Dealers Apply the Brakes

A handful of North County car dealers have pulled their regularly scheduled ads from the Escondido Times-Advocate, in protest of a June 1 series of stories that detailed how consumers can gain the upper hand when negotiating new car buys.

In an attempt to deal with the defections and to “talk out what their concerns are,” John Armstrong, president and publisher of the paper, met late Monday afternoon with several area car dealers. Armstrong declined to discuss the details of Monday’s meeting.

The dealers are miffed that the story was “one-sided,” according to an executive at one Escondido dealership.

Echoed another dealer: “There’s an implication off the bat that someone’s gonna take you.”

The editorial package reads like most consumer-oriented articles, imparting tips about the best time to buy, the importance of knowing dealer costs and getting the most out of used car purchases.

But the dealers have objected to the tone of the stories and “issues of tone are more difficult to deal with,” said Armstrong. “It’s a question of judgment.”

How long the advertising protest will last remains uncertain, although it appears a good bet the dealers will continue their defiance only as long as it takes to make their point.

Offered one dealer: “Sure we’re going to go back in. Business is business.”

The Zoo Is Tops

Keen-eyed readers will note that last week’s story on the tourist-industry outlook for summer described Sea World as “San Diego’s most visited attraction.”

Well, sort of. It’s the area’s most visited for-profit attraction.

Top attraction overall is the San Diego Zoo, officials at that facility were quick to note.

For those keeping track, the Zoo reported 1985 crowd count of 3.15 million, a giraffe’s neck ahead of Sea World’s 3.11 million.

A Pitch to the Mayor-Elect

Tourist industry officials aren’t making a big to-do out of it, but they’re making a bid to meet with mayor-elect Maureen O’Connor, and pronto.

The Hotel-Motel Assn., which endorsed San Diego City Councilman Bill Cleator in last week’s election, on Thursday sent a letter to O’Connor requesting a sit down to discuss the mayor-elect’s position on the Convention Center.

O’Connor has previously said she wants to hold construction costs to $125 million.

Convention & Visitors Bureau officials said last week they will also ask for a pow-wow with the mayor-elect.

“We don’t believe the convention center should be held to some arbitrary figure if it’s going to impair the functionality,” said one ConVis source.