"Guys at the dealerships are going to tell you, ‘The UAW this and that,’ but their lots are full of cars now," says Ivan Drury, the director of insights at Edmunds, a provider of information about the auto industry. He estimates that at current inventory levels and the pace of vehicle sales, most car shoppers shouldn’t notice much change for a couple of months.
The UAW began striking at factories that make only a few vehicles – Ford Broncos and Rangers, Jeep Wranglers, Chevrolet mid-size pickups and GMC vans. Dealers have good inventories of those. "We really want to encourage customers: Don’t be afraid," Stewart said, while suggesting they see the deals available at dealerships.If the strike isn’t ended soon, however, there could be shortages of some makes and models – big sellers or vehicles that are already in short supply, such as Chevrolet Silverado and Tahoe, GMC Sierra and Ford F-Series pickups. The car companies have plants in Mexico that could keep producing some models – as long as they have a supply of parts.