Yellowknife (July 30/03) - Car sales are up across town with representatives attributing the increase to financing deals and a positive mood within Yellowknife.

Bob MacNeil with Yellowknife Motors said business has been very good.

"The zero-per-cent financing is increasing interest quite a bit," said MacNeil.

While the General Motors financing deal in the past has been limited to vehicles, their current financing offer has been extended to heavy-duty trucks.

"Right across the board, manufacturers are not doing as well in sales as they were last year and that's the reason they've brought the financing promotion back," said MacNeil.

Kingland Ford sales manager Tom Cutforth said 2003 sales at the Ford dealership have been extremely strong.

"I'd have to think the diamond industry is part of our success but the rest of the folks in Yellowknife, unrelated to the diamond industry, have been busy as well," said Cutforth.

Getting back to the basics and focusing on the little things has been a large aspect of Kingland's success in 2003.

"We increased the selection of our inventory and dramatically increased our used vehicles so that now we are fully into the used-vehicle market," said Cutforth.

Bob Aaltonen, owner-manager at Yellowknife Chrysler said sales are up substantially over last year, and he expects that trend to continue into the fall.

"It's very strong, the local economy is buoyant and in our case, we're growing and we have more staff," said Aaltonen.

"We're enjoying high employment as a result of the growing diamond industry and that contributes a lot to our success as well," said Aaltonen.

Another aspect of success in 2003 for Yellowknife Chrysler is special financing offers.

"Chrysler has zero per cent financing for pretty much as long as you want and that's very popular and it does help quite a bit," said Aaltonen.

Barry Walsh, manager with Autotec, the Toyota and Subaru dealership, said his shop has been very busy overall.

"Business has been fairly consistent and that goes way back over the last six years," said Walsh.

"Over the last three years specifically, we've been busy, busy, busy, but the demand is more," said Walsh.

The hot sellers for Autotec this year have been the Toyota Matrix, the Toyota Sienna Van and the Subaru Forester.

"I think every household's disposable income in Yellowknife is up. The manufacturers have low sales and it's very easy to offer credit. If you can sign your name, they'll take the risk," said Walsh.

"It truthfully is a good time to buy a vehicle, with low interest and with high vehicle availability and certainly in Yellowknife, the economy is good," said Walsh.