Jobu37

Top 10 'Clunkers' and New Cars Purchased

Actually he sounds more like an idiot.


On Aug 11 12:52 PM Cincinnati87 wrote:

> Midas1, you sounds like a sales in a Toyota dealer

Cash for Clunkers May Cost Up to $45,354 Per Vehicle

All of this is based on what Edmunds says and they have a proven track record of pushing there own agenda or preference. They are also media hounds that like to be thought of as the know-it-all of the auto industry.

If everybody believed everything they said there would only be one car company left in the U.S. And that would be Honda. I'm not sure that Honda has ever lost a "comparo" in any segment ever.

The idiots over there would probably find some way to pick to a Ridgeline over a F-350 or C3500 in a comparison amongst work trucks.

The fact is that this program got people that were sitting on the sidelines, for years in some cases, into dealerships. And in the process it got rid of a lot of smog producing gas guzzlers. At the same time it will result in more recycled steel that will turn keep the price of steel down a little longer to help the economy regain steam. The only downside is it will contribute to more govermental debt which will theoretically be offset by the future taxes generated by more economic activity.

As far as accomplishing what it set out to do it has done more than most government programs usually do.

Seven Car Companies Hurt Most by Recession

Toyota's share was falling long before the economic crisis hit so it may not be a given that it will bounce back quite as quickly as you appear to be implying. Toyota can no longer charge premium prices due to their perceived quality superiority anymore. Reality is starting to settle into the market and consumers are beginning to realize that they can buy higher quality, better looking vehicles from other manufacturers such as Ford. I realize that there will always be blind loyalists but it is safe to say that the number of blind loyalists has and will continue to diminish. Blind loyalty aside, what consumer in his right mind would choose a Camry over a Ford Fusion when the Fusion has beaten the Camry, and all others, in quality surveys for the past three years, and it also gets better fuel mileage, has better handling characteristics, and costs $1,000 or more less. And don't kid yourself about Toyota holding the line on rebates, while they still have some of the lowest rebates around they have increased by a larger percentage than most. Only Kia, Hyundai, Chrysler, Nissan and GM have been more aggressive with rebates. Check the rental lots, you will find alot more Toyotas amongst the Kias and Hyundais so even their current sales are inflated compared to their historical retail demand.

Why I'd Avoid Toyota, The #1 Automaker in the U.S.

Japanese - the importation process in Japan adds many levels of cost to any product imported. So a 25K Chevy ends up costing closer to 40K. Historically , the government has kept the Yen artificially weak in comparison to the all currencies but especially the dollar. Recent times have allowed for the Yen to start moving closer to the natural exchange rate but it took a global semi-depression to do so. In recent months the Japanese central bank has been able to get it back up near 100 Y per $. All Japanese manufacturers count on the weak Yen to overcome their high labor costs and make their products competitive.
China - requires an auto manufacturer to team up with a Chinese firm before you get any real access to the market. Vehicles directly imported are hit with their version of a VAT. They also manipulate the exchange rate against the dollar.
Korea - essentially has a "Non-Korean tax". Even if you build a plant in Korea but are not a Korean based company your product is treated as if it is imported. Obama is supposedly addressing this in the current negotiations taking place on a new "free" trade agreement. Korea has essentially said that if you take away our auto tax we will ban U.S. beef. So lobbyists for the beef industry will derail any headway being made on free auto trade from the U.S. to Korea.
Mexico - the majority of their purchases are from Mexican plants owned by American, German, and Japanese auto manufacturers.


On Jun 22 05:50 PM 303820 wrote:

> Buddhabill...since according to you the auto industry is a global
> affair...can you tell me how many made in America cars and trucks
> the Japanese, Chinese, Koreans, Europeans and Mexicans buy?

September Auto Sales: Why Was Ford Hit So Hard?

The fact that Ford has not jumped into the incentive battle with GM and Chrysler for the past two months is the real reason that they performed in a more negative manner. Plus, while Ford reduced fleet sales by 29% in September, GM increased fleet sales by 19%. The only vehicle that GM has that has appeared to to actually have "true" demand was the new Malibu. But then it comes out that 54% of all Malibus sold in September were fleet sales. This does not bode well for GM. It is the same old story with GM. The GM ego is doing what they can to make sure that 2008 is not the year that they lose the title of largest automaker in the world. Unfortunately, they are making moves in the short term that are going to hurt them down the road. By this I am referring to the harm on the residuals of the Malibu that will be the result of fleet dumping your "hottest" vehicle.

You have to admire Mulally at Ford. His goal before the bottom fell out of the market was to reduce fleet sales and fire sale discounts in order to improve the residuals of the Ford lineup along with higher margins that come with this approach. And even now Ford has not matched GM, Chrysler, and now even Nissan in giving the product away. Ford has the F150 coming out in a month and nicely updated Fusions, Milans, and MKZs in December that will help Ford increase prices and sales at the same time. Focus prodcution has been able to finally catch up due to the slow Sept. sales so the pipeline will start being able to feed demand if there is any semblance of a return to stability for the rest of the year. Ford is doing the right thing no matter how painful it is now. As I write this, Toyota just announced 0% financing on all their major models. Now let's see if Ford can still hold the line in October. Ford may have no choice but to react to Toyota's new firesale since they are quickly becoming Ford's real competition.

Is There Any Hope for the Big Three Auto Makers?

Ford is the one American company in a position to benefit from the current state of the market. They are just months away from bringing out the Fusion and Milan Hybrid Sedans. Unlike GM's Malibu hybrid which gets a mere 1 mpg better than the gas version, the Ford and Mercury hybrids should surpass even the Camry Hybrid. At the same time that the hybrids are brought to market the entire Fusion/Milan/MKZ lineup will get refreshed engines, interiors and styling updates. Currently Ford is trying to figure out where they are going to be able to find additional production for these models. The demand between hybrid and gas verions could easily go beyond 30K per month which is Camry and Accord-like numbers.

In just one week you can go down to your Ford dealer and buy a 2009 Escape which is best in class in both horsepower and fuel mileage. They are also best in class in the reduction of interior noise levels. The Escape is already nipping at the tails of the sales leading Honda CRV. These refinements will put the Escape over the top and allow Ford to raise the transaction prices at the same time. Once again the factory that builds these will need to move to max max capacity and Ford is already putting the folks in place to do that.

In barely a year and a half the Fiesta will arrive and become the sales leader for those truly interested in fuel economy in a classy package. It will be built in Mexico for the U.S. market thus it will be profitable from early on.

Focus supply adversly affected June sales. In July or August Ford's addition of plant workers at the Wayne plant building the Focus should get supply closer to demand and will result in better numbers.

Ford held the line on rebates in June and actually had lower rebates compared to the prior year which means they made more money on each unit sold than either GM or Chrysler. About $1,000 more per unit on average. GM went rebate crazy in order to stay ahead of Toyota and Chrysler has no choice considering their lackluster lineup.

Ford has also already put into motion plans to bring the Euro-Focus, C-max, and Transit van over ASAP. Once these highly regarded European models arrive Ford will be the volume leader on the MPG front.

These are just a few of the reasons that Kirk Kerkorian may have no trouble at all sleeping at night.