With the recent American economy, consumers have had to tighten their financial belts and focus their spending on more necessary expenses.

Local businessmen Cliff Hudson, president of Hudson's Import Service in Mount Pleasant, Mario Franz, franchise owner of SpeeDee Oil Change in North Charleston and Marty Rodenberg, owner of Sea Island Auto Service in Mount Pleasant, are seeing some interesting trends first-hand regarding their customers' spending habits. Customers are maintaining their older model vehicles rather than purchasing newer ones when it comes to saving money.

"The newer the car, the more technology it has," Rodenberg says. Everything from a vehicle's air conditioning system to its keyless entry system focuses on technology and computers to operate today. While technology has simplified some aspects of being behind-the-wheel, such as the built-in Global Positioning System (G.P.S.), which provides real-time driving directions and road conditions, repairing that technology can be quite costly. In some cases customers will have to take their vehicles back to the dealership to get them repaired.

"Getting those vehicles fixed becomes an ordeal," Rodenberg says. As the vehicles get older the technology will change with it. Although the dealerships will be more than capable of fixing those problems, the cost of doing so will be considerably higher compared to independently owned repair facilities that might not be able to fix those problems.

This is where the older model vehicles come into play, helping the customers save money.

Generally speaking, "older cars are less expensive and more reliable," Franz says.

While many vehicles today do have greater gas mileage than a lot of older vehicles (an obvious money saver) the cost of purchasing a newer vehicle sometimes does not outweigh other costs associated with it.

Repairs needed when a vehicle warranty ends and the insurance needed for it can be extremely costly for newer vehicles. Combine these expenses with an economic crisis, and it becomes clearer why consumers are reverting back to older model vehicles that have proven themselves just as reliable.

Franz gives an example in which a vehicle his technicians had worked on previously had 700,000 miles on it and was still working fine.

Karl Erner, head repair-technician at SpeeDee Oil Change, explains that the training he and his fellow technicians go through is never static. "We're finding out new information about these vehicles every day," Erner says.

The entire staff at SpeeDee Oil Change puts great emphasis on customer service. "There's a lot of one-on-one interaction between the customers and the technicians…we want the customers to see what's being done to their vehicles and why it's being done," Erner says.

Franz explains that when people are going to be spending their money, they need to be happy. He finds that customers appreciate the time his technicians have taken to explain what's wrong with their vehicle and what the next step is to get it back on the road. It's this sort of commitment and attention to detail that the staff at SpeeDee Oil Change shows on a daily basis that reflects their success as a business in tough economic times.

Cliff Hudson, of Hudson's Import Service, has a genuine passion for automobiles. At a young age he was introduced to mechanics. His father, who was an auto mechanic himself, played a significant part in this introduction. Although his father didn't envision his son with the same career path as his, he did insist that if his son wanted to be an auto mechanic, then he should do it for the right reasons. While only Hudson knows what those reasons are, perhaps it's possible to gain some insight into what they could be by looking at the history of his business and the practices he uses.

It's about "molding your business profile to meet the expectation of today's consumer," Hudson says.

For more than 40 years, Hudson's Import Service has been helping diagnose and repair the local imported car community. By specializing in servicing imported vehicles only, the technicians at Hudson's are specifically trained and better equipped to assist customers with imported vehicle issues. Hudson says that he remembers a time when many vehicles shared similar components which simplified repairs.

Now, the vehicles and parts that make them up contain some of the most technologically sophisticated equipment ever produced. To emphasize this, Hudson shows a schematic diagram for a 1970 Volkswagen; it fits onto a single sheet of paper. However, to show just how much technology has modified vehicle manufacturing throughout the years, he displays the same schematic diagram for the same vehicle 30 years later, and it's 65 pages thick.

The technological capability of today's vehicles has grown tremendously over the years. Countries such as Germany and Japan have become well-known throughout the world for producing some of the most sophisticated vehicles on the market. The German based car manufacturer Audi is one of them. According to their website, www.audiusa.com, their 2012 Audi R8 has a variety of advanced technological options that customers can choose from.

The HomeLink remote transmitter is just one of them. This remote transmitter enables an occupant inside the vehicle to control different aspects of that person's residence such as garage doors and lighting.

Education is a must for the entire staff at Hudson's Import Service, and their curriculum is never-ending. Stephanie Taylor, business manager, explains that the training auto technicians initially go through never stops. There is always something new that needs to be learned. Whether a vehicle manufacturer has updated an old manual to a vehicle, or an automobile company has released new information regarding one of their cars, staying current on any knowledge pertaining to vehicles is essential. Vehicles are constantly evolving, and the technicians need to be able to keep up.

In addition to the technicians staying up-to-date, Hudson emphasized that customer education is just as important.

Customers who are better informed about their own vehicles are able to make better choices when it comes to maintaining them.

Hudson's Import Service has been around for more than 40 years and is a part of the community. Success can be seen in their longevity.

As an auto mechanic and a self-proclaimed "car guy," one of Hudson's most important priorities is being able to build and maintain relationships with those around him.

These local businesses are noticing trends specific to them.

However, the quality of the products these businesses are selling along with their commitment to their customer base has shown to be a successful formula.