Sales

SUV = Simply Unwanted Vehicle

By Frank Williams
July 3, 2008 -

The Washington Post's Annys Shin [via The News Tribune] wins the prize for the best parsing of the initials SUV: Simply Unwanted Vehicles. True dat. Full-sized SUV prices have dropped 24 percent since last year; used Chevy Suburbans have devalued as much as $8k in the past six months. With that in mind, SmartMoney has five ways to help panic-stricken owners unload their automotive albatross. First, "be your own salesperson." Since dealerships don't want SUVs and can't sell what they have, seems sensible enough. Next, "price it right." Just make sure you use chalk or pencil; values are still dropping like a stone thrown in a deep dark well. Then "advertise online." Don't worry about the fact that AutoTrader.com's SUV ads have jumped 18 percent. You should also "provide plenty of details." If you're selling something no one wants, drowning them in minutiae just might work. Finally, "build credibility" with prospective buyers by providing maintenance records (provided you had the foresight to keep them) and a Carfax report (provided you aren't selling a rebuilt wreck). Whatever you do, maintain a positive attitude. Make the [theoretical] buyer believe he really wants to assume your liability– in the same way a cheerleader tries to get the crowd on their feet when their team is down by 45 points in the fourth quarter. Hence the picture. 

SmartMoney »

Posted in Used Cars | Sales | News Blog | 18 comments

GM’s Cheerleaders Put Down Their Pom-Poms

By Frank Williams
July 3, 2008 -

"We continue to question whether GM will be able to sustain eight different brands and over 13,000 franchises with less than 20 percent market share." TTAC? Nope. Deutsche Bank analyst Rod Lache, as quoted by the Detroit News. GM's stock fell below $10 a share yesterday, and the prognosis isn't good for the company whose stock has fallen by more than 70 percent in the past year. Even Merrill Lynch analyst John Murphy, described by his peers as "last guy defending the [GM] bunker," said he expected GM's stock to fall to $7 and forecast "significant losses" for GM this year and next. When even the cheerleaders start predicting a losing season, the team doesn't stand much of a chance. It looks like GM could use a new coaching staff, and fast.

Detroit News »

Posted in Industry | Chapter 11 | Sales | News Blog | 12 comments

Toyota Leapfrogging Volt

By Paul Niedermeyer
July 3, 2008 -

At the recent Toyota Environmental Forum, ToMoCo’s Executive Vice President outlined the company’s five-point plan for a “sustainable mobility society.” Green Car Congress charts the ch-ch-changes. 1. Further development of gasoline- and diesel-fueled combustion engines; 2. Hybrids and plug-in hybrids; 3. Alternative fuels, including synthetics and biofuels; 4. Electric vehicles; and 5. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Masatami Takimoto revealed that gasoline and diesel will remain the corporate mainstay. To that end, Toyota will reduce vehicle size and weight and introduce a new family of engines with start-stop, direct injection, forced induction, HCCI and variable compression. The automaker will hybridize all its vehicles lines by 2020, increasing NiMH batteries density. Li-ions are heading for city electrics and plug-in hybrids; the plug-in Li-on Prius hits the streets in 2010. And here’s the kicker: Toyota’s working to leap-frog Li-ion technology. Takimoto says a practical and cost-efficient EV demands a technological breakthrough. Maybe GM’s Volt isn’t so much a “Hail Mary” pass as an intentional out-of-bounds throw before it gets sacked by the “Sakichi” battery (named after Toyota’s founder).

Green Car Congress »

Posted in Electric Vehicles | Gizmology | Future Vehicles | Sales | Hybrid | News Blog | 27 comments

Forbes’ List of Hardest-To-Get Cars

By Frank Williams
July 2, 2008 -

Forbes, that Number One purveyor of "Top 10" lists, has devised a list of the ten hardest-to-get cars. They've based their selections on dealer inventory levels and retail turn rates (how long a model sits on the lot before it's sold). While some of the selections are obvious (anyone try to buy a Prius lately?), who would expect the 14mpg Lexus LX to be in short supply? The other two anomalies (considering gas mileage and purchase price) are the Audi A5 and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, both of which are selling faster than they can build them. Here's the entire list and supply level of each model:

Toyota Prius - 7-day supply
Lexus LX Series - 8-day supply
MINI Cooper - 8-day supply
Audi A5 - 8-day supply
Toyota Yaris - 13-day supply
Scion xD - 19-day supply
Honda Fit - 20-day supply
Honda Civic - 21-day supply
Toyota Corolla - 23-day supply
Mercedes-Benz C-Class - 29-day supply

Forbes »

Posted in Sales | News Blog | 25 comments

GM’s Chinese Déjà Vu Moment

By Frank Williams
July 2, 2008 -

While GM's North American operation has been hemorrhaging money like a hemophiliac having heart surgery, its overseas operations have managed to turn enough profit to keep them from the bankruptcy court. Chinese sales are still growing, but the boom may go bust. In 2007, sales increased 19 percent. So far this year, sales are up 14 percent. Although China's still the world's fastest-growing auto market, raw material costs are soaring, and The People's Republic is easing off fuel price subsidies. Through their "joint venture" (i.e. shotgun wedding) with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), GM is the Republic's largest carmaker. But they're beginning to face stiff[er] competition from Toyota and Volkswagen. Joseph Lau, vice president for GM China, told Bloomberg "Shanghai GM has been facing difficulties by relying on existing models to compete with rivals that have added new ones." Sound familiar? Lau added that GM/SAIC has only one new model in the pipeline for this year: a locally-made hybrid version of the Buick LaCrosse. They're adding one new model next year, a Buick sedan to compete with the rapidly-growing Camry and Corolla. Does anyone know the Chinese translation for "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it"? 

Bloomberg »

Posted in China | Sales | News Blog | 7 comments

GM’s 14-Day 72-Hour Sale Explained

By Robert Farago
July 2, 2008 -

Jalopnik poses a pertinent question– at least for semantically-minded pistonheads. How can GM "extend" a 72-hour sale into a 14-day event? Andrew Stoy takes us down the spinmeisters' rabbit hole. "But how do 72 sort-of hours in seven days end up being 72 no-we-really- mean-it-this-time hours spanning a whopping 14 days (Tuesday the 24 through Monday the 7th)? By using the eight-hour workday! First, subtract the weekends; that's minus four days for a total of ten. But ten times eight is 80, you cry! A-ha. Don't forget the Fourth of July, friends. Subtract eight more hours, and you end up with a perfect 72-hour-long 72-Hour Sale. Which is exactly how GM intended it from the start, we're sure." As for the financial implications, it's important to remember that the fire sale prices came at the expense of GM's margins. And while the moved metal bolstered GM's sagging sales– from unthinkable to just plain horrible– there will be a reckoning.Quoted by U.S. News & World Report, Credit Suisse analyst Chris Ceraso predicts the 72-hour sale will generate "some pretty severe payback over the coming month or two."

Jalopnik »

Posted in Chapter 11 | Marketing | Sales | News Blog | 14 comments

Mercedes Unveils 50-State BlueTec Diesels, MPG Revealed

By Robert Farago
July 2, 2008 -

You'd figure that Mercedes would promote their new California-compliant BlueTec diesel-powered vehicles based on their fuel efficiency. Times two, considering that opting for the oil-burning engine requires a $1k premium. And the fact that diesel is roughly 25 percent more expensive than gas. We knew there was an "issue" when WardsAuto's strapline revealed that "The ability of the diesel cross/utility vehicles to achieve a cruising range of up to 600 miles is a significant selling point, the auto maker says." To which we say uh-oh. Still, you'd think that Ward's would crunch the numbers. Nope. "Cleaning the exhaust doesn’t bite into fuel economy because the diesel generates 20%-33% better mileage than a comparable gasoline engine. The 6-cyl. Bluetec provides 4-cyl. fuel economy and V-8 power and torque, the auto maker claims." In the interests of veracity and transparency, Frank did the math for you below. Oh, and the BlueTec's NOx-scrubbing urea supply lasts just 10k miles. If the tank gets too low, you get 20 starts to refill. After that, the car won’t start. Where do I sign?

[First mpg = EPA combined mileage; second mpg = BT mpg rounded to the nearest whole number]

G-class - GL450 4matic (4.6L V8), 15mpg > 18 - 20mpg; GL550 4matic (5.5L V8), 14mpg > 17 - 19mpg M-Class - ML350 4matic (3.5L V6), 17mpg > 20 - 23mpg; ML550 4matic (5.5L V8), 15mpg > 18 - 20mpg R-Class - R350 4matic (3.5L V6), 16mpg > 19 - 21mpg

WardsAuto »

Posted in Marketing | Sales | Diesel | News Blog | 15 comments

Nissan Sales Slide 17.7%

By Richard Chen
July 1, 2008 -

Nissan's numbers are finally available, and they're not looking hot, either. Unadjusted ('cause that's how we roll) June sales are down 17.7 percent overall, with trucks taking a 37.9 percent hit. Bright spots included the new Rogue CUV and a slight bump in Versa sales. Most cars held their own, with single digit percentage sales drops. Exceptions: the outgoing Maxima (uh, okay) and the incoming Murano (uh-oh, down 24 percent). Truck and minivan sales drops were impressive and as bad or worse than the other top six. Frontier led the way (-58.1 percent), followed by Quest (-62.3 percent), Armada (-63.4 percent), Xterra (-68.3 percent), Titan (-71.4 percent), and Pathfinder (-71.7 percent trailing. [Pause for picking your jaw up off the floor.] As bad as these numbers appear, the horrifying percentages were offset by Nissan's relatively small sales volumes; their truck line sold just 19K units last month. Still, Nissan has some production shifting to do, just like everyone else.

Posted in Sales | News Blog | 13 comments

Daily Podcast: Must Focus

By Robert Farago
July 1, 2008 -

Autoblog: "You're going to be reading in the mainstream press about how horrible sales were in the U.S. during June, 2008. Yes, they were bad for many automakers, but consider that there were only 24 selling days last month versus 27 days in June, 2008. This makes comparing raw sales numbers misleading, since there were three fewer days to sell. Thus, as always, all the percentages below represent the change in Daily Sales Rate, i.e. the average number of vehicles sold per day, not the change in raw number of vehicles sold." TTAC joins Automotive News in rejecting this metric. We go by cars sold per month. Period. That said, TTAC got caught-out when Automotive News started with adjusted numbers, then revised to non-adjusted numbers. But no matter how you crunch these stats, they ARE horrible. "Not That Bad Edition"? The idea that any credible news organization would say otherwise is almost as astounding as the chaos afflicting the U.S. new vehicle market. How about this: there are industry players in Detroit who ascribe to Autoblog's Pollyanna philosophy. And while you're thinking about that (or something), Justin and I perform our usual reality check. 

Autoblog »

Posted in Media | Daily Podcast | Sales | News Blog | Daily | Podcasts | 20 comments

The Spaghettification of Chrysler: June sales down 36%

By Richard Chen
July 1, 2008 -

Spaghettification as named by Stephen Hawking is the extreme stretching of objects into its components by a extreme gravity field, to the point of becoming but a thin strand of elementary particles. As forecast by Chrysler plant cutback and closing yesterday, the maker most dependent on minivan and truck sales is definitely getting the stretch this June, with sales down 36 percent (unadjusted). Surprisingly, car sales dropped even further, down a whopping 49 percent. Grand Caravan sales are a bit of bright spot: up 52 percent. But GC sales are still down 27 percent year-to-date, warranting the closure of the St. Louis plant.. Not surprisingly, the outgoing Ram is down 48 percent, The Caliber and Compass took hits of 44 percent and 39 percent respectively, the complete opposite of just about every other manufacturer's small car lineup. The press release contained paragraphs of spin, announcing that the $2.99/gallon fuel promotion will continue through the end of the month. Frankly, there's no escaping this gravitational sinkhole.

Click here for Chrysler's Press Release, which uses sales adjusted numbers.

Automotive News [sub] »

Posted in Sales | News Blog | 22 comments