May 15, 2008
Some of the nerdiest-looking cars in recent automotive history are making a comeback, at least in resale value, as a growing number of value-driven drivers put gas thriftiness ahead of image, according to USA Today citing Kelley Blue Book.
Early-1990s econoboxes such as Ford Festiva, Hyundai Excel and Geo Metro — once the punch line of jokes — have seen their used car prices climb from giveaway levels as low as $1,100 a few months ago to upward of $6,000 today, Kelley Blue Book says.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth 
at 9:40 AM | Permalink
April 7, 2008
Suddenly the rich aren't getting richer — and luxury car dealers are joining other high-end retailers in feeling the pinch, according to USA Today.
Adding to a turnabout in once-resilient upscale goods, most luxury car brands saw sales drops last month.
Mercedes-Benz softened 3.7% compared with March last year, Autodata reports. BMW fell 8.7%, and Lexus plummeted 13.6%.
Overall, luxury vehicle sales are off almost 13% this year.
Purveyors of the finer things in life are finding their well-heeled customers are caught in the same economic riptide tugging at the less well-off.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 11:05 AM | Permalink
April 4, 2008
The smallest, cheapest, cars are the biggest, brightest spot in the dreary auto market, reflecting continuing buyer flight to fuel economy and lower prices, according to USA Today.
Sales of all types of small cars in March were at year-ago levels, Autodata says — a big success in an industry that sold 12% fewer vehicles overall than in March 2007. The small-car segment was the only one not showing a loss.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 11:32 AM | Permalink
April 2, 2008
DETROIT — Sales for each of the nation’s four largest automakers fell last month, prompting some executives to forecast a gloomy spring, a period that typically posts strong sales, according to The New York Times.
General Motors and Toyota, however, said they were optimistic about the benefits of declining interest rates and tax rebate checks that most Americans will get starting in May as part of the federal economic stimulus package. But executives at the Ford Motor Company said they did not think the industry had hit bottom yet.
“I’d like to be able to tell you the worst is behind us, but I really can’t give you that assurance,” Ford’s marketing chief, James D. Farley, said on Tuesday. “At this point, our sense is that the next quarter may be our most difficult.”
A research firm, Global Insight, projects that industry sales will reach a low point in the second quarter, at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 14.8 million vehicles, before rebounding moderately later this year. The rate was 15.11 million in March, down from 16.29 million a year earlier, according to the Autodata Corporation, an industry statistics firm.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 12:54 PM | Permalink
April 1, 2008
DETROIT -- Ford's U.S. sales dropped 14 percent, Toyota's fell 10 percent and Honda's slipped 3 percent in March as demand for trucks and sport utility vehicles plummeted amid high gas prices and a slowdown in home construction, according to the Associated Press.
Consumers' worries about the economy were expected to make March one of the worst months for automakers since 2005, when a wave of summer discounts led to a huge drop in fall sales. Automakers reported sales Tuesday.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 2:28 PM | Permalink
March 21, 2008
NEW YORK — Despite dire predictions, auto executives say the market for new cars and light trucks is not rapidly deteriorating and may even stabilize in the second half, according to USA Today.
Several executives here for the New York auto show say they expect tax rebate checks that begin landing in May, along with interest rate cuts, to get consumers excited to buy again.
Jeff Schuster, executive director of automotive forecasting for J.D. Power and Associates, isn't buying it. On Tuesday, J.D. Power lowered its annual sales forecast to 14.95 million vehicles, down from the original view of 15.7 million.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 9:52 AM | Permalink
February 29, 2008
Sometimes a bargain isn’t. A car that may look inexpensive, up front, just might wind up costing you more in the long-run, warns Consumer Reports magazine, in its Annual April Auto Issue, reports thecarconnection.com
Once you add in factors like maintenance, fuel costs, insurance, interest and depreciation, the actual cost of ownership can be significantly different than what many car buyers would expect. The magazine notes that with its $17,500 sticker price, a Mitsubishi Lancer is a whopping $5,000 less than the smaller Mini Cooper — at least when you first drive it home. But over the typical, five-year ownership cycle, the equation looks quite a bit different. When you add in repairs and other factors, the Mitsubishi actually will cost about $3,000 more, Consumer Reports calculates.
Toyotas score quite well, according to the magazine. While the Highlander SUV is $3,000 more, initially, than a comparable Ford Explorer, the Japanese SUV will save an owner $6,500 over the long-run. And lower fuel costs are one of the main reasons why the Prius hybrid will save an owner $2,000, after five years, versus a Chevrolet Cobalt, even though the sticker price of the Chevy is $7,500 less.
But one big surprise comes from the luxury side of the Toyota line-up. Its Lexus brand has relatively high maintenance costs, so over that same, five-year cycle, an ES350 will rack up a full $2,300 more in repair costs than a Lincoln MKZ.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 11:44 AM | Permalink
Think about a used car and you might think junky, dirty and old. But another market is catching the attention of savvy buyers who want updated rides without paying new-car prices, according to forbes.com.
These certified used or certified "pre-owned" (CPO) vehicles have been inspected and refurbished by the manufacturer and are backed by extended warranties. The certified used car market isn't one that automakers can afford to ignore.
According to a recent J.D. Power and Associates study, sales of certified used cars have increased 46% since 2000. Auto experts estimate that 1.6 million certified used cars are sold annually, a number equivalent to 10% of new vehicle sales.
This rapid growth started when the segment emerged in the 1990s. Luxury automakers like Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Lexus, looking for ways to unload vehicles coming off lease programs, introduced the certified pre-owned programs as a way to attract the discerning buyer who wanted a luxury car but didn't want to shell out the big bucks.
Other luxury and non-luxury automakers who found themselves in similar situations began offering their versions of these programs.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 11:31 AM | Permalink
February 14, 2008
So many vehicles are being snatched from owners who stop making payments that some repo operators and auto auctioneers say lots are overflowing, according to USA Today.
Car and truck repossessions this year are headed for the highest level in at least a decade, thanks to easy credit and a faltering economy, said Thomas Webb, chief economist for a unit of Atlanta-based Manheim, one of the largest wholesale auto auction services.
This year's predicted 10% rise in vehicle repos to 1.6 million would be a third higher than 10 years ago, he said. The increase comes atop a 10% rise in repos last year.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:24 AM | Permalink
January 31, 2008
This Super Bowl Sunday, look for ads about earth-friendly SUVs, fuel-efficient compacts and German sports cars, joining the fray of talking animals and silly beer commercials, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Automakers and auto-related companies, like tiremaker Bridgestone and cars.com, typically are the second-largest buyer of ad time during the Super Bowl.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:01 AM | Permalink
Isuzu Motors, which helped popularize sport-utility vehicles in the 1980s, said it will exit the U.S. consumer auto market next year, the first departure by an Asian brand since 2002, according to Bloomberg News.
Sales of Ascender SUVs and i-series pickup trucks, both supplied by General Motors Corp., will halt at the end of January 2009, Isuzu said today in a statement. U.S. demand for the company's vehicles has fallen 93 percent in eight years.
``There are no forecasts for continuation of the SUV business through introduction of a next-generation vehicle,'' Tokyo-based Isuzu said.
Isuzu's boxy Trooper sparked interest in truck-based SUVs in the late 1980s, helping push its U.S. sales to a peak of 103,629 in 1999. Since then, it's had the industry's steepest decline, selling just 7,098 vehicles last year -- the smallest volume for any Asia-based brand in the U.S.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 9:55 AM | Permalink
January 22, 2008
Even though the economy is putting the brakes on sales, auto-focused companies still are spending big bucks to drive brand awareness with Super Bowl advertising, according to USA Today.
Audi, Toyota, General Motors, Hyundai and Cars.com all have in-game ads, which are selling for up to $2.7 million for 30 seconds.
Hyundai did have thoughts about reselling the 60 seconds it bought last fall from game broadcaster Fox, but stayed in.
"We wanted to make sure that it made sense (to keep the time) given the fact that the economy doesn't look as bright as it did," said Hyundai spokesman Chris Hosford.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:03 AM | Permalink
January 8, 2008
Faced with talk of recession and the fallout from a meltdown in the housing market, automakers are still hoping to avoid major incentives despite some sluggish sales, according to thecarconnection.com
Mark LaNeve, General Motors' vice president in charge of vehicle sales, said last week there was no doubt sales will be slow through the first quarter of 2008. Toyota also scaled back its forecast for higher sales in 2008 in the face of the deteriorating economic conditions in the U.S. At best, Toyota now expects its sales to improve only between one and two percent, Toyota officials said.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 1:08 PM | Permalink
January 7, 2008
TOKYO (AP) -- Japan's domestic auto sales fell to a 35-year low last year as the nation faced high gasoline prices, limited income growth and shrinking demand, an industry group said Monday, according to the Associated Press.
Sales of new cars, trucks and buses declined 7.6 percent to 3.434 million vehicles in 2007, the Japan Automobile Dealers' Association said in a statement. The figures do not include sales of minicars and minitrucks.
The result, which marked the fourth straight annual decline, was the lowest since 1972, when sales totaled 3.406 million vehicles.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:23 AM | Permalink
January 4, 2008
DETROIT — They may be built like a rock, be able to haul boulders and hail from deep in the heart of Texas. But pickup tricks cannot stand up to tough economic times, according to the New York Times.
Final sales tallies announced Thursday showed that 2007 was the year the pickup hit the wall.
That’s bad news for auto companies, which have long relied on pickups as a steady supplier of hefty profits as they responded to consumers’ shifting tastes for other vehicles.
Even when sport utility vehicles lost their allure earlier this decade, pickups hung on, fueled by the need among builders and business owners to replace their workhorses, and by the need of some drivers to own the biggest wheels on the block.
But analysts say that high gasoline prices, the housing slump and the uncertain economy are causing pickup drivers to hold off trekking to the dealer.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 12:41 PM | Permalink
Despite fierce year-end marketing campaigns offering no-interest, six-year loans and thousands of dollars in rebates, sales of new cars and trucks sagged in December, leaving 2007 with the worst sales in nine years, according to USA Today.
Automakers sold 16.1 million new vehicles last year, fewest since 15.6 million in 1998, according to sales tracker Autodata.
December sales were down 2.9% from a year ago and full-year sales were off 2.5%, Autodata reported. Detroit makers were hit hard.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 12:29 PM | Permalink
December 4, 2007
High gas prices took their toll on the auto industry last month, decimating sales of larger vehicles but pushing smaller, cheaper and more fuel-thrifty models and gas-electric hybrids out the door, sales figures released Monday show, according to USA Today.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 12:45 PM | Permalink
December 3, 2007
DETROIT -- Automakers reported mixed U.S. sales results for November on Monday, with some new or more fuel-efficient models performing well despite consumer malaise over high gas prices and the weak economy, according to the Associated Press.http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AUTO_SALES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2007-12-03-14-12-56
General Motors, the biggest automaker by U.S. sales, said its sales dropped 11 percent, hurt by falling demand for trucks as well as cuts in sales to rental car fleets. Ford and Toyota both reported flat sales for the month. Nissan's sales rose 6 percent.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 2:56 PM | Permalink
With the 11th month of 2007 U.S. auto sales results set to be released, a clearer picture will emerge as to how the year will end up for each auto company, brand and model, according to the Detroit Free Press's Tim Higgins.
Industry sales this year are expected to be the lowest in a decade. Earlier estimates for how November will look don't appear upbeat. Tom Libby, senior director of industry analysis at the Power Information Network, a subsidiary of J.D. Power and Associates, said that through Nov. 25, retail sales industrywide were down 7%. But Libby cautions that the auto companies can make interesting moves in the final month of the year in attempts to boost sales.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:13 AM | Permalink
November 14, 2007
Model year 2008 Volkswagens are most likely to retain the largest portion of their value after five years of ownership, according to study by Kelly Blue Book, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Using information from the company’s analysis of new and used cars and trucks, Kelly Blue Book put Volkswagen at the top of a list of 10 vehicle brands with the best projected resale value. BMW and Acura were second and third on the list. The bottom three brands on the list were Suzuki, Kia and GMC, according to the report.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:41 AM | Permalink
November 2, 2007
DETROIT - Ford and Chrysler felt most of the pain of the weak U.S. auto market in October. Both revealed big declines Thursday that seemed to put their turnaround plans on shaky ground going forward, especially as the economy flirts with a recession, according to the Detroit Free Press.
But General Motors and the three big Japanese automakers all posted gains for the month, in which sales were a little stronger than expected.
Ford's sales were off 9.3%, making October its 12th straight month of sales declines. While that performance was somewhat expected, as the company embarked on a long-term program to wean its vehicles from the discounted fleet market, it raises questions about when Ford might hit bottom and begin growing again.
For Chrysler, October sales were off 8.9%, the fifth month of a sales slide that helps explain the additional 12,000 job cuts the automaker announced Thursday. It came even as the Auburn Hills-based automaker increased sales to fleet customers.
"Obviously, we're not happy with our performance," Darryl Jackson, vice president of U.S. sales at Chrysler, told journalists during a conference call. "We've got work to do."
Other automakers, though, held their own in the tough market.
The big Asian companies were lifted by their fuel-efficient cars. Sales were up 13.1% at Nissan Motor Co., on the strength of the midsize Altima sedan; 3.8% at Honda Motor Co., buoyed by the new midsize Accord, and 4.5% at Toyota Motor Corp. The Toyota Prius hybrid posted a 50.7% gain.
Detroit-based GM also continued to show strength, especially at retail, with a third-straight gain of total monthly sales -- increasing 3.4% in October, compared with a year ago.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 6:59 AM | Permalink
October 3, 2007
Despite a difficult overall market, General Motors and Ford found a receptive audience for new and redesigned vehicles in September, giving hope that their evolving lineups could win back U.S. customers, according to the Detroit Free Press.
GM reported Tuesday U.S. sales in September of 334,974, up 0.3% from the same month last year. Sales of the redesigned Cadillac CTS were up 66.8% to 6,416.
Ford's U.S. sales, hurt by slumping truck figures, dropped 20.4% to 189,037. But a redesigned Escape was a bright spot with sales increasing 10.3% to 11,132.
GM and Ford were not the only automakers helped by new products. Sales for Honda Motor Co., which launched a redesigned Accord in September, were up 9.4% to 127,000.
Nissan was up 6.7% to 94,269 thanks largely to the Altima, redesigned in late 2006. A new coupe version was added this year.
Toyota's U.S. sales fell 4.4% in September to 213,043 vehicles, marking the third straight month of declines.
Chrysler LLC's sales were down 5.4% to 159,799. The Auburn Hills automaker emphasized that Jeep brand sales were down 10.6% to 37,460 in September because of a planned fleet reduction.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:17 AM | Permalink
The pickup wars intensified Tuesday as Toyota announced new cut-rate versions of its full-size Tundra amid flat industrywide September sales in the hotly contested segment, according to USA Today.
The pickup developments were a facet of a September in which General Motors showed a slight sales gain for the second-consecutive month among all its divisions.
By contrast, second-place Toyota saw its sales drop 4% compared with the same month last year, Autodata reported. Ford took the biggest hit with a decline of 20.4% overall, and most painfully, 15% in the most-coveted sales to individual retail customers.
Overall, sales were down 2.9% for the month. After the first three quarters of the year, the industry remains down by almost the same amount it was at this time in 2006. Ford predicts the final tally for the year will make it the worst for automakers since 1998.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:14 AM | Permalink
October 2, 2007
Ford and Chrysler probably lost U.S. market share last month as consumers spurned their pickups and SUVs in favor of fuel-efficient cars made by Honda, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Sales at Ford may have plunged 15% from a year earlier while Chrysler's fell 5.9%, according to the average estimates of seven analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Honda sales probably rose 9% while General Motors' gained 1%, helped by discounts, analysts said.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 9:26 AM | Permalink
September 14, 2007
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Retail sales posted a modest gain in August, helped by the biggest jump in auto sales in more than a year. But there are concerns that spending could falter as the steep slump in housing and financial market turbulence weigh on consumer confidence, according to the Associated Press.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 11:04 AM | Permalink
September 10, 2007
FRANKFURT, Germany — Luxury automakers BMW, Audi and Mercedes reported healthy sales increases for August on Friday, but Harley-Davidson lowered earnings expectations for the because of a "difficult time for the U.S. consumer," Chief Executive Jim Ziemer said, according to USA Today.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:14 AM | Permalink
September 4, 2007
Toyota, Ford and Chrysler each reported sales declines last month, but General Motors surprised industry analysts on Tuesday by showing an increase in a declining U.S. auto market, according to the Associated Press.
Toyota's 2.8 percent sales drop, Ford's 14.4 percent decline and Chrysler's 6.1 percent decrease were symptoms of what analysts said would be slumping U.S. auto market due to high gasoline prices, rising mortgage payments and turmoil in the financial markets.
But GM, led by increased pickup truck sales, showed an increase of 6.1 percent, while Nissan Motor Co. reported its sales increased 6.3 percent for August compared with the same month last year.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 3:59 PM | Permalink
When August auto sales are reported today, they are expected to provide another sign that U.S. economic worries will challenge the auto industry for months to come, putting pressure on carmakers for further production cuts and profit-eating sales incentives, according to the Detroit Free Press.
U.S. consumers are too spooked about the housing market -- specifically, the value and marketability of their homes -- to be in the mood to buy new cars and trucks.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:19 AM | Permalink
TOKYO — Toyota plans to sell 10.4 million vehicles globally in 2009, it said Friday, a sales target that would put the Japanese automaker ahead of a record set by world leader General Motors 30 years ago, according to USA Today.
Analysts say Toyota Motor (TM) is likely on track to beat General Motors (GM) as the world's biggest automaker in global vehicle sales and production this year — a title Detroit-based GM has held for 76 years.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:10 AM | Permalink
August 29, 2007
DETROIT — August car sales could be down 10% compared with a year ago as the mortgage credit crunch makes homeowners feel less secure and unwilling to sign on for another large monthly payment, according to Edmunds.com and reported by USA Today.
Edmunds.com estimates that sales will be down about 10% compared with last August, even as the automakers continue to pile on incentives to lure customers. Auto sales are particularly weak in regions such as Florida, Nevada and California, where the housing market also is being hard-hit.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 11:30 AM | Permalink
August 23, 2007
DETROIT — When General Motors first showed off the Pontiac Solstice, the low-slung, head-turning roadster, it seemed the perfect antidote for the brand, whose flagship sedan had become known as the “Bland Am," according to the New York Times.
But the car, while a hit, did not generate much more interest in the Pontiac brand over all, and as a result even the Solstice itself appears to be hurting, just two years into its lifespan.
Meanwhile, demand for the Solstice’s fraternal twin, the costlier and more angular Saturn Sky, has shown no signs of subsiding. G.M. has about one month’s worth of the Sky available, and many buyers still have to wait several weeks or months for their Sky to arrive.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 11:18 AM | Permalink
August 20, 2007
Gooding & Co. says its Saturday and Sunday's evening auctions following the Pebble
Beach Concours d'Elegance garnered more than $60 million in sales, according to PR Newswire.
The top sale was a 1931 Blower Bentley from the E. Ann Klein Estate which sold for $4.51 million. In the second-highest sale of the weekend, a 1959 Ferrari 250 GT
LWB California Spyder sold for $4,455,000.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:54 AM | Permalink
August 14, 2007
U.S. car buyers appear to be more satisfied with their purchases than ever, despite some quality stumbles by Asian brands, according to a survey released Tuesday and reported by the Associated Press.
The consumer satisfaction rate for vehicles rose 1 point this year to a score of 82 out of 100, a record in the 12-year history of the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 9:51 AM | Permalink
August 8, 2007
Toyota expects industrywide U.S. auto sales to slow for the second straight year in 2007, with a rebound beginning in 2008, the company's U.S. sales chief said today, according to Reuters.
The Japanese automaker expects sales of 16.3 million vehicles this year, down 2 percent from 16.6 million in 2006. Sales in 2005 were just short of 17 million vehicles.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:49 AM | Permalink
August 6, 2007
The auto industry’s rebate frenzy is over, but there are still some alluring cash-back offers for buyers who can bring themselves to take advantage of automakers in distress, which is just about all of them, according to the New York Times.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 4:30 PM | Permalink
August 1, 2007
Sales of import brands overtook their domestic rivals for the first time last month, even as weak demand for autos spread to Asian and European manufacturers, according to CNN.
Combined, the U.S. automakers - General Motors, Ford Motor and the Chrysler Group unit that is being sold by DaimlerChrysler - reported a 19 percent decline in sales in July versus a year earlier, compared to single-digit declines or even modest gains reported by most overseas automakers in the period.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 4:39 PM | Permalink
Auto sales took a dive across the industry in July thanks to high gas prices and reluctant consumers, with General Motors reporting a 22.3 percent decline and Ford sales down 19.1 percent, automakers said Wednesday, according to the Associated Press.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 4:32 PM | Permalink
July 30, 2007
No dealer will turn away a cash-paying customer, but all things considered, they are less welcome than buyers who want to lease or finance their cars, according to the New York Times.
That's because buyers who pay cash, whether they write a check or borrow the money elsewhere and bring it to the showroom, provide car dealers with fewer opportunities to make money on a car deal.
That ranges from the cut dealers get from arranging a lease or loan, to options like extended warranties or antirust coating that buyers are more likely to choose if they can fold it into the amount they borrow. In some cases, those extras account for up to 75 percent of a showroom’s profits.
Posted by at 10:35 AM | Permalink
July 20, 2007
General Motors pulled ahead of Toyota in global sales for the second quarter of 2007 but remained No. 2 for the first half of the year, according to preliminary figures released by the rival automakers, according to the Associated Press.
GM said Thursday it sold 2.41 million vehicles worldwide in the April-June period, while Toyota said it sold 2.37 million.
Posted by at 9:52 AM | Permalink
July 16, 2007
Acura dealerships ranked highest in a study to be released today that evaluates how consumers are treated when shopping for a new car or truck, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Land Rover and Saturn took second and third place, respectively, in the 2007 Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index auto industry study. The report evaluates shopping experiences at 1,592 dealerships, representing all brands, nationwide.
Posted by at 10:51 AM | Permalink
July 12, 2007
A steam-powered car, billed as the oldest car in the world that still runs, will be sold in a Pebble Beach, Calif., auction on August 19, according to CNNMoney.com
The car was built in France in 1884, about a year before Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz of Germany built their first experimental gasoline-powered cars. (The two were working independently of one another.) Henry Ford finished his first garage-built car 12 years after this one.
The four-wheeled De Dion-Bouton et Trepardoux, nicknamed "La Marquise," was originally built for the French Count De Dion, one of the founders of the company. The car has had only two other owners since, according to auction house Gooding & Company, which is handling the sale.
Posted by at 9:32 AM | Permalink
July 11, 2007
The pickup discount fight escalated today as GM announced increased rebates and more low-interest financing options in an effort to boost sales that sagged in June, according to USA Today.
GM, which has been trying to reduce incentives and raise purchase prices closer to the sticker, announced that it would offer up to $2,000 in cash discounts or financing from 0% to 4.9% on regular-cab models of its Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups.
Posted by at 3:23 PM | Permalink
July 5, 2007
The next Made-in-China export bound for the United States - cars, according to USA Today.
Chrysler Group signed a deal Wednesday with China's biggest automaker, Chery, to launch a low-cost production venture that could export the first Chinese-made cars to the United States.
The first cars will reach Latin America or Eastern Europe within a year, and models should be exported to North America and Western Europe in 2½ years, said Chrysler CEO Tom LaSorda.
Posted by at 11:05 AM | Permalink
General Motors' U.S. sales plunged 21.3% in June and Ford dropped 8.1% while Toyota reported a 10.2% sales surge compared with a year ago, according to USA Today.
But Ford remained the No. 2 U.S. auto seller in June, edging Toyota, according to the June sales totals reported Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Nissan said its U.S. sales rose 22.7% and DaimlerChrysler's sales dropped 1.8%, the automakers said.
GM said it sold 320,668 passenger vehicles
Posted by at 11:00 AM | Permalink
July 3, 2007
Detroit's Big Three automakers are rolling out some of their most appealing discounts of the year this holiday week, counting heavily on 0% financing to lure debt-strapped consumers, according to USA Today.
Posted by at 11:52 AM | Permalink
June 29, 2007
The Chrysler Group, preparing to go private under new ownership, plans to continue making public its monthly sales results, according to the Detroit Free Press.
The long-held tradition is important to continue, in part to avoid the appearance that the automaker has something to hide, Steven Landry, Chrysler executive vice president of North America sales, global marketing and services and parts, told the Free Press in an interview Thursday.
Posted by at 9:37 AM | Permalink
United Auto Group Inc. said it will change its corporate name to Penske Automotive Group Inc. effective July 2, according to the Detroit Free Press.
The Bloomfield Hills-based owner and operator of 311 car dealerships said it will also change its ticker symbol to PAG on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday.
Posted by at 9:34 AM | Permalink
June 13, 2007
BioFuel Energy Corp., a development-stage ethanol producer, said it plans to sell 5.25 million shares at $10.50 a share in an initial public offering, below its expected IPO pricing range of $13 to $14 a share, according to Reuters.
In a regulatory filing, BioFuel said it will also sell 4.25 million shares in a private placement directly to affiliates of Greenlight Capital Inc., Third Point LLC and its chairman, Thomas Edelman.
The Denver, Colorado-based company expects to receive about $93 million in net proceeds, after deducting underwriting discounts and offering expenses.
BioFuel plans to use the net proceeds to fund the equity portion of the construction costs of its Alta plant and repay or defer debt.
Posted by at 10:12 AM | Permalink
Gibbs Technologies, founded by Britain 's Neil Jenkins and Alan Gibbs, is expected to announce a new deal to produce a military version of its prototype Aquada, a car-like vehicle that can operate on land or water, according to thecarconnection.com.
Specifics are expected to outlined today, but a prototype is expected to allow for a range of military operations, including the ability to deliver special forces troops and material at remote locations, or to provide flexible patrols along waterfronts.
According to Jenkins, the company's High Speed Amphibian technology would allow for fast travel off-shore, but unlike a traditional boat, the vehicles could quickly move onto dry land to pursue an enemy.
Posted by at 10:05 AM | Permalink
June 12, 2007
After taking a decade to sell its first 1 million gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles worldwide, Toyota now says it plans to sell 1 million a year within a few years, according to USA Today.
At the same time, the big automaker appears to be backing away from a pledge made a few years ago that hybrid powertrains would be available as options on nearly every one of its U.S. vehicles by 2010.
Posted by at 10:30 AM | Permalink
As with sport utilities, the popularity of pickups is in decline. Sales have dropped, rebates and other incentives are climbing, even for companies like G.M. and Toyota that have the newest models on the market, according to The New York Times.
Posted by at 10:28 AM | Permalink
Ford said it was reviewing its position on its Jaguar and Land Rover businesses, and union officials pressed for more information amid reports that the two brands were up for sale, according to the Associated Press.
John Gardiner, a spokesman for Ford's Premier Automotive Group, told Dow Jones Newswires that the company continued to review all of its global operations and all options were still on the table.
"I can confirm we're working with our financial advisers to determine the best way forward for Jaguar and Land Rover," Gardiner said.
Posted by at 9:53 AM | Permalink
June 8, 2007
A decade after the first Prius went on sale, Toyota's global sales of hybrid vehicles have hit 1 million, underlining the Japanese automaker's lead in "green" technology, according to USA Today.
Toyota says it has sold 577,311 gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles in the USA from mid-2000, when it launched the Prius here, through May.
Toyota's worldwide sales of gas-and-electric-powered vehicles totaled 1.047 million as of the end of May. Nearly 345,000 of those were sold in Japan.
Posted by at 12:53 PM | Permalink
June 4, 2007
A 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Atalante coupé that had been sitting untrouched in a garage outside New York City for 45 years sold yesterday for $852,500 (including Christie's 10 percent buyer's premium) at a Christie's auction at the Greenwich Concours d'Elegance in Greenwich, Conn.
The price was way over the auction house's estimate of $300,000 to $400,000 but as auctioneer Hugh Edmeades told me afterwards, there is no way to really value a car this rare and in such orginal condition. "They find their own level," he said.
The bidding for the car ended in a bullfight between noted restorer Wayne Carini of F40 Motor Sports in Portland, Conn., who was bidding on behalf of Connecticut contractor Joe Capasso and an unidentified telephone bidder.
As the levels went higher, the two bidders did everything they could to knock the other out. Sometimes they came back immediately with a price, sometimes they mulled and then delivered a steep increase in an attempt to deliver a killing blow. At times the crowd gasped and applauded following long gaps and sudden hits; at other times you could have heard a pin drop. Certainly Edmeades did not need to work the kind of auctioneer's magic he had used earlier to push the bidding higher.
But what am I doing - giving away a fabulous story that will appear in Wednesday's projoCARS section? Be sure to read it as one of the issues I will be addressing is the restoring vs conserving and preserving argument that this sale highlighted. Plus details of some of the other beauties that were sold and some of the flavor of this tony and amusing event.
Posted by at 10:36 AM | Permalink
May 31, 2007
With gas prices well over $3 a gallon nationwide, many drivers are lining up to buy small cars, but hundreds of thousands of consumers aren’t giving up anything to downsize, according to The New York Times. Instead, they are simply adding pint-size transportation to their driveways, parked alongside their S.U.V. or pickup.
Posted by at 11:02 AM | Permalink
May 1, 2007
April auto sales were so slow that even Toyota reported a decrease from the same month last year. General Motors and Ford also reported decreases in U.S. sales while Chrysler had a small increase, according to the Associated Press.
Most analysts expected that U.S. sales would be down due largely to the slumping housing market, rising consumer debt, no pent-up demand for vehicles and gasooine prices at or near $3 per gallon.
Posted by at 3:43 PM | Permalink
A recent report finds sales of DaimlerChrysler's Maybach ultra uxury limo continue to be disappointing and having inspected one at the recent New York Auto Show, it doesn't surprise me. I mean, who are they making these things for?
For those of you who haven't seen one, the Mercedes-Benz Maybach is a giganto limo - the Maybach 62 is so long its rear seats can fully recline - that costs in the neighborhood of $300,000 to $450,000.
But those rear seats look to me so plush as to be almost claustophobic. Sure, they can be raised lowered, heated and some even have magic massage fingers. And they are surrounded by a bevy of conveniences - TV, wi-fi, refrigerator, writing table, etc etc. The roof can be programmed to be clear or opaque and black curtains can be drawn all round the rear compartment to allow for a complete snooze. (I was going to say privacy, but that might imply hanky-panky and it's hard to imagine that being much fun in such a cluttered environment.)
No, the Mercedes-Benz Maybach seems to be built for a passive lifetyle, for the kind of rich old codger or haughty dowager of a bygone age. By contrast, we live in an age dominated by the notion of an active lifestyle.
For example, it may be sour grapes, but I don't think most baby boomers are attracted to the eternal holiday style of retirement. To be sure, many of us will keep working because we need to. But many of us, from all walks of life, want to keep involved.
And that goes for wealthy moguls. Sure it's fun to be driven around, but not in a cocoon of luxury. Wealth today buys the active lifestyle for old and and young and to many it's more prestigious to be seen driving, or being driven in, a luxury power monster BMW or Bentley than to be seen lolling in the back seat of a luxury limo.
I may be wrong - I usually am - but somehow I don't see Kirk Kerkorian (89) looking passively out from behind the curtains of a Mercedes-Benz Maybach.
Posted by at 9:47 AM | Permalink
April 26, 2007
So GM has lost the top spot to Toyota, which sold 2.35 million cars and trucks worldwide in the first quarter; that was about 109,000 more than GM.
It was a long time coming, but was there any doubt it was coming?
Hell's bells, the late David Halberstam pretty much predicted it in his book 'The Reckoning,' which was published in 1986.
For decades, Detroit's Big Three - GM, Ford and Chrysler - have been blinded by short term sales and profits and have ignored the bigger forces at work. While the rest of the world pays astonomical prices for gasoline - $7 a gallon in Europe, for example - Americans pay next to nothing thanks in large part to the anti-gasoline tax lobby promulgated by the Big Three.
And while the Big Three kept on ignoring those signs, it opened the door for Asian manufacturers to start nibbling at the lower end of the food chain. Sure the small, fuel efficient cars were less profitable but once oil prices lost their moorings with the first OPEC crisis of 1973, Americans starting turning to the smaller cars and have never looked back.
I can think of another company that became incredibly successful by building market share while flying under the radar (excuse the pun): Southwest Airlines. Birthed in the shadow of American Airlines and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Southwest started operating as a puddle jumper from Dallas' Love Field Airport. Slowly it nibbled away until it is now one of the largest and most successful airlines in America.
How did it do it? Good management was one essential key, and the same applies to the Asian auto makers. If you're going to lead, know where you're going!
The management running the Big Three have proved themselves clueless time and time again. They tried every trick in the book including persuading Congress to implement import quotas against Japanese auto makers in 1981. They responded by moving up the food chain and building bigger and more expensive cars. And so it went on, with the Asian manufacturers gaining one segment after another and not giving it back.
Talk about being hoisted by your own petard.
In this sense, the recent introduction of Toyota's Tundra full-size pickup truck represents the final step to the top of the food chain just as its worldwide sales finally moved ahead of the heretofore iconic GM.
Posted by at 12:52 PM | Permalink
April 12, 2007
Fast-growing sales of the smallest cars are siphoning market share from compact sedans, according to USA Today. Citing auto industry experts, the paper says sub-subcompacts "are the new hot darlings of the market."
Sales of the minis doubled in the first quarter compared with a year ago, when some of the smallest models hadn't yet gone on sale.
Posted by at 11:19 AM | Permalink
March 9, 2007
Ford is expected to sell Aston Martin, the iconic luxury brand, to iconsortium of business interests from America and the Middle East, headed by Prodrive founder and world rally championship owner David Richards, according to Britain's Daily Telegraph.
The deal is estimated to be worth $900 million. According to its Web site, Prodrive is is one of the world’s leading motorsport and automotive technology businesses, employing more than 1000 people at operations in the UK, USA, Germany, Thailand and Australia.
Posted by at 11:33 AM | Permalink
March 6, 2007
Reuters reports that U.S. buyout firm Blackstone Group is showing an interest in Chrysler which effectively went up on the blocks after DaimlerChrysler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche announced last month ago that "all options were open."
Reuters today cited a a person familiar with the situation as saying said the private equity group has approached Chrysler and been granted access to its books in preparation for a possible bid.
But Reuters said he source said there was no guarantee that the firm, already an investor in Germany's Deutsche Telekom, would make an offer for Chrysler.
Blackstone, which is majority owner of TRW Automotive and formerly an investor in American Axle and Manufacturing declined to comment. And Zetsche gave reporters at the auto show in Geneva no details on the status of the Chrysler's status.
Posted by at 10:05 AM | Permalink
March 1, 2007
General Motors is shutting the production of its Monte Carlo coupe at its Oshawa plant in Canada in June, according to leftlanenews.com. Despite a model update and a new V8 and a slight uptick in sale in 2006, sales have fallen 60 percent early this year. In addition, Chevrolet expect sales of its 2008 Malibu to cut into potential Monte Carlo sales further.
Posted by at 1:45 PM | Permalink
February 23, 2007
Here we go again. As fuel prices come down so interest in SUVs and crossovers rise, according to cars.com. AutoRemarketing.com cites the reversal on its Web site. While its cites the increasing efficiency of modern engines, cars.com says prices during the summer driving season will be the determining factor.
Posted by at 12:53 PM | Permalink
