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Car sales are in such a slump that Tucson's best-known dealer, Jim Click, has cut back on the number of jobs he provides to disabled people.

Working through the non-profit The Beacon Group, Click has traditionally provided work to about 40 disabled people, mostly cleaning cars, but starting next month that number will go down to about 20. The reason, Click said, is reduced sales.

"We are not selling as many cars, and we don't have as many to clean," he said. "These are unusual times."

Click's reductions are a sign of the times in the local new-car industry, which has been hit hard in recent months by the declining economy. It's not so much the unavailability of credit that has hurt, local dealers said, but the sheer drop in the number of new-car customers.

Sales at local new-car dealerships are down by 11 percent in the first nine months of this year compared with the same period last year, said Ted Chapman, president of the Tucson New Car Dealers Association and of Chapman Automotive Group in Tucson. Sales were flat for the first four months, he said, then as gas prices started to climb, sales started to fall sharply because consumers pulled back on all spending.

As bad as those numbers may be, Tucson appears to be faring better than Phoenix, said Bobbi Sparrow, president of the Arizona Automotive Dealers Association. Statewide, sales for the first six months of the year were down 32 percent — mostly in Maricopa County.

Nationwide, auto sales in September dropped below 1 million units for the first time since 1993.

There have been signs of a credit crunch, highlighted last week by GMAC's move to limit financing to people with credit scores of 700 or higher. But Click and other dealers said that, at least locally, the credit crunch is more perception than reality.

"People think there's no money to lend," Click said. "Our banks are open. Locally, money is available."

But financing is not evenly spread throughout the market.

Edmund Marquez, of Edmund Marquez Suzuki, 702 W. Irvington Road, believes constant news stories about the country's economic woes are keeping potential car buyers away — a point echoed by other dealers.

But Marquez, whose dealership was the first new-car lot south of 22nd Street when it opened last year, also says credit is harder to get for some of those who are coming out to take advantage of rebates and low-interest factory loans.

"Suzuki, the brand, is doing OK, because the economy is actually playing into the brand. People are looking for more fuel-efficient vehicles, but business is still down," he said.

He said some lenders, mostly those based outside Tucson, have quit offering auto loans altogether. Local banks, particularly credit unions, are doing well and making money available for auto purchases, Marquez said.

Those giving loans are making tougher demands, though.

"Unless you have perfect credit, they like to see some money down," Marquez said .

For those who can get financing or pay cash, he said it's actually a "great time to buy a car." Suzuki and other manufacturers are offering big incentives — up to $4,000 off a Suzuki SUV — and substantial rebates on other models, Marquez said.

While the cutbacks in Beacon Group employees are a grim sign of the times, Click said he is optimistic about a market recovery and is moving ahead with expansion plans and recently finished the remodel of two of his nine dealerships.

He intends to start airing commercials in coming weeks to let people know credit at Tucson dealerships is not frozen.

"We've been pinched, but we're doing well," said Click, who has been a Tucson auto dealer for 37 years.

Another longtime Tucson dealer echoed Click's optimism.

"I've been through two wars, the gas crisis in the 70s … the S&L debacle and now the financial crisis and I'm still here and have been for 25 years," Don Mackey said.

Although visitors to his showrooms of Pontiac, Cadillac, GMC and Saab vehicles are noticeably fewer, Mackey is also moving forward with expansion plans in Santa Fe, where he is opening a Lexus dealership.

He said new-car sales are down 18 percent from last year, and agreed that it's not the credit crunch, but consumer fear that is affecting sales.

"We've only lost a few deals to unqualified people that wanted to buy," Mackey said. "The real problem is consumer confidence is in the tank; we don't have the sales opportunities."

Click also said his sales are off by about 18 percent from last year.

Click's Beacon Group employees usually wash cars on Click's lots over six-hour shifts, but Click said sales have been so bad there is not enough work to keep them busy. He thought of cutting back the shifts to four hours, but after speaking to The Beacon Group decided it was best to cut back on the number of workers.

Cutting back on the number of jobs upset Click, who has made substantial donations to children's charities. He said he was assured the workers would have other jobs.

"They are great kids, and I absolutely love them," Click said. "This is not charity. This is business, and we hire these kids because they do a great job and they are competitive."

Those workers who don't stay with Click will be offered other jobs available through The Beacon Group.

Patrick McCarthy, director of development for Beacon, said the organization has 23 community work sites with more than 150 workers. But Click was the largest employer.

"The crew we've had at Click goes back to the mid-1970s," McCarthy said. "We expect it'll come back, too."