LAS VEGAS, Nevada - Few would argue with the simple statement made by Bob Rauschenberg, executive vice-president of ADESA (a prominent wholesale auction chain): "Times are changing more than ever before." Speaking at a panel discussion during the National Remarketing Conference, held in early November, Rauschenberg and his fellow panelists pondered such topics as the Internet, vehicle supply, and the credit crisis, assessing their impact on the used-vehicle business.

Used-car buyers certainly have changed. So have automobile dealers - many of them, at least. Also altered are the information sources they use to decide what to buy, what to pay, and what to expect from the dealer transaction.

That's no news to anyone who uses the Internet for research of any sort. Helpful facts and figures about vehicles for sale have always existed somewhere, but the Internet has made it possible to gain access to that information with unprecedented speed and minimal effort. Complicating matters is the undeniable fact that the marketplace isn't what it used to be, either.

Mitch Golub, president of cars.com, suggested that the gap between what a consumer needs and what he gets has narrowed. When consumers call the dealership, they know what they want to test drive.

Paul Johnson, president/CEO of Kelley Blue Book, estimates that 70 percent of auto customers haven't decided whether they want a new or a used model, and that figure has gone up. "They're looking at a broader range of vehicles," he explained.

Making that deal is a lot harder than it used to be, due to the continuing "credit crunch." "We're working real hard on structuring the deal, getting the down payment," said Tyler Corder, CFO of Findlay Automotive Group. David Pilcher, executive vice-president of National Car Sales, estimates that 20-30 percent of his customers simply cannot get financed. It's "currently our biggest challenge," he said.

Chris Little, director of variable operations at Hendrick Automotive Group, reminded panel attendees that "finance makes the world go round. Payments are king." True enough, but plenty of shoppers cannot obtain credit at any price, and many more can only do so by accepting payments that are beyond their means. As a result, Lou Sarbone, manager of remarketing operations for World Omni Financial Corp., believes "we're going to see more repossessions out there." Today, the foremost concern is "panic among consumers," said Chip Perry, president of AutoTrader. The "fundamental way people choose to interact with dealers hasn't changed." From the dealer's perspective, success means finding ways to "make your cars stand tall, your leadership stand tall."

"There's a sense that the Internet changes everything," Perry said. "But does it really?" he asked the audience.

Perry also chided dealers for their poor use of the Internet in attracting customers. So many used-car listings start with such items as power steering, power windows, power door locks, etc. - items that virtually every used vehicle contains as standard equipment. Differences in equipment come further down in the list, when they should be right at the top. "They haven't grasped yet that the role of the Internet isn't what they thought it was," Perry said. "Consumers are trying to make practical decisions out there," and they need information that's truly helpful, not repetitious verbiage.

Vehicle availability is another issue that's likely to plague dealers for years to come. Economic woes over the past two years caused new-vehicle sales to sink sharply. For used-car dealers - and buyers - that means in the years ahead, the supply of secondhand vehicles will be far smaller than in the past. Basic economics tells us that reduced supply of a commodity tends to send prices upward. "We are going to have a tight supply of vehicles," ADESA's Rauschenberg predicted. If it's really tight, that shrinkage could have even more devastating effects than rising prices.

Matt Traylen, senior director of economics and portfolio services at Automotive Lease Guide (ALG) agreed during his own presentation at the conference. "We know there's going to be a lack of supply in the next few years," he said - especially in stocks of midsize and large sport-utility vehicles.

"I think the era of large concentrated buckets of used cars is not going to return," said Mark Newman, managing director of SmartAuction. "It's going to be a smaller market."

ALG's Traylen also pointed out that gasoline prices still matter. Consumers now expect fuel prices to approach $4 per gallon at some point - and that's enough to enter into the vehicle buying decision today.

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