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Mazda has managed to outsell Nissan in one major market. Any guesses?
- Mazda is on a roll in Germany, surpassing Nissan and other major brands.
- Honda’s all-new global platform for the Civic will allow for unprecedented manufacturing flexibility.
- Toyota will shift production of the Corolla from Canada to Mexico, and build larger vehicles in Canada instead.
- Chevrolet will stick with the Bolt moniker for its new EV.
- U.S. oil refineries are working overtime to process the record high levels of crude oil.
47 Comments on “While You Were Sleeping: April 16th, 2015...”
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Record high levels of crude oil. Nice.
Good start, considering this:
“An American Oil Find That Holds More Than All of OPEC”
“Drillers in Utah and Colorado are poking into a massive shale deposit trying to find a way to unlock oil reserves that are so vast they would swamp OPEC.
A recent report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office estimated that if half of the oil bound up in the rock of the Green River Formation could be recovered it would be “equal to the entire world’s proven oil reserves.”
“Both the GAO and private industry estimate the amount of oil recoverable to be 3 trillion barrels. “In the past 100 years — in all of human history — we have consumed 1 trillion barrels of oil. There are several times that much here,” said Roger Day, vice president for operations for American Shale Oil (AMSO).”
“The Green River drilling is beginning as shale mining is booming in the U.S. and a report by the International Energy Agency predicts that the U.S. will become the world’s largest oil producer by 2020. That flood of oil can have major implications for the U.S. economy as well as the country’s foreign policy which has been based on a growing scarcity of oil.”
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/american-oil-find-holds-oil-opec/story?id=17536852
The US is already the world’s largest oil producer has been for some time. From EIA (2013) country – millions barrels per day
USA – 12.342
Saudi Arabia -11.702
Russia – 10.764
China – 4.459
Canada – 4.074
UAE – 3.441
Iran – 3.192
Iraq – 3.058
Mexico – 2.908
Kuwait – 2.812
Brazil – 2.694
So much for peak oil.
That’s total “oil” liquids, including distillates from natural gas and coal. The rankings for crude only are a little different. US crude is 11.11M bpd, so the Saudi production is on top since it’s all crude. Russian totals include some natural gas distillates, but not as much as US production.
One key point is that US crude is highest quality, producing more gasoline and diesel per barrel than from any country except Nigeria. The US exports refined motor fuels, especially diesel, and that really cuts into OPEC sales. That means the glut of crude being refined now won’t result in a glut of motor fuel or reduced prices right away.
If you only want liquids (EIA data for 2013)
Russia 10.053
Saudi 9.693
USA 7.441
China 4.164
Canada 3/325
Dang, I guessed Thailand.
Me too. Mazdas are all over the place there. Probably brand #2, right behind Toyota.
I guesses Australia, but that’s kind of a gimme.
I was sure it’d be Canada. They LOVE Mazda in Canada.
Which is ironic considering what terrible winter cars the 3 and 6 are.
This ole’ chestnut. My first-gen 3 just rolled through another winter, no problems, no rust.
The article about Mazda’s performance in Germany mentions a new Mazda5. I haven’t seen any press about that.
I was going to post the same thing. Other articles say it’s canceled with no replacement planned, so I thought it might be a typo, but I can’t think of any other imminent update coming.
Derek: just-auto.com links do not really work for people that have no subscription.
I would have guessed Israel, where Mazda is popular.
Keeping the Bolt name is a mistake, but oh well.
Officially, the name will be “Bolt EV”, with the EV at the end. Still sounds too much like Volt, but at least no one will be confused about what it is.
I though SHOCK would be a good name :=)
Or….. ELEC TRO Q TED … :=)
At least its not some alphanumeric nonsense. I would have gone with Volt Crosstrail or something.
Coulda shoulda woulda … Chevrolet Dolt!
Colt 45 would be better.
Wonder if they’ll sell a stripped version?
You see Bolt makes me think of a silly cartoon dog. http://pichost.me/1918387/
Just like SONIC is a cartoon hedgehog.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6d/Sonic1.png
Volt, Bolt …
So, next, Molt, Dolt, Colt (well, except Dodge would sue them).
Mazda’s relatively strong results are largely an indication of the minor presence of Japanese brands in Europe.
Its current German market share of 1.7% is not exactly stellar. Mazda has 2.0% market share YTD in the US, which is pretty miserable. VAG is the 800 pound…er, 363 kilo gorilla in Europe, and competing against it is an enormous challenge.
IIRC, Mazda’s US market share has hovered between 1.5% to 2.0% for over 15 years. They just can’t seem to move the needle.
It makes me doubt the praise commonly showered on their vehicles.
“It makes me doubt the praise commonly showered on their vehicles.”
Why? Most buyers don’t read the buff books.
Consumer Reports named Mazda the #2 best brand –but since no one buys Mazda that must mean nothing as well.
Mazda basically has the same niche as VW and Kia – more of an enthusiast-oriented brand. If I were them I’d target the absolute living hell out of VW.
Ever driven one? They’re excellent for mainstream cars that hold their value quite well because they’re so well designed/built.
Per Ward’s, Mazda’s market share peaked in 1991 at 2.7%. It has been between 1.5-2.0% since 1995, so you’re pretty much on the money.
Mazda has a small dealer network and small advertising budget. Also, Mazda doesn’t provide huge rebates as it has prioritized profitability (Japanese labor is expensive!). As more of their models start to come from Mexico I expect them to price them more aggressively.
Also, their last design language didn’t fare well with consumers and they lost a lot of momentum.
I had a 2008 Mazdaspeed3 and all I can say is that it was amazing.
“There’s an a** for every seat and a… nut for every Bolt. Now just go out there and sell!”
Meanwhile, at GM marketing headquarters,…
“Gentlemen, we’re planning a cute new CUV for the little ladies, based on the new Bolt. So put your heads together and come up with a trendy name. Think like the Koreans, ‘cuz they’re kicking our asses. Something different, like K900, or Veloster, or Cee’d!”
…
“Here’s our best suggestion, Boss: ELECTRO ‘UTE”
Not surprisingly, Mazda (comparatively) does better in markets where greater importance is placed on driving dynamics – Germany, the UK, Australia, Canada, etc.
Mazda is not doing well in Germany. It is an aberration. Just check market share – it is same as in US. The only reason why it is in the news because Honda and other Asian brands and even some European cheap brands are doing even worse. Toyota still outsells Mazda in Germany and it is does not have driving dynamics by any means.
Volt. Bolt.
What rhymes with “stupid”?
Well, Mazdas basically drive like Japanese VWs, so it’d make sense that they would outsell Nissans in Germany.
“Mazdas basically drive like Japanese VWs”
Broken down with only one headlight working?
Driving dynamics. The difference is that they don’t explode into a million expensive parts that are specific to the year, month, model, submodel, trim, and options the day after the warranty runs out (and every fourth weekend during the warranty) like a VW.
I think the Mazda6 and Mazda3 are both good cars. I don’t find their driving dynamics to be head and shoulders above the competition. I also think their engines are down on power. My C-Max has more horsepower than a Mazda6.
Like VW? You are kidding. Ever drove VW, I mean the real one not the crap they sell here?
The Golf is head and shoulders better than the 3.
bball, honest question. As i trust your opinions, I’ve never been that much of a Golf fan thinking that Ford offerings usually beat it with a couple of French and Italians doing so as well. As I’ve never driven a Mazda 3, how does it compare?
And this from a guy who thinks the Golf G7 finally does it and is better than the current Ford (for once in its overglorified life).
I agree that the Golf is better than the Focus right now. Ford is in midcyle refresh mode and need a new Focus by 2017-18. I do like the Focus pricepoints in the US better than the Golf. $16K will get you a darn nice Focus SE with a manual transmission.
As for the Mazda3, I find it to be similar to the Focus. I find the Focus to be dynamically better, but the 3 feels a bit lighter, more softly sprung, and has had a more coherant interior. The 2016 Focus has upped it’s interior to match the 3, though.
Ford and Mazda have divorced, but their compact cars are evolutions of the same idea. The Mazda is on a new platform, but it still feels alot like the last Mazda3 and current Focus. I think the best way to describe it is the Focus feels European and the Mazda3 feels Japanese. The same as they have, globally at least, for awhile.
One thing unmentioned: Mazda has come out on top of several German quality surveys lately (together with Volvo, actually), and people follow this kind of positive publicity closely.
Purely anecdotal, but in every European country I’ve visited, I’d guess Mazda outsells Honda by a landslide.