High unemployment in other industries from the recession and ripple effects of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have sent a tide of people to new-car dealerships looking for work. Although most job ads for car salesmen either demand auto selling experience or term it "desirable," many dealers are finding that the newcomers are some of their best performers, according to Newsday.

Some experts wonder, though, whether many of the new entrants will leave as the economy improves and opportunities open elsewhere.

Yet, the need for skilled sales professionals has never been higher, Newsday said. As the design, performance and the reliability of cars have improved, experts say, consumers' choices increasingly hinge on how they perceive their treatment at the dealerships, during the sales process and after the sale in the service department.

Growth in vehicle sales has created opportunities for sales staffs, according to Newsday: Record annual sales of new cars and trucks that topped 17 million for the first time in 2000 and 2001 increased the need for sales professionals, although the industry stumbled during the recent recession.

"The sheer volume of sales really has created just an enormous need for new personnel," says Mark Schienberg, president of the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association. Qualified technicians, he says, also are in short supply.

Nationally, the number of auto sales professionals has increased by almost 12 percent since 1996, according to the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), a trade group based in Virginia. Much of the growth

has been at stores handling emerging nameplates such as Hyundai, Kia and Mitsubishi, says Paul Taylor, the group's chief economist.

America's changing racial and ethnic makeup is yet another factor driving change and creating opportunities for salesmen who speak more than one language. "Dealerships are in desperate demand for people who represent the types of communities they service," Schienberg said, according to Newsday.