Notable Numbers from February Sales
The story that Ford Motor Co. outsold General Motors Co. (by 471 units) for the first month since August, 1998, has made the rounds.
But February's sales charts served up some other noteworthy numbers. Here is a selection:
Ford and GM's totals were No.1 and No. 2 in the market, and figures for the "Big 7" automakers were rounded out, in descending order, by Toyota Motor Sales USA at 100,027; Chrysler Group LLC at 84,449; Honda Motor America at 80,671; Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. at 70,189 and the Hyundai Group (Hyundai and Kia brands combined) at 58,056.
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Posted by Bill Visnic at 3:05 AM under Analysis , Business , Chrysler , Ford , GM , Hyundai, Kia , Mazda , News , Toyota | Comments (6) | digg this | del.icio.us
Hyundai Keeps the Heat on Toyota, Honda with New Tucson
With prime rivals Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. Ltd. stumbling into 2010, surging 
Hyundai Motor America Inc. isn't planning to give them - or anybody else - a breather: the company is launching seven completely new products in the next 24 months, starting with the formidable and all-new 2010 Tucson compact crossover.
Like just about everything else Hyundai's doing these days, the Tucson is almost certain to give its competitors fits.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 3:00 AM under Companies , Featured , Hyundai, Kia , Toyota | Comments (3) | digg this | del.icio.us
Even Blizzards Can't Obscure This: Ford Tops GM in February Sales
February marked the first month since August, 1998, that Ford Motor Co.'s monthly sales topped those of chief rival General Motors Co., providing an unexpected jolt in a month when the broad industry was handicapped by severe winter weather in the northeast regions of the country - and by the spillover from Toyota's safety-recall debacle.
Total U.S. auto sales for the month were 779,743 units, an increase of about 13.5 percent from year-earlier sales of 687,182, when the American automotive market was at the very bottom of one of its biggest slumps ever. And the February pace represented a seasonally adjusted annual sales rate of 10.4 million units, a number at the upper middle of most SAAR projections.
"The good underlying news is that the industry hasn't gone into reverse in terms of its recovery," said Jessica Caldwell, senior industry analyst for Edmunds.com.
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Posted by Bill Visnic at 5:50 PM under Business , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Hyundai, Kia , News , Toyota , Volkswagen, Audi | Comments (13) | digg this | del.icio.us
Toyota Fallout: Hyundai Halts Sonata Sales
As part of the obvious fallout of Toyota's problems with vehicle recalls and humiliating 
Congressional hearings, Hyundai Motor Co. announced in Korea Wednesday that it would temporarily stop selling its much ballyhooed 2011 Hyundai Sonata to fix a faulty door latch.
Hyundai said the problem affects 1,300 cars that have been bought by customers and 4,000 cars on dealership lots in the U.S.; it affects 47,000 vehicles globally as the Sonata is one of Hyundai's bestsellers, the other being the Elantra.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 5:37 AM under Companies , Hyundai, Kia , News | Comments (3) | digg this | del.icio.us
Hyundai Spending Big To Launch 2011 Sonata; Promises Unique "Experiment" With Equus
Even in a wobbly U.S. auto market, Hyundai Motor America is pretty confident about the prospects for its all-new 2011 Sonata sedan. But not so confident the company doesn't think its best-selling model couldn't use some support, so it's rolling out its biggest budget ever to launch the new version of its best-selling model.
That would be about $160 million, said CEO John Krafcik during a media event today for the 2011 Sonata, which he said is just now reaching dealers.
"In Hyundai terms, this is really big money," Krafcik said. He compares the figure to the $80 million Hyundai recently spent to launch the Genesis premium sedan and $120 million to roll out the previous-generation Sonata in 2006.
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Posted by Bill Visnic at 6:24 AM under Business , Companies , Hyundai, Kia , News | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
What Vehicles at LA Show Will Win in the Market?
With the doors closed last weekend on the 2009 Los Angeles auto show, the vehicles that premiered there will soon be arriving in dealer showrooms. What ones will sell in the marketplace?
To answer that question, AutoObserver watched the behavior of Edmunds.com visitors who came to the car-shopping Web site for vehicle information and turned to Edmunds.com staffers who covered the show.
Edmunds.com visitors appeared most interested in the Buick Regal, Chevrolet Cruze, Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Sonata, Mazda 2 and Toyota Sienna, with those vehicles seeing the biggest rise in shopping consideration.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:54 AM under Analysis , Commentary , Featured , GM , Hyundai, Kia , Mazda , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
