Car Audio Forumz - The #1 Car Audio Forum - 2009 Products/CES

Quote:

Originally Posted by Junkinthetrunk (Post 450180)

............ and firing staff too.

Can anyone confirm that the sales for remote starts was way down this winter ?? That's like a staple for shops to tide things over the cold Canadian months. I've also heard that there's a list out now of all the cars that shops just won't touch for these things............. and that the list is BIG and growing.

I also concur that I believe car audio is going back to the small independents. I don't think it's going to fade away into nothing but that it will be a VERY small and specialized market. The good ole days are gone................. modern cars are actually pretty decent audio wise and getting complicated to integrate into without spending some money. Still do-able but it's going to cost the customer.

Marine audio market is good.

Restoration market is good.

Starter sales did seem to be a bit slower this year (at least where I am)... Owners of more expensive vehicle owners seem to be quite turned off at the costs of installation and the amount of time needed to get it done. While there's a growing number of DIY's, there's also more people heading to private shops (versus big box) to get these installed.

I think I have to agree that the market is going to be more specialized... reflecting how it was in the early 90's. With all the new cars on the road with half decent to incredibly impressive (B&O, Mark Levison, Dynaudio... ) the average consumer isn't going to need any upgrades. Not like the early/mid 90's when the market was saturated with tape players and everyone had the option to upgrade to CD's/DAT's/MD's... etc... because that change actually WAS an upgrade. Without new technology... I find it hard for the average consumer to feel the need to change. OEM is adapting quite quickly as well.

Looks like there's that edge for specialization... maybe someone can re-release the car LP player! For the audio purists... ;) hahhahaa

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-9687999-1.html

Just not sure what people would do in the summer...