European Car Sales Rise on Extended Scrappage Schemes
New car sales in Europe rose 3 percent in February to one million vehicles due largely to the return of Cash for Clunker-like programs in some countries.
Sales were up double digits in France, Italy, the United Kingdom and Spain where the programs were in effect. In contrast, Sales in Germany fell 30 percent where the scrappage program had expired in late 2009.
A downturn in vehicle sales this year is predicted for Western Europe.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 11:57 AM under Business , Companies , Ford , GM | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford Stock Price Climbs to New Highs; Going Higher?
Financial blogs have been all abuzz this past week as the price of Ford Motor Co. stock 
climbed to new highs.
Ford's stock has been trading at more than $13.40 a share in recent days, approaching its highest point since late 2004 when it was selling for nearly $15 a share. And its current price is a far cry from the couple of bucks it was selling for only a year ago. In fact, in November 2009, it sold at less than $8 a share.
The question now facing shareholders is hold as the prices goes higher or sell and take the money and run. For would-be Ford shareholders, did they miss the boat or is Ford still a buy?
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 8:41 AM under Commentary , Ford , In the Media | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
What We're Reading: Women Are Key for Toyota, Emerging Markets
A few articles caught my eye this week. Both pertained to women, appropriately so since March 8 was International Women's Day. They are pertinent to all auto companies as their business is employing women and marketing to women.
One article was written by former Chrysler marketer Julie Roehm on how Toyota must regain the trust of women in order to recoup its sales and image. Another was by economist Sylvia Ann Hewlett discussed women as a major emerging market in emerging markets. A a third was by University of Michigan professor Susan Douglas who contends women's equality is only a perception that doesn't mirror reality.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 8:32 AM under Chrysler , Commentary , Ford , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Incentives Buoy Sales to 12.5 Million SAAR in Early March, Edmunds.com Reports
Hefty incentives offered by Toyota to rejuvenate sales and market share -- and copied by some competitors - sent U.S. industry sales soaring in the early going of March, according to Edmunds.com's forecast.
In the first eight days of March, the Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of U.S. sales climbed to 12.5 million units, the highest level since September 2008, excluding August 2009 when Cash for Clunkers was at fever pitch.
"Generous incentives from Toyota and General Motors have stimulated this boom," Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Ray Zhou, PhD. "But we anticipate that it will cool off, and that the month will end closer to 11 million or so."
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 8:43 AM under Analysis , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
China's Geely Has "Money in the Bank" Now for Volvo
Chinese automaker Geely reportedly has obtained financing for its long-planned purchase of
Sweden's Volvo Cars from Ford Motor Co.,
The financing was concluded in recent days and the money is now in Geely's bank account, according to a report from the Swedish financial daily Dagens Industri, which was picked up by worldwide wire services. Geely reportedly will pay about $2 billion for Volvo.
Possibly lengthy approvals from various Chinese, Swedish and U.S. authorities is still required and could mean a few more months before the deal is finished.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 8:44 AM under Companies , Ford | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Despite Whitacre at GM Helm, AT&T Buys Ford Transit Connect Electric Vehicles
AT&T has agreed to buy two of the first electric-powered Ford Transit Connects, despite the 
fact that the company's former CEO, Ed Whitacre, is now CEO of Ford-competitor General Motors and, it was revealed this week, still flies AT&T corporate planes as his retirement perk.
GM, where insiders have criticized the Transit Connect for its raw simplicity, almost crudeness, has nothing to directly compete with Ford's clever compact cargo van. The Transit Connect is carving out a new segment for urban delivery vans and, largely for that reason, was voted by journalists as the 2010 North American Truck of the Year in January.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 7:30 AM under Business , Ford , GM , Personalities | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
AutoObserver Reader Favorites: Toyota Complaints and Sales
Reader traffic on AutoObserver soared this past week, with Toyota stories being the most read.
An Edmunds.com analysis of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) databases that illustrated Toyota's lead in unintended acceleration complaints filed by consumers before and after its recent recalls was this week's most-read post. The post had double the normal traffic of the usual weekly top-read AutoObserver post.
It was followed closely by the Edmunds.com forecast of the impact of Toyota's woes on its February sales and market share.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:46 AM under Analysis , Companies , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford, Porsche Make Enviro-Muscle Statements
The composting-saves-the-world neighbors won't be able to sneer (as much) at the gas-sucking muscle car in the driveway after Ford Motor Co. crowed today that a Mustang sporting the nameplate's new 3.7-liter dual-cam V6 churns out 305 horsepower - yet was just certified by the Environmental Protection Agency as earning a highway fuel-economy rating of 31 miles per gallon.
Ford says the car is history's first example of a production model that exceeds 300 hp yet also tops 30 mpg.
The number actually beat Ford's earlier expectations for 30 mpg from the V6 Mustang, the number the company was proudly promoting in January at the Detroit auto show.
(Read more...)
Posted by Bill Visnic at 10:55 AM under Analysis , Business , Ford , News , Technology | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
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
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
Lux and Little the Focus at This Week's Geneva Motor Show
There aren't that many true concept vehicles slated for the Geneva motor show this week. The few that are unveiled are bookended by a heavy presence in two sectors: small cars and luxury models.
Most of the attention in Geneva is concentrated on the small-car sector, thanks to continuing environmental pressure on both sides of the Atlantic. Europe continues to press with carbon-dioxide reduction measures, while financially battered U.S. customers evidence a downsizing mindset and the nation glides inexorably closer to a 2016 deadline for all automaker fleets to average 35 miles per gallon.
So while the Geneva show is mostly about what makes sense for an auto sector evolving toward less dependence on fossil fuels, the makers of luxury performance cars continue to respond with their own individual visions of how that future will be addressed. In many senses, it's becoming evident the makers of premium vehicles may in fact have more of an opportunity to capitalize -- as customers able to spend but unwilling to compromise may represent the best market to accept pricey new fuel-saving innovations.
The possibilities for synergy between the environmental movement and the luxury auto market may be almost limitless: even Ferrari, after all, is showing a hybrid-electric concept at this week's Geneva show.
(Read more...)
Posted by Bill Visnic at 12:00 PM under Analysis , Business , Companies , Featured , Ford , News , Technology , Volkswagen, Audi | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Question Congress' Hearings Won't Answer: Are Cars Safe?
Despite all the questions asked during Congressional hearings on Toyota's recalls this week, 
the nagging question that won't -- and maybe can't -- be answered is: are today's cars safe, at least from accelerating of their own volition?
Toyota happened to be the company at the witness table for vehicles that -- for one reason or another, identified or not -- have the possibility of unintended acceleration, potentially endangering not only Toyota drivers but drivers, passengers and pedestrians around them.
Yet, while Toyota is under the microscope and, in fact, has more reported complaints than its competitors, unintended acceleration is an industry-wide problem that requires industry and government attention.
"The current emphasis in the hearings seems to be about who learned about what/when and they are skirting the core issue of what's really causing unintended acceleration in the first place. With this being an industry issue, what's called for is an unprecedented, cross-company and government safety agency collaboration to pool data and resources, getting to the bottom of the problem once and for all," said Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 2:46 PM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
February Sales: Toyota Share Lowest Since 2005; Hyundai, Nissan Share Highest Ever
Despite Toyota's recall woes and snowy weather covering most of the country, February 
vehicle sales will be higher this February than last year's dismal lows and also higher than January's numbers, Edmunds.com forecasts. Still, February sales weren't as strong as many had hoped or expected.
February sales reports from manufacturers, to be posted Tuesday, also will show who made sales and share gains at Toyota's expense. Toyota's sales will be about even with January and down about 10 percent from a year ago. Its market share likely will fall to 12.6 percent, its lowest level since 2005.
In contrast, Hyundai and Nissan will post their highest U.S. market shares ever, Edmunds.com predicts. Ford's share increased, while market share for General Motors and Chrysler dropped.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:34 AM under Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (6) | digg this | del.icio.us
Toyota Leads in NHTSA Unintended Acceleration Complaints, Edmunds.com Analysis Shows
Of the Big Six automakers selling vehicles in the United States, Toyota - as a manufacturer 
and as an individual brand - has the most consumer complaints filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for unintended acceleration, according to an Edmunds.com analysis of the government safety agency's data bases.
Unintended acceleration will be the hot topic of Congressional hearings Tuesday and Wednesday on Toyota's recalls for sticking accelerator pedals and floormats that can trap the gas pedal. Both situations have the potential to cause unintended acceleration.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 12:21 PM under Chrysler , Featured , Ford , Toyota | Comments (3) | digg this | del.icio.us
A Glimpse of the Feeding Frenzy Toyota Faces
This week, Toyota President Akio Toyoda and other Toyota executives are scheduled 
to testify before two Congressional committees regarding the automaker's recall of millions of vehicles. The committees, which will hear from other industry experts as well, will attempt to answer the question of whether the public is at risk.
Toyota's recalls have generated massive amounts of global media and dozens of lawsuits. Toyota has hired a crisis management team to help with the hearings and the public relations effort that got off to a bungled start.
For a glimpse of what might be going on behind the scenes leading up to the hearings and how the hearings might play out, AutoObserver turned to Ford public relations veteran Jon Harmon, now an author and crisis management consultant. His book, Feeding Frenzy, published last October, tells the riveting behind-the-scenes story of the deadly rollover accidents involving Ford Explorers equipped with Firestone and subsequent recalls. Like Toyota is now, Ford faced intense media scrutiny, aggressive trial lawyers and an angry U.S. Congress.
Here's an excerpt covering Ford's preparation for and experience in Congressional hearings:
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 7:10 AM under Commentary , Featured , Ford , In the Media , Toyota | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Revamped Ford Edges the Competition, Edmunds Readers Say
With the rest of the country focused on digging out from Snowmageddon or digging deeper 
into Toyota's recalls and fixes, the annual Chicago Auto Show opened its doors last weekend for the 102nd time.
Perhaps it's fitting then that enthusiasts on Edmunds' Inside Line aren't buzzing about the 40th Anniversary Nissan 370Z or the "Furious Fucshia" Dodge Challenger SRT8 or even the 552-hp Lexus LFA, each clamoring for attention on the floor of Chicago's McCormick Place, as much as they are about a certain domestic crossover that's had a mid-cycle refresh.
Yep, it's true -- they're wild about the 2011 Ford Edge.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 8:10 AM under Featured , Ford | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Slow Ford Mustang, Mazda 6 Sales Lead to Cut of 900 Jobs
Much is going right for Ford but not all is rosy. 
The automaker announced Tuesday that it will drop a shift at its joint venture plant with Mazda outside of Detroit, eliminating 900 jobs.
The automaker said the shift and jobs at the AutoAlliance Mustang plant in Flat Rock, Michigan, south of Detroit, are eliminated in the name of plant efficiency. The plant, jointly owned by Mazda and Ford, assembles the Mazda 6 and the Ford Mustang, neither of which have been having banner sales.
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Ford Firms Up Mercury's Future
The reports of Mercury's death just became even more exaggerated.
Dealers for Ford Motor Co.'s Lincoln-Mercury division were told at this week's National Automobile Dealers Association convention in Orlando, that the weakly-endowed Mercury lineup will get a big boost come next year: Mercury is slated to get a version of the hot-looking and much-hyped (perhaps deservedly so) 2012 Ford Focus.
The choice of potential names might not be so hot: dealers told reporters at the convention Ford could revive the unflattering Tracer name for the planned Mercury-badged variant of the Focus. The Focus goes on sale in the U.S. about a year from now.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:16 AM under Featured , Ford | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Crash Course Covers Bailouts and Bankruptcies
The book, "Crash Course," by veteran automotive journalist and Pulitzer Prize-winner 
Paul Ingrassia is the first book about last year's bailouts and bankruptcies of General Motors and Chrysler. While the book, which was published this month by Random House, focuses on the dramatic events of 2009, it covers the history of the American auto industry from the Model T onward. This excerpt from the opening chapter, published courtesy of Random House, begins in the bleak final months of 2008; it summarizes the mounting crisis and how Ford avoided the fate of its Detroit competitors.
It really wasn't intended to be a prophecy. It was just a smart-alecky tee-shirt worn for years by local teen-agers to annoy their parents, and show their perverse pride in the Motor City's tough-town image. It said: DETROIT: WHERE THE WEAK ARE KILLED AND EATEN. But the menacing message seemed all too appropriate in the bleak winter of 2008-2009, when signs of weakness -- indeed, desperation -- erupted everywhere in Detroit.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 11:52 AM under Chrysler , Commentary , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford Set to Overtake Beleaguered Toyota in 2010, Edmunds.com Predicts
Toyota's mounting product quality and public image woes have prompted Edmunds.com to revamp its sales forecast for 2010, lowering Toyota's share and raising the share of other automakers.
Edmunds.com's most current forecast of 11.5 million vehicle sales for 2010 has Toyota losing market share that will be picked up by Ford, General Motors and Honda.
Ford's sales gain, in fact, likely will push the American automaker to the No. 2 sales spot in 
the United States, ahead of Toyota, Edmunds.com predicts. Toyota took the No. 2 position from Ford in 2007 and has held it ever since.
"It now seems clear that Ford will overtake Toyota to reclaim its position as the second biggest automaker in the U.S. market," Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell said at the Chicago auto show.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:32 AM under Analysis , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (9) | digg this | del.icio.us
Chicago Auto Show's Mission: Stoke Patchy Consumer Interest
After a January of piddly auto sales propped up mainly by fleet buyers didn't deliver any 
momentum from December's strong selling, slightly nervous automakers hoping 2010 will be a solid rebound year are looking to the Chicago auto show -- said to still be the nation's leading show in terms of bringing patrons through the turnstiles -- to stoke up winter interest.
Nobody's expecting any blowout introductions, but the Chicago show's slate of new-vehicle intros runs a wide gamut. Unveilings begin Wednesday, the first press day.
Most titillating for industry watchers is Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.'s late-in-the-game decision to return to the Chicago show. Nissan skipped the Detroit and Chicago auto shows in 2009 and came up missing again at the Detroit show last month.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 10:45 AM under Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Like a Pesky Neighbor, State Farm Is There -- Again
State Farm insurance warned U.S. regulators repeatedly of a rise in vehicle-accident claims 
involving Toyota vehicles and uninntended acceleration as far back as 2007, according to various media reports coming out of Washington Tuesday, a day before Toyota's top U.S. executive is scheduled to testify before the House oversight committee.
The nation's largest auto insurer saw an increase in reports of unwanted acceleration in Toyotas from its database of 40 million customers and told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NTHSA) in 2007, the company confirmed.
Interestingly, State Farm also was first to sound the alarm on the deadly rollovers of Ford Explorers with Firestone tires in 2000.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 8:34 AM under Ford , News , Toyota | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford Tiptoes Around Toyota Storm With Its Own Hybrid Fix
Careful -- at least at the moment -- what you call it when it comes to fixing hybrids. You 
might want to say "recall," but Ford's got a better idea, to coin a phrase.
Almost in lockstep with embattled Toyota Motor Corp. reportedly on the verge of announcing a recall or brake software recalibration on its Prius, Ford Motor Co. also announced a decision last week to reprogram the braking strategy for its Fusion Hybrid and Mercury Milan Hybrid.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:40 AM under Ford , Technology , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford Announces Fusion, Milan Hybrid Brake Fix
In response to customer complaints about unusual brake feel, Ford has announced it will update software on the brakes of some 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrids and 2010 Mercury Milan Hybrids.
"We have received reports that some drivers have experienced a different brake feel when the hybrid's unique regenerative brakes switch to conventional hydraulic braking," Ford's statement issued Thursday afternoon said. "While the vehicles maintain full braking capability, customers may initially perceive the condition as loss of brakes."
Ford's announcement comes as Toyota tries to figure out what to do about complaints regarding the Toyota Prius' brakes.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 1:56 PM under Featured , Ford , Technology , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
January Whacks Toyota, But Sales Firm for Other Makers
The U.S. auto market in January continued its recent strengthening trend, with overall sales just shy of 700,000 vehicles (698,456 vehicles) for the month rising by nearly 7 percent compared with 654,757 vehicles in a very weak January 2009. The seasonally adjusted light-vehicle sales rate ticked up to about 10.76 million units versus last year's 9.59 million - and roughly in line with the firming picture of recent months.
Toyota was clearly the biggest loser in January due to its recalls and stop-sales order on eight of its bestsellers. Yet, January's results varied widely for its top competitors that may have tried to take advantage of Toyota's problems with special incentives meant to lure disaffected Toyota customers in particular.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 2:17 PM under Analysis , Chrysler , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Despite Toyota-Fighting Promotions, January Incentives Dip, Edmunds.com Reports
Incentives paid by manufacturers in January dipped below year-ago and December levels despite last-minute promotions by Toyota's competitors to capitalize on the automaker's recall woes.
The average incentive was $2,382 per vehicle sold in January 2010, down $160, or 6.3 percent, from December 2009, and down $326, or 12.0 percent, from January 2009, Edmunds.com estimates.
"January incentives were not particularly generous or compelling - until some automakers began trying to conquest unsettled Toyota owners and shoppers late in the month," stated Jessica Caldwell, director of Industry Analysis for Edmunds.com. "January sales numbers are up from a year ago largely because of fleet sales."
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 9:41 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Toyota Sales Socked with 75-Percent Drop, Edmunds.com Forecasts
Toyota-brand sales will drop 75 percent during the sales suspension of its eight best-selling models and some potential Lexus and Scion sales will be collateral damage.
"As long as sales of recalled Toyota models are suspended, Toyota will suffer about a 75 percent hit in sales," said Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Ray Zhou, PhD.
Even though no Lexus of Scion models are covered under the sticky gas pedal recall and sales suspension, their sales may be down as well.
"During this period, Scion may be down about 20 percent and Lexus may be down about 10 percent because of damage to the Toyota corporate brand," added Zhou.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 1:55 PM under Analysis , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (3) | digg this | del.icio.us
January Car Sales: Toyota Share Plummets to Lowest Since 2006
Toyota's market share in January is expected to plummet to lows not seen since 2006, because the automaker issued a stop-selling order on eight models representing more than half of the automaker's U.S. sales this week.
Toyota's share is likely to drop to 14.7 percent of U.S. sales in January, Edmunds.com forecasts; the last time it was that low was March 2006 when its share was 14.2 percent.
In contrast, Ford is expected to have its best month for market share since May 2006. Edmunds.com forecasts Ford's share at 18.0 percent in January. The last time it was that high was in May 2006 at 18.4 percent.
In total, U.S. sales in January, buoyed by hefty hikes in fleet sales and offset by lower retail sales, will total of 701,000 vehicles, according to Edmunds.com's forecast. That would put the Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Rate (SAAR) of car sales at 10.7 million vehicles, down from 11.2 million December but up from 9.6 million in January 2009.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 12:57 PM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford Earns $2.7 Billion Profit in Tumultuous 2009
Ford Motor Co. reported Thursday it earned a $2.7-billion profit for 2009, its first profit in four years that came during one of the worst years in decades for global vehicle sales and auto company profits. The past year's performance led Ford to boldly declare it plans to be profitable for all of 2010. Ford's previous plan called for not being profitable until 2011.
"While we still face significant business environment challenges ahead, 2009 was a pivotal year for Ford and the strongest proof yet that our One Ford plan is working and that we are forging a path toward profitable growth by working together as one team, leveraging our global scale," Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally said in a statement released Thursday morning.
"In every part of the world, we are providing customers with great products, building a stronger business and contributing to a better world," he added. "Our progress has helped us gain market share in most of our major markets."
Indeed, Ford's fortunes have vastly improved, largely because the company has tackled the basics: building and selling vehicles buyers want, enabling Ford to boost sales and gain market share, commanding higher prices and collecting higher profit margins against the backdrop of a reduced cost structure.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:32 AM under Featured , Ford | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford Fusion Hybrid Beats Toyota Prius as Consumer Favorite Hybrid
The Ford Fusion Hybrid won the Consumer Favorite in Edmunds.com's hybrid vehicle survey, 
narrowly beating the Toyota Prius.
The Ford Fusion Hybrid earned 26 percent of the votes, closely followed by the Toyota Prius with 23 percent.
"Ford's midsize hybrid sedan, which helped boost Ford's overall sales performance in an otherwise dismal 2009, has been praised for its smooth operation, fuel economy, looks and interactive information system that helps drivers modify their behind-the-wheel behavior to increase fuel economy," according to Edmunds' GreenCarAdvisor.com Senior Editor John O'Dell.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 7:16 AM under Ford , News , Technology , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Housing Data Mixed; What Will Truck Sales Do?
Housing starts fell more than anticipated in December, but building permits unexpectedly 
jumped, in the Commerce Department's latest report.
So what lies ahead for sales of all-important full-size pickup trucks in the future?
Automaker are holding out hope for an improved 2010. Housing starts are the single most important indicator for truck sales in the U.S.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 9:43 AM under Ford , GM | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Detroit Auto Show Debuts Generate Edmunds.com Buzz
The North American International Auto Show in Detroit just opened its doors to the public on Saturday, but already some vehicles introduced during the previous week's press preview have been generating substantial buzz on Edmunds.com.
Vehicles driving the biggest increases in Edmunds.com's site traffic are: Audi A8; Buick Regal GS concept; Ford Focus; Ford Transit Connect; and Honda CR-Z.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:39 AM under Analysis , Featured , Ford | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Detroit Auto Show: Eleven Vehicles That Matter - Or Don't
The 2010 North American International Auto Show is one of the most restrained editions of 
the Detroit confab many can remember.
But the show's comparative scarcity of high-impact concept and production vehicles didn't stem the avalanche of opinion on the most notable vehicles.
After scores of media outlets have weighed in, AutoObserver cuts through the clutter to give the real score on the 10 most significant - for better or worse - vehicles of the 2010 Detroit auto show.
(Read more...)
Posted by Bill Visnic at 11:31 PM under Analysis , Business , Commentary , Companies , Ford , GM , Toyota , Volkswagen, Audi | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Makers Cautious as Subdued Detroit Show Starts Pivotal New Year
Most of the energy at this week's Detroit auto show epicentered at Ford Motor Co.'s display, 
with eddies splashing out to General Motors Corp.'s guardedly optimistic stand and Audi AG's gleaming base of operations.
But the majority of automakers were laying low, and media crowds were visibly reduced at the show with a reputation for over-the-top product introductions and boastful talk about the coming year.
There was no avoiding the 2010 Detroit auto show's subdued and geared-down mood, fashioned from the collective attitude of automakers licking their wounds and hoping the worst is past.
It also was yet another evolution of the show itself: there was plenty of room thanks to fewer automakers opting to display and fewer journalists opting (or fewer existing) to attend. A surprisingly expansive area of main-floor real estate was occupied by seemingly inappropriate electric vehicles of all manner, few of them of the road-going passenger variety.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 5:49 AM under Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Personalities , Technology , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford Sweeps Car and Truck of the Year Awards
The Ford Fusion Hybrid and the Ford Transit Connect won the 2010 North American Car and 
Truck of the Year awards, it was announced Monday morning at the Detroit auto show.
The Fusion Hybrid won over two other finalists for the prestigious award -- the Buick LaCrosse and Volkswagen Golf. The Transit Connect beat out the Chevrolet Equinox and Subaru Outback.
"Winning both of these prestigious awards is confirmation that the One Ford plan is working, delivering industry-leading product for our customers," said Mark Fields, Ford president of The Americas.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 7:38 AM under Featured , Ford , GM , News | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
What We'll See at the Detroit Auto Show - And What We'd Like To See
Thanks to the beat-down 2009 threw on almost every automaker, the 2010 installment of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this week isn't expected to be one of the more ebullient in the storied show's history.
Most makers are laying low. And that's the ones who are even coming. Like last year, many automakers are taking a pass: Nissan and Porsche, for instance.
Many makers let the hometown companies make the biggest splashes, but Chrysler, for one, is displaying vehicles but having no press conference (our hopes remain Chrysler will import some Italian food to feed the media masses).
You can get a rundown of what will be displayed at the Detroit show at Edmunds.com's Inside Line. But we're adding a new twist: in addition to a scorecard of what some automakers are showing at the Detroit auto show, AutoObserver is adding what each automaker ought to be showing.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:31 AM under Chrysler , Commentary , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (4) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford Taurus Wins First Edmunds.com Technology Breakthrough Award
The 2010 Ford Taurus is the winner of the first annual Edmunds.com Technology 
Breakthrough Award.
"The 2010 Ford Taurus offers a long list of high-tech features at a great price," said Doug Newcomb, Edmunds.com senior technology editor.
The award was given at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 10:52 AM under Ford , News , Technology | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
December Sales Provide Hopeful Farewell to Last Year
U.S. auto sales in December accelerated to their best pace of the year outside last summer's Cash for Clunkers bonanza, providing a hopeful punctuation mark to the industry's worst year in decades.
Sales in December totaled 1,010,003, up 1.9 percent from December 2008, when automakers and American consumers were newly stunned by the economic debacle unfolding on several levels around them.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 8:56 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Ford , News , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford Mustang Wins Pony Sales Race
The Ford Mustang, thanks to a December sprint to the finish, won the pony car sales race 
over the Chevrolet Camaro.
And it wasn't as close as anticipated.
Ford Mustang sales came in at 66,623 vehicles; General Motors sold 61,648 Chevrolet Camaros. The Camaro went on sale in March so did not have a full year of sales.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 11:23 AM under Analysis , Ford , GM | Comments (4) | digg this | del.icio.us
Auto Industry Believes 2009 Close Bodes Well for 2010
Some day, automakers hope to look back on 2009 as the year that both sales and corporate fortunes finally bottomed out. It's far too early to tell if history will treat last year that way, but for now, at least, the industry is taking heart from a definite surge of sales momentum as the decade closed.
Automakers sold about 10.4 million units last year, a disastrous tally that comprised the lowest total of light-vehicle sales in this country since 1970.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 8:38 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
GM, Ford Pony Cars Gallop to Photo Finish
The winner of the sales race between the Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang will be 
revealed when the auto industry reports sales Tuesday. And the finish will be a close one.
General Motors already is hailing a victory, announcing the Camaro will win. And, based on Edmunds.com estimates, it's possible even though at the end of November Mustang was ahead.
"It looks feasible that the Camaro could outsell Mustang," said Edmunds.com Analyst Ivan Drury. "The two will be only a thousand or two thousand units apart when final sales are reported."
Still, through the end of the November, the Mustang was ahead.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 5:53 AM under Analysis , Ford , GM | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
Car Sales Surged at December's End, Edmunds.com Reports
Car shopping on Edmunds.com surged in the waning days of December, prompting the Web site to suggest sales for the month may come in higher than previously expected -- and could be the highest non Cash for Clunker month of the year.
"The industry potentially could reach a seasonal sales rate of 11.7 million vehicles in December, given the current site traffic trend," noted Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell.
"Our Web site activity is through the roof," added Caldwell. "That makes sense as there are so many bargain-hunters scrambling to get year-end deals and cash in on the sales tax deduction opportunity that expires on December 31st."
An improving economy likely has helped as well. Edmunds.com Web activity in late December is 60 percent higher than the historical pattern for the period. Brands enjoying particularly strong activity are BMW, Ford, Honda and General Motors' Chevrolet, Pontiac and Saturn brands.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 5:48 AM under Analysis , Featured , Ford , GM | Comments (3) | digg this | del.icio.us
Edmunds.com Cites 10 Top Automotive Technologies of the Decade
Ten years ago, most people had never heard of many of the technologies that are mainstream today.
"In the '90s, satellite radio and iPods weren't around. Only hard-core computer geeks were tweaking cars to add MP3 capability, and navigation systems were still only available as expensive in-dash systems," remembered Edmunds.com Senior Technology Editor Doug Newcomb. "Bluetooth hands-free phones were still years away and Bose was the best known of only a handful of premium car audio offerings."
As the decade comes to a close, Edmunds.com has identified the following top 10 in-car technologies of the last 10 years.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 10:54 AM under Commentary , Companies , Ford , Technology | Comments (3) | digg this | del.icio.us
The Best and Worst Ideas of 2009
Desperate times require desperate measures, as the saying goes, and 2009 was about as 
desperate as it gets in the auto industry.
Companies sometimes do the most interesting things when they're desperate -- and that maxim seems particularly relevant to auto companies. Because their products are so visible, with such potential emotional impact. Because their executives and designers and engineers are in charge of the process that creates those products.
Desperation in 2009 -- as defined by coming up some 6 million sales short of the industry's glory days of just three years ago -- generated products and strategies that ran the gamut from ridiculous to sublime. Some ideas were inspired; some were just tired.
Here are a few of the best and worst ideas from the auto industry in 2009:
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 9:22 AM under Chrysler , Commentary , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Personalities , Technology | Comments (4) | digg this | del.icio.us
The Euro View on the Decade
We know our U.S.-oriented prism is limiting so we turned to Europe's Just-Auto.com for its view on the decade.
With the Just-Auto's blessing, we excerpt here Dave Leggett's take on the Top 10 things - people, events and trends that shaped the automotive decade.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 5:38 AM under Commentary , Companies , Ford , GM , Personalities , Technology | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
The Decade's Winners and Losers: The Data
Not only is 2009, one of the single most tumultuous years for the auto industry, drawing to a 
close, but so is the first decade of a new century.
As the year winds down, data analysts at Edmunds.com are cranking away at numbers that are certain not only to entertain but also demonstrate how cataclysmic 2009 turned out to be, particularly viewed through the prism of a closing decade's worth of sales-performance trends: market share destroyed, market share gained. Years of growth turned upside down. Surprising sales-volume gains, foreboding losses.
The ever-present import-versus-domestic battle in almost startling perspective.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:05 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (3) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford Set to Close Volvo Sale to China's Geely by June
Ford Motor Co. confirmed Wednesday details of its sale of Volvo to China's Zheijang Geely Holding Group Company Ltd. have been settled, and the deal likely will close in the second quarter of next year.
Saying more information would be revealed when the final documents are signed in the first quarter of 2010, Ford provided no details about the terms of the sale, including the price. Experts estimate the price $1.8 billion, making it the largest overseas acquisition by a Chinese automaker.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:05 AM under Business , Companies , Ford , News | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
The Auto Industry 2009 Wrapup: Apocalypse Now
The best thing that might be said about the year the auto industry - and an economically 
battered nation - is preparing to close: it probably can't get any worse.
The year 2009 brought two high-profile bankruptcies, billions of dollars in government bailouts and funding for Cash for Clunkers and thousands of lost jobs. Similar upheaval - though not as catastrophic as predicted - came to the tightly integrated supplier industry. Several historic brands were relegated to the archives.
And those are just the major stories.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 3:57 AM under Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
Los Angeles Auto Show Vehicles Generate Edmunds.com Buzz
Five new models displayed at the recently wrapped-up Los Angeles auto show are generating tremendous buzz on Edmunds.com. The five most talked-about vehicles are the Buick Regal, Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Sonata, Toyota Sienna and Cadillac CTS coupe.
Here's what readers have to say:
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:43 AM under Analysis , Commentary , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
This Week's AutoObserver Reader Favorites: GM Plans; Award Finalists; VW-Suzuki
Not surprisingly, this week's favorite post by AutoObserver readers was our coverage of 
General Motors Chairman and Interim CEO Ed Whitacre's outline for the automaker's short-term game plan.
The former AT&T CEO held his first media roundtable since adding the CEO title two weeks after the ouster of Fritz Henderson.
At the press briefing, Whitacre said GM's priorities are paying back $6.7 billion in government loans by June and selling more cars and generating more revenue. He also called GM's sale of Saab to Dutch sports car maker Spyker is "possible" by year-end, but, if not, Saab would be eliminated.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 5:07 AM under Analysis , Business , Companies , Ford , GM , News , Personalities | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Finalists for North American Car and Truck of the Year Announced
The Ford Fusion Hybrid, Buick LaCrosse and Volkswagen Golf are finalists for the 2010 North American Car of the Year awards. 
Finalists for the 2010 North American Truck of the year are the Subaru Outback, Chevrolet Equinox and Ford Transit Connect.
The half-dozen finalists for the prestigious awards were announced Wednesday at an Automotive Press Association luncheon sponsored by organizers of the Detroit auto show, where the winners will be announced in January.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 10:09 AM under Companies , Featured , Ford , News , Toyota | Comments (7) | digg this | del.icio.us
Automakers See Glass Half-Full After Flat November Sales
U.S. auto sales clocked in about flat in November compared with a year ago -- and in line with widespread expectations that the market will only gradually creep upward for at least the next year. But industry executives and analysts mostly chose to interpret the American auto market as a glass half-full.
November sales were 746,544 vehicles compared with 743,605 in November, 2008. On an absolute basis, that number of units represented a 0.4-percent year-to-year monthly sales increase -- or call it flat. But taking into account the fact that the industry enjoyed two fewer "selling days" this year compared with last November, sales actually increased by 9.1 percent last month on an apples-to-apples basis.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 3:56 PM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
Geely Seeks $1 Billion from China Banks to Buy Volvo
Ford's sale of Volvo to Chinese automaker Geely appears to be edging toward completion, as major hurdles are cleared.
Geely, the preferred bidder for Ford's Volvo unit, reportedly is seeking at least $1 billion in loans from Chinese banks to finance its bid for the Swedish auto company.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:17 AM under Business , Companies , Ford , Technology | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Supreme Court Denies Ford Explorer Appeal
The U.S. Supreme Court denied a last-ditch effort from Ford Motor Co. Monday to reverse an 
$82.6 million decision in a product-liability case involving the Ford Explorer, according to the Wall Street Journal.
California resident Benetta Buell-Wilson and her husband sued Ford in 2002, the year the Ford Explorer Buell-Wilson was driving overturned on a highway. Buell-Wilson swerved to avoid a piece of metal, causing the Explorer to roll over and its roof to collapsed, crushing Buell-Wilson and rendering her a paraplegic.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 10:30 AM under Companies , Ford , News | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
After a Wooly Weekend, Saab Still in Play
Thanksgiving week saw the blow-up of yet another deal for a cast-off General Motors Co. 
brand, but unsurprisingly, nobody's yet declaring Saab Automobile a dead turkey.
A Bloomberg News report from China early Monday had Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co. (BAIC) president Wang Dazong insinuating his company is considering its own play for Saab after Sweden's Koenigsegg Group unceremoniously dropped its bid for GM's perennially money-losing Swedish auto division. BAIC was part of the consortium led by Koenigsegg that originally planned to take over Saab.
And yes, venture capital - the reddest of flags for flailing auto companies - appears to be involved, too.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:42 AM under Commentary , Featured , Ford , GM | Comments (3) | digg this | del.icio.us
GM Orphans Up for Adoption
General Motors last week began sending out 1.8 million pieces of direct mail to what the 
automaker calls its "free-agent customers" -- customers orphaned by the wind-down of Pontiac and Saturn and the proposed sell-off of Hummer and Saab.
In this first of promised multiple mailings, GM is offering discounts of up to $2,000 on certain models to the nearly 1 million customers of closed GM dealerships, if they go to the next closest dealer by January 4. The automaker also is giving customers of closed dealerships a vehicle inspection and tire rotation at remaining dealerships through May.
"The challenge for us is to grab those customers by the hand and make sure they know where to go," Susan Docherty, GM's vice president of U.S. sales, said in a media conference call last week.
But GM's competitors also are eyeing those up-for-grabs customers.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 10:14 AM under Analysis , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
As '09 Inventories Deplete, Who Will Blink First - Carmakers or Customers?
After the sales plunge in the auto market began in earnest in the fall of 2008, automakers scrambled to reduce production schedules, sell off swollen inventories and otherwise deal with a drastically contracting U.S. market.
Now, after months of production cutbacks orchestrated by many automakers and the summer's outsized demand from the $3 billion Cash for Clunkers rebate program, bloated inventories are a thing of the past. Now, data researchers at Edmunds.com say the coming months may be a tug of war between still-cautious buyers and right-sized-but-cash-strapped automakers anxious to hold the line on pricing.
It could be a battle that sees winners and losers on both sides as uncommon market and industry forces collide in what will be an unpredictable sales environment.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:34 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM | Comments (3) | digg this | del.icio.us
Tough New Roof Test Whittles Down Field of IIHS 'Top Safety Pick' Winners
A rigorous new roof-strength standard means a lot fewer new models earned the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's "Top Safety Pick" award for 2010.
This year, just 27 individual models were named Top Safety Pick by the IIHS, compared with last year's record 94 models that earned the award. Most of the reason so many new vehicles couldn't grab the brass ring comes down to a newly instituted roof-safety test presumed to indicate superior protection in rollovers, which are involved in about one-third of all fatal accidents.
"With the addition of our new roof strength evaluation, our crash test results now cover all 4 of the most common kinds of crashes," said IIHS president Adrian Lund in a release. "Consumers can use this list to zero in on the vehicles that are on the top rung for safety."
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Posted by Bill Visnic at 10:00 AM under Business , Chrysler , Companies , Ford , In the Media , News , Technology , Volkswagen, Audi | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Mazda2 Makes North American Debut in Los Angeles
The Mazda2 is coming to North America, making its debut at the 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show in early December.
Named last year's World Car of the Year and sold in Japan as the Demio, the Mazda2 goes on sale in late 2010 in the U.S. and Canada as a 2011 model.
The Ford Fiesta, which shares the Mazda2's architecture, beats the Mazda2 to showrooms with a spring arrival. The Euro-designed Fiesta will be built in Mexico.
The Fiesta also will have its North American debut at the Los Angeles show.
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 10:21 AM under Companies , Ford , Mazda , News | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford Stock Sets 2-Year High as Investor Boosts Stake
Ford Motor Co. stock closed Monday at its highest price in more than two years after billionaire investor George Soros upped his stake in the automaker.
Ford shares rose 30 cents, or 3.6 percent, to close at $8.71 a share on Monday. That's the highest price since the shares closed at $8.95 per share on Nov. 2, 2007, according to Bloomberg. Ford shares have risen 25 percent since Oct. and more than tripled this year.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:24 AM under Ford , News , Personalities | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
China's Geely Sets Ambitious Goals for Volvo
China's Geely Holding Group Co., selected by Ford as the lead bidder for Volvo, has developed a turnaround plan for the money-losing Swedish brand that centers on China but also sets ambitious goals for sales in Volvo's traditional markets of Europe and North America, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Geely would add two or three larger, more luxurious models to Volvo's line in the next three to four years to boost global sales, sources told the Journal. New models would compete with the popular Audi A6, a symbol of success in China.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 11:34 AM under Companies , Ford | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford's New Inflatable Seatbelts to Launch with Next-Gen Explorer
Hoping to mitigate crash-related injuries to a vehicle's rear-seat passengers, Ford Motor Co. 
unveiled what it is calling the auto industry's first seatbelts with integral air bags that inflate in an accident to provide additional protection.
The new rear-seat inflatable seatbelts will be offered for the new-generation Ford Explorer crossover, which begins production next year, said Sue Cischke, Ford group vice president of sustainability, environmental and safety engineering.
Although several automakers and safety-systems suppliers have in recent years shown concepts for inflatable belts, Ford claims it will be the first to use them in a production vehicle.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:36 AM under Featured , Ford , Technology | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Incentives Dip as Automakers Launch 2010 Models
Incentives paid by automakers dipped in October from September and a year ago as they launch new 2010 models, which don't need them yet, and wind down 2009 models, Edmunds.com reports.
The average automotive manufacturer incentive in the U.S. was $2,468 per vehicle sold in October 2009, according to Edmunds.com analysis of Total Cost of Incentives (TCI). That's down $329, or 11.8 percent, from September, and down $209, or 7.8 percent, from October 2008.
"Incentives declined because fewer old model-year vehicles were sold in October, and the newer vehicles are not discounted nearly as heavily," explained Jessica Caldwell, director of industry analysis for Edmunds.com. "Over 55 percent of vehicles sold in October were 2010 model year, compared with about 36 percent in September."
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 7:00 AM under Analysis , Companies , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
October Car Sales May Show Signs of Life When Reported Tuesday
Automakers report October sales on Tuesday and those reports are likely to show some signs of life.
Edmunds.com forecasts the Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Rate (SAAR) of car sales will come in at 10.3 milllion to 10.4 million, the year's highest level aside from the summer's Cash for Clunkers months of July and August.
Toyota's Bob Carter told reporters in Detroit Monday that he expects the SAAR to come at between 10.3 to 10.5 million units. "Toyota will be up single digits on a daily selling rate basis versus September and down slightly - single digits - versus a year ago," Carter said. Edmunds.com forecasts Toyota sales will be off 9.6 percent from a year ago.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:36 AM under Analysis , Ford , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford Earns Nearly $1 Billion in Third Quarter
Ford Motor Co. reported it earned a profit of $997 million in the third quarter, with its North American operations posting its first profit since the first quarter of 2005. The automaker said the results put it on track to be "solidly profitable" in 2011.
The results far surpassed forecasts by analysts, most of whom expected a loss. That sent Ford's shares up 6 percent in pre-market trading Monday morning.
Ford said its third-quarter earnings represented a $1.2 billion improvement from the same period a year ago.
"Our third-quarter results clearly show that Ford is making tremendous progress despite the prolonged slump in the global market," Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally said in a statement issued Monday morning. He acknowledged "we still face a challenging road ahead."
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:10 AM under Featured , Ford | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Union Obstinance Resurfaces for Mulally as UAW Vetoes Concessions for Ford
Alan Mulally might have reckoned he left union discord behind when he left aerospace giant
Boeing Co. to become Ford Motor Co.'s president and CEO in 2006. But this weekend's resounding dismissal of Ford's desired concessions from the United Auto Workers union may set the tone for ongoing tension between Ford and its union similar to that Mulally became accustomed to at Boeing.
Although nationwide voting will not be official until 
sometime today, the UAW already was conceding its rank-and-file workers had widely rejected a Ford proposal of contract concessions that would equate to those the UAW earlier this year granted General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC, both of which tripped through hasty Chapter 11 bankruptcies this summer.
This despite the fact UAW counterparts at the Canadian Autoworkers Union approved the concessions.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 3:57 AM under Featured , Ford | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
October Is Year's Best Non-Clunker Month for Car Sales, Edmunds.com Forecasts
October car sales are expected to come in at the highest level of the year except for during the summer's frenzied Cash for Clunker months, Edmunds.com forecasts.
Industry sales, being reported on Tuesday, are expected to total 830,000 vehicles, almost even with a year ago and up 11.4 percent from September. That would push October's Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Rate (SAAR) to 10.35 million, up from 9.19 in September.
""There are clear signs that the automotive industry is finally starting to recover from the painful lows experienced earlier this year,"said Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds.com's director of Industry Analysis.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:59 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Featured , Ford , GM | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
COMMENTARY: Good News Turns Bad for Ford
Too much good news is turning out to be a bad thing for Ford Motor Co.
The good news apparently has convinced members of the United Auto Workers union that things are hunky- dory at Ford, and there's no reason for them to give the automaker the same concessions competitors General Motors and Chrysler got from bankruptcy proceedings.
As of day-end Tuesday, union members at half-dozen Ford plants had rejected -- in some cases resoundingly so -- the new contract that puts Ford at parity with union brothers and sisters at GM and Chrysler. Voting continues through Saturday, but the outlook is not good as only two plants with votes tallied so far have voted in favor of a new contract.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 12:42 PM under Commentary , Featured , Ford | Comments (3) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford Wins Most Awards Ever from Popular Mechanics
Ford Motor Co. set a new record in Popular Mechanics Automotive Excellence Awards by 
winning more categories in a single year than any other automaker in the history of the awards.
Ford vehicles winning 2010 awards, which recognize the best in design, execution and technology, were the: 2010 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, Best Performance; 2010 Ford Transit Connect; Best Workhorse; and the 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor, Best Off-Road Ability.
"Ford's sweep of three categories in this year's awards speaks to the onslaught of great products coming from Dearborn," said Ben Stewart, automotive editor, Popular Mechanics.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 7:41 AM under Ford , News , Technology | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford Picks China's Geely as Preferred Volvo Bidder
Ford Motor Co.'s confirmation that it has chosen a group led by Chinese automaker Zhejiang Geely Group Holding as its preferred bidder for Volvo came as no surprise. Geely has long been mentioned as a potential buyer for the Swedish marque, which Ford put up for sale a year ago.
"Ford's objective in our discussions with Geely is to secure an agreement that is in the best interests of all the parties," Ford's CFO Lewis Booth, said in a statement.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 7:34 AM under Business , Ford | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Consumer Reports: Ford Among World's Most Reliable Carmakers
Ford Motor Co. secured its position as the only Detroit automaker with world-class reliability, 
according to Consumer Reports magazine's 2009 Annual Car Reliability Survey.
Of 51 Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln models, 46 had average or better reliability, the magazine said in an announcement made Tuesday at the Automotive Press Association in Detroit.
"Ford's sustained production of vehicles that are as dependable -- or better than -- some of the industry's best dispels the notion that only Japanese manufacturers make reliable cars," the magazine said.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 10:50 AM under Analysis , Featured , Ford , News | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford Could Run Short on Some Models Due to India Labor Dispute
Ford could run short of Ford Edge and Ford Flex models due to a labor dispute at a supplier 
plant in India that has forced the automaker to close its Oakville, Ontario, assembly plant.
Ford closed the Canadian plant, which makes the Edge and Flex as well as the Lincoln MKX and newly-launched Flex-based MKT, due to a shortage of transmissions, the result of a labor dispute a supplier plant, Rico Auto Industries, in India. The strike turned violent Sunday night after a plant employee died during a protest.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 10:43 AM under Analysis , Ford , News | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
Screaming Deals on Convertibles, Luxury Cars, Sports Cars and Dying Models, Edmunds.com Reports
The industry's best deals right now are in luxury cars, sports cars and convertibles as well as 
leftover 2009 models, according to Edmunds.com.
As for brands, Lincoln, Saab and Volvo are offering great deals, as are Pontiac and Saturn, which are being discountinued completely by General Motors.
"Dealers should be open to any decent offer since they know that these vehicles, which often sell to a fashion-conscious crowd, will drop in value once the 2010 model year vehicles roll in. There will be nothing harder to sell than a 2009 convertible in winter with 2010 fast approaching," said Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell. And there is ample inventory of 2009 models, she added
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:12 AM under Analysis , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (3) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford to Build European Kuga in Kentucky, Report Says
Ford Motor Co. is moving production of its small Kuga crossover from Europe to the U.S. to 
take advantage of lower labor costs and the weaker dollar, Bloomberg News reports.
Ford will shift Kuga production from Germany to Louisville, where Ford makes trucks, in October 2011, says Bloomberg, quoting three unnamed sources apparently familiar with the plans. As many as 80,000 a year will be exported to Europe.
The automaker is not confirming the report.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 10:44 AM under Business , Commentary , Featured , Ford | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Manufacturers Offer Richest Incentives Since Cash for Clunkers
After dismal September car sales due to the hangover from the government's Cash for 
Clunkers program, auto manufacturers have ramped up incentives in October as they have ramped up production to refill the inventory pipeline, according to Edmunds.com.
The incentives show manufacturers are extremely eager to sell off 2009 models left in inventory. But automakers are also offering incentives on newly launched 2010 models.
"This year has been a wild ride for automakers, and it's not over yet," said Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell. "No segment is unaffected by the current round of incentives, though luxury models and trucks are being discounted particularly heavily."
Low-interest financing, including zero-interest financing, and cash rebates dominate the landscape, but subsidized lease programs, almost non-existent in the past years, are proliferating as well.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:43 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Technology , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Former Ford Exec Becomes Continental Chairman
Former Ford executive Wolfgang Reitzle has been named chairman of the supervisory board 
of auto supplier and tiremaker Continental.
A lieutenant of former Ford CEO Jacques Nasser and head of Ford's now-defunct Premier Automotive Group, Rietzle is chief executive of Linde AG, an industrial gases and engineering company.
Reitzle remains one of Germany's most high-profile executives and must lead Continental through the economic downturn and deal with an ugly take-over situation.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 10:25 AM under Companies , Ford , Personalities | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford 3Q Profit Possible, JP Morgan Says
Ford may report an unexpected third-quarter profit next week, for the first time in a long time, analysts for JP Morgan predicts. However, The Wall Street consensus is that Ford will post a loss.
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 9:50 AM under Business , Ford | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
COMMENTARY Memo to Detroit Auto Bosses: Hold Your Tongue
Put up or shut up, albeit in more polite European terms, is basically financial columnist Antony Currie's advice to Detroit's auto bosses.
The Big Three bosses have returned to one of their favorite past times, writes Currie on the financial blog site, Breakingviews.com: "... each of the Big Three's bosses has been indulging in painting rosy scenarios for their firms. But like pronouncements of the past, they're a tad premature."
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 9:48 AM under Chrysler , Commentary , Ford , GM , Personalities | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford's Better Idea: Keep An Eye on the Italians
Caught recently at Ford Motor Co. headquarters in Dearborn, Mich.: a Fiat Bravo 5-door in 
the employee parking area.
But not just any employee - the small sign at the right reads "Vice President."
If Ford's crosstown rival Chrysler Group LLC - now managed by partial owner Fiat S.p.A. - gets its way, there are going to be Chrysler -- and probably Fiat-badged subcompacts sold in the U.S. within two years that could rely on some variant of the Bravo underpinnings.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 3:59 AM under Business , Chrysler , Companies , Ford | Comments (5) | digg this | del.icio.us
Bad Switch Prompts Another Large Ford Recall
A faulty switch to disengage cruise control will cost Ford Motor Co. yet again in what has been a wide-ranging safety problem.
In the latest recall that encompasses some 4.5 million vehicles - mostly trucks - Ford will repair the switch that can overheat and cause underhood fires. This round brings the number of vehicles recalled to fix the switch to 16 million. It is the largest recall ever in the U.S.
The vehicle lines affected by the latest recall - the Detroit Free Press said it now is the eighth recall for the switch - are:
1992-2003 Ford Ranger
1992-2003 Econoline vans
1995-2003 Ford Windstar
2000-2003 Ford Excursion
1993, 1997 and 1999-2003 F-Series Super Duty with diesel engines
1994 F53 motorhomes
The National Highway Transportation Safety Admin. opened an investigation for the latest recall in June 2008 after reports of engine fires in Windstar minivans.
Windstar photo courtesy Ford Motor Co.
Posted by Bill Visnic at 6:29 AM under Business , Companies , Ford , News | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford's Europe Share Hits 10 Percent
Ford achieved a 10.1-percent market share in September in its primary 19 European markets - the best share for any month since September 2001 - and a 0.8 percentage point increase on September 2008.
Ford sold 51,400 new Ford Fiesta cars in September - the best September for Fiesta since 1994. The Fiesta goes on sale in the U.S. in 2010.
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China on Track to Surpass U.S. in Sales This Year
China is on track to surpass the U.S. in vehicle sales this year. Automakers reported selling more than 1 million vehicles in September - a first - according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
China's total vehicle sales are expected to close the year at 12 million, as much as 2 million above what analysts project for the U.S.
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Ford Reaches GM-Style Deal with UAW
Ford reportedly has reached a tentative agreement with the United Auto Workers union similar to one negotiated with General Motors earlier this year.
The proposed agreement would freeze entry-level wages, implement a no-strike clause and pay a bonus to workers for agreeing to new concessions, sources have told the Wall Street Journal.
The agreement now goes to the union's national council delegates, who will decide if it should go to members for a vote.
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2010 Ford Taurus Hits Targets in Cross Shopping
When Ford product planners began to contemplate a possible new generation Taurus, they 
decided they should either move the next Taurus upmarket so it wouldn't be positioned right on top of the popular Ford Fusion as the previous one was - or forget about being in the segment altogether.
The automaker moved forward with a more upscale Taurus, introduced this summer as a 2010 model, and it appears to be doing what product planners intended, according to Edmunds.com's analysis of Taurus shoppers and what else they are considering.
The analysis shows:
- the new Taurus is being cross-shopped less with other Ford models than the old one, and the Ford models it is being cross-shopped against are more upscale ones;
- the new Taurus' most cross-shopped list shows more upscale competitors in the mix, including some luxury brands and hot imports that weren't on the old Taurus' cross-shop list;
- off the top 10 list are more downmarket competitors.
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Volvo's Doug Speck on AutoLine Detroit
Doug Speck, president and CEO of Volvo Cars North America, is in the guest chair on this 
week's AutoLine Detroit with Edmunds' AutoObserver Michelle Krebs, Business Week's David Welch and show host John McElroy firing the questions at him.
The show is available now on AutoLine Detroit's Web site and airs on Detroit Public Television on Sunday, October 11 at 10:30 a.m.
Volvo was put on the auction block by Ford Motor Co. a couple of years ago. Ford eportedly has bids for the 82-year-old Swedish marque from Chinese automaker Geely, which just got a boost financially and in image with an investment by Goldman, and Crown Consortium, a group of former Ford executives with some private equity funds.
But no matter what goes on at the ownership level, the beat goes on for Speck and Volvo.
(Read more...)
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Car Buyers Pay 2% More This Year, Edmunds.com Data Shows
Consumers are paying 2 percent more this year for new cars and trucks than they were a 
year ago, according to Edmunds.com.
That's good news for automakers eager to turn profits on fewer sales, but bad news for consumers.
The average price of a car or truck sold in the United States was $28,492 for the first nine months of the year, compared with $27,945 last year, according to Edmunds.com. The average transaction estimate doesn't include manufacturer rebates.
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Huge U.S.-Market Backdoor Ready To Open for Chinese Automakers
A few years back, it was the first appearance of a Chinese automaker at the Detroit auto 
show that seemed to start the serious speculation about when the Chinese would crack into the U.S. market. Assessing the functional but rudimentary models on display, some predicted 2015 or 2020.
Instead, how about next year?
OK, it won't be with their own China-built models. But there are three pending brand-takeover deals -- General Motors Co.'s Saab and Hummer and Ford's Volvo Cars -- in which a Chinese automaker has a leading or secondary role. If any of the three purchases make it to completion -- and it's probable at least two will -- Chinese automakers will in effect be selling vehicles in the U.S.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:29 AM under Analysis , Business , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
2010 Ford Taurus Design Captures Attention, Price Questioned
The 2010 Ford Taurus is rolling onto dealer lots across the country, and, judging by a flurry of 
recent posts in Edmunds' CarSpace Forums, its all-new design appears to have captured the attention of the car-buying public.
But with no lack of tough competitors out there, will it also capture their business? And is it priced right?
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 8:15 AM under Commentary , Featured , Ford | Comments (5) | digg this | del.icio.us
Consortium Led by Former Ford Execs Makes Play for Volvo
Although Ford Motor Co. has been trying to offload its money-losing Volvo Cars unit for some time, it appeared there had been only one entity serious about buying Volvo: China's Geely Automotive Holdings.
But the Financial Times reports today that a consortium headed by former Ford executive Michael Dingman and that also includes Shamel Rushwin, another executive for both Ford and Chrysler, has emerged as a bidder for Volvo.
There are few reported details about a proposal from Dingman's Crown consortium to acquire Volvo, but the deal likely may vary significantly from that proposed by Geely, which, among other facets, is said to include a provision that Ford retain responsibility for certain pension liabilities and that Ford retain a share of Volvo.
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Automakers Eager to Move Past September's Tepid Sales
U.S. auto sales in September dipped to predicted lows because the Cash for Clunkers program ended in August and there weren't many buyers left, car company executives reported Thursday. They're just hoping that the market's massive "payback" via September's sales drought isn't extended into the fourth quarter.
Americans bought just 745,516 vehicles in September, a 23-percent drop from a year ago. That represents an abysmal Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of sales of just 9.2 million units - the lowest since February and roughly the laconic pace at which economically shell-shocked consumers purchased cars during the first half of the year.
And it was far below -- 41 percent, to be exact -- the relatively breathtaking sales rate of 14.1 million units that prevailed for August, when most buyers took advantage of a total of $3.5 billion in rebates under the federal government's clunkers program and purchased more fuel-efficient vehicles. September's sales volume plunged by more than a half-million units compared with August.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 9:28 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (13) | digg this | del.icio.us
Incentives on the Rise through Year-End, Edmunds.com Predicts
After five straight months of decline, incentives are on the rise again, according to Edmunds.com.
The average manufacturer incentive totaled $2,557 per vehicle sold in September, up $83 or 3.4 percent from August, Edmunds.com estimates. That was down $344, or 11.9 percent from September 2008.
This summer's Cash for Clunkers program substituted as a manufacturer incentive but with the program over and vehicle inventories being replenished, consumers aren't buying, as will be seen when automakers report September sales Thursday. Edmunds.com forecasts sales for the month will come in at only about a 9.3 million Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR).
Now customers need a reason to buy.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 7:22 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford's Turn To Scratch Microsoft's Back
Microsoft Corp. said Ford is among a handful of companies that will upgrade to the new 
Windows 7 operating system and help the company promote the new system that goes on sale next month.
Sounds like "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" deal.
Ford uses Microsoft's Sync communications and music system in many of its vehicles, and Microsoft, including its famous founder Bill Gates personally, has helped Ford promote it.
Now it's Ford's turn to help out Microsoft.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:49 AM under Companies , Ford , News , Personalities , Technology | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
Soft Sales Test Automakers' Resolve to Restrain Incentive Spending
Automakers will have their resolve to scaleback incentive 
spending tested in the coming months as their assembly plants ramp up production to beef up inventory and sales continue to be soft.
Incentives on General Motors, Ford and Chrysler vehicles plummeted by 26 percent to $3,278 per vehicle in August from a March peak, according to Edmunds.com, parent of AutoObserver.com. Industrywide incentives fell 22 percent to $2,474 per vehicle.
"Automakers have to pull the lever and increase production in an unknown market," Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell told Bloomberg News. "They could find there are no buyers out there and have to raise incentives again. It's a vicious circle."
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:03 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
September Car Sales on Track for 9.3 Million Rate, Edmunds.com Forecasts
September's hangover from August's Cash for Clunkers program appears to be easing.
New vehicle sales for the month are expected to total 742,000 units, off 22.9 percent from September 2008 and down 41.1 percent from August when Cash for Clunkers was in full swing, according to Edmunds.com's forecast. That would put the Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of sales at 9.34 million vehicles. Automakers report U.S. sales on Oct. 1.
"The aftereffects of Cash for Clunkers are still being felt: a significant number of September sales were pulled ahead into August, and many September shoppers left showrooms empty-handed after finding low inventories and high prices," said Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl. "However, the industry's sales rebound is gaining momentum, so there is room for a small upside surprise on sales announcement day."
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:09 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford Optimistically Forecasts 11 Million Sales in 2009; Introduces Figo in India
Ford is forecasting an increase in sales through the end of this year and a further rise in the 
next two years.
Ford CEO Alan Mulally told reporters in New Delhi, India, where Ford was launching a new small car, that U.S. car sales will hit 11 million this year then rise to 12.5 million in 2010 and 14.5 million in 2011, the year Ford vows it will break-even.
"That's pretty optimistic for 2009," said Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds.com senior analyst. "The industry would have to average 1 million sales for the next four months to achieve Ford's predicted 11 million."
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Edmunds.com Final Tally: Cash for Clunkers Buys, Trades; Ford Focus No. 1 Buy
Edmunds.com has completed its final tally of the most popular vehicle purchases and most 
frequent trade-ins under the Cash for Clunkers. The Ford Focus held its No. 1 spot as the favorite buy; the Ford Explorer remained the No. 1 trade-in.
Indeed, the top 10 lists in both categories wound up little changed from the early scoring on Edmunds.com's lists.
And, in fact, many of the top clunker buys are the industry's bestsellers in non-clunker times. Eight of the 10 vehicles on the top 10 clunker buy list are also in the top 10 for the year so far in total; only the order is changed.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 5:20 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Fearing Clunker Hangover, Europeans Plead for Renewed Scrappage Plans
Hangovers are hell, and in Europe as in the U.S., automakers fear with Cash for Clunkers 
programs ended or winding down, they are in for a big one.
In Europe, automakers are pushing their governments to continue Cash for Clunkers-like plans - known as scrappage programs -- for fear the bottom will fall out of car sales.
In the U.S., automakers aren't pressing for Cash for Clunkers 2.0, but they are worried about sales this month and through year-end.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 5:19 AM under Analysis , Companies , Featured , Ford | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford Confirms C-Max Coming to U.S.
At the Frankfurt Motor Show Tuesday, Ford Motor Co. said it will bring the new generation of 
its popular European compact people-mover, the Focus C-Max, to the U.S. sometime near the end of 2011.
The C-Max, the all-new generation of which was unveiled in Frankfurt, has been a widely acclaimed hit for Ford of Europe since the original went on sale in 2003.
Derrick Kuzak, Ford's group vice president in charge of global product development, told a group of reporters at its Dearborn, Mich., headquarters Monday the initial U.S.-market C-Max will be the 7-passenger variant (to be called the Grand C-Max) that is longer and taller than the standard 5-passenger C-Max and has a sliding rear door on each side. Both are based on Ford's new global C-segment architecture, also used for the Ford Focus.
Ford marketing sources say it has not yet been decided how the vehicle will be badged in the U.S. - the Focus name, for example, may not be included in the car's branding.
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Ford Poised To Grab Medium-Truck Share With New Power Stroke Diesel
Medium-duty truck buyers are due for a potential treat when Ford Motor Co. launches 2011 
models of its Super Duty F-Series next spring powered by the company's all-new Power Stroke 6.7-liter V8 turbodiesel.
The new, in-house-developed engine ends Ford's decades-long supply arrangement with Navistar International Corp., a relationship that ends this year after a long and publicly nasty dispute.
The engine, which Chief Engineer Adam Gryglak said is a total clean-sheet design, is something of a technical tour de force: It has an innovative twin-turbocharger setup packaged as a single unit, a reversed exhaust-port design in which exhaust exits on the inner portion of the engine's vee and Ford's first medium-truck use of weight-saving compacted graphite iron for the engine block.
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'Small' Could be the New 'Big' of the Pickup Market
Maybe America's love affair with pickup trucks isn't over. It's just getting smaller.
In both size and volume.
The recently ended federal Cash for Clunkers incentive was a giant boost for fuel-efficient cars. They dominated the top 10 list of new vehicles purchased by those trading clunkers. But if August sales reports are any indicator, more than a few of those Cash for Clunkers vouchers were used to buy midsize (formerly "compact") pickups.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:40 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Post-Clunkers Second Half Becomes Huge Sales Question Mark
The U.S. government's Cash for Clunkers program finished its job in August, boosting industry-wide U.S. sales to 1,261,799 vehicles, a 1.3-percent increase from a year earlier and a 26.7-percent boost from July, as American consumers rushed dealerships to turn in their well-used vehicles for more fuel-efficient new ones.
Automakers revisited long-abandoned, almost heady levels of sales, with the August results translating into a Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate of 14.1 million units - equivalent to a yearly pace about five million units faster than the sales rate for the first half of this year, and much higher than the 10.5-million to 11-million-vehicle pace that industry executives still expect to prevail for the rest of 2009.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 9:57 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Automakers Spend Less on August Incentives, Thanks to Cash for Clunkers
With American taxpayers footing the bill for Cash for Clunkers, automakers were able to lower their spending on incentives in August. And, in fact, automakers may still have paid more than they needed to in incentives.
The average automotive manufacturer incentive was $2,475 per vehicle for every vehicle sold in August, Edmunds.com estimates. That's down $231, or 8.5 percent, from July and down $327, or 11.7 percent, from August 2008, continuing a downward trend of several months.
"The industry spent a record $3,165 per vehicle in March, but ever since then, incentives have continuously fallen," said Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds.com's director of Industry Analysis.
However, the story may change in the coming months, she added, with the Cash for Clunkers program over, vehicle inventories low due to production cutbacks and brisk clunker sales. But now, factories are ramping up production to fill up the pipeline again -- production that may come into a market that isn't in the mood for buying.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 7:36 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
August Car Sales: Wild Roller Coaster Ride
Thanks to the government's Cash-For-Clunkers program, new-vehicle sales bounced around throughout the month of August, one of the most volatile periods in automotive history. Edmunds.com predicts the annualized sales rate could land at just more than 13 million for the month.
"Cash for Clunkers sent the sales rate on a wild roller coaster ride," said Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell. She said the Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Rate (SAAR) of sales exceeded 19 million in late July - the peak of Cash-For-Clunkers selling - and fluctuated around the 15-million mark in early August. But the SAAR has plunged to an 8-million rate in the post-Clunkers final days of the month.
"Ending August on such a low note does not bode well for September," Caldwell warned.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:48 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
Post 'Clunkers,' Automakers Raising Production - Carefully
Prior to the Cash-For-Clunkers sales explosion, the last thing automakers would have considered was increasing production in their North American factories.
In answer to the worst industry sales slide in more than a generation, most had for more than a year being doing just the opposite - slashing production schedules - in an attempt to reduce bloated inventories suddenly and catastrophically out of line with consumer demand.
But Cash-For-Clunkers changed all that: in just four weeks, the federal incentive program squeezed more than a half-million buyers into showrooms. So much for that troublesome inventory.
Now the auto industry has to deal with the wholly unpredicted consequence of Cash-For-Clunkers' success: almost overnight, nobody has enough new vehicles to sell. And the equally ironic solution: raise production.
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Posted by Bill Visnic at 3:00 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
Honda Increasing Production but Won't Attach Number
Reports from Japan earlier this month indicated Honda Motor Co. Ltd. -- like other automakers with models that proved popular in the just-ended Cash for Clunkers new-vehicle rebate program -- is planning to increase production to replenish starved U.S. inventories.
But a Honda spokesman told AutoObserver today the company won't detail the amount of its production increase.
"We're not attaching figures yet to our production," said the Honda spokesman, adding that the company doesn't expect to forecast production for the remainder of the year.
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Despite Payback Fiasco, Dealers Will Regret End of Cash for Clunkers
The much-examined Cash for Clunkers new-vehicle rebate program ends August 24 and the armchair quarterbacking has already started. Most evaluations of the program will focus on the government's inability to quickly process applications and reimburse dealers for the $3,500 or $4,500 rebates given to buyers.
The backlog of payments certainly affected dealer cashflow, particularly for smaller operations.
But according to new data from Edmunds.com, dealers (and automakers, ultimately) did enjoy more than a few offsetting perks: Besides hiking sales volumes, the Cash for Clunkers program, along with the resulting accelerated reduction of new-vehicle inventories, was responsible for immediately jacking up average transaction prices, margins -- and dealer profit.
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Posted by Bill Visnic at 2:00 AM under Analysis , Business , Companies , Ford , GM , News | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
GM, Honda Latest To Boost Production as Cash for Clunkers Resuscitates Small-Car Sales
General Motors Co. and Honda Motor Co. Ltd. are the latest automakers to spool up U.S. vehicle production to answer inventories depleted by the ongoing "Cash for Clunkers" new-vehicle rebate program.
GM will add one day shift at the Orion Township, Michigan, plant that assembles the Chevrolet Malibu midsize sedan; the plant currently is on a four-day work week. Also ramping up with the addition of a two-shift day will be the automaker's plant in Lordstown, Ohio, that produces the Chevrolet Cobalt compact cars, Dow Jones reported.
GM is expected to announce more production increases as it adjusts a third-quarter output that had been drastically reduced from year-ago levels. In extending the Car Allowance Rebate System, the official name of Cash for Clunkers, from the original $1 billion in funding to a total of $3 billion, the program has put unanticipated pressure on the stock of many of the most popular vehicles purchased by those trading clunkers.
(Read more...)
Posted by Bill Visnic at 12:20 AM under Analysis , Featured , Ford , GM , News | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
"Clunkers" Demand Prods Ford To Hike Production
Trying to insure it doesn't run dry of two of the best-selling new vehicles in the still-humming Cash for Clunkers rebate program, Ford Motor Co. confirmed today a modest production increase for the third quarter, from 485,000 units to 495,000 units.
Ford's 2 percent production hike over its previous plan will come from extra shifts and more overtime at the Kansas City, MO, plant that produces the Escape compact crossover and the Wayne, MI, factory that assembles the Focus compact.
Data from Edmunds.com indicates the Focus and the Escape ranked as the No.1 and No.2 new vehicles bought to replace "clunkers" in the government-funded Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) incentive program that runs through the end of this month.
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Posted by Bill Visnic at 7:35 AM under Companies , Featured , Ford , News | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford's Top Clunker Trades, Buys as Cash for Clunker Pace Slows, Edmunds.com Finds
Ford vehicles topped the most recent list of clunkers traded in and models bought to replace 
those clunkers as the Cash for Clunker frenzy slowed some from its end-of-July peak, Edmunds.com finds.
The Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Rate (SAAR) of vehicle sales dipped to a still high of 16 million for the first week of August. By comparison, the SAAR for the peak week of the government's Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) -- the last week of July -- was 19.6 million.
From the CARS July 24 launch to August 7, the Ford Explorer SUV and Ford F-150 pickup truck were the No. 1 and No. 2 vehicles, respectively, traded in as official clunkers, according to Edmunds.com's calculations.
The Ford Escape and Ford Focus ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, for vehicles purchased to replace those clunkers, according to Edmunds.com.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 11:17 AM under Analysis , Companies , Featured , Ford | Comments (6) | digg this | del.icio.us
Cash for Clunkers Drives Consumers to Fuel-Efficient Choices, Edmunds.com Reports
Should the federal government fund a Cash for Clunkers extension, and is it worth the added
$2 billion cost as an economic and environmental stimulus?
Those are the questions the Senate considered this week as it debated the extension the House already passed. Data based on real Cash for Clunker transactions by Edmunds.com shows clearly vehicles turned in as clunkers -- mostly gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs -- would have been traded in at some point even without the program.
However, those vehicles were traded for vehicles that were more likely to be cars than trucks or SUVS and vehicles that deliver better fuel economy with the $3,500 to $4,500 government vouchers provided under the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS).
Further, the clunker plan appears to have had a rub-off effect. The program created a feeding frenzy, with the last week of July generating a seasonally adjusted selling rate of a stunning 19.6 million vehicles. And those consumers buying vehicles regardless of trade-ins opted for smaller, more fuel-efficient cars during the Cash for Clunker program at a higher than usual rate.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 12:34 PM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (4) | digg this | del.icio.us
Feds: Cash for Clunkers Saving Gas
Pressing U.S. Senators to pass a $2-billion extension to the Car Allowance Rebate System
(CARS) -- the riotously accepted "Cash For Clunkers" program projected to run through its original $1 billion backing in little more than a week - the Obama administration is citing the program's impact on reducing fuel consumption.
A note from the administration reportedly being distributed to lawmakers says the average fuel-economy gain between traded-in clunkers and the new vehicles purchased to replace them is 9.6 miles per gallon -- a 61 percent improvement. Purchased vehicles that improve fuel economy by at least 4 mpg net the clunker owner $3,500. New vehicles that achieve 10 mpg or better than the clunker they replace win the owner a $4,500 CARS rebate.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 3:55 AM under Analysis , Companies , Ford , GM | Comments (6) | digg this | del.icio.us
Cash for Clunkers Delivers July Sales Spike -- But Now What?
The crescendo of activity in American auto showrooms around the Cash for Clunkers program late last week produced a correspondingly huge surge in U.S. auto sales, and consumers kept scrounging through the weekend for fuel-efficient vehicles to buy under the generous government rebates.
Consequently, sales for all of July for the industry came up only 12 percent short of their level a year ago - when $4-a-gallon gasoline also was goosing shopper interest in fuel-efficient vehicles.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 12:09 PM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (9) | digg this | del.icio.us
Subaru Sales Up 34%; Ford Up 2%
Both Ford and Subaru signaled over the weekend that they would post year-over-year sales increases. And indeed they did.
Ford said July sales were 2 percent higher than July 2008, thanks to the Cash for Clunkers program, officially known as Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS).
Subaru sales soared 34 percent, with Cash for Clunker deals accounting for 40 to 50 percent of July sales. Most clunkers were traded for the popular Subaru Forester.
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 9:36 AM under Companies , Ford | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Which Runs Out First: Cash for Clunkers or Cars?
The race is on for which will run out first: government funding for Cash for Clunkers or the cars
popular for purchase by clunker traders.
The U.S. House handily passed a Cash for Clunkers extension that provides an added $2 billion to the program, bringing the total to $3 billion. The Senate takes up the matter this week where it faces more challenge by Democrats, who want higher fuel-economy requirements for the new vehicle bought with the clunker trade, and Republicans, who oppose more spending.
At the same time, consumers who are ditching their clunkers for the $3,500 or $4,500 credit toward the purchase of a new, more fuel-efficient vehicle face a dwindling selection and supply of the more popular vehicles.
Dozens of vehicles that are popular as clunker trades had under the ideal 60-day supply at the beginning of the month, Edmunds.com's analysis of inventory numbers showed. And those inventory levels are based on June sales -- before the Car Allowance Retail System (CARS) program kicked in July 24. More up-to-date inventory numbers won't be available until July sales are reported by manufacturers Monday.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 8:22 AM under Analysis , Companies , Featured , Ford , Toyota | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Cash for Clunkers Produces July Sales Increase for Ford
Ford Motor Co. will announce Monday a year-over-year sales increase for July, thanks to the
government's cash for clunkers program. It will be Ford's first year-to-year sales increase since November 2007.
The Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) is expected cash for clunkers pushed the Seasonally Adjusted Sales Rate (SAAR) to well above 11 million vehicles sold to as high as 13 million, the highest level this year by a long shot.
July's SAAR will be 11 million to 12 million "for sure," Ford's sales chief George Pipas told AutoObserver.com in a phone interview Sunday. "The increase is a nice proof point of the progress Ford has made but being the first of the Big Six automakers to post an increase may be a sign that the consumer is a little more optimistic."
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:13 PM under Featured , Ford , News | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford Reports $2.3 Billion Net Profit, $424-Million Operating Loss
Ford Motor Co. reported a net profit of $2.3 billion in the second quarter, thanks to a one-time
special gain. However, the automaker continues to lose money in its operations.
Ford said Thursday its net profit was the result of a $2.8-billion net gain due to debt-reduction actions the automaker took. Its pre-tax operating loss came to $424 million in the second quarter, excluding those special items. Its after-tax loss totaled $638 million.
Still, Ford's second-quarter results show the automaker is improving its financial position and narrowing losses. Further, Ford's results beat analysts' forecasts, although the company's automotive operations still "burned" slightly more than $1 billion for the quarter.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:54 AM under Business , Featured , Ford | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
Cylinder Count Ain't What It Used To Be
By Bill Visnic
DEARBORN, Michigan -- Here we go again. In a repeat of not-too-successful experiments of the past, automakers are once again going to see if luxury-car buyers will go for four-cylinder engines.
General Motors Corp.'s Buick will offer a base version of its new 2010 LaCrosse upper-midsize sedan later this year with a four-cylinder under the hood. GM execs have also said the Cadillac division won't rule it out.
The Lexus HS 250h goes on sale next month, and although attention will focus on the fact that it's a hybrid, the HS 250h still is working with a four-cylinder engine -- a first for Toyota Motor Corp.'s premium division.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 3:36 AM under Analysis , Companies , Featured , Ford | Comments (10) | digg this | del.icio.us
Former Ford Exec Nasser in Running To Head Mining Company
Former Ford CEO Jacques "Jac" Nasser has reemerged, this time as a top contender to head the
world's largest mining company, BHP Billiton. The job is described by Australia's Business Day
as "one of corporate Australia's most prized positions."
Born in Lebanon and raised and educated in Australia, Nasser currently is a non-executive director of BHP. The Australian business press reports he and one other candidate are being interviewed this week to replace BHP CEO Don Argus, who retires in November.
(Read more...)
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GM, Chrysler Still Weak As Ford Could Win Share, Report Forecasts
General Motors and Chrysler will be challenged by weak future product plans while Ford
stands to gain market share with a relatively strong future product plan, a new report says.
Called Car Wars, the annual competitive analysis is produced by Banc of America Securities-Merrill Lynch and reported on by the Detroit Free Press Thursday, predicts:
- GM's market share losses will be greater than the automaker expects because of its skimpy future product plan;
- Chrysler's weak product pipeline is "an ominous sign"
- Ford's relatively strong future product plan could help it gain market share.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 8:03 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Ford , GM | Comments (3) | digg this | del.icio.us
Consumers Find New, Remade Models More Appealing Than Ever, J. D. Power Finds
By Michelle Krebs
Like Sally Field when accepting her Best Actress Oscar, consumers seemed to be saying of
their new and redesigned vehicles "You like me ... you really like me."
Indeed, J. D. Power and Associates 2009 APEAL study, released Thursday, consumer satisfaction with their new and redesigned models at a three-year high. Report highlights include:
- Porsche ranked highest among nameplates for a fifth consecutive year;
- Volkswagen captured four segment-level awards--more than any other vehicle nameplate in 2009;
- new and redesigned models scored higher than last year's new and redesigned models and higher than this year's carryover models.
- seven new and redesigned models ranked highest in their respective segments: Dodge Challenger; Ford F-150; Ford Flex; Hyundai Genesis; Nissan Maxima; Volkswagen CC and Volkswagen Tiguan.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 7:07 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford Stock Slips as GM Exits Bankruptcy
By Bill Visnic
Shares at Ford Motor Co., which had buoyed in recent weeks but began sliding with news of a still-sputtering U.S. economic recovery, slid further on Friday after rival General Motors Co. slipped the shackles of Chapter 11 bankruptcy off after just six weeks.
Ford's share-price slide -- by midday on Friday after GM's emergence from bankruptcy, shares had dropped just a few cents but were off meaningfully from morning gains -- could be coincidental with a continuing downward move in the broad market, but some analysts and investors remain concerned that Ford may be at a competitive disadvantage because of the enormous support the federal government is throwing at GM to assure its recovery.
By the end of the year, the U.S. Department of Treasury will have invested upward of $50 billion in GM, plus at least $5 billion more to lending unit GMAC Financial Services, which also now handles vehicle financing for Chrysler Group LLC.
(Read more...)
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Former Defense Secretary, Ford Whiz Kid Robert McNamara Dies
Robert S. McNamara, the Ford Motor Co. Whiz Kid who became U.S. Defense Secretary
vilified during the Vietnam War, died Monday at the age of 93 after an illness.
McNamara, who joined Ford in 1946, was one of 10 former World War II officers who became known as the Whiz Kids who saved the failing company by implementing modern management systems. McNamara started as manager of planning and financial analysis and rose quickly through the ranks to the top post. He was the first non-Ford family member to serve as president to that point.
Current Ford Chairman Bill Ford said in a statement issued Monday that McNamara's dedicated service to Ford will long be remembered. "Bob's contributions as a member of the history-making Whiz Kids and his visionary efforts on behalf of automotive safety and environmentalism are as relevant today as they were then," he said.
(Read more...)
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Led by Surging Ford, June Sales Ratcheted Reassuringly
By Dale Buss, Michelle Krebs and Bill Visnic
Automakers expressed more optimism about the U.S. car market despite the fact that overall sales in June fell by 28 percent compared with a year ago, to 859,420 vehicles. That represents only a slight improvement in year-ago comparisons over results for the first five months of this year.
Jesse Toprak, executive director of Industry Analysis for Edmunds.com, characterized the month cautiously. "It means, if nothing else, that things are not getting any worse, although things are not getting that much better, either. There was a lot of volatility, but there were signs of life."
Toprak added that June was "probably the best retail-demand month of the year."
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 9:52 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , News , Toyota | Comments (6) | digg this | del.icio.us
June Is Priciest Ever for Automaker Incentives, Edmunds.com Reports
SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Automakers spent more in June on incentives than any June on record, Edmunds.com reports.
The average automaker incentive was $2,930 per vehicle sold in June up $489 -- or 20 percent, from a year ago, Edmunds.com estimates. Incentives were down a scant $22, or 0.8 percent, from May.
"June incentives have never been higher, but we anticipate that the tide is about to turn," said Jesse Toprak, Edmunds.com's executive director of Industry Analysis. "The effects of recent production cuts are starting to be felt, and as supply dwindles, incentives will fall."
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:42 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Automakers Hopeful for Some Sales Rebound in June
The industry remains cautiously optimistic June vehicle sales in the U.S. will hit a seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) of 10 million units for the first time in 2009, a milestone analysts think may indicate the deep freeze in auto sales is at least beginning to thaw.
Automakers will report June sales on Wednesday, and Ford Motor Co. chief sales analyst George Pipas told reporters the company believes total industry sales will see less than a 30 percent decline (compared with the same period last year) for the first time since early last fall.
Ford is confident enough in an improving outlook that it will slightly increase its production for the third quarter -- the first time it's hiked scheduled production since 2007.
(Read more...)
Posted by Bill Visnic at 7:24 AM under Business , Companies , Ford , GM | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
June Sales To Hit 10 Million SAAR; Detroit Share Improves, Edmunds.com Forecasts
SANTA MONICA, Calif. - June vehicle sales will hit their highest level of 2009 with a
Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Rate of 10.1 million when manufacturers report them Wednesday, Edmunds.com
forecasts.
"The SAAR is finally back in double-digits," observed Jesse Toprak, Edmunds.com's executive director of Industry Analysis. "We're still a long way from 16 million unit sales, but things are moving in the right direction.
General Motors and Chrysler, which both were in Chapter 11 bankruptcy during the month, are expected to post market share gains in June compared with May, proving yet-again -- contrary to conventional wisdom -- that consumers will, indeed, buy cars from a bankrupt manufacturer, at least in these current tumultuous times.
Honda and Hyundai also are forecasted to show May-to-June market share gains. The gains come at the expense of share declines for Ford, Nissan and Toyota. Despite Ford's dip, the share for Detroit automakers is estimated to come in at 47.0 percent in June, up from 46.6 percent in June 2008 and from 46.5 percent in May.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:45 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
GM, Chrysler Models Top List of Slowest Sellers, Edmunds.com Reports
Vehicles sold by General Motors and Chrysler, both of which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
in recent months, dominated a list of the 15 slowest sellers in May, according to an analysis by Edmunds.com
, parent of AutoObserver.com
.
Of the 15 slowest-selling vehicles, 12 were made by American automakers. GM and Chrysler dominated the list. Ford had one vehicle on the list - the Mustang.
"It's really a reflection of a misstep of the American automakers," Edmunds.com analyst Jessica Caldwell.
Models from Korean brands, Kia and Hyundai, rounded out the list of 15 slow sellers.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 2:36 PM under Analysis , Chrysler , Ford , GM | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Vehicle Quality Improves Despite Bumpy Financial Ride
By Michelle Krebs
DETROIT -- The financial turbulence of the global auto industry has not hurt vehicle quality. Quite the opposite, according to new data released Monday by J.D. Power and Associates.
"Vehicle quality is better than it has ever been," Dave Sargent, J.D. Power's vice president of automotive research, told the Automotive Press Association here as he announced the results of the 2009 Initial Quality Study. The study measures defects reported by buyers in the first 90 days of ownership.
"There's a positive disconnect. There's no correlation between the financial side of the business and the production side," said Sargent. "Despite the turbulence on the business side and concern for the future of their own jobs, the people who design and build vehicles are getting on with their jobs and keeping their eye on the ball. That's remarkable."
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 12:49 PM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , News , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Geely Closing in on Volvo?
By Bill Visnic
Yet another news report says, through a Chinese news agency citing anonymous government sources, that Chinese automaker Geely has signed a deal to purchase Volvo Cars from current owner Ford Motor Co.
Volvo and Geely are silent on the latest report, but neither company issued a denial. Volvo's official response, which could be interpreted either as dismissive or a Nordically stoic quasi-confirmation, was to call the report "speculative."
The report says the two companies continue to hammer out details, with the most intriguing aspect being that Volvo reputedly will add more Chinese production in a yet-to-be-built plant in the city of Dongguan in China's Guandong Province. Volvo Cars China already produces the S40 domestically and in March added a version of the S80 flagship at a factory in Chongging.
(Read more...)
Posted by Bill Visnic at 2:23 PM under Business , Companies , Ford , In the Media | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Bill Ford Calls for National Industrial Policy, Gas Price Stabilization
DETROIT - Ford Motor Co. Chairman Bill Ford Jr., kicking off a National Summit in Detroit this week, called for the U.S. government to establish a national industrial policy aimed at bolstering the nation's competitiveness and to institute a policy that would stabilize "gyrating" gasoline prices.
"The industrial base is eroding and prosperous nations don't let their industries erode," Ford said. "Government, industry and academia all have to be on the same page. Too many times they throw bombs at each other rather than working together."
(Read more...)
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In Trucks, Bare-Knuckles Marketing Continues
By Dale Buss
In a throwback to a simpler era, the new Ford F-150's drop-down tailgate step has become an entertaining flashpoint in the marketing war between heavyweights in the pickup-truck segment.
In a current TV ad for the Silverado, Chevrolet's celebrity pitchster, Howie Long, tweaks the addition of the "man step" to the F-150 as an embarrassment -- because it only helps make up for the unreasonably long reach required to get over the tailgate to the bed of the F-150.
But Ford executives assert that Chevy's gambit actually highlights an appealing innovation for potential truck buyers -- and makes them more likely to choose an F-150.
"Our steps have done very well, because they're selling at about 30 percent of the mix of our F-150s," said Doug Scott, Ford's truck marketing manager. "So I hope GM keeps running the ad [in which] they're panning it."
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 12:02 PM under Analysis , Chrysler , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (3) | digg this | del.icio.us
May Car Sales: Flirting with 10-Million SAAR
By Bill Visnic, Mary Connelly, Michelle Krebs
DETROIT - It's far too premature to break out the champagne and even too early to finally call the absolute bottom of one of the worst auto sales slumps in decades. But May sales reports from auto manufacturers in the U.S. hinted the worst just may be over.
"We saw glimmers of hope in May sales reports," said Jesse Toprak, executive director of Industry Analysis for Edmunds.com, parent of AutoObserver.com.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 10:58 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , News , Toyota | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
May Car Sales: Ever-So-Small Hint of Hope
SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- May car sales, due to be reported by auto manufacturer Tuesday, remain off by double-digits from last year, but the sales increase from April to May is in line with typical April-May seasonal bumps and the drop from a year ago is largely due to lower fleet sales, according to Edmunds.com's forecast.
For May, manufacturers are expected to report new vehicle sales -- retail and fleet -- of 890,000 units, a 36.1 percent decrease from the 1.4 million sold in May 2008 but an 8.9 percent increase from the 817,000 sold in April. A typical seasonal increase between April and May is a 9 percent rise. When adjusted for this difference in the number of selling days in May versus a year ago, sales decreased 33.6 percent.
That would put the Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Rate at about 9.5 million vehicles, up from 9.3 million in April.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 8:24 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Auto Supplier Visteon Files for Bankruptcy
By Michelle Krebs
DETROIT -- Auto parts supplier Visteon Corp., as long anticipated it would, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday.
Visteon, one of the world's largest auto-parts suppliers, was created from Ford Motor Co. parts operations and employs 31,000 people in 27 countries.
Visteon follows in the footsteps of Delphi Corp., formed from General Motors' parts operations. Delphi has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy for three and a half years.
Like all automotive suppliers, Visteon has struggled with the dramatic fall-off in vehicle sales, which have prompted its automaker customers to slash production.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 5:07 AM under Business , Featured , Ford , News | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford Set To Pass GM in North American Production
Ford is on pace to overtake General Motors this year as the top North American producer of
vehicles, according to a forecast by IHS Global Insight.
Ford, which has been No. 2 for decades, gets a boost from GM idling its plants in the next couple of months to produce an estimated 1.7 million vehicles in North America this year.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 10:08 AM under Companies , Ford , GM | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
VW Links With China's BYD for Hybrid or Electric Cars; Ford May Follow
Volkswagen has signed a letter of intent with China's BYD on hybrid or electric cars. Ford
and another European automaker are rumored to be working on similar arrangements with BYD.
BYD, which stands for Build Your Dream, has been a Chinese company to watch. Formed in 1995, BYD is now the world's second-largest producer of lithium-ion batteries, mostly for cell phones, and has been making cars only since 2003.
The company has been displaying a plug-in hybrid, the BYD F3, at global auto shows, including one in Detroit.
(Read more...)
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Ford: Perfect Timing for EcoBoost Celebration
By Michelle Krebs
Once again, Ford has lucked out in terms of timing.
As President Obama was announcing stricter fuel economy and emissions standards in Washington, D.C., Ford was celebrating the production of its new EcoBoost engine in Cleveland.
The opportunity to promote Ford, which has tried to set itself apart from General Motors and Chrysler by not taking government assistance -- and staying away from bankruptcy -- was not lost on company CEO Alan Mulally, who flanked President Obama at his White House press conference.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 10:02 AM under Ford , Personalities , Technology | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
GM Stock at Value-Menu Price; Ford Offering Lukewarm
By Bill Visnic
With investors nervously interpreting the General Motors Corp. tea leaves, GM's stock price plunged to $1 on Wednesday - leaving for Americans the choice between a value-menu order of French fries or a share of GM stock.
After the dip, GM's share price bounced back some 25 percent or better by midday, but the price range nonetheless reflected levels GM common shares hadn't visited since the 1930s.
GM's stock price has been steadily declining in the past months - and since the bankruptcy of Chrysler LLC on May 1 - as media reports and industry-analyst talk underscore an increasing certainty that GM, too, will have to make a trip to bankruptcy court when the company's June 1 restructuring deadline given by the Obama Administration arrives.
(Read more...)
Posted by Bill Visnic at 11:59 AM under Business , Companies , Ford , GM | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford Readies New Stock Offering
By Bill Visnic
In a move signaling Ford Motor Co. is seeking new liquidity -- and further positioning itself apart from its Detroit competitors -- the company announced late Monday a new public offering of 300 million shares of common stock.
Ford made a point to say it will use some of the proceeds to pay cash into the United Auto Workers union retiree health-benefits fund, rather than the stock General Motors Corp. and Chrysler hope to use as the lion's share of their payments to the fund.
"Net proceeds to Ford from the offering are expected to be used for general corporate purposes, including to fund with cash, instead of stock, a portion of the payments the company is required to make to the Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association (VEBA) retiree health care trust with the United Auto Workers," Ford said in a statement.
(Read more...)
Posted by Bill Visnic at 6:15 AM under Business , Ford , News | Comments (3) | digg this | del.icio.us
Pickups Sales Plunging But Ford Buyers Spending More - What Gives?
By Bill Visnic
DETROIT -- By now, everyone knows the raw sales numbers are bloody red: the full-size pickup market was one of the first to be savaged by last summer's high gasoline prices and by the end of 2008, pffft -- five points of market share and some three-quarters of a million units were gone.
Maybe never to return. At least to the segment's former glories.
But there may be a sliver of a silver lining in the pickup sales plunge. At least one automaker -- Ford Motor Co. -- says those still buying pickups are splurging. Since its launch late last year, the "mix" of Ford's new '09 F-Series has been unexpectedly rich, slanted toward more expensive and heavily optioned models and trim levels.
The best example: the F-Series' ultra-plush Platinum -- the new top-of-the-line trim level -- has run at 8 percent of the total F-Series mix. Ford predicted a 3 percent take rate.
(Read more...)
Posted by Bill Visnic at 6:00 AM under Analysis , Business , Companies , Featured , Ford | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
April Car Sales: The Bottom's Around Here Somewhere
By Dale Buss, Michelle Krebs and Bill Visnic
April's auto sales numbers looked pretty much like those from March, and February, and January - abysmal. Industrywide sales plunged by 34 percent last month compared with a year earlier, continuing the first-quarter trend of dreadful comparisons tied to a moribund economy.
But in those April results, carmaker executives and analysts on Friday also thought they saw more than just the latest in a long string of awful comparisons with 2008. Almost to a person, they interpreted April's performance and other economic data as painting at least a near bottom of the dreadful U.S. car market - and as the harbinger of an eventual recovery.
"We won't truly be able to call the bottom until summer when we can look back at three consecutive months of increase in the annualized rate of sales," said Jesse Toprak, executive director of industry analysis for Edmunds.com. "We had expected April would be the start of that. And April's annualized sales rate, while lower than March, still didn't dip to February level."
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 8:49 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
April Auto Sales: SAAR Rises to 10 Million, Edmunds.com Forecasts
SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- April vehicle sales are looking like they will come in at a Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Rate of 10 million. That's certainly nothing to brag about in normal times and compared with the last decade. Still, April looks to be the best month in several and up from 9.1 million in February.
"The industry is slowly picking up much-needed momentum; a 'cash for clunkers program' could help while an automaker bankruptcy could hurt, depending on how consumer confidence is affected," said Jesse Toprak, executive director of Industry Analysis for Edmunds.com.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 5:48 PM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford Loses $1.4 Billion in First Quarter; Less Than Analysts' Predicted
By Michelle Krebs
DEARBORN, Mich. -- Ford Motor Co. reported Friday it had a net loss of $1.4 billion in the first quarter, a smaller loss than analysts had forecasted.
Ford's results lower the probability that Ford will need government loans as General Motors and Chrysler have required. Indeed, Ford reiterated in its press statement that it does not expect to seek a government loan.
"Our results in the first quarter reflected the extremely difficult business environment and weak demand for autos around the world," said Ford CEO Alan Mulally in a statement.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:08 AM under Featured , Ford | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford To Report Hefty Loss, but Remain Loan-Free
Ford Motor Co. reports its first-quarter financial results on Friday and is expected to lose
$3.2 billion for its largest first-quarter loss in 17 years, according to the average of analysts by four analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News
.
Still, Bloomberg reported, Ford is likely to be able to steer clear of loans from the U.S. government, like those as General Motors and Chrysler have required. Loan-free Ford is expected to benefit from loan-laden GM and Chrysler, who still may be forced into bankruptcy. Analysts believe Ford has made enough cost reductions to maintain sufficient liquidity to 2010.
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 7:11 AM under Analysis , Ford | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Goldman Ups Its 2009 Car Sales Forecast
Goldman Sachs has increased its forecast for 2009 new vehicle sales from 10 million to 11 million.
Goldman analyst Patrick Archambault said his optimism comes from the likelihood that Congress will pass a cash-for-clunkers bill, one that could add 750,000 to 1 million vehicle sales this year as consumers turn in their old cars for new new ones for a government rebate. Archambault also sees improvement in consumer confidence.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:56 AM under Analysis , Companies , Ford | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
Take My Pickup - Please
By Bill Visnic
Headlines declared the auto industry achieved a showroom mini-victory in March by markedly improving sales over a dismal February. But the improved numbers were something like lipstick on a pig as March's boost nonetheless concealed some ugly realities.
One of the most foreboding trends to continue despite the March uptick: the still-accelerating plunge of the full-size pickup truck market. If segment sales do not stabilize this year, revenue-ravaged automakers may have to take drastic measures.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 10:42 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Featured , Ford , GM | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
Chevrolet Camaro Wins Edmunds' Inside Line Muscle Car Comparison Test
SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Inside Line, Edmunds.com's online car magazine and sister site
of AutoObserver.com
, announced Wednesday that the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS took first place in its latest comparison test of iconic muscle cars.
The comparison is described in full at the 2010 Chevy Camaro SS vs. 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T vs. 2010 Ford Mustang GT Comparison Test.
"Car enthusiasts can rejoice that all three of these legendary pony cars have made a comeback," says Jay Kavanagh, Edmunds' Inside Line Engineering Editor. "But the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS leads the pack with its combination of power, speed and attitude."
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 9:59 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Commentary , Companies , Ford , GM | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Global News: UK Electric Car Subsidy Criticized; Nissan, Renault Do Electric Cars in China; Tesla Opens EU Stores; Australian Sales Fall
In global news, the auto industry criticized Prime Minister Gordon Brown's subsidy for electric cars, Nissan and Renault announced plans to supply China with electric cars by 2011; U.S.-based Tesla is expanding to Europe; and vehicle sales in Australia tumbled in the first quarter.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 11:38 AM under Companies , Ford , GM , News , Technology , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
GM, Chrysler Bankruptcies Have Beneficiaries, Report Says
LONDON -- It's not all doom and gloom if General Motors and Chrysler go bankrupt, a new report says. In fact, some automakers will benefit from their bankruptcy.
GM and Chrysler competitors could gain pre-tax profit of more than $24 billion if the companies are forced to dramatically downsize after some kind of bankruptcy, says a report from Bernstein Research in London and reported on by the Detroit News.
In the U.S., Ford would benefit most with GM and Chrysler customers deflecting to its brand. Ford would be followed by the Japanese automakers and Germany's Volkswagen.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 9:19 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
U.S. Government Orders 17,600 Big Three Vehicles
WASHINGTON -- As President Obama promised a week ago, his administration is advancing plans for the purchase of new government fleet cars to spur U.S. vehicle sales and improve the fuel-efficiency of government-owned cars.
The government's order is for 17,600 fuel-efficient vehicles from General Motors, Ford and Chrysler by June 1. The total tab comes to $285 million, which will be drawn from the $787 billion economic stimulus package.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 7:50 PM under Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Economy Takes a Toll on Auto Dealers Ranks
In the first quarter this year, 271 auto dealers in the U.S. went out of business, according to
the National Automobile Dealers Association.
NADA reports at the end of the first quarter, the U.S. had 19,738 auto dealers, down from 20,009 year-end 2008.
The trade group predicts about 1,200 dealers, mostly representing General Motors, Chrysler and Ford brands, to go out of business this year, about 20 percent more than last year.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 7:25 PM under Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM , News | Comments (3) | digg this | del.icio.us
Auto Suppliers Get $5 Billion
The U.S. Treasury Department will start releasing $5 billion in government funds to auto suppliers next week. The Supplier Support Program will funnel the money through General Motors and Chrysler, which have loans from the government, to their shakiest and most vital suppliers.
Chrysler plans to use $1.5 billion; GM expects to use $2 billion. The remaining $1.5 billion would be available at the request of GM or Chrysler.
Ford has declined to participate as it has with government loans for itself. Instead, Ford is lending money to its suppliers.
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 10:13 AM under Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM , News | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Customers Prefer No-Bailout Ford, Edmunds.com Reports
SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Ford's choice and ability to avoid taking loans from U.S.
government is paying dividends in increased shopping by consumers.
An analysis of shopping on its Web site by Edmunds.com, parent of AutoObserver.com, shows the number of visitors who shopped for Ford vehicles in the first three months of this year rose 12 percent compared with the same period a year ago.
At the same time, the number of shoppers considering vehicles from General Motors and Chrysler, both of which have taken loans from the U.S. government, declined 19 percent and 15 percent respectively during the same period.
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 8:39 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
College Hoops and Ailing Automakers
What do college basketball and troubled U.S. automakers have in common?
Plenty this year. The NCAA championship is taking place in Detroit and the "blue-collar" hometown team, Michigan State University, is in the final Monday night, to the surprise of many and the upset of those playing the brackets.
Indeed, as Wall Street Journal columnist Austin Kelley noted in Monday's edition, sports fans who wanted to forget General Motors' troubles and divert attention to college basketball were out of luck this weekend. "The specter of the ailing automaker was everywhere," he wrote.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 8:56 AM under Commentary , Ford , GM , In the Media , Personalities | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
March Car Sales Show Signs of Life
By Michelle Krebs and Bill Visnic
A late-month uptick caused March car and truck sales to surpass forecasters' expectations, providing a glimmer of hope to the U.S. auto industry that the long and ugly drought is nearing an end.
"We started to see some signs of life in the March numbers," said Jesse Toprak, executive director of Industry Analysis for Edmunds.com, parent of AutoObserver.com. His remark echoed similar comments made by auto company executives and analysts as they delivered their March sales results Wednesday.
Particularly encouraging to everyone was the rise in the annualized rate and the above-average hike in sales from February to March.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 9:22 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Incentives Set All-Time Record, Edmunds.com Reports
By Michelle Krebs
SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Automaker incentives set a new all-time high in March, even though it appears they didn't help sales much, according to Edmunds.com
.
The average automotive manufacturer incentive was $3,169 per vehicle sold in March, the highest industry average on record.
"Automakers are pulling every lever in their effort to attract buyers, as evidenced by the new programs from Ford and General Motors," stated Jesse Toprak, Edmunds' executive director of Industry Analysis. "The typical incentive programs simply do not resonate in today's economy."
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 3:49 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford Launches Expansive Package of Incentives With a Charitable Twist
By Michelle Krebs
DEARBORN, Mich. -- Ford Motor announced Tuesday a comprehensive package of
incentives it is calling the Ford Advantage Plan that includes a payment protection plan like Hyundai's as well as zero-percent financing and a charitable donation element.
"Consumers remain anxious about the economy and their own outlook for the future," said Ken Czubay, Ford's vice president of sales and marketing in a statement Tuesday morning. "We at Ford want to do our part to rebuild faith in the marketplace by offering payment protection on every new Ford, Lincoln or Mercury vehicle for up to a year if our customers lose their jobs."
(Read more...)
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March Car Sales Look a Lot Like February Car Sales
By Michelle Krebs
SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- March car sales to be reported April 1 by manufacturers look a lot like February car sales, and that's not a good thing since March traditionally marks the kick off of the busy spring selling season.
"If sales continue at this pace all year, we're looking at a Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate of only 8.9 million vehicles sold, which is slightly more than half of 2007 sales," said Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 12:06 PM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
China's Geely Buys Ford Supplier; Close To Buying Volvo?
HONG KONG -- China's Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd., known to be in talks with Ford to
buy Volvo, announced Friday its purchase of Australian partsmaker Drivetrain Systems International, claimed to be the world's largest supplier of automatic gearboxes. Ford is among Drivetrain's customers.
Geely, China's largest private carmaker, is believed to be furthest along in talks to buy Volvo from Ford. Ford confirmed earlier this week that it was in talks with multiple interested parties about purchasing Volvo.
(Read more...)
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Global News: Volvo Cars Has Poor Resale Value; GM Guarantees Technology for Saab; Porsche Secures $13.5 Billion Loan
In Global News Wednesday, Ford Motor Co. is negotiating with three bidders for Volvo, General Motors and Saab agree to share technology for five years, and Porsche obtained $13.5 billion in financing.
(Read more...)
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Global News: Japan's Automakers Lobby Aid; Ford Hikes Prices in the U.K.; Europe-Korea Trade Opens Up
In Global News Tuesday, Japan's automakers are lobbying for government aid, Ford is raising prices in the United Kingdom to contend with the weakening pound, and Europe and South Korea struck a tentative deal to encourage free-flowing trade.
(Read more...)
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AIG's Automotive Connections: "Red" Poling's Son Receives Biggest Bonus
Turns out Doug Poling, the son of former Ford Motor Co. Chairman Harold "Red" Poling topped the list for biggest bonuses paid to executives of American International Group Inc., an honor that earned him a personal visit by protesters over the weekend.
News reports say 48-year-old Poling, an executive vice president in charge of energy and infrastructure investments, received -- and says he will return -- the $6.4-million payment he received in bonus.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:15 AM under Ford , In the Media , News , Personalities | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Global News: Ford Supports GM in Europe; British Motor Show Cancelled; Brazilian Auto Sales Surge; Seat Workers Vote for Pay Freeze
In news from around the world Thursday, Ford of Europe offered support for General Motors Europe's request for government aid, the 2010 British International Motor Show was canceled, Brazil car sales this month are rising and union workers for Volkswagen's Seat subsidiary approved a two-year pay freeze to prevent layoffs.
(Read more...)
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Buick, Jaguar Tops For Vehicle Dependability
By Michelle Krebs
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. - Buick and Jaguar ranked highest in vehicle dependability, in a tie for first place in the J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Vehicle Dependability Study released Thursday morning.
Buick climbed to the top this year from sixth place in the 2008 rankings; Jaguar moved up from 10th place. Both surpassed Toyota and its luxury division Lexus, though Toyota and Lexus immediately followed in the No. 3 and 4 spots while also nabbing the most individual categories for vehicle dependability.
"Buick has ranked among the top 10 nameplates each year since the study was last redesigned in 2003, while Jaguar has moved rapidly up the rankings," David Sargent, vice president of automotive research at J.D. Power and Associates, said in a statement.
"Lexus remains a very strong competitor in long-term quality. In particular, the Lexus LS 430 sets the industry standard for dependability, with fewer problems reported than any other model in the study," Sargent added.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:38 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Global News: Mazda Seeks Government Help; Toyota To Slash Prius Price; China Incentivizes Rural Car Sales; Kia Cuts Russia Sales Targets
In global news Tuesday, Mazda said it was seeking financial help from the Japanese government, China is giving incentives to rural dwellers to buy cars, and Kia slashed its forecast for Russia.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 11:44 AM under Business , Companies , Ford , GM , Technology , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Global News: Toyota Cuts Bonuses, Ford Cuts Europe Production, China Caps Fuel Prices, Russia Cuts Out Foreign Competition
In news from around the globe Monday, Toyota announced 50 percent bonus cuts for Japanese management, Ford is reducing output at several European plants, consumer gas prices in Shanghai rose to the government-limited maximum, and Chinese automaker Geely has halted production in Russia.
(Read more...)
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Except for Europeans, Vehicle Manufacturers Ditch Diesel Plans
By Bill Visnic
Plans to use clean-running diesel engines for U.S. passenger are being shredded almost daily as troubles in the auto industry deepen, with the latest backtracking said to be coming from Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.
Nissan confirmed in early 2008 it would launch a sophisticated 3.0-liter V6 turbodiesel -- developed by partner Renault S.A. -- for the U.S.-market Maxima flagship later this year. That plan now is likely to change, as industry sources speculate Nissan will join several other makers to recently retreat on diesel-launch strategies.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 3:55 AM under Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Technology | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
Saab, Volvo Digging Deeper
By Bill Visnic
The cuts just keep coming for Swedish automakers Saab Cars and Volvo Cars; in response to weak demand, Saab announced significant job cuts this week; Volvo reportedly will idle plants in Sweden and Belgium for months and cut pay.
Saab recently sought bankruptcy protection in Sweden and is scheduled to sever business ties with current owner General Motors Corp. on January 1 next year; Volvo
owner Ford Motor Co., meanwhile, is laboring to rid itself of the unit for which it paid nearly $6.5 billion in 1999.
(Read more...)
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Ford Builds 100,000th Hybrid; Honda Prices Insight Below Prius
KANSAS CITY, Missouri -- Ford produced its 100,000th hybrid vehicle Tuesday. The silver Escape
Hybrid rolled off the assembly line at the carmaker's Kansas City Assembly Plant.
At the same time, Honda announced that its 2010 Honda Insight will cost more than $2,000 less than the least expensive 2009 Toyota Prius.
Ford has built the most hybrids of any of the Big Three, but still trails Toyota and Honda. In 2008, Ford sold 19,524 Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner hybrids. Toyota sold almost 159,000 Prius hybrids. Still, as Edmunds' Green Car Advisor reports, Escape hybrid sales bucked the industry's downward sales trend in February with a 55-percent sales increase.
(Read more...)
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Visteon Makes Payment, Avoiding Bankruptcy -- for Now
DETROIT -- Automotive supplier Visteon Corp. made a $16 million interest payment on
Tuesday, avoiding what may be the inevitable for now, that of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Visteon, a major supplier to Ford, is widely expected to eventually file for Chapter 11 but postponed the filing for now by making the interest payment on the $450 million it has in bonds maturing in 2014.
On Friday, Visteon was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange; its stock price on its final day of NYSE trading closed at 2 cents per share. Fitch Ratings and Moody's say Visteon is among the companies very likely to default on debt payments.
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 5:49 AM under Business , Companies , Ford | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Memo to Obama Auto Task Force: It Ain't About Labor
By Bill Visnic
This week, the United Auto Workers union agreed to more cutbacks to help the Detroit Three automakers get back on their feet. The UAW rank and file at Ford ratified concessions. UAW and General Motors negotiators reportedly hammered out similar concessions Tuesday night that will be voted on by GM workers. Next up for give-backs will be Chrysler workers.
But once again, the predicament the Big Three are in isn't about labor costs; it's about the product.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:40 AM under Chrysler , Commentary , Companies , Featured , Ford | Comments (3) | digg this | del.icio.us
Tracinda's Jerry York Says "I Told You So" in More Polite Terms
You just know Jerome York is dying to say it: "I told you so."
The former Chrysler executive who served on General Motors' board of directors representing the interests of billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, had insisted the Detroit automaker ditch money-losing Saab and Hummer. But GM executives refused to entertain the notion. They insisted the automaker's many brands were an asset: not, as York contended, a drain on resources.
Now look where GM is -- staying afloat on government loans as it sets Saab loose and has Hummer on the auction block with a plan to eliminate it if no buyer is found.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 7:20 AM under Chrysler , Commentary , Companies , Ford , GM , Personalities | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
UAW Accepts Ford's Better Idea
By Bill Visnic
Rank-and-file members of the United Auto Workers union yesterday gave the union the authority to make amendments to the union's 1997 contract with Ford in order to help the automaker further ease its labor costs and debt burden.
The positive vote was not overwhelming: The Detroit News reports only about 58 percent of the UAW's production and skilled-trade members who work for Ford agreed to the contract changes. But the majority of UAW workers went for the deal, meaning Ford has won another important battle in the war to improve its balance sheet.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 3:20 AM under Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM , News | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
President Obama's Auto Advisors Visit Detroit
DETROIT -- Representatives of President Barack Obama's automotive task force are visiting
Detroit Monday. Their trip includes a tour of a Chrysler assembly plant and General Motor's Technical Center and a test-drive of the Chevrolet Volt.
All the while, auto company executives will try to convince them further federal assistance is a worthwhile investment for taxpayers.
Their visit comes as Republicans cranked up the volume on their opposition to support Detroit automakers and yet another survey showed the American public generally is opposed as well.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 7:59 AM under Business , Commentary , Companies , Ford , GM , Personalities , Technology , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
GM Share Price Hits 75-Year Low
DETROIT -- General Motors made history again Friday as its stock price plummeted to a 75-year low, dropping for the first time below Ford's share price.
GM's stock closed at $1.45 a share on Friday, but during the day dropped to $1.27 a share, a price not seen since May 4, 1933. That put GM's market capitalization at about $885 million.
Ford lost 6 percent to close Friday at $1.70.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 7:54 AM under Business , Companies , Ford , GM | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Despite Economy, Auto Shows Remain Crucial Marketing Stage
By Dale Buss
Nissan just announced that it plans to stay away from the North American International Auto Show in Detroit next year, as the company did this year. It also plans to skip other major U.S. shows and dozens of smaller ones scattered across the country, as well as the Frankfurt exhibition this September.
But as auto company executives, suppliers and the global news media gathered in Geneva last week for one of the most prestigious regular shows, Nissan appears to be alone in its strategy of making draconian cuts in its annual exhibition budget to help get costs under control in this severe sales environment.
In fact, most other automakers -- even badly damaged Chrysler -- so far are making it a point to stick with their expensive investments in auto-show participation.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 8:10 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
Buyers, Buyers Everywhere - Or Is That 'Interested Parties?'
By Bill Visnic
With industry trade journal Automotive News this week quoting a spokesman from General Motors Corp.'s Saturn division as saying there are prospective buyers for the perpetually underachieving division, it occurred to AutoObserver that the auto-industry conventional wisdom on this subject is dead wrong: the global economic disintegration hasn't dissuaded anyone from considering investment in a money-bleeding car brand.
There are, in fact, buyers everywhere. After all:
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:09 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Stock Exchange Delists Supplier Visteon; May Drop American Axle
By Michelle Krebs
The New York Stock Exchange plans to delist the stock of ailing auto supplier Visteon Corp. on Friday and has warned another supplier, American Axle, that it could be delisted if certain criteria aren't met.
Visteon's stock has been at "abnormally low trading levels," the stock exchange said in a statement. It was trading at 7 cents a share Thursday morning, putting its market capitalization at about $7.8 million. A year ago, Visteon traded at about $3.70 a share.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 8:35 AM under Business , Companies , Ford , GM | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford Sales Dip Below Significant Mark
By Bill Visnic
When February sales were tallied this week, Ford Motor Co. reported aggregate sales for its Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands of 96,044. It was the first time in Edmunds.com
sales data reaching back to 1991 that Ford monthly sales dipped below the 100,000-unit mark.
Even adding the 3,356 units sold last month by Ford-owned Volvo Cars couldn't buoy Ford above the 100,000-unit threshold.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 5:56 AM under Analysis , Companies , Ford | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
February Car Sales: Fearful Americans Hunker Down, Steer Clear of Dealer Showrooms
By Michelle Krebs and Bill Visnic
DETROIT - Americans, unemployed or fearing they will be, hunkered down last month, cutting their household budgets, squirreling away money and avoiding dealer showrooms as February car sales sunk to their lowest level of any February in more than four decades.
Automakers sold 691,073 vehicles in February, down 40.9 percent from the 1,168,729 they sold in February a year ago. That marked the lowest level of car sales for any February since 1967, according to General Motors' record books. That fact is even more eye-popping when population is considered: in 1967, the U.S. had 103 million registered drivers; today the nation has nearly twice that many.
And it put the closely-monitored Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Rate (SAAR) at 9.1 million vehicles, the lowest SAAR since 1982.
Not coincidentally, consumer confidence, a key indicator for how vehicle sales will fare, sunk to record lows in February, according to at least two measurements. And much of that has to do with dimming employment picture as well as dwindling household worth.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 8:57 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford Fusion Ads Break, Focusing on Fuel Economy
By Michelle Krebs
DEARBORN -- Think Ford and most consumers don't think cars first. Or fuel economy.
Ford marketing executives hope to reverse both notions with its massive ad campaign for the 2010 Ford Fusion and the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid that kicks off this week. Quite simply, Ford bills the Fusion in all of its forms -- from the four-cylinder to the V6 to the hybrid -- as the most fuel-efficient midsize sedan in America.
In a campaign that's as large as that for the Ford F-150 pickup, Ford focuses mostly on fuel economy as well as technology, including Ford Sync, in its print ads, that began running in newspapers this weeks, and on television commercials, the first of which air Tuesday evening on American Idol.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 7:24 AM under Ford , Technology | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Consumer Confidence Drops as Do February Car Sales
Americans' confidence in the U.S. economy fell in February, and it showed with a lack of activity in dealer showrooms last month. Automakers report February sales Tuesday, and the annualized rate is likely to be the lowest since the early 1980s.
A key indicator that drives car sales is consumer confidence, which had been edging up since last fall but fell back in February.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 7:45 AM under Business , Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
GM Plight: An Example of 'Day of Reckoning'
White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel had some harsh words for General Motors on a Sunday news program, prompting questions about what the Obama administration has in mind for restructuring GM and Chrysler.
Emanuel told CBS' Face the Nation GM's situation is "a wakeup call to America" to increase energy independence and overhaul the nation's health care system. GM's plight is an example of "a day of reckoning," Emanuel said.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 7:37 AM under Chrysler , Commentary , Ford , GM | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Forecasters Slash Outlook for 2009 U.S. Car Sales
With another month of dismal sales predicted for February, three forecasts released this week revise U.S. car sales for 2009 downward.
- Edmunds.com has cut its forecast by more than a million units to 10.1 million vehicle sales for 2009.
- J.D. Power and Associates has shaved its forecast by a million vehicles as well. The company puts 2009 sales at 10.4 million vehicles, down from the previous forecast of 11.4 million.
- Even Ford Motor Co., which had one of the rosier forecasts, reported in government documents that it had reduced its downside outlook for the year to 10.5 million vehicles, the same amount GM said it had conservatively estimated.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:26 AM under Analysis , Companies , Ford , GM | Comments (4) | digg this | del.icio.us
America Losing Interest in Keeping Detroit Afloat
A survey conducted by the USA Today newspaper and Gallup poll this week found only 25 percent of Americans believe the government should continue lending money to Detroit automakers.
"That's a huge, and fast, change of heart," said USA Today's Jim Healey, who added that in December, before the government approved emergency auto loans, 61 percent favored federal help for the automakers.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 3:56 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
Mega-Supplier Visteon Fading
With February auto sales expected to once again be precipitously low and the nation's
economy still roiling, automotive supplier giant Visteon Corp. appears to be sliding toward bankruptcy.
The fall could cause more turmoil for the fragile Detroit automakers, all of which depend on Visteon and a number of similar mega-suppliers for a heavy proportion of their auto parts and major sub-assemblies.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 3:50 AM under Business , Companies , Ford | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
UAW Cornered on VEBA?
By Bill Visnic
With the United Auto Workers (UAW) submitting to its rank and file a proposed Ford Motor Co. amendment to the 2007 labor contract that asks the UAW to accept half of Ford's obligation to the union's Voluntary Employee Benefit Association trust, UAW leadership appears to be choosing the lesser of potential evils.
If any of the Detroit Three automakers that owe payments to the VEBA -- an amount totaling nearly $60 billion -- declare or are otherwise forced into bankruptcy, the trust that was established to fund health-care costs for UAW retirees could be shattered, says one bankruptcy expert.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 3:44 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
February Car Sales: Consumers Sit the Month Out Again
By Michelle Krebs
SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- The still-deteriorating economy and the continued uncertainty about employment kept consumers away from buying new cars again in February despite the record-breaking deals available to them.
February car sales, to be posted by automakers Tuesday, are expected to be down about 40 percent from a year ago to 685,000 vehicles sold for the month, according to Edmunds.com, parent of AutoObserver.com.
That puts the closely watched Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) for the month at 9.3 million vehicles, down from 9.6 million the previous month.
"The fluctuation in car sales and the instability of the stock market are just two examples of the volatility in the marketplace, which is wreaking havoc on consumer confidence and hampering any economic recovery," said Jesse Toprak, Edmunds.com's executive director of Industry Analysis.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 10:13 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford Seeking "Socially Vibrant Agents" To Test-Drive Fiesta
By Michelle Krebs
DEARBORN, Mich. -- A fleet of Ford Fiesta cars were built in Cologne, Germany, this week and are headed for the United States, where 100 specially selected "socially vibrant" people will be put behind the wheel for several months of test-driving.
The 100 "agents," as Ford is calling them, will be selected from those who vie for the extended test-drives by applying on Ford's Fiesta Movement Web site and including a YouTube video on why they should be selected. Deadline for applications is March 13 with the "winners" being announced in April.
"We intend to put the Fiesta into the hands of really awesome, socially vibrant people," Fiesta Brand Manager Sam De La Garza told AutoObserver in an interview Thursday.
(Read more...)
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Viability Day for GM, Chrysler: Is Bankruptcy Looming?
By Michelle Krebs
DETROIT -- Today is V-Day -- Viability Day -- for General Motors and Chrysler.
As part of their acceptance of $17.4 billion in government loans to stay afloat, the two must submit reports on their progress regarding how they are becoming economically viable.
Increasingly experts believe one or both ultimately will file for Chapter 11 reorganization under U.S. bankruptcy laws, particularly because auto sales have continued their plummet.
"If I were betting, I'd say it (Chapter 11 filing) will happen," said Douglas Bernstein, a lawyer specializing in bankruptcy and a managing partner with the Detroit law firm of Plunkett Cooney.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 7:26 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Switch to Federal Auto Restructuring Team May Signal More Time for Automakers
By Bill Visnic
WASHINGTON -- In placing the duty of overseeing the restructuring of the businesses of General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC in the hands of a federal-agency coalition rather than a single "car czar," the administration of President Barack Obama could be signaling that the automakers will have more time to reorganize beyond the originally intended March 31 deadline.
Given the fluid nature of the industry's upheaval and the nation's economy, having definitive reorganization plans in place by March 31 may be asking the impossible: Filing their interim restructuring reports Tuesday, GM and Chrysler still face a rapidly devolving industry landscape -- and several sources are saying a government-managed bankruptcy is not out of the question.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:53 AM under Chrysler , Ford , GM | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Chicago Auto Show: Calm Before the Storm
By Bill Visnic
This week's Chicago auto show isn't expected to be chock-full of prominent concept- or production-car introductions, as automakers hunker down to evaluate how best to absorb still-disintegrating auto sales.
More important, Chicago comes after a definitely somber Detroit auto show - and just before General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC are scheduled to present the next phase of their restructuring "blueprints" to federal officials on Feb. 17. From there, the two automakers must present the full case by March 31 that they are "viable" and worthy of more government investment - a cash infusion both say they need to avoid bankruptcy.
So the Chicago show will make the most of introductions that are, for the most part, likely to reflect these less-ebullient industry times.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 2:18 PM under Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
China's Geely Mentioned as Volvo Suitor
By Bill Visnic
Joining the list of auto companies denying they are interested in purchases of or alliances with other auto companies is China's Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. -- one of the more prominent of the nation's numerous automakers -- which is denying talks with Ford Motor Co. about acquiring its Volvo Cars operation.
The Wall Street Journal
reported this week that Geely president Li Shufu said, "there are no such talks," and Ford, which has said it is shopping Volvo, would not comment.
(Read more...)
Posted by Bill Visnic at 7:02 AM under Analysis , Business , Ford , News | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Fleet Cutbacks Help Shrink January Sales to Early-1980s Levels
By Dale Buss and Bill Visnic
Two huge drags on the U.S. auto market - an utter lack of consumer confidence, and a paucity of credit -- persisted in January and were joined by a new one: at least a temporary evaporation of the fleet market.
Industry-wide sales in January cratered from a year earlier, falling by 36.9 percent, to about 677,000 units from 1.06 million vehicles sold in January 2008. The seasonally adjusted annual sales rate fell to fewer than 10 million units for the first time in more than 26 years. And the American auto business sold fewer cars than for any month since the depths of a recession in December 1981.
(Read more...)
Posted by Bill Visnic at 5:14 PM under Analysis , Business , Chrysler , Featured , Ford , GM , News , Toyota | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
Business Goals Play Bigger Role In What Consumers Pay For Cars, Edmunds.com's Analysis Shows
SANTA MONICA, Calif. - The business goal of a car dealer and the health of a financial institution may have more to do with the price a consumer pays for a car or the credit terms a consumer receives on a car loan than anything about the consumer personally.
An analysis by Edmunds.com, parent of AutoObserver.com, of vehicle prices paid by consumers and finance rates on their car loans shows an unusually wide range depending on where the consumer does business.
"The car business has been pummeled by the economic downturn, and individual dealerships are dealing with tough times in different ways," explained Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl. "Some are offering substantial price cuts in order to close as many deals as possible, while others are striving to earn the highest possible profit on each sale."
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:22 AM under Analysis , Companies , Ford | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Automakers Boost Incentive Spending, Edmunds.com Says
SANTA MONICA, Calif. - Automakers, in an effort to clear out old inventory and pare rising stockpiles of unsold cars, boosted incentive spending dramatically from a year ago, according to estimates calculated by Edmunds.com
, parent of AutoObserver.com
.
"Automakers need to clear out leftover inventory from the 2008 model year, and that effort is boosting the average incentive cost for the industry," said Jesse Toprak, Edmunds.com's executive director of Industry Analysis. "Last month, 27 percent of all new vehicles sold were from the 2008 model year while during January 2008, only 12 percent of new vehicle sales were from the previous model year's inventory."
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:04 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Few Auto Ads Air on Super Bowl
By Michelle Krebs
Super Bowl audiences will see a dearth of car ads during Sunday's big game, and they will see none from Detroit's ailing automakers. Only Audi and Hyundai, back for the second year as they seek to increase market share in the game, and Toyota will advertise during the game.
The cost of the ads, which hit the $3-million mark for a 30-second spot (of which there will be nearly 50) this year, is significant barriers to entry for automakers with auto sales slumping to their lowest levels since the early 1980s and most companies struggling to turn a profit. And the payoff is mixed for advertisers, even though the Super Bowl attracts millions of eyeballs.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 5:46 AM under Business , Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM , In the Media , Toyota | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
COMMENTARY Behind the Headlines: News and Maneuvers Get Weirder
By Bill Visnic
The auto industry seemed to have reached agreement earlier this month to hunker down and allow the geared-down Detroit auto show to flicker on without anything as distracting as news to interfere.
That all changed this week, as it seems everyone's talking, dealing, reporting, conjecturing and speculating. Plenty of this news is explicitly bizarre.
A rundown of some of this week's happenings, along with the between-the-lines summary courtesy of AutoObserver's branded decoder ring:
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 5:04 PM under Chrysler , Commentary , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Personalities | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Volvo Loses $1.5 Billion in 2008; $736 Million Fourth Quarter
DEARBORN, Mich. -- Ford's Swedish brand, Volvo, posted a $1.5 billion loss in 2008, with
$736 million of that loss coming in the fourth quarter.
That compares with a loss of $164 million in 2007 and breaking even in the fourth quarter of 2007.
Ford CEO Alan Mulally, in a conference call, blamed Volvo's significant loss largely on lower sales and exchange rates. He said Volvo remains under strategic review, which includes its possible sale, but said no further details would be provided at this time.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:11 AM under Business , Ford | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
UAW Jobs Banks Gone From Big Three
DEARBORN, Mich. -- Ford said Thursday the United Auto Workers (UAW) union agreed to end its Jobs Bank for laid-off employees as the union had done with General Motors and Chrysler.
Elimination of the controversial Jobs Bank, which gives laid-off workers nearly full pay though they aren't working, was a requirement for GM and Chrysler to keep their loans from the U.S. government. Though Ford has not taken federal money, the automaker insisted it would not be disadvantaged and expected the same concessions the union granted to GM and Chrysler.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:56 AM under Business , Chrysler , Ford , GM | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford Loses $14.6 Billion in 2008; $5.9 Billion in Fourth Quarter
By Michelle Krebs
DEARBORN, Mich. -- Reporting its biggest loses in its 105-year history, Ford Motor Co. said Thursday morning it lost $14.6 billion for the full year of 2008. In the fourth quarter alone, Ford lost $5.9 billion.
"Ford and the entire auto industry faced an extraordinary slowdown in all major global markets in the fourth quarter that clearly had an impact on our results," Ford CEO Alan Mulally said in a statement.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:15 AM under Featured , Ford | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Elena Ford Appointed to Ford Global Sales Post
DEARBORN, Mich. -- Ford announced Elena Ford, the great-great-granddaughter of company founder Henry Ford and cousin to CEO Bill Ford, has been promoted to director of global marketing, sales and service operations.
Elena Ford most recently was executive vice president of marketing for Ford Motor Credit Co. In the newly created post she assumes on February 1, she will report to Jim Farley, Ford's group vice president of marketing and communications.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 8:16 AM under Ford , Personalities | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Grounded Citicorp Joins Big Three
Welcome to the club - the corporate jetless club, Citicorp executives. You are in good company.
Despite taking $50 billion in federal funds to stay afloat, Citicorp only canceled delivery of a fancy $50-million corporate jet when the American public found out -- and a U.S. Senator gave bank officials a public tongue lashing.
U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., who advocated federal help to Detroit automakers, has been cheesed about Congress' double standard for the banks and the automakers.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 7:12 AM under Chrysler , Commentary , Ford , GM | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Dealer Dilemma: Stuck With Old Models; Pressured To Order New Ones
By Michelle Krebs
DETROIT -- In Washington, the talk is of what cars automakers will produce in 2011, 2016 and 2020, but the auto industry faces an immediate demand: sell cars today.
Dealers, particularly, face a challenging dilemma as to just how to do that. The auto manufacturers, notably General Motors and Chrysler, are pressuring them to order more 2009 models so that factories can remain open and the automakers can book revenue.
Yet, dealers are buried with bulging stockpiles of old models, becoming increasingly expensive to keep and eating into their bottom-line. Yet, even hefty incentives aren't attracting buyers.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 10:39 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
GM Looks to 'Policy Discussion' on States' Emissions Maneuvering
By Bill Visnic
So starts the auto industry's cautious waltz with the administration of new President Barack Obama.
Anxious to reverse negative environmental perceptions (most of them realities, to be sure) about the Bush administration, President Obama has instructed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make haste in deciding the case of application for waiver by California -- and 13 other states that have adopted California's auto-emissions regulations -- to regulate vehicular carbon-dioxide emissions.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 10:28 AM under Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
UAW Ends Chrysler Jobs Bank
The United Auto Workers (UAW) union has agreed to end its controversial Jobs Bank at Chrysler that pays workers on layoff, effective Monday.
The Jobs Bank became a lightening rod during last fall's Congressional hearings on government aid to U.S. automakers and its elimination was part of the agreement to obtain the federal loans.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:47 AM under Business , Chrysler , Ford , GM | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Volvo, Saab: Diverging Future Paths
Detroit automakers General Motors and Ford have both put up for strategic review their
Swedish brands, but the companies appear to be taking different paths for disposing of the marques.
Saab is in negotiations with owner GM and the Swedish government to reestablish itself as an independent company, according to a report in Europe's Autocar magazine.
Ford will begin taking bids for Volvo next month and expects some of
those bidders to be Chinese automakers, Bloomberg
News
reports.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 10:10 AM under Chrysler , Companies , Ford | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Car Czar Gives Way to Car Czars
By Michelle Krebs
Timothy Geithner, President Barack Obama's nominee for U.S. Treasury Secretary, testified to Congress Wednesday that the new administration intended to assembly a team of experts to oversee the loans to automakers.
Geithner told the Senate Finance Committee during his confirmation hearings that the team would have "expertise in manufacturing, in restructuring, who understand how these labor contracts work."
Automakers should be thrilled at the news since it was frighteningly evident during last fall's Congressional hearings on aide to U.S. automakers that most government officials and Congressmen are generally ignorant about the extremely complex auto industry. Finding a single individual who understood all of the aspects of the auto industry would be impossible. And if President Obama's picks for other government posts are any indication, the car czars will a bright, talented and pragmatic lot.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 8:23 AM under Chrysler , Commentary , Ford , GM , Personalities | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Tokyo Show Could Be No Show; Big Three Bow Out
The Japan Automobile Manufacturers' Association reportedly plans to meet later this month
about whether or not to hold the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show. A decision likely will be announced shortly thereafter.
An official of the organization was quoted as saying the show, held every other year, may be canceled due to the global economic crisis.
The Tokyo show has struggled in recent years to maintain its status as an international show because of Japan's largely closed market. Automakers have opted instead to shift their auto show dollars to China.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 8:19 AM under Business , Ford , GM , News , Toyota | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Diesel Pickups Dumped By Detroit?
By Bill Visnic
Remember those diesel-engine light-duty pickups we're supposed to be seeing this year? Get ready to hear the words "back burner" in relation to those product plans.
General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC all said as long ago as 2007 they would have diesel engines, respectively, for the GMT 900 pickup line (Chevy Silverado/GMC Sierra); the Ford F-150 and the Dodge Ram. GM is developing an in-house 4.5-liter V8; Ford, an in-house 4.4-liter V8 derived from a European diesel and Chrysler said it would collaborate with longstanding diesel-engine partner Cummins Inc. to produce a V6 diesel.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:53 AM under Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM , Technology | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Hyundai Genesis and Ford F-150 Win North American Car, Truck of the Year Awards
By Michelle Krebs
The Hyundai Genesis and Ford F-150 are winners of the 2009 North American Car and Truck of the Year awards, respectively. The winners were announced Sunday morning at a press conference kicking off the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
The Genesis was the first Korean car in the 16-year history of the award to win. It was selected from three finalists that also included the Ford Flex and Volkswagen Jetta TDI.
The F-150 was selected from three finalists that also included the Dodge Ram and Mercedes-Benz ML320 BlueTEC.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:33 AM under Companies , Featured , Ford , News | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Sales Aren't the Only Thing Detroit Lost in 2008
By Bill Visnic
Nearly 3 million U.S. auto sales evaporated in 2008, and plenty of that blood was lost by the Detroit Three: General Motors Corp. sales were down 23 percent, Ford Motor Co. sales slid by 20 percent and Chrysler LLC sales dropped by 30 percent.
Total U.S. sales plunged from 16.1 million units in 2007 to 13.2 million for 2008. Equally interesting -- and troubling, for Detroit -- was that not only did the pie get painfully smaller, the domestic automakers' portion, market share, once again lost ground.
According to data from Edmunds.com, the Detroit Three lost a collective total of 3.7 points of market share in 2008. Chrysler led the group, ceding 1.9 points of share (from 12.9 percent of the market in 2007 to 11 percent in 2008). GM lost 1.4 percent (from 23.8 percent in 2007 to 22.4 percent). Ford gave back 0.4 points of share (from 15.5 percent to 15.1 percent for 2008).
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:44 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Automakers Seek Game-Changers in Fresh TV Ad Campaigns
By Dale Buss
Striking every attitude from empathy to ambivalence to something resembling snarkiness, automakers have been using new TV-advertising campaigns to try to jolt consumers off their couches and into dealer showrooms.
The headwinds are daunting, but automakers have been launching a greater variety of messages than at any time in recent memory - attempting to find something, anything that punches effectively through the pervasive gloom in American households and reignites their desire and confidence to make a major purchase.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:44 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
2008 U.S. Auto Sales Are Worst Since 1992
By Michelle Krebs and Bill Visnic
U.S. auto sales continued their precipitous tumble in December, closing the books on the industry's worst year since 1992.
Five of the Big Six automakers -- General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Nissan and Honda -- saw sales slide another 30 percent each in December; Chrysler's plummeted 53 percent. No automaker showed higher sales December to December. The lucky ones saw mere single-digit dips.
For the full year of 2008, all of the Big Six automakers reported sales declines. In total, the industry sold 13.2 million vehicles for an 18 percent drop from 2007's 16.1 million.
"It was an unbelievable year -- not one I want to repeat," said Mark LaNeve, GM's head of sales and marketing in a conference call with reporters. "Hopefully, 2009 will improve from December's low point rather than deteriorate as 2008 did."
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 5:22 PM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (3) | digg this | del.icio.us
December Incentives Set Record, Edmunds.com Estimates
By Michelle Krebs
SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Automaker incentives set a new record in December, Edmunds.com estimates, and, surprisingly, leasing showed a remarkable jump despite reports of its demise.
"Never before has the December average incentive been this high," said Jesse Toprak, Edmunds.com's executive director of Industry Analysis. "Automakers have been pulling out all the stops to keep motivating shoppers during these tough times."
Slowing sales have struck virtually every automaker and every market segment. U.S. auto industry sales for December and the full-year of 2008 are being reported Monday. December sales are expected to look a lot like the dismal levels of October and November -- and down from in the neighborhood of 30 percent or more from December 2007. Full-year sales are likely to be the worst since 1992.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:36 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
Billionaire Kerkorian Sells Last of Ford Stock
By Michelle Krebs
Perhaps now, at age 91, Las Vegas billionaire Kirk Kerkorian has finally given up on the auto industry that has not been particularly good to him.
On Tuesday -- just in time to take year-end losses -- Kerkorian sold the last of his investment in Ford. The move came just six months after Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp. bought a 6.49 stake in Ford and carries with it deep losses. Kerkorian's purchase was seen as a vote of confidence in Ford's turnaround strategy and its management led by former Boeing exec Alan Mulally.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:33 AM under Business , Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM , News , Personalities | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
December Sales Rate Will Be Year's Lowest, Edmunds.com Forecasts
SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- The deteriorating economy, the precarious employment situation and the lack of available credit will push the annual sales rate in December for U.S. car sales to their lowest level of the year below 10 million units, Edmunds.com forecasts.
December sales (retail and fleet) are expected to total 852,000 units, a 38.4 percent decrease from December 2007 but a 14.6 percent increase from November, Edmunds.com predicts. Typically, December sales are about 18 percent higher than November's.
With the year closing on a low note, U.S. vehicle sales for all of 2008 will total just over 13 million, a decrease of almost 3 million vehicles, or 18 percent, from 2007. Automakers report December and 2008 sales figures January 5, 2009.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 5:28 PM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (3) | digg this | del.icio.us
GM Denies Chrysler Linkup Talks, Auto Stocks Tumble
By Bill Visnic
A day after Chrysler LLC announced it is suspending operations for at least a month at all of its North American assembly plants, General Motors Corp. is denying a Wall Street Journal report saying the two companies resumed merger talks.
Chrysler and GM are awaiting word from the Bush Administration regarding promised emergency funding to carry the automakers into early 2009. Without a loan of billions, both companies have said they may not have sufficient liquidity to continue funding daily operations.
Separate from Chrysler's drastic move to curtail all manufacturing, GM already had announced a major production cutback for the first quarter of 2009 and is delaying other manufacturing spending, including the construction of a plant to build the engine for the high-profile Volt extended-range electric vehicle.
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Posted by Bill Visnic at 10:59 AM under Business , Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Finalists Announced for 2009 North American Car and Truck of the Year Awards
DETROIT - Finalists for the 2009 North American Car and Truck of the Year awards were announced Thursday at the Detroit Economic Club's annual auto show luncheon.
The finalists for the 2009 North American Car of the Year honors are the Ford Flex, Hyundai Genesis and Volkswagen Jetta TDI. Finalists for the 2009 North American Truck of the Year award are the Dodge Ram, Ford F-150 and the Mercedes-Benz ML320 BlueTEC.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:25 PM under Chrysler , Ford | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
New Blood? It's Another Important Issue for Big Three
By Dale Buss
The president's expected short-term bailout of the Detroit Three automakers will leave the industry with lots of short- and long-term issues. One of the biggest is who will lead them.
As they pulled the plug on their own rescue deliberations last week, some in Congress seemed to believe they could run the Detroit Three automakers better than the CEOs do. President-Elect Barack Obama also has suggested that some top auto executives have a "head-in-the-sand approach" and should lose their jobs. And the American public, at least as measured by polls, don't seem to want to give a break to the automakers' current leadership either.
Could others actually perform better as CEOs of General Motors, Ford or Chrysler than Rick Wagoner, Alan Mulally or Robert Nardelli have -- and will? If so, where would these executive savants come from? And will we ever see any of this new blood in Detroit?
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 3:49 AM under Analysis , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Personalities | Comments (4) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford Promises Big Slim-Down With Next-Gen Platforms
By Bill Visnic
DEARBORN, MI -- Already talking big about the efficiency gains projected from its new downsized engines and six-speed automatic transmissions, Ford Motor Co. will engage a full-scale war against weight in its next product-development-led gambit to become the green-focused car company executives believe Ford must become to reemerge as a success in the U.S. and global auto markets.
The big cut in ever-bloating vehicle weight will come as Ford phases in the next-generation platforms for its product range, says Derrick Kuzak, group vice president of global product development.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 3:36 AM under Ford , Technology | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
Auto Bailout Not Ready, President Bush Says
President George W. Bush said Monday an announcement on an auto industry rescue was not imminent, leaving the Detroit Three's fate clouded in uncertainty for a little longer, Reuters news service reports.
"We're not quite ready to announce that yet," Bush told reporters on Air Force One during a flight from Baghdad on an unannounced visit to Afghanistan.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 7:30 AM under Business , Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
White House May Come to Automakers' Rescue
By Michelle Krebs
The U.S. Treasury said it is willing to provide financing to Detroit automakers after the Senate Thursday night failed to approve $14 billion in loans to General Motors and Chrysler.
"Because Congress failed to act, we will stand ready to prevent an imminent failure until Congress reconvenes and acts to address the long-term viability of the industry," Treasury spokeswoman Brookly McLaughlin said in an e-mailed statement.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:36 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Featured , Ford , GM | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Remember Katrina, Senators
Detroit Free Press columnist Tom Walsh reminds senators from the Gulf States, many of
whom oppose the loans to Detroit automakers, to recall Hurricane Katrina as they cast their votes on the bailout bill tonight.
"When Hurricane Katrina slammed into Louisiana and Alabama on Aug. 29, 2005, the automobile companies of Detroit did not harrumph that the Gulf Coast should have been better prepared. They didn't sit back and wait for New Orleans to submit a detailed plan for future repair of the ruptured levees," Walsh wrote in Thursday's edition.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:51 PM under Chrysler , Commentary , Ford , GM , In the Media | Comments (5) | digg this | del.icio.us
Big Three Bailout Rejected; GM Hires Bankruptcy Advisers, Report Says
By Michelle Krebs
The U.S. Senate rejected legislation that would have provided $14 billion in federal loans to keep afloat General Motors and Chrysler, which say they will be out of money by the end of the year.
At the same time, GM reportedly has hired lawyers and bankers to consider whether to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Those advisers are among the best known in the bankruptcy and restructuring business who would handle what would be one of the largest bankruptcy filings in U.S. history.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:34 PM under Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Withering Economy Already Endangers Bailout-Plan Assumptions, Expectations
By Bill Visnic
In their bailout blueprints presented to Congress last week, automakers presented forward-revenue assumptions based on forecasts for 2009 auto sales. In General Motors Corp.'s case, for example, it projected "downside," "baseline" and "upside" sales forecasts for the U.S. market, correlating how much funding the company believes it will need based on each sales scenario.
If a new survey of the nation's economists has any relevance, the beleaguered automakers had better strap in for a bumpy ride that may make a reality of those "downside" assumptions.
Bloomberg News' December survey of economists released this week paints a bleak outlook for 2009. The prominent economists comprising the survey sample predict consumer spending will plunge by a rate not seen since the 1940s, with household spending retreating by 1 percent, which also hasn't happened since World War II.
.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:13 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Featured , Ford , GM | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
GM, Credit Unions Already Planning To Expand Partnership
By Dale Buss
Both General Motors and the Credit Union National Association would like to expand a just-announced pilot partnership that provides a 4 to 5 percent purchase-price discount to members of nearly 1,300 credit unions who buy GM vehicles in four Midwestern states.
After the June 30 wrap-up of the program launch, GM would like to roll it out to other regions or nationwide, Mark LaNeve, the company's North American vice president of sales, said today. And a credit-union executive invited Ford and Chrysler to consider their own versions of a test program that aims to bring some of America's most creditworthy middle-income consumers into GM dealer showrooms.
With the deal that began this week, GM is seeking broader access for its customers to one of the few reliable pools of auto-financing funds, especially because the company's finance arm, GMAC, is making practically no new loans these days.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 11:03 AM under Business , Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Automaker Bailout Vote Could Start Today
By Michelle Krebs
The House of Representatives could vote as early as today on the $15-billion loan package for U.S. automakers after the Congressional Democrats and the White House reached an agreement in principle on Tuesday night.
If the legislation now being crafted is passed, the low-interest loans could make their way to General Motors and Chrysler by next week. The automakers have said they could run out of money before the year ends. The $15 billion in loans is intended to keep them afloat through March. Ford has said it doesn't need loans now but would like access to a line of credit if the economy worsens more than the automaker expects.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:09 AM under Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , News | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
NYT Columnist: Detroit Aid Should Hinge on Hybridizing Everything
By Bill Visnic
With a pending vote Congressional vote on a bailout package to extend so-called "bridge loans" to Chrysler LLC, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. by perhaps as soon as this week, New York Times
columnist Thomas L. Friedman -- often prominent for his provocative views on the auto industry -- is calling for one unique "string" to be attached to federal bailout funds: forcing the domestic automakers to present plans to hybridize their entire model ranges in three years.
Friedman has been a vocal advocate for hybrid-electric technology and has been criticized for a view of the industry that typically is unkind to the Detroit auto-industry establishment. Friedman often argues in favor of the management style and operational practices of Detroit's chief competitors, the Japan-based automakers -- and caused fireworks when he once suggested GM should go out of business and let Toyota assume GM's longstanding role.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 1:32 PM under Business , Chrysler , Commentary , Companies , Ford , GM , In the Media , Toyota | Comments (8) | digg this | del.icio.us
Bill on Aid for Detroit Automakers Near; Congress Could Vote on Tuesday
By Bill Visnic
As the numbers on the U.S. economy worsen, resistance to federal assistance for the struggling Detroit Three automakers dissipates, with reports from Washington, D.C., saying Congress could vote on a hastily crafted bailout package as early as Tuesday.
White House spokesperson Dana Perito told reporters today it appears the Bush administration and congressional leaders, squabbling mostly about from where "bridge loan" funds would be appropriated, have to come to agreement, although Congressional Democrats need to construct a bill.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 11:58 AM under Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Consumers Reluctant To Buy From Bankrupt Automaker, Survey Confirms
Results released from a survey conducted by CNBC and Portfolio.com confirmed what the heads of Detroit's auto companies testified to in Congressional hearings the last months: Consumers are reluctant to buy a car from an automaker in bankruptcy.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 8:28 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Automakers' Bankruptcy Would Cost Taxpayers Four Times More Than Bailout, Study Finds
By Michelle Krebs
A bankruptcy filing by General Motors and Chrysler would cost U.S. taxpayers four times more than the amount of federal bridge loans being considered this week by Congress, a new study finds.
A bankruptcy, or even a prepackaged restructuring outside of bankruptcy court, cannot control a wild card unique to automakers -- the car-buying consumer -- noted a joint study by international consulting firm BBK and Michigan-based Anderson Economic Group.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 7:37 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
7 Myths About Detroit Automakers, Detroit Free Press
The debate over aid to the Detroit-based automakers is awash with half-truths and misrepresentations that are endlessly repeated by everyone from members of Congress to journalists. Here are seven myths about the companies and their vehicles, and the reality in each case.
This column by Detroit Free Press auto critic Mark Phelan originally was published on November 17 and was updated last Friday to debunk the myths as Congress was about to fashion an automotive rescue package.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 5:33 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Commentary , Ford , GM , Technology , Toyota | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Saving Detroit Three Is in the Country's National Interest, Experts Agree
By Michelle Krebs
The most dramatic and convincing moment of five-and-a-half hours of Congressional testimony on Detroit automakers' request for financial help came when Texas Democrat Al Green asked the panel of esteemed financial and industry experts simple, straightforward questions. Requesting them to raise their hands like third-graders if their answer was yes, he asked:
Was bailing out AIG in the national interest?
All six hands went up.
Is it in the national interest to bailout the Detroit automakers?
All hands shot up.
Would it be damaging to the national interest not to take action to help Detroit's automakers?
All hands went up.
"Then we must act. It is in our national interest," Green concluded.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 12:09 PM under Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , News | Comments (3) | digg this | del.icio.us
Canada Considers Financial Help for Big Three
The Canadian government will begin reviewing financial-aid requests this weekend for General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC. The automakers had a Friday deadline to submit detailed proposals for their Canadian businesses.
"We want to see long-term plans, and management has to be overseen if taxpayer money is involved," Industry Minister Tony Clement told Bloomberg News Thursday. The government will look at "various options" for help from this year's budget, Clement said.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 7:28 AM under Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Detroit Free Press Delivers Special Edition to Congress
Every Senator and Representative in Congress are receiving on their doorstep this morning a special edition of the Detroit Free Press with a headline that screams "A Message to Washington: Invest in America."
The sole article on the front page is an editorial asking Congress to pass a rescue package for Detroit automakers.
In his explanation of why the paper was taking such unprecedented action, Editor Paul Anger noted that indeed it is the newspaper's job to inform, but "there are times when a newspaper needs to speak up for what's right."
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 5:27 AM under Business , Companies , Ford , GM | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Big Three CEOs Head to the House to Plea Again for Financial Help
By Bill Visnic
It's still anybody's guess, but Congress seems to be warming somewhat to the idea of helping Detroit's automakers, if for no other reason than to keep the entire U.S. economy from collapsing on their watch.
On Friday, Detroit's auto chiefs were headed to Capitol Hill to testify again before the House Financial Services Committee. On Thursday, they were before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee for nearly six hours.
At the opening of Thursday's session, the potential for the Detroit Three automakers' proposed bridge-loan package of as much as $34 billion appeared to be steering towards the much-discussed - and much-dissed by the automakers - "pre-packaged bankruptcy" option.
But as the testimony wore on, the case against bankruptcy gathered a palpable momentum, and it now seems likely Congress will broker some kind of immediate funding General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC say they must have to survive to see 2009.
The real question now seems to be from where, how, and how quickly the help will come. GM CEO Rick Wagoner and Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli were unabashed in reiterating their companies' need at least $4 billion each - by the end of the month.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:02 PM under Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
UAW Agrees to Contract Talks, VEBA Payment Delay
By Michelle Krebs
DETROIT -- The leadership of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, meeting in an emergency session here Wednesday, said it will negotiate with General Motors, Ford and Chrysler to modify its current contract as part of the Big Three's plea to Congress for bridge loans.
UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said the union leadership also agreed to delay the Detroit three's payments to the Voluntary Employee Benefit Association (VEBA), which shifts retiree health care benefits for union members from the auto companies' books to a union-administrated fund.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 9:50 AM under Chrysler , Ford , GM | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Report Says GM Shopping For-Sale Assets in China; GM Denies It
By Michelle Krebs
Dongfeng Motor Group Co., China's third-largest automaker, said it had received proposals from investment banks to buy assets from General Motors as the carmaker tries to generate desperately needed cash, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday.
A spokesman for Dongfeng, which partners in China with Nissan, Honda and PSA Peugeot Citroen, said it had received e-mails and investment materials asking if the company would be interested in buying some of GM's assets. The spokesman, who wouldn't reveal the investment banks it was talking with or the assets offered for purchase, told Bloomberg it hasn't reviewed the materials and has not responded to GM.
A GM spokesman based in Shanghai denied the report, saying there were no grounds to the rumors.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 5:55 AM under Business , Ford , GM | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Funereal November Sales Provide More Ammo for Bailout Plea
By Dale Buss
In case members of Congress needed any more reminding why the domestic automakers are hat-in-hand before them this week, the 37 percent drop in November sales has provided them with the latest bleak snapshot of a moribund U.S. vehicle market.
As the Detroit Three were presenting their restructuring plans in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, the sales data rolling in from them and all other OEMs gave further dimension to the vast pall that has come over the nation's automotive market and quantified the paralyzing dread that is felt by American consumers.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 3:35 PM under Analysis , Chrysler , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Turns Out, $25 Billion Is Not Enough After All
As Congressman and industry experts suspected, the $25 billion in bridge loans Detroit's three automakers requested of the federal government is not enough.
In their viability reports submitted to Congress Tuesday, the three auto companies have requested a combined $34 billion.
General Motors wants up to $12 billion in loans in various installments to help it through 2009. GM also requested a $6 billion line of credit in case the economy gets worse. Ford is asking for a line of credit of $9 billion that it may not tap into but wants as a security blanket in case the recession extends well into 2009. And Chrysler wants $7 billion -- by Dec. 31.
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 2:13 PM under Business , Chrysler , Ford , GM | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
U.S. Vehicle Sales Plummet More Than 30 Percent in November
With reports still rolling in, U.S. vehicle sales for November look as if they will be down about 35 percent from a year ago. The annual sales rate appears to be a weak 10.6 million vehicles.
General Motors' sales fell a hefty 41 percent. Ford said its U.S. sales fell 31 percent. Toyota reported sales down 34 percent; Honda a 32 percent decline. Chrysler saw sales plummet 47 percent. Nissan sales took nosedive at 44 percent.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 10:33 AM under Business , Companies , Ford , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Domestic Automakers Ease Off Incentives While Imports Rev Them Up in Pursuit of Market Share, Edmunds.com Reports
SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Domestic automakers eased off the incentive gas in November while import automakers revved up incentives, according to Edmunds.com.
"All three domestic automakers lowered their incentive spending this month, seeking to preserve cash during these incredibly tough times," said Jesse Toprak, Edmunds.com's executive director of Industry Analysis. "Meanwhile, the imports have poured more money into incentives, attempting to seize the opportunity to gain market share. Toyota's monthly incentives spend hit a new record high in November, and the company's market share might follow suit."
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 10:00 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford, Rivals Stress New Parsimony to Congress
By Bill Visnic
Scrambling to enlist the aid of the federal government in surviving the nation's drastic economic downturn, Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC are submitting today their restructuring "blueprints" that will have at least one element in common: symbolic pay cuts for their chief executive officers and pledges to accelerate the introduction of higher-efficiency models and technologies.
Ford CEO Alan Mulally will work for $1 per year, Ford announced, and it is believed GM CEO Rick Wagoner will do the same when his company releases details of the company's plan later today. Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli already had offered to work for $1.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 9:47 AM under Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Personalities , Technology | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Potential for Swedish Intervention with Saab, Volvo Intensifies
By Bill Visnic
With Chrysler LLC, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. set to return to Washington,
DC tomorrow to present Congress with a detailed plan for restructuring their operations under terms of a desired federal bridge-loan package, reports from Europe indicate the Swedish government may be considering an active role in assuring the continued future of Saab Cars and Volvo Car Corp., owned by GM and Ford,
respectively.
And Ford confirmed Monday it is exploring the possibility of selling Volvo - despite assertions
earlier this year the company did not want to part with its Swedish division - saying in a press release the company "will re-evaluate strategic options for Volvo Car Corporation, including the possible sale of the Sweden-based premium automaker."
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 12:07 PM under Business , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Detroit Three: Making the Sales Pitch of a Lifetime
By Michelle Krebs
The Detroit Three are putting the finishing touches and obtaining the blessings of their boards and upper management for the biggest sales pitch of their lives this week. They are preparing the viability plans due to Congress on Tuesday in order to obtain the $25 billion in bridge loans they are seeking.
Executives from General Motors, Ford and Chrysler worked through the Thanksgiving holiday putting together plans after Congressmen criticized them for lacking such plans in the last round of hearings. While each company's plan is individual to their unique circumstances, all are expected to detail even deeper cuts, including executive compensation and perks, than have already been made and an acceleration of environmental and fuel-saving initiatives. Their plans also are expected to include even more concessions from the United Auto Workers (UAW) union.
Meantime, the Detroit Three's plea for help is likely to get a boost from the continued deterioration of auto sales in the U.S., where automakers report November results Tuesday. Sales are expected to hit 25-year lows. That sales slide is spreading globally with a number of markets reporting dismal sales on Monday.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:04 AM under Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Technology | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
COMMENTARY: For Bailout Blueprint, GM, Ford Might Finally Burn Rubber on Underperforming Brands
By Bill Visnic
The plans the Detroit Three automakers are developing to submit on December 2 to Congress in justification for their entreated $25-billion federal loan probably are being more closely guarded than the manuscript for Sarah Palin's first book, but we can guess one aspect that seems certain to feature in the bailout blueprint of both Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp.: ditching some brands that have long dogged their ever-more-fragile bottom lines.
For at least a decade, critics have shouted down both GM and Ford for refusing to do what it now appears must be done -- stop supporting underperforming divisions.
Rumors howling in Detroit's November winds point to brand-burning as one of the primary ways the companies plan to demonstrate to Congress they will be able to sustain their operations in a U.S. auto market that is expected to be decidedly unkind for all of 2009 and possibly well into 2010.
(Read more...)
Posted by Bill Visnic at 3:15 AM under Analysis , Business , Commentary , Ford , GM | Comments (9) | digg this | del.icio.us
OK, Who Can Resist a Good Bailout Joke?
Detroit's Big Three automakers are jousting with the U.S. Congress for their continued existence, and nobody denies that's serious business.
But as usual, what got the auto companies to this place has opened Detroit Inc. to plenty of ridicule -- and not all of it is mean-spirited.
Laughter may or may not be the best medicine for this predicament. Either way, here are a few examples of our favorite "bailout humor" that hit the national stage:
(Read more...)
Posted by Bill Visnic at 3:15 AM under Business , Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM , In the Media | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
GM, Tiger Woods Part Ways
General Motors and golfing great Tiger Woods announced Monday they were parting ways.
GM's longtime deal with Woods, who served as spokesman for Buick for the past nine years, ends December 31.
For GM, it is a cost-cutting move as it struggles to survive. GM reportedly paid Woods $8 million a year for the endorsement. Woods claims he wants more personal time since he and his wife are expecting a second child in late winter.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 11:15 AM under Business , Chrysler , Ford , GM , Personalities | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Gas Prices and Heavy Incentives Keep Car Sales From Sinking Below October's Depths
SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- November car sales improved over October's historic lows thanks to lower gas prices and high incentives.
November new vehicle sales, including fleet and retail sales, are expected to be 850,000 units, a 27.6 percent decrease from November 2007 but showing a 1.9- percent increase from last month, according to Edmunds.com's forecast.
Still, the Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) for the month is expected to be only about 11.5 million units.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 10:45 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Automakers Want Help Selling Cars Via Loan Availability
Detroit Three automakers plan to return to Washington to make their second pitch for federal bridge loans next week and will also ask Washington to help them sell more cars by making car loans more available.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 7:07 AM under Business , Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Sounding the Alarm for Ailing Automotive Suppliers
Carmakers around the globe are raising the alarm about the declining health of auto suppliers, whose problems they fear could ricochet back to hurt them.
Many suppliers that make parts for General Motors, Ford and Chrysler also supply their foreign-owned plants operating in North America and elsewhere. Rating agencies are warning about tightening credit conditions, falling orders, and the possible failure of a Detroit carmaker, which could bankrupt some auto suppliers and in turn hurt even relatively healthy carmakers' businesses, the Financial Times reported.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:22 AM under Business , Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Jaguar Land Rover Beg for Government Aid, Report Says
LONDON -- Struggling Jaguar Land Rover, which was purchased by India's Tata Motors from Ford Motor Co. earlier this year, reportedly is seeking $1.5 billion in government aid, although the automaker won't confirm it is seeking aid for itself.
Rather, the automaker acknowledged it has joined the U.K.'s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders and the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) in lobbying for government aid to help the country's ailing auto industry, the Financial Times reported Monday.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:11 AM under Business , Companies , Ford | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Tracking the Bailout: When the Music Stops, Who's Going Bankrupt?
By Bill Visnic
The CEOs of Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC loaded up on their much-maligned corporate jets and winged out of Washington, DC, this week with no bailout money -- but the assurance of a shaky holiday season.
After Democratic deal-makers conceded this week there would not be sufficient bipartisan support to approve a bill to "repurpose" the existing and already approved $25-billion Department of Energy loan (originally intended to promote the development of fuel-efficient technology and retool factories), the initiative was shelved until a possible vote on December 8.
That promises to be a rocky 17 days for GM and Chrysler, whose bosses insinuate the companies may not have the funds to enable them to see the New Year.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:25 AM under Chrysler , Commentary , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM | Comments (3) | digg this | del.icio.us
Automaker Rescue Package Dead for Now
By Michelle Krebs
WASHINGTON -- A bipartisan plan to provide Detroit automakers and suppliers with bridge loans using the already appropriated $25 billion to retool to more fuel-efficient vehicles came and went in a matter of hours Thursday.
Democratic Congressional leaders, realizing they did not have the votes to pass the plan that was presented around noon Thursday, announced less than three hours later that they would not put it to a vote this week.
Instead, they are requiring automakers applying for the loans to submit a plan of financial viability with an explanation of how the loans will help them transform their business by December 2. Congress may then reconvene for a possible vote on December 8.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 11:56 AM under Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Caution Flag Waves Over Los Angeles Auto Show
By Danny King
LOS ANGELES -- With its exhibit set in its own small wing of the Los Angeles Convention Center away from other automakers, its mix of new blindingly fast models with its classic roadsters, its trays of hors d'oeuvres for visitors and a visit from comedian and noted enthusiast Jerry Seinfeld, Porsche would appear to be the last carmaker to show the effects of a slumping auto industry at the Los Angeles auto show.
Don't be fooled, says the company's head of U.S. operations. The slowdown is not lost on him.
"I would be very happy if I could say this doesn't affect us or affects us differently from every other car manufacturers, but we all have the same problem," said Detlev von Platen, chief executive officer of Porsche Cars North America, Wednesday. "At the moment, we cannot count on the confidence of the consumers."
On a day when U.S. senators couldn't agree on whether or how to extend $25 billion worth of loans to help General Motors, Ford and Chrysler survive, the overriding mood during the first day of the Los Angeles auto show's exhibits for members of the press was one of restraint.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 5:15 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford Carries On by Carrying the Flag at Los Angeles Auto Show
By Danny King
LOS ANGELES - While the leaders of the three largest U.S. auto companies took a united stand in Washington when pleading for $25 billion in loans from the U.S. government, Ford Motor Co. President of the Americas Mark Fields appeared to take a more independent approach Wednesday at the Los Angeles Auto Show 2,700 miles away.
With General Motors and Chrysler noticeably absent from the show, Ford's didn't appear to scrimp on its display, which took up an entire wall at the L.A. Convention Center's West Hall and included about a dozen Mustangs in addition to its new gas- and hybrid-powered Ford Fusions.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 12:24 PM under Ford | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford's Mulally: Needs Cash Available to Complete Transformation
Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally detailed to Congress how the automaker has changed
its business model since he joined the company a couple of years ago from Boeing. He said Ford believes it has enough money to get through 2009 if the economy doesn't worsen. However, he added, the automaker would like the availability of government loans in case the economy sours more so Ford can complete its transformation to building more small cars than large vehicles.
Here is Mulally's opening statement to a U.S. Senate committee on Tuesday and a House Committee on Wednesday holding hearings on the bridge loans:
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 7:27 AM under Commentary , Ford | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Outlook for Automaker Loans Fragile as Senate Hammers Detroit Chiefs
By Bill Visnic and Michelle Krebs
Chief executives from each of the Detroit Three automakers couldn't
have come to Tuesday's session of the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee at a less-receptive time. Seeking $25 billion in emergency loans to keep their ailing operations afloat, they might as well have been kids who've gorged on all their Halloween candy and now are whining for more.
Although the committee is chaired by a receptive persona in Senator Chris Todd (D-CT), Republicans are largely presenting an icy posture regarding Detroit's plight - and senators on both sides of the aisle grilled Ford's Alan Mulally, GM's Rick Wagoner and Chrysler's Bob Nardelli with varying degrees of understanding and acidity. The three are scheduled for a House committee hearing Wednesday morning.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 3:36 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Personalities | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford Offers Employee Pricing Plus 0% on Fuel-Efficient Models
Ford announced a new round of incentives Tuesday that it is calling Employee Pricing Plus
Tuesday because it starts with employee pricing and adds cash rebates or, in the case of Ford's most fuel-efficient models, zero-interest financing.
Beginning Wednesday and running through January 5, Ford is offering employee pricing to buyers of most 2008 and 2009 Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles plus cash rebates up to $6,000.
Customers who select one of the nine most fuel-efficient models Ford, Lincoln or Mercury can opt for zero-percent financing for 36 months on top of employee pricing.
Further, Ford Credit will provide a $500 bonus on the purchase of most Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 8:02 AM under Business , Ford | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Without Ford: 25 States Could Lose 3,000 Ford-Related Jobs
If Ford were to cease operations, 25 states could lose 3,000 or more Ford-related jobs,
according to an internal document obtained by the Wall Street Journal
.
The document detailed state-by-state the number of workers directly employed by Ford, the number of auto parts suppliers who work with the company and the amount they spend to support their business.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 7:34 AM under Analysis , Ford | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Yeah or Nay on Bailout, But Don't Blame Detroit's Problems Only on Labor
By Bill Visnic
DETROIT - Any day now, the country and its decision-makers will decide whether to extend a massive financial lifeline to sustain Detroit's suddenly cash-anemic automakers. Judging from the rhetoric coming from the auto industry and sympathetic voices in Washington, DC, it needs to be any day now, or Detroit won't be around to hear the verdict.
And every day now, there are colliding opinions regarding whether an automaker bailout is wise - or politically and socially proper.
As has been said many times as the domestic auto industry continues its frenetic unraveling, there's plenty of blame to go around, and a portion of it lies with the unions. The United Auto Workers has rarely been out of the conversation of what's ruined Detroit Inc., but arguments centered on the notion that fat, uncompetitive unionized labor is the root cause of Detroit's ills are specious - and little more than an excuse for some good-old-fashioned union-bashing.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 5:10 AM under Chrysler , Commentary , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM | Comments (4) | digg this | del.icio.us
Sen. Shelby: How Sweet Is the Auto Business in Alabama? Not Very
By Michelle Krebs
Richard Shelby, the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, took to the airwaves over the weekend as the chief opponent of loans to Detroit automakers. His premise: This is a Detroit problem not a national problem and taxpayers shouldn't subsidize these poorly managed dinosaurs.
"I don't believe they've got good management. They don't innovate. They're a dinosaur, in a sense, and I hate to see [them get government loans]," Shelby said on NBC's Meet the Press.
With all due respect Senator Shelby, this is not only a Detroit problem. It's an Alabama problem. It's a national problem. And it's a global problem. Recession is spreading around the globe like a California wildfire. Once-hot auto markets have caught cold. And automakers everywhere -- not just in the U.S. -- are asking their governments for a helping hand.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 7:44 AM under Chrysler , Commentary , Companies , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (3) | digg this | del.icio.us
Congress: Vote Yes on Automaker Loans
The future of the American auto industry rests in the hands of the U.S. Congress, which this week debates whether the government should make loans to Detroit automakers to get them through the current economic crisis.
We at Edmunds.com urge Congress to vote yes.
Theoretically, we believe the free market is preferable to government intervention. But this isn't theory. This is reality, and an ugly one at that. The pragmatic answer to these unprecedented circumstances demand action.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:09 AM under Chrysler , Commentary , Featured , Ford , GM | Comments (14) | digg this | del.icio.us
Auto, Supplier Execs: Two-Dollar Gasoline Won't Help Auto Sales
By Bill Visnic
DETROIT - Automaker and supplier-industry executives and engineers speaking at the Automotive News Green Car Conference here said the recent retreat of fuel prices to around $2 per gallon has provided consumers' finances a little breathing room - but isn't going to do much for the embattled auto industry.
With gasoline prices beating a hasty retreat from the panic-inducing $4 levels attained earlier this summer (the Energy Information Agency said this week's national average for regular unleaded was $2.22), Sue Cischke, Ford Motor Co.'s group vice president-sustainability, environment and safety engineering, said, "We do think there's going to be a little bit of a rebound," for sales of pickup trucks. But small-cars sales have flattened along with fuel prices.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 12:39 PM under Business , Companies , Ford | Comments (5) | digg this | del.icio.us
Obama Presses President Bush About Automaker Relief
By Bill Visnic
The Associated Press reports today that President-elect Barack Obama, meeting yesterday with President George W. Bush, "suggested" Detroit's reeling automakers need financial assistance -- and need it now. Obama appears to believe keeping the domestic automakers afloat is vital to keeping the nation's flagging economic engine firing -- but he does not become president until January.
It appears Detroit's automakers can scarcely afford to wait.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 10:00 AM under Business , Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Now That Gasoline Prices Are Plunging...
By Bill Visnic
Even those predicting a retreat from this summer's $4-per-gallon fuel prices didn't call for prices to plunge so far, so fast.
Regular unleaded gasoline in some parts of the country once again begin with a "1." The Energy Information Administration (EIA) said last week's national average for regular unleaded was $2.40, but even that number reflected a drop of some 61 cents from a year ago and a crash of 25 cents in just a week.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:54 AM under Analysis , Companies , Featured , Ford , Technology | Comments (2) | digg this | del.icio.us
Lincoln Updates MKZ as Marque's Sales Sputter
By Bill Visnic
DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co.'s Lincoln premium division can't seem to catch a break.
The historic brand has struggled for years to justify its continuing existence within its own family while Ford went shopping overseas for more "relevant" premium brands such as Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo. Jaguar and Land Rover are sold, but Volvo and home brand Lincoln continue to struggle against economic and industry currents that appear to be particularly battering to luxury brands.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:42 AM under Analysis , Ford | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford Loses $129 Million in Third Quarter; Nearly $3 Billion Before Special Charges
By Michelle Krebs
DEARBORN, Mich. - Ford Motor Co. reported Friday a net loss in the third quarter of $129 million, compared with a net loss of $380 million in the third quarter of 2007.
However, Ford took special charges during the quarter mostly related to retiree health-care costs. Excluding those, its third-quarter pre-tax loss was $2.7 billion, down from a profit of $194 million a year ago. On an after-tax basis, Ford's loss was $3 billion, compared with a loss of $24 million.
As expected, the loss prompted Ford to announce more cost cutting measures. They include: an additional 10-percent reduction in North American salaried ranks, a freeze on salaried pay increases and bonuses and an elimination of company matching funds to savings plans. It also includes cutting another 2,600 hourly jobs. Ford will also reduce overall capital spending, reduce spending in in manufacturing, information technology and advertising and lower inventories globally.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:18 AM under Business , Featured , Ford | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Want the $25 Billion? Here Are the Hoops To Jump Through
By Bill Visnic
The U.S. Department of Energy Thursday issued the draft rules for automakers seeking the long-ballyhooed $25 billion in loans Congress recently approved for automakers (and suppliers) to retool factories to produce a new generation of more fuel-efficient vehicles.
Sure, strings had to be attached, or the automakers would burn through the dough like sailors on shore leave. But saying there are hoops to be jumped through in this "interim final rule" is an understatement.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:07 AM under Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM , Technology | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Detroit Three, UAW Meet Congressional Delegation for Financial Help
By Michelle Krebs
The chiefs of Detroit's three automakers and the president of the UAW are scheduled to meet at 4 p.m. Thursday with a Congressional delegation in Washington, D.C., in an effort to obtain loans to keep them afloat through the next year.
General Motors' Rick Wagoner, Ford's Alan Mulally, Chrysler's Robert Nardelli and the UAW's Ron Gettelfinger were set to meet with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi as well as Michigan Congressman John Dingell and others to plea their case.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 10:47 AM under Business , Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Cash Crunch Simultaneously Prods, Prevents Castoff of Swedish Automakers
By Bill Visnic
With operating revenue becoming an increasingly scarce commodity in Detroit, General Motors Corp.'s and Ford Motor Co.'s luxury of maintaining their premium-brand but low-performing Swedish automaking units is likely to earn deeper scrutiny in the coming months.
Skepticism regarding the wisdom of retaining Saab Cars has been around at parent General Motors Corp. almost since the day GM purchased 50 percent of Saab's automaking unit (actually underbidding future GM partner Fiat Group) in late 1989 for the paltry sum of $500 million. GM acquired the rest of the company
in 2000, and at that time, Saab was losing money and it has been widely believed Saab has never returned a profit under full GM ownership.
But rumors and innuendo about GM cutting Saab adrift have reached a higher pitch in the past weeks as GM, openly seeking cash injections, has shopped its Hummer brand and storied AC Delco aftermarket-parts division, and recently dealt with a crumbled plan to offload its commercial-truck business to Navistar International. The potential for a government cash injection -- never mind the complication of a proposed merger with Chrysler LLC - now seems GM's best near-term option.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:23 AM under Analysis , Featured , Ford , GM | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Millions of Jobs, Billions of Dollars Lost Across the U.S. If Detroit Three Disappear or Even Contract Some, CAR Study Says
By Michelle Krebs
As many as 3 million jobs and hundreds of billions of dollars will be lost from the U.S. economy if General Motors, Ford and Chrysler cease operations, a new report shows.
The report by the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) details the job losses and economic impact of two scenarios: if all three Detroit automakers cease operations next year; and if Detroit automakers contract by half, likely involving two automakers going out of business.
"Either of these scenarios is possible, and indeed probable, within the next 12 months," the study says.
In both scenarios, the impact is devastating for jobs, income, the nation's tax base and consumer spending that could pull the U.S. economy out of recession.
Other automakers doing business in the U.S., including Toyota and Honda, also would be hit as would Canada and Mexico.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:34 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
Horrific October Car Sales Plunge Industry to Post-WW II Low
By AutoObserver Staff
There were almost no words on Monday to describe how abysmal U.S. auto sales were in the woe-begotten month of October.
Bled by battered consumer confidence, by more expensive and harder-to-obtain loans, by financial-market disasters and Election Day anxieties, October sales limped in at only about 852,000 vehicles nationwide, a 32 percent plunge from a year ago.
"This level of sales is not sustainable for anyone in the industry," said Michael DiGiovanni, head of global market analysis for General Motors. "It doesn't matter how deep their pockets are. Everyone is pulling in their reins to one degree or another, but everyone is affected by this."
GM's sales slumped by a horrific 45 percent, the worst showing among the Big Six automakers selling in the United States. Chrysler's declined by 35 percent, Nissan's by 33 percent, Ford's by 29 percent, Honda's by 25 percent and Toyota's by 23 percent.
The industry total comprised its lowest sales volume for any month since 1992. And adjusting for population growth -- that is, on a per capita basis -- October auto sales were the industry's worst since World War II.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 2:01 PM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (1) | digg this | del.icio.us
GMAC, Ford Credit Get Federal Help
Ford Credit, the financing arm of Ford Motor Co., and GMAC Financial Services, the troubled financial arm part-owned by General Motors and Chrysler owner Cerberus Capital Management, will get federal help to access the locked-down commercial credit markets, news reports say.
The move should loosen up credit for customer car loans.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 11:03 AM under Business , Chrysler , Ford , GM | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
Ford Reliability Gains on Honda, Toyota; Chrysler Down; GM a Mixed Bag, Consumer Reports Says
DETROIT - Consumer Reports magazine delivered more bad news to Chrysler Thursday, noting the automaker's vehicle reliability has dropped since Cerberus Capital Management took over the company just over a year ago.
In contrast, Ford's reliability is now approaching that of Toyota and Honda with almost all of its vehicles achieving above-average reliability in the magazine's annual survey. General Motors' results were mixed.
"There has been a systematic, structural change within Ford,'' said David Champion, director of the magazine's auto test center, said. Champion revealed the magazine's survey results Thursday at the Automotive Press Association meeting in Detroit.
.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 12:37 PM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | del.icio.us
October Auto Sales to Be the Lowest Since January 1992, Edmunds.com Forecasts
SANTA MONICA, Calif. - October auto sales are turning out to be every bit as bad as
forecasters predicted early in the month.
Edmunds.com forecasts October new vehicle sales, including fleet and retail, will again fall below the 1-million mark to 872,000 vehicles sold - about 30 percent below October 2007. October 2008 will mark the U.S. auto industry's lowest sales level since January 1992.
And the industry should brace itself for a terrible November, typically one of the lowest sales months of the year.
(Read more...)
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:31 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this |