WKBT July 27, 2021 5:52 PM Philip Reed Posted: Updated: July 27, 2021 9:50 PM The same thing that happened with toilet paper last year тАФ shortages and panic buying тАФ is now happening with cars. тАЬIn my 28 years in the business, IтАЩve never seen anything like this,тАЭ says Oren Weintraub, president of Authority Auto, a concierge car-buying service in the Los Angeles area. Microchip shortages, pent-up demand and a used car market that тАЬis on fireтАЭ are driving up prices and fueling a buying frenzy, he says. Used cars will be pricey for a while, as shortages of new cars today mean fewer used ones down the road. But chip production will ramp up and new-car demand will be sated; the Federal Reserve estimates six to nine months before chip shortages ease and inventories rise. Dealer lots wonтАЩt be empty forever.