Whittier : Council May Help Dealers Promote Ailing Auto Row

Responding to pleas from ailing auto dealerships along Whittier Boulevard, City Council members said they would consider helping fund a promotional campaign aimed at increasing sales.

The council is scheduled to vote May 5 on a proposal to contribute half of the estimated $3,000 it would cost to install nine “Auto Row” signs along the boulevard.

Auto dealers had asked the city to spend more than $100,000 for a billboard along the San Gabriel River Freeway (605) near Whittier Boulevard. The council agreed not to consider the proposal until budget discussions begin in June.

The auto row dealers pay $8,000 a month for the billboard, and they want the city to pay the rent for 13 months.

Auto dealers say that the billboard has helped business, but could not say how much it has contributed to sales, Assistant City Manager Hank Cunningham said.

According to a staff report, taxes collected from new car sales dropped 14% in the fourth quarter of 1991 compared to the same period in 1990. Sixteen percent of Whittier’s retail sales taxes in the fourth quarter of 1991 came from new car sales.