Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 exptools 1/6/84; site ihuxr.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!mgnetp!ihnp4!ihuxr!stanwyck
From: stanwyck@ihuxr.UUCP (Don Stanwyck)
Newsgroups: net.auto
Subject: Re: Auto "allocation"?
Message-ID: <1097@ihuxr.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 24-May-84 13:34:35 EDT
Article-I.D.: ihuxr.1097
Posted: Thu May 24 13:34:35 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 31-May-84 13:12:22 EDT
References: <258@ihu1e.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, IL
Lines: 35

> I tagged along when a friend of mine went shopping for a new van. He's looking
> for something mid-way between a stripped cargo van and a fully-converted
> rolling lounge.  We stopped at a dealer who happened to have ~25 of the latter
> on his lot.  My friend balked at the $20K price and asked if they had any
> that were not fully converted.  The salesman said they didn't and offered the
> opinion that such were not available even through a special order.  The reason
> he gave was that his "allocation" had gone to the companies that do the
> conversions.
> 
> Does anyone out there in net-land know about this "allocation" business?

I have been shopping for a regular 8-15 passenger van, no frills, for almost
nine months.  They are remarkably unavailable.  I have heard the same story
consistantly from dealers for all of the big three auto-makers.  It is
one of two stories, actually:

	1.  The conversion companies bought up almost all of the van
	    chassis for conversion.  We couldn't produce more, and
	    what was left went to corporate carpools/etc.

	2.  (above + ) with the divestiture of AT&T, all the old telephone
	    vans went to the BOCs, so AT&T bought up all of the production
	    capabilities that weren't already committed to conversion
	    companies.

Since the two are nearly the same, and I have heard it again and again, I
am beginning to believe that something of the sort is true.  Which one?
Your guess is as good as mine.
-- 
 ________
 (      )					Don Stanwyck
@( o  o )@					312-979-3062
 (  ||  )					Cornet-367-3062
 ( \__/ )					ihnp4!ihuxr!stanwyck
 (______)					Bell Labs @ Naperville, IL