Hybrids "Paying Off" More Quickly, New Edmunds Data Shows
By Bill Visnic
As gasoline prices go higher, many hybrid-electric vehicles currently on sale are proving to be even wiser investments, say new data from Edmunds.com.
Considerable past discussion about hybrids has focused on "payback" time, or the period required for savings from a hybrid's enhanced fuel economy to recoup the initial higher purchase price a hybrid commands. Detractors often claimed that, from a strictly fiscal view of hybrids, most vehicle purchasers would never save enough in gasoline costs to recover their investment in expensive hybrid technology.
But with every increase in gas prices, the hybrid payback time becomes consequently shorter - to the point where some popularly-priced hybrid models can pay back their owners' investment in as little as 18 months, according to the new Edmunds.com study.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:40 AM under Analysis , Featured , GM , Technology , Toyota | Comments (4) | digg this | del.icio.us
Dodge Journey Ads a Hit, But Ford’s Drive One Has Mixed Impact
By Dale Buss
Chrysler’s advertising campaign for its new Dodge Journey crossover has greatly boosted initial online interest in the vehicle, according to an analysis by Edmunds.com. But the new omnibus marketing effort launched by Ford recently, Drive One, isn’t packing nearly the same punch.
Those are the conclusions of research by David Tompkins, executive director of business solutions for Edmunds.com, based in Santa Monica, Calif., using consumer visits to the New Vehicle Detail Pages (NVDPs) of the site in April, in the immediate wake of the launches of the two advertising campaigns.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 4:17 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Featured , Ford | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
April Car Sales: U.S. Consumers Flock to Cars, Gouging Detroit Three
By Dale Buss
Americans rushed to swap their thirsty trucks and SUVs for fuel-efficient cars in April, making the month a turning point for the industry’s biggest segment shift in memory.
The stampede to cars left in the dust a Detroit Three that simply weren’t ready for its magnitude because of their reliance on truck-based vehicles, while it lifted Japanese automakers whose traditional strength has remained in small cars.
As U.S. consumers definitively reacted to $3.50-a-gallon gasoline, passenger cars outsold truck-based vehicles for the first time in at least 20 years. The move comprised a shift of six percentage points for the industry compared with last April, to 54 percent car sales.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 6:33 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (13) | digg this | del.icio.us
Gasoline Programs Could Be Next Wave of Incentives, Edmunds.com Predicts
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — 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.
“Gas 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,” stated Jesse Toprak, executive director of Industry Analysis for Edmunds.com. "As indicated in Edmunds’ True Market Value Predictive Alerts, transaction prices of gas-guzzling large SUVs and trucks will likely continue to fall.”
Meantime, Edmunds.com estimated Thursday that the average automotive manufacturer incentive in the U.S. was $2,449 per vehicle sold in April 2008, up $13, or 0.5 percent, from March 2008, and up $39, or 1.6 percent, from April 2007.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 7:44 PM under Analysis , Chrysler , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Chevrolet Malibu, Ford Fusion, Pontiac G6 Gain Traction in Crucial ‘C’ Segment
By 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 76,000 sales, were right behind.
But domestic automakers nevertheless are encouraged by recent glimmers of hope in a crucial segment in which they haven’t been competitive for several years -- even though mid-size sedans used to be the Big Three’s bread and butter. At least the progress lately is a place to start.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 7:36 PM under Analysis , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (6) | digg this | del.icio.us
Rick Suzuki: Fall on Sword Justified?
By 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 company’s 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 led to the operating losses to which Rick Suzuki referred in his March letter to employees.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 4:20 AM under Analysis , Business , Companies , Personalities | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Toyota Camry Hybrid Outselling V6 Models
By 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.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 4:15 AM under Analysis , Featured , Technology , Toyota | Comments (6) | digg this | del.icio.us
Honda Accord Is the Best-Selling VEHICLE in March; Will a Car Win the Top Spot Again in April?
By Michelle Krebs
Will a car instead of a truck be America's best-selling vehicle again in April?
In March, the Honda Accord was not only the best-selling car in America it was also the best-selling vehicle. A car has ranked as the best-selling vehicle in monthly sales only five times in the last six years, according to Edmunds.com's analysis. Four of those times, the Accord was tops; the Toyota Corolla ranked No. 1 once, in May 2007.
But with pickup truck sales plummeting and consumers turning to more fuel-efficient cars, a car could take the top spot again for April when automakers post sales reports on Thursday.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 5:33 AM under Analysis , Companies | Comments (20) | digg this | del.icio.us
Dodge Ram: Spending Most for Incentives
By Michelle Krebs
Chrysler is spending more on incentives for the Dodge Ram than any manufacturer outside of the luxury market, according to Edmunds.com’s analysis.
The Total Cost of Incentives, Edmunds.com’s proprietary formula for measuring incentives, on the Dodge Ram was an average of $8,260 for every truck Chrysler sold. The average transaction pice on a Ram is $31,900, according to Edmunds.com's calculations.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 4:50 AM under Analysis , Chrysler | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
April Auto Sales: Buyers Continue Shift to Smaller Cars and SUVs
SANTA MONICA, Calif. – As gas prices skyrocket, the biggest growth in April vehicle sales
are expected to be in small cars and small SUVS. In total, April vehicle sales likely will show a decline from April of last year but increase from this past March, according to a forecast by Edmunds.com.
Automakers are expected to report new vehicles sales, including fleet sales, of 1.3 million units for April, a 2.2 percent decrease from April 2007 and a 3.7 percent increase from March 2008, Edmunds.com predicts. April 2008 had 26 selling days, two more than last April 2007. When adjusted for this difference, sales decreased 9.7 percent from April 2007.
“It’s clear that gas prices are weighing heavily on car-buyers’ minds," observed Jesse Toprak, Edmunds.com’s executive director of Industry Analysis. “We predict that this month, the segments with the most year-over-year growth will be compact SUVs and compact cars at 52 percent and eight percent, respectively.”
(Read more...)
Posted by at 7:52 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (4) | digg this | del.icio.us
Speeding – and Limping – Out of Showrooms
By Michelle Krebs
German-brand cars zoomed off dealer lots nearly as fast as they arrived while Suzuki- and Korean-brand models limped out of showrooms, according to Edmunds.com’s days-to-turn analysis for March.
The just-introduced smart fortwo had the lowest days to turn. BMW and Mercedes-Benz were low as well. In contrast, Suzuki, Hyundai and Kia had the highest days to turn.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 4:03 AM under Analysis , Companies | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford-Toyota: A Race to Watch
By Michelle Krebs
While most eyes are on the global sales and production race between Toyota and General Motors, another interesting contest is developing in the U.S. – between the Ford and Toyota brands.
For the past two months, the Ford brand has outsold the Toyota brand. Ford’s recent gains narrowed the gap for the first quarter to less than 3,000 vehicles between it and Toyota. In 2007, Toyota closed the books 127,606 vehicle sales ahead of Ford. Throughout 2007, Toyota led Ford by about 10,000 plus vehicles a month.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 5:01 AM under Analysis , Ford , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
GM 1Q Global Sales Flat Thanks to North American Drop
By Bill Visnic
General Motors Corp. says its first-quarter 2008 global sales reached 2.25 million vehicles, a drop of less than one percent despite the drag of lagging North American sales.
GM sales of 947,000 units in North America was a roughly 10 percent drop compared with 2007’s first quarter. GM executive director of global market and industry analysis Mike DiGiovanni said the number “exceeded our internal forecasts,” but also says, counter to some industry analysts, GM does not expect U.S. sales to shore up in the second quarter. DiGiovanni said the company does not anticipate a firming U.S. market until at least the second half of the year.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 11:56 AM under Analysis , Business , Companies , GM , Toyota | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Strategies Changing Quickly in the Green Game
By Dale Buss
As Earth Day comes around once more, there are a few different scoreboards for tracking the relative progress of automakers in their attempt to win the green derby.
According to Toronto, Canada-based consumer-research firm BrandIntel’s recent survey of online discussion, for example, Toyota, Honda, Mercedes and Volkswagen have the most “green credibility” due to their hybrid and diesel vehicles. General Motors and Chrysler have been stuck among the least-credible because of their large fleets of trucks and SUVs and weaker lineups of hybrids and diesel options. Ford sits in the middle.
But several automakers are forging strategies for changing such scoreboards in their green credentials. A look at a few:
(Read more...)
Posted by at 10:46 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM , Technology , Toyota | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
Beijing Auto Show and China’s Auto Industry: Life in Fast-Forward
By Michelle Krebs
BEIJING – No more models dressed in cheesy mermaid costumes. Not a pink fur-covered Hello Kitty car in sight. Beijing’s auto show, like China’s auto industry and the country itself, has grown up and gained sophistication rivaling other global entities –almost.
And it has happened fast, as life does in China – life lived in fast-forward, as one expatriate auto company executive described it. 
The Beijing auto show is an analogy to the China auto industry – and Chinese economy generally: spectacular progress and phenomenal growth in the blink of an eye, but still a tad off in the final bit of refinement necessary to be considered world-class – a level assured to be achieved at some point.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 10:26 AM under Analysis , Business , Companies , GM | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Automotive Supplier Woes Mount
After a brief respite last year, concern is again mounting about the financial health of hundreds – if not thousands – of component and services suppliers squeezed between falling orders from their carmaker customers, high raw material prices and tightening credit conditions, the Financial Times reported Wednesday.
J.P. Mortgan cut earnings estimates this week of several of the world's biggest Tier One automotive suppliers. They include American Axle -– against which workers have been striking for seven weeks now -- Lear, Magna International, TRW, Visteon and Tenneco. Lehman Brothers singles out American Axle, Lear and Tenneco as most vulnerable among General Motors' Tier One suppliers.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 5:56 AM under Analysis , Companies | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Toyota, Subaru Are Becoming Increasingly Entwined
By Peter Nunn
TOKYO — Japan is buzzing with news that Toyota plans to raise its stake in Fuji Heavy Industries, Subaru's parent company, from 8.7 percent up to around 17 percent.
The story was broken by the Nikkei, Japan's well-connected business newspaper, has since been picked up by other media, not denied 
by either Toyota or Subaru.
Indeed, a spokesman from one of the companies admitted privately "the Nikkei got a scoop." All of which seems to back up the Nikkei's claim that Toyota will pick up 64.25 million shares in FHI for around ¥30 billion (some $306 million).
Ever since Toyota became the leading shareholder in Fuji Heavy Industries in October 2005 in the wake of the company’s hasty divorce from General Motors, many in Japan believed it was simply a matter of time before Toyota upped its stake.
So why now? Because up to a point, both companies need each other.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 4:16 AM under Analysis , Companies , Featured , Technology , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Pontiac Channels March Madness into Enthusiasm for G8
By Dale Buss
When the last of the No. 1 seeds take the floor for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship game in San Antonio on Monday night, the contest will represent the zenith of one of the most successfully symbiotic sponsorships in television sports.
Pontiac has been the exclusive domestic-brand automotive sponsor of the final weekend of March Madness for four years now. It is one of only three “corporate championship partners” with the tournament, along with AT&T and Coca-Cola. Last year, the televised tournament attracted more than 132 million people to CBS, roughly 46% of all American viewers. That includes not only youthful potential car buyers but millions of college alumni.
So, according to both brand executives and Edmunds.com analysis, the relationship is boosting consumer consideration of Pontiac and its vehicles – especially the new G8 – making rival other strong TV-marketing properties for automakers.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 6:14 AM under Analysis , Featured , GM | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Capacitors Get a Boost from Suzuki
By Bill Visnic
Battery talk has become favorite dinnertime discussion throughout the industry.
It’s been that way at least since General Motors Corp. started pumping up the volume about its Chevy Volt — a so-called “extended-range electric vehicle” concept car everyone wants to see come to production. But it won’t unless battery developers now working feverishly to perfect lithium-ion chemistry can whip up the right formula to allow the car to run for 35 or 40 miles purely on battery power.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 7:09 AM under Analysis , Companies , GM , Technology | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Consumers Are Late on Car Payments
The number of consumers who fell behind on payments for their car, credit cards and home-equity loans rose to their highest level in 15 years during the fourth quarter, according to an American Bankers Association survey, which tracks payments at least 30 days past due across eight loan categories.
The overall increase was driven by late payments for car loans, which make up two-thirds of all closed-end consumer installment loans, the Washington, D.C., trade group reported. Auto-loan delinquencies rose to 1.9 percent from 1.81 percent.•
Posted by at 11:07 AM under Analysis , Business , News | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Tata Sales: Commercial Vehicles Lead the Way as Small Car Sales Stumble
By Nick Kurczewski
MUMBAI, India — Numbers never lie, but they can sometimes bend the truth. Fresh from the media frenzy created by its introduction of the $2,500 Nano and its purchase of Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motor Co., Tata Motors reported a 5.9 percent jump in March sales compared with the same month the previous year.
Seems like the end of the story, and "job well done, Tata Motors." However, once you peel apart the numbers, this optimistic announcement becomes a mixed bag of good and bad news for the Indian automobile manufacturer.
The bump in overall sales comes solely from Tata’s booming commercial-vehicle business. The company's domestic sales of commercial vehicles in March 2008 totaled 35,993 units, a significant increase of 17 percent over the 30,720 vehicles sold in March last year.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 8:33 AM under Analysis , Business , Companies | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Porsche Stock Tumbles on U.S. Sales Slide
Porsche’s stock fell by as much as 5 percent in German trading after the company reported its U.S. sales dropped 24 percent in March, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday. The value of Porsche’s stock is down 17 percent for the year so far.
Porsche’s sales decline showed luxury buyers are now being affected by the economic slump and are bargain hunting, according to Edmunds.com’s analysis of March and first-quarter sales.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 9:05 AM under Analysis , Business , Companies | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
March Sales: No Denying the Slump Is Real
By Dale Buss and Michelle Krebs
Automakers in March finally experienced the full brunt of two huge economic problems that had been nibbling at their market for months: rising gasoline prices, and American consumers’ falling economic expectations.
Sales for the industry dropped 11.9 percent in March, to 1,351,838 units, the worst performance for the month since 1993. Even more significant, the results accelerated a market deterioration that saw overall U.S. auto sales fall by 7.8 percent to 3,565,828 units for the first quarter. Annual sales rates, seasonally adjusted, slipped to near 15 million units.
A wicked combination of $3.50-a-gallon gasoline, higher prices for food and other necessities, mortgage woes and a shaky stock market left many American consumers more nervous and dispirited than anyone had expected them to be just a few months ago.
“We’re seeing new-car sales decline, not because people can’t afford them, but because there’s a lack of trust in the stability of the economy,” said Jesse Toprak, chief industry analyst for Edmunds.com. “There’s been a real erosion of wealth, and consumers are not in the mood to shop for a car. This is more of a psychological impact more than the inability to purchase a new vehicle.”
(Read more...)
Posted by at 7:19 PM under Analysis , Chrysler , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (7) | digg this | del.icio.us
Incentives To Rise Through the Spring and Summer, Reports Edmunds.com
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — The average automaker incentive was largely unchanged in March compared with February, but incentives generally are likely to rise for the next several months as automakers try to break the sales slump, Edmunds.com predicts.
"Incentives are likely to rise through the spring and summer," said Jesse Toprak, executive director of Industry Analysis for Edmunds.com. “We anticipate that this will be especially true for the European automakers, as long as the euro remains strong.”
(Read more...)
Posted by at 4:22 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
BMW Hydrogen 7: A Surreal World Trial Run
By Nick Kurczewski
MONTE CARLO, Monaco — A hydrogen economy might still be a decade or more into the future but that hasn’t stopped BMW from continuing its real-world hydrogen trial run, courtesy of some surreal clientele. Prince Albert II of Monaco was handed the keys to a BMW Hydrogen 7 sedan at this week’s EVER Monaco ecological car show.
He joins an elite list of roughly 100 celebrities and VIPs who have been loaned one of BMW’s Hydrogen 7s. The average loan extends from six to eight weeks. A BMW spokesman at the EVER Monaco ecological car show confirmed Prince Albert would have a Hydrogen 7 for a two-month trial.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 4:07 AM under Analysis , Companies , Personalities , Technology | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
March Sales: Consumers Not Compelled to Buy, Says Edmunds Forecast
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Despite an abundance of rich incentive deals, March
vehicle sales for the industry are expected to be lower than March 2007 and even lower than February when automakers report results Tuesday, Edmunds.com has forecast.
March new-vehicle sales, including fleet sales, are expected to total 1.33 million, a 13.2 percent decrease from March 2007 and a 13.9 percent increase from February 2008, according to Edmunds’ forecast on sales figures not adjusted for the difference in selling days.
The forecast is less dreary when adjusted for the difference in selling days. This March had 26 selling days, two fewer than last March 2007. When adjusted for this difference, sales decreased 6.5 percent from March 2007.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 5:09 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (5) | digg this | del.icio.us
Tata Will Get Near-Death Jaguar, Recovering Land Rover from Ford In U.S.
By Michelle Krebs
The long-awaited deal that hands British brands Jaguar and Land Rover over to India’s Tata Motors from Ford is finally done.
So what does Tata get from Ford, at least in the U.S.?
Edmunds.com’s analysis of sales, market share and manufacturer incentives shows Tata has one nearly dead brand with Jaguar; Land Rover appears in recovery but with the cost of its meds climbing.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 12:04 PM under Analysis , Business , Companies , Ford | Comments (5) | digg this | del.icio.us
Less Than a Week in Q1; Matching 2007 Sales an Impossible Dream
By Bill Visnic
Analysts and industry-metrics powerhouse J.D. Power and Associates already are predicting a heavy downturn in auto sales for March, based on sales figures from the first half of the month. Now, analysis from Edmunds.com is providing perspective on how bad not just March, but first-quarter sales are likely to be when announced next week.
Based on average sales for the first two months of 2008 compared with last year, the Detroit Three automakers have virtually insurmountable deficits to recover to match first-quarter sales from last year. But longstanding sales juggernaut Toyota Motor Corp. — and several other Japanese automakers — won't be likely to fare much better in what is shaping up to be the brutal retail-sales environment many had predicted.
Indeed, everyone predicted 2008 car sales would be worse than those in 2007; the analysis shows just how much worse in the early going. Some forecasts predict an uptick in the second half; others do not.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 3:32 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Gas Tax? Americans Say "No Way, We Won't Pay"
Many lawmakers and auto executives have long advocated a higher gas tax to get Americans to drive smaller more fuel-efficient and thus lower-emissions cars. But all acknowledged to push a higher gas tax is political suicide.
A new survey proves it. The survey also illustrates Americans talk about their concern for the environment but aren’t willing to pay more taxes to fix it.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 9:18 AM under Analysis , Companies | Comments (4) | digg this | del.icio.us
March Car Sales Down, J. D. Power Report Says
Not surprisingly, major automakers saw retail sales drop in the first half of March compared with the same period a year ago, according to a report by research firm J.D. Power and Associates. The firm predicts total March sales will hit an annual selling rate of 15 million, dramatically lower than the 16.2 million rate of a year ago.
J.D. Power said in a report to its clients cited by Dow Jones that March saw year-over-year double-digit declines in retail car sales at General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. Toyota's sales also were off in the early weeks of the month.
J.D. Power recently reduced its 2008 car sales forecast to below 15 million, which would be the lowest level since 1994.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 1:02 PM under Analysis , Chrysler , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Oscars Ads Like Telecast — Lacked Impact, Says Edmunds.com Analysis
By Dale Buss
Automotive ads aired during the February 24 telecast of the 80th annual 
Academy Awards were relatively lame in their impact — just like the Oscars show itself.
The movie-industry extravaganza failed to generate anywhere near the lift in vehicle consideration by online shoppers that was spurred by the Super Bowl broadcast three weeks earlier, according to an analysis by Edmunds.com.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 4:25 AM under Analysis , Companies | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Auto Shows May Pack a Marketing Punch, Says Edmunds.com Analysis
By Dale Buss
As the New York International Auto Show opens this week, automakers may be interested to know their investments in the Chicago Auto Show last month paid strong dividends in online activity by car shoppers, according to a new Edmunds.com analysis.
New-vehicle launches at the Chicago show produced an average lift in shopping consideration of 25 percent in the metropolitan area during the first week of the show, compared with the rest of the country, measured by consumer traffic on the models’ new-vehicle detail pages (NVDPs) on Edmunds.com. The new 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 ranked highest among all vehicles with a 39 percent lift in traffic.
Such results underscore the growing relevance of auto shows as marketing devices for OEMs, said Dr. David Tompkins, executive director of business solutions for Santa Monica, Calif.,–based Edmunds.com.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 3:57 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
BMW Xs Hot; Honda Hybrids Not
No wonder BMW wants to boost production of its X models; the BMW X5 and X3 are hot.
In contrast, Honda’s hybrids are not, according to an Edmunds.com analysis of days-to-turn statistics in February.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 8:15 AM under Analysis , Companies | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
Edmunds.com’s Car Stock Exchange Off to a Running Start
By Dale Buss
Edmunds.com’s new Car Stock Exchange already is exhibiting some “natural resonance” with online automotive enthusiasts, which “suggests that it may catch on” for the long term, said CEO Jeremy Anwyl.
Less than two weeks after its official launch, the Car Stock Exchange — where consumers invest virtually in the sales performance of their favorite vehicles — “is running ahead of what we thought,” said Anwyl.
“There’s already a lot of buzz building that we didn’t necessarily anticipate right away. There are some small but rabidly loyal audiences (of car enthusiasts) that are already chattering about this thing quite a bit.”
(Read more...)
Posted by at 12:22 PM under Analysis , News , Technology | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
Volkswagen: Time To Get a U.S. Life
By Bill Visnic
The Volkswagen Group sold a lot of vehicles in 2007, a record number at just less than 6.2 million.
That’s good for fourth in the world. Yet in the U.S., typically viewed as the world’s most important — if not prestigious — market, Volkswagen Group of America Inc. stumbled through another miserable year to ring up 230,572 sales.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 4:22 AM under Analysis , Business , Commentary , Companies | Comments (14) | digg this | del.icio.us
February Incentives: Up Near Pre-'Value Pricing' Levels, Edmunds.com Reports
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Manufacturer incentives in the U.S. continued inching higher in February, nearing the levels before automakers instituted reduced-sticker-price "value pricing" over incentives.
The higher incentives reflect lower industry sales, forecast by Edmunds.com to come in 2.3 percent below February 2007. Manufacturers post February 2008 sales reports on Monday.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 8:02 AM under Analysis , Companies | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Hyundai Tries Big Incentives To Keep Alabama Plant Humming
By Dale Buss 
Hyundai has been cutting production at its nearly new assembly plant in Montgomery, Ala., and greatly beefing up incentives to keep the plant humming.
Hyundai cut daily production at its sole U.S. assembly plant by about 20 percent late last year, AutoObserver has learned, and has been turning to monster sales incentives to try to keep the three-year-old plant producing Sonata sedans and Santa Fe SUVs at the current lower rate. Hyundai also has used hefty incentives to clear out 2008-model Sonatas to make room for the 2009 model it's just begun building in Alabama.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 1:20 PM under Analysis , Companies , Featured | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Edmunds.com Forecast: Better Car Sales in February than January
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — February car sales likely will be off some from year-ago levels but improved from dismal January when automakers report them Monday, according to a forecast by Edmunds.com.
February’s new-vehicle sales are expected to be 1.22 million units, a 2.3 percent decrease from February 2007 but a 16.8 percent increase from last month.
"The month is proving better than some industry watchers may have expected," observed Jesse Toprak, Edmunds.com’s executive director of Industry Analysis. “This month should exceed the typical 10 to 15 percent boost in sales from January, historically the slowest car-sales month of the year.”
(Read more...)
Posted by at 8:24 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Fewer Teens Behind the Wheel at 16, NY Times Reports
America’s 16-year-olds seem less eager to hit the roads than their counterparts of previous generations.
In the last decade, the proportion of 16-year-olds nationwide who hold driver’s licenses has dropped from nearly half to less than one-third, according to statistics from the Federal Highway Administration reported by Monday’s New York Times.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 6:09 AM under Analysis | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Auto Affordability: Paying Less, Extending Payments
By Michelle Krebs
DETROIT — Consumers who are buying cars are reacting to the difficult economic environment by spending less on a new car and extending their loan payments, according to a new study.
New-car buyers, whose ranks look to be the lowest this year of any since the turn of the century, are spending on average $300 less for their cars, according to the Auto Affordability Index compiled by Comerica Bank in Detroit, which overall showed vehicles more affordable than the last quarter or a year ago. In addition, they are extending the average term of a car loon by two months to 63 months.
The study showed the average-priced light vehicle was $28,715 in the fourth quarter.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 6:17 AM under Analysis | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Help Wanted: Autoworkers at $14 an Hour
By Michelle Krebs
New labor contracts negotiated between Detroit’s automakers and the United Auto Workers union last fall, combined with upcoming buyouts and retirements of aging baby boomers, may lead to a healthy hiring spree of engineers and hourly workers by auto companies nationwide, according to a new study.
The overall employment level for workers at auto companies in 2016 will be about the same as in 2007 — about 355,000 people — well off this decade’s peak of nearly 500,000, says a study on automotive hiring trends released this week from the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 4:06 AM under Analysis , Business , Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM | Comments (4) | digg this | del.icio.us
What Would George and Abe Say? Automakers Shelve ‘Made in America’
By Dale Buss
Maybe, more than six years after 9/11 and nearly five years after the start of the war in Iraq, consumers are tired of patriotic pitches. Maybe the unmitigated globalization of auto production makes it just too hard. It might be that “green” marketing doesn’t leave room for the red, white and blue. Or perhaps the idea is just in a lull.
But whatever the reasons, the use of “Made in America” themes in car marketing seems to be at a generational low these days.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 12:50 PM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (3) | digg this | del.icio.us
What Used Vehicles Sell for $2,500 in the U.S.
By Michelle Krebs
Car buyers in India will be able to get a spanking-new car for $2,500 when the Tata Nano goes on sale in India later this year. So what kind of vehicle can American car buyers purchase for $2,500?
Edmunds.com’s data department researched what used vehicles were out on the market that cost between $2,000 and $2,500. The list turned out to be long ― long-gone nameplates; vehicles from gone-extinct brands; European classics; cheap sports cars; old standbys; and haulers of all sorts.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 8:39 AM under Analysis | Comments (3) | digg this | del.icio.us
Tata Nano: The Secrets of the $2,500 Car
By Nick Kurczewski 
NEW DELHI, India -- Tata Motors created automotive history at the New Delhi Auto Show in January when the $2,500 Nano hatchback rolled onto the stage. Ratan Tata, the soft-spoken chairman of Tata Group and Tata Motors, said the Nano’s first mission is to move India’s scooter owners into the safer, cleaner and more comfortable world of four-wheeled motoring.
But even more incredible than the car’s rock-bottom price is the fact that, underneath the Nano’s cute jellybean shape, there are no hidden tricks or bizarre cost-cutting measures.
How exactly has Tata kept the Nano’s price so low? The answer isn’t nearly as complex (or draconian) as many automotive experts predicted.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 8:25 AM under Analysis , Companies , Featured | Comments (4) | digg this | del.icio.us
Marketing Powertrains Becomes Trickier
By Dale Buss
Back in the good old days, when an engine was still an engine and not some fuel-sipping mockery of locomotion, Chrysler dusted off its Hemi tradition, gussied up a powerful new V8 and wrote a great chapter in sub-branding history by promoting its robustness. Consumers went nuts from 2002 through 2006 selecting the 5.7-liter option and turning "That thing got a Hemi?" into a cultural touchstone.
What a difference two years and $3-a-gallon gasoline can make. Nowadays, Chrysler still touts the Hemi. But it is repositioning the iconic engine brand into a platform for powertrain diversity that notably includes a version that boosts fuel economy by shutting down half of its cylinders at cruising speeds.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 10:22 AM under Analysis , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Are Customers Finished Buying Tickets to the Horsepower Race?
By Bill Visnic
The evidence is mounting. Big engines and huge horsepower no longer are the keys to the car-buyer’s heart. In fact, it quickly may become the opposite.
Installation rates for V8 engines -- the bread-and-butter powerplant for the horsepower wars that have dominated the U.S. market for more than a decade -- are dropping. And data from Edmunds.com extrapolating the purchase intentions of consumers actively shopping for a new vehicle show those potential customers are markedly less interested in V8 power.
Certainly, it’s a time of deep but swift transition for the U.S. light-vehicle market. At the recent Detroit auto show, there were numerous examples of high-horsepower wares, but they most decidedly were presented in modest tones, taking a back seat to whatever fuel-efficient and eco-friendly model or technology was available. The chest-thumping days of explosive, twin-Hemi concept SUVs are done.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 1:19 PM under Analysis , Chrysler , Featured , Ford , GM , Technology | Comments (17) | digg this | del.icio.us
2009 Acura TSX: European Flavored
By Peter Nunn
TOKYO - Acura's redesigned 2009 TSX sports sedan has broken cover, weeks ahead of its official intro at the New York International Auto Show.
In what's shaping up to be a busy year for Acura, Honda's premium brand, this new TSX announcement comes just days after the revised 2009 Acura RL flagship was unveiled at last week's Chicago Auto Show. Acura has also said it will debut an all-new TL performance luxury sedan later year as Acura's model lineup gets a substantial revamp.
Indeed, John Mendel, executive vice president of automobile operations for American Honda Motor Co., had promised last summer that 2008 would be the year of laying out Acura's new direction.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 5:59 AM under Analysis , Companies , Featured , Technology | Comments (6) | digg this | del.icio.us
Crossovers: Many Models – But One Take?
By Dale Buss
The boom in crossovers is the biggest product story in the U.S. auto market these days. Sales increased to more than 2.8 million last year, extending a seven-year surge, and now more than 50 separate models of utility vehicles are offered on car-based platforms.
A couple more joined the fray at the Chicago Auto Show this week when General Motors unveiled the Chevrolet Traverse and Ford showcased a spiffed-up Ford Edge Sport.
Funny thing is, the more new crossovers that emerge, the more they look and feel essentially the same. One after another they’re being launched by automakers up and down the price scale, but more often than not they pretty much end up looking like some model year of the Lexus RX.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 4:15 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (10) | digg this | del.icio.us
Transit Connect: Ford’s Trans-world Connection
By Michelle Krebs
It could be easy to dismiss the Transit Connect unveiled by Ford at the Chicago auto show Feb. 6 as just a commercial vehicle for delivering flowers, toting the Maytag repairman’s tools and hauling a local rock band’s instruments.
However, there’s big significance behind Ford’s boxy little truck/van. The Transit Connect is tangible evidence of Ford executives delivering on their vow to leverage global products. It is already a proven player in Europe’s commercial fleets and has similar potential in North America. And its prospects beyond commercial use in these days of boxy Scion xBs and Honda Elements abound.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 8:14 AM under Analysis , Ford | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
GM Duramax Investment Presages Diesel Power for Suburban, Hummer
By Bill Visnic
General Motors Corp.’s announcement this week of a large investment to produce a new variant of its largest diesel engine, one that complies with 
emissions standards in all 50 states, likely foretells GM’s plan to use the engine for the Chevrolet Suburban SUV, in addition to other large SUVs, pickups and vans already using the current 6.6-liter Duramax diesel V8.
Currently, even the largest versions of the Suburban have made do with GM’s gasoline 6-liter V8. The gasoline-engine Suburban 2500’s 12 mpg city and 17 mpg highway fuel-economy ratings appear to be an increasing liability, however — a liability diesel power could help to alleviate.
But there’s a new complication: Current federal Tier II emissions standards created a new category of vehicles — Medium Duty Passenger Vehicles, which, beginning in 2009, must meet the same emissions standards as every other passenger vehicle on the road.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 6:28 AM under Analysis , GM , Technology | Comments (3) | digg this | del.icio.us
Mazda: Sell to the Next Generation, Not the Last One
By Michael Jordan
There’s been a lot of turmoil in the car market over the past year, and you can see it in the first decline in overall sales in the U.S. in more than a decade.
It leaves us with a new set of winners and losers, evidence of a shift in consumer attitudes.
This is reflected in the unexpected success of Mazda, which expanded its sales 10 percent this year, more than any other nameplate in the U.S.
Higher sales in North America, as well as Europe and emerging markets, led Mazda Motor Corp. in Hiroshima on Wednesday to report profit growth in the third quarter and forecast double-digit increases in the current fourth quarter and for the year when Mazda closes the books on fiscal year 2007 on March 31.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 6:17 AM under Analysis , Companies , Ford | Comments (4) | digg this | del.icio.us
Toyota May Report Smallest Profit Growth in a Year
Toyota Motor Corp. may report the smallest profit growth in four quarters because of the rising yen and slowing U.S. demand, Bloomberg News reported Monday. Toyota announces its quarterly earnings Tuesday.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 9:45 AM under Analysis , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Genesis: A New Beginning for Hyundai, but Is the World Ready?
By Dale Buss
Hyundai executives view their new Genesis sedan –- featured at the recent Detroit auto show -– as a velvet ramrod that will help them shatter the glass ceiling over their brand and move it decisively upscale.
The problem: The upscale ceiling over Hyundai may prove too resistant to the budget brand’s ambitious attempt to smash it and grab a piece of the luxury market.
Hyundai Motor America executives certainly haven’t lacked for expressed confidence in Genesis, their first rear-wheel-drive sedan and one that offers a new V8 engine. They made the car the star of their pricey commercials during Sunday's Super Bowl.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 4:07 AM under Analysis , Companies , Featured | Comments (15) | digg this | del.icio.us
First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant Begins Production; Will Fuel Sebring Race
By Bill Visnic
Ethanol derived from cellulosic “waste” sources –- rather than the corn-based stock that produces almost all of the ethanol used today –- takes a big step this week, as the nation’s first cellulosic ethanol plant begins production.
The cellulosic ethanol plant, engineered and operated by KL Process Design Group of Rapid City, S.D., is located near Upton, Wyo. The plant processes soft waste wood into ethanol and is the result of a 6-year cooperation between KL and the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Cellulose is the primary structural component in all green plants.
(Read more...)
Posted by at 4:04 AM under Analysis , GM , Technology | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Fed Rate Cuts, Stimulus Package Could Benefit Auto Sales, GM Says
A General Motors analysis shows Americans will quickly spend a big chunk of the rebate checks they receive under the economic-stimulus package proposed by the federal government and expected to be passed
