April 2008
Chevrolet Malibu, Ford Fusion, Pontiac G6 Gain Traction in Crucial âCâ Segment
By Michelle Krebs April 30, 2008By Dale Buss Chevrolet Malibu is helping put Detroit back on the map in the mid-size sedan segment. Even the three-year-old Pontiac G6 and Ford Fusion are helping out on that front as well. Of course, the real Big Three of the so-called “C†segment of the market remain solidly entrenched atop it: Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and Nissan Altima. Accord was the nation’s hottest-selling vehicle during the first quarter, according to Edmunds.com data, overcoming a sluggish start since the new model’s debut last fall to move 88,000 units from January through March. Camry, at 84,000 units, and Altima, with more
GM Partners With a Second Cellulosic Ethanol Maker
By Michelle Krebs April 30, 2008General Motors plans to announce Thursday a second partnership with a cellulosic ethanol maker. The automaker is providing no further details until GM President Fritz Henderson makes the announcement in Washington, D.C. GM already has announced a partnership with an Illinois-based cellulosic ethanol maker, Coskata Inc., and last week said Coskata was establishing a pilot plant in Pennsylvania to demonstrate its innovative process of converting a variety of materials, from garbage to agricultural waste, into ethanol. GM's partnerships for developing cellulosic ethanol come against a backdrop of increasing outcry for the industry to quit using corn-based ethanol, as food prices more
GM Downgrades 2008 Industry Vehicle Sales Forecast
By Michelle Krebs April 30, 2008Previously more optimistic than other automakers, General Motors Wednesday announced it had downgraded its U.S. vehicle sales forecast for 2008. GM now expects industry sales to come at in the mid to high 15 million units range, instead of the low 16 million. GM had predicted some upturn in the second half. GM President Fritz Henderson, in a conference call with analysts and media on first-quarter earnings Wednesday, said April sales, which will be reported Thursday, look like the weak sales throughout the first quarter. more
GM Loses $3.25 Billion in the First Quarter
By Michelle Krebs April 30, 2008General Motors Wednesday reported it lost $3.25 billion in the first quarter due slow U.S. vehicle sales, losses at its finance unit and plant shutdowns caused by a strike against one of its suppliers. Analysts expected GM to post a loss, which was the automaker's third consecutive quarterly loss and compares with a profit of $62 million in the year-ago quarter. However, the loss was less than analysts had forecasted thanks to GM's rising sales in Asia and Latin America that helped offset the slump in the U.S. more
Rick Suzuki: Fall on Sword Justified?
By Michelle Krebs April 30, 2008By Michelle Krebs It was puzzling and surprising when Rick Suzuki announced in late March that he would step down as chairman of American Suzuki due to the companyâs poor performance. After all, American Suzuki sales haven’t appeared that bad on the surface. In fact, Suzuki sales have nearly doubled since 2003. In March this year, Suzuki sold 10,510 vehicles, its highest amount since June 2007 in an extremely tough sales environment when the industry as a whole and most automakers reported a sales decline. But a closer look by Edmunds.com shows those sales came at a cost that more
Toyota Camry Hybrid Outselling V6 Models
By Michelle Krebs April 30, 2008By Bill Visnic Yet another sign consumer interest is turning from horsepower to fuel economy: the hybrid-electric version of the Toyota Camry, one of the nation’s best-selling cars, is outselling V6-powered Camrys by a solid margin. For March, Edmunds.com data indicate sales of the Camry Hybrid set a new record: 6,930 units, or a considerable 22 percent of Camry’s 31,310 sales last month. Camry Hybrid monthly sales eclipsed 6,000 units only once since the car’s launch, in May 2007, when the 6,853 sold represented slightly more than 17 percent of total Camry sales. more
Nissan et al: Bring Us Fuel Economy as Well as HP
By John O'Dell April 29, 2008Nissan Micra convertible is example of fuel-efficient cars we can't get in the U.S. By John O'Dell, Senior Editor I'm in an airplane winging its way to Los Angeles from Amsterdam (by way of Lisbon, Portugal) as this is being posted – returning from a two-day event called Nissan 360. It was designed to give journalists the opportunity to drive all of the company's motor vehicles (a 360-degree view, get it?), from the same Altimas and Maximas and Titans and Zs sold in the U.S. to passenger vehicles and even light commercial vehicles that we never see here -- more
New Team Enters Field in Cellulosic Ethanol Race
By John O'Dell April 29, 2008Chemicals giant Monsanto Co. has teamed with a California firm, Mendel Biotechnology, to develop a strain of elephant grass native to China into a renewable feedstock for ethanol production. The move is part of a growing effort to derive energy from cellulose -- the non-edible parts of plants – and comes, unsurprisingly, just as Congress has earmarked cellulosic research for increased federal subsidies in the new farm bill wending its way through the legislative process. The bill would increase subsidies for cellulosic ethanol and decrease subsidies for corn-based ethanol, which is being criticized in many quarters these days for diverting more
GM Slashes Truck, SUV Production Due to Slow Sales
By Michelle Krebs April 29, 2008Continued slow sales prompted General Motors to announce Monday that it will cut production of large pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles this year. In total, GM said it is slashing production by about 10 percent, or about 138,000 vehicles at four plants in the U.S. and Canada. About 3,550 workers will be out of jobs as a result. The question being asked is will sales of those high-profit vehicles, in light of skyrocketing gasoline prices, ever bounce back? more
Gasoline Programs Could Be Next Wave of Incentives, Edmunds.com Predicts
By Michelle Krebs April 30, 2008SANTA MONICA, Calif. â As gas prices rise this summer, automakers may well turn to marketing programs that include free gasoline instead of or in addition to cash rebates and low-interest financing, Edmunds.com predicts. âGas prices are having a profound effect on the psychology of car-buyers, so we expect that automaker and dealer marketing tactics may include free gasoline programs this summer,â stated Jesse Toprak, executive director of Industry Analysis for Edmunds.com. "As indicated in Edmundsâ True Market Value Predictive Alerts, transaction prices of gas-guzzling large SUVs and trucks will likely continue to fall.â Meantime, Edmunds.com estimated Thursday that the more