If you see someone driving a new car this week, give the driver a quick wave of thanks.

For many people, purchasing a new automobile is a relatively rare occurrence.

Perhaps every few years or so, as an existing motor vehicle wears out, consumers jump into the marketplace and start paying attention to newspaper ads, manufacturer Web sites and peering onto automobile dealer lots.

But beyond that small window in which those consumers are seriously seeking to buy a vehicle, most don’t pay much attention to the goings on of our local auto dealers.

Perhaps we all should pay more attention, however, as car dealers’ livelihoods today are tomorrow’s tax collections.

Earlier this week, Natchez City Clerk Donnie Holloway reported the city’s sales tax collections were up over the previous year. It was the fifth consecutive month of a year-over-year increase.

Holloway attributed a large portion of the increase to a simple fact — people are buying more new cars.

That’s a bright spot for our economy, since nothing will truly begin getting back to normal economically until people start spending again.

We may not realize how important it is to our economy, but large purchases at home make a huge difference in our local economy.

So before you consider spending money out of town on your next vehicle, we hope you’ll realize the impact of buying local does to our local economy and the services our taxes buy.