighborhood where he
lives, Ray Windecker observes
'there's hardly a soul around here
who doesn't have three cars and
uses them almost constantly."
Car dealers notice the trend.
"Many people are making pay-
ments on or leasing three cars,"
says Tom Moran, sales manager
at Art Moran Pontiac GMC Mit-
subishi in Southfield. "They
might have a budget of $1,000 a
month for car payments."
"There are so many choices to-
day," says Mel Farr Sr., president
of the Mel Farr Automotive
Group. "Consumers want differ-
ent kinds of vehicles for their
lifestyle needs. We definitely are
seeing this as a trend that is great
for auto dealers like me."
The third car frequently ar-
rives when a teen-ager shatters
the household dynamics by reach-
ing the age of 16.

"Suddenly, borrowing Mom
and Dad's car just isn't making
it," says Tom Zielinski, general
manager of Shuman Motor Sales,
Inc., a Walled Lake Chrysler-Ply-
mouth dealer. "That's the single
most popular reason for a third
car."
Teacher Marilyn Kohen and
her physician husband, William
Kohen, chose a new two-door
Chevrolet Beretta, an economi-
cal compact car, for daughter
Jamie when she began to drive
two years ago.
"We chose it because it had an-
tilock brakes and air bags, and
safety for her was our main con-
cern," says Mrs. Kohen, who
teaches at East Hills middle
school in the Bloomfield Hills sys-
tem.
Now Jamie is a freshman at
the University of Michigan,
where, she's not permitted to have
an automobile. But the Kohens
are keeping the Beretta ready for

U)

LU

U)

LU

CD
CC

LU
f=1

H-

azo

Three-car families are common
in Oakland County.

son Robbie, who reaches the mag-
ic 16 in March.
Ron and Arlene Ross of Birm-
ingham bought a subcompact car
when their daughter, Jill, began
driving. But the parents drive
the new car.
As for automobiles, the entire
Ross family is in accord: Honda
Accord. Dad drives a 1994 Hon-
da Accord and daughter, Jill, age
21, bought her mother's 1987
model. Jill uses her Accord to dri-
ve to Holy Cross Hospital on De-
troit's east side, where she's a
recreational therapist.
Now her mother drives a new
subcompact 1993 Honda Civic,
purchased when Jill completed
college and began commuting. "I
saw no reason why a 21-year-old
should have the opportunity to
have the new car," says Ron Ross.
"If anyone was going to enjoy
something new it should be my
wife and me."
As a third car for a new driver,