One-price concept finds more lookers than takers. (Special Report: Auto and Transportation)

When last we looked, one-stop pricing had scratched out only a toehold in the automobile showrooms of Western New York.

That was mid-1992. Eight months later, many dealers have kicked the tires, but most still aren't buying.

If anything, some local industry people say, the idea's popularity might actually be falling, though no-haggle dealerships are gradually spreading throughout the country.

"Local interest definitely seems to have tailed off," said Duane Paddock Jr., vice president and partner in Paddock Chevrolet. "There was a period last year when a lot of dealers were talking about one-price selling. A couple tried it, experimented with it and found it didn't work for them."

About 1,000 U.S. new car dealerships now use the selling policy variously called "one-price," "no-haggle," "no-dicker sticker" and "hassle-free buying." The number, according to a study by the National Automobile Dealers Association, is less than 5 percent of the nation's dealerships.

Western New York has only a handful. …