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As far as Fumi Muto is concerned, every car on the road should be an Acura. The Sales and Leasing Consultant started his career at Norwalk's Devan Acura 20 years ago, and he'd happily finish it there.
"Before this, I was just a kid," he says. "I never did anything else!"
Back then, Devan was located across the street from Stew Leonard's. Now at 625 West Avenue, the showroom is surprisingly busy for these challenging economic times.
"The market is finally picking up," says Fumi, who lives in the Springdale section of Stamford. "The worst was late 2008, through most of 2009."
Now that business is booming (or at least better), Fumi has made a practice of paying close attention to what his local clients like and need.
"The MDX is our bestseller," he says, referring to the sleek 7-passenger SUV (yes, we said sleek!). "It's good for families, great in the snow, very safe. And the technology is state-of-the-art."
Whether his customers drive home in the MDX or one of Acura's smaller models, such as the ZDX sports coupe, Fumi says that silver is overwhelmingly the color of choice. Ratio of lease to buy is about 50/50.
In a sort of "shoemaker's children" spin, Fumi himself drives used cars from the lot. "All of the dealers do, even the General Manager," he says. "No sense putting miles on a new car!"
Even Fumi's buyers seem to prefer keeping their new cars as new as possible.
"A lot of them go to the city for work, but most of them don't drive - they park at the train station," he says. "Getting around in the city, a new car is a liability!"
Need your own silver automobile to get you to the train? Call Fumi at 203-838-7201 ext. 229 or email fumi@devanacura.com.
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