Filed under: Car Buying, Budget, SUV, Crossover

Finally, after years and years of stagnation and painfully slow sales, small cars are starting to take a foothold in the United States. Or are they? While conventional wisdom makes us believe that Americans are ready to take the downsizing plunge in the face of – or at least the threat of – high fuel prices and environmental concerns (we’re all still watching the Gulf Coast, right?), it seems that reality may once again set us straight.

Automotive sales watchdog Autodata has found that the gas-swilling large SUV segment is growing at a faster pace than the America’s small car segment. Like statistics? Here we go: With a 19-percent jump over the first six months of 2010, large SUV sales have outpaced small cars (14 percent). Critically, they’ve also outpaced the overall market (17 percent).

Now, before we get our feathers riled up too much, realize that sales of large SUVs still lag way behind small cars – 974,000 to 121,000 through the first half of the year. Further, large crossovers like the Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, Ford Flex, GMC Acadia and Lincoln MKT are included in those figures right alongside traditional behemoths like the Chevy Tahoe, Ford Expedition, Infiniti QX56 and Toyota Sequoia.

We also expect that small car sales will continue to climb with new models coming to market, such as the upcoming Ford Fiesta, Mazda2 and Hyundai’s Accent and Elantra. That said, there’s always going to be a demand for large and powerful SUVs that can haul people and stuff while towing a boat or camper in cool, air-conditioned comfort, and automakers will be only too happy to provide the thick-margined vehicles for their consumption. For better or for worse.

[Source: USA Today via Kicking Tires]

Report: Large SUV segment outpacing small car sales growth in America originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink?|?Email this?|?Comments

Read more Autos Newsfeed daily here!
Read the original:
Report: Large SUV segment outpacing small car sales growth in America

Filed under: Car Buying, Convertible, Coupe, Performance, Chevrolet, Ford, GM

It took a full year for the Ford Mustang to regain its pony car sales title versus the reborn Chevy Camaro, but May sales totals show that the ‘Stang has finally regained its mojo. The far more powerful 2011 Mustang plays a huge roll in the comeback, but after originally reporting the upset, Automotive News is now pointing out a second factor that helped the Blue Oval bring the May pony car sales title back to Dearborn.

The Camaro has been selling so well that General Motors hasn’t had to pour any money into incentives.That’s zero denero, no super low financing… nothing. The tale of the Mustang’s May sales tally is a bit murkier. First, 4,376 of the Mustangs sold in May were 2010 models, and those coupes could be had with $2,500 on the hood and financing between zero and 5.9 percent – depending on the length of the loan. According to Edmunds.com, the 2011 Mustang has $1,500 on the hood for returning lessees and conquests alike, plus financing as low as zero percent for 36 months.

Does the fact that the Mustang has some cash on its hood mean that its 10,225 to 8,931 sales victory against the Camaro is tainted? We’re not inclined to think so because a win is a win no matter how you dissect it. But at the same time, we’re pretty sure GM is thrilled to be selling their pony car at a clip of 100,000 units per year without any cash on the hood. Not a bad consolation prize.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req.]

Ford Mustang/Chevrolet Camaro May sales tally backstory originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 07 Jun 2010 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read?|?Permalink?|?Email this?|?Comments

Read more Autos Newsfeed daily here!
See original here:
Ford Mustang/Chevrolet Camaro May sales tally backstory

Filed under: Car Buying, Convertible, Coupe, Performance, Chevrolet, Ford, GM

It took a full year for the Ford Mustang to regain its pony car sales title versus the reborn Chevy Camaro, but May sales totals show that the ‘Stang has finally regained its mojo. The far more powerful 2011 Mustang plays a huge roll in the comeback, but after originally reporting the upset, Automotive News is now pointing out a second factor that helped the Blue Oval bring the May pony car sales title back to Dearborn.

The Camaro has been selling so well that General Motors hasn’t had to pour any money into incentives.That’s zero denero, no super low financing… nothing. The tale of the Mustang’s May sales tally is a bit murkier. First, 4,376 of the Mustangs sold in May were 2010 models, and those coupes could be had with $2,500 on the hood and financing between zero and 5.9 percent – depending on the length of the loan. According to Edmunds.com, the 2011 Mustang has $1,500 on the hood for returning lessees and conquests alike, plus financing as low as zero percent for 36 months.

Does the fact that the Mustang has some cash on its hood mean that its 10,225 to 8,931 sales victory against the Camaro is tainted? We’re not inclined to think so because a win is a win no matter how you dissect it. But at the same time, we’re pretty sure GM is thrilled to be selling their pony car at a clip of 100,000 units per year without any cash on the hood. Not a bad consolation prize.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req.]

Ford Mustang/Chevrolet Camaro May sales tally backstory originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 07 Jun 2010 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read?|?Permalink?|?Email this?|?Comments

Read more Autos Newsfeed daily here!
Follow this link:
Ford Mustang/Chevrolet Camaro May sales tally backstory

Filed under: Car Buying, Earnings/Financials

2009 was the single worst sales year for the auto industry in 30 years, with just 10.4 million vehicles moving off dealer lots. Consultancy A.T. Kearney feels a lot better about 2010 and beyond, though, as pent-up demand is beginning to creep into the market. A.T. Kearney predicts that by the time 2010 is in the history books, the industry will have hit between 11.4 and 12.3 million cars and trucks sold, but if you hold the company to just one number, it estimates a market of 11.7 million units.

If the economic recovery continues to gain steam, 2011 could see 14.4 million sales. That would be a huge sum for an industry that has scaled back production to meet current demand. The firm feels 2012 will bring auto sales back to pre-industry collapse, with an estimated 16.6 million cars and trucks manufactured.

It’s worth noting that the A.T. Kearney forecast is quite a bit more aggressive than many we’ve seen, but analyst Daniel Cheng tells Reuters that the analysis closely follows what happened in the early 1980s, when demand shot right back up after a lull of a couple of years. Among the potential calamities that could derail the industry’s climb back to normalcy are a double-dip recession and credit that doesn’t loosen up over time.

If A.T. Kearney’s industry sales forecast comes close to true, we’re thinking there are going to be a lot of happy automakers in carmaking nations the world over. The industry will need to hire more workers, which won’t be bad for the economy, either.

Where do you think the industry will finish in 2011? Leave your best guess in ‘Comments.’

[Source: Reuters | Image: Getty]

A.T. Kearney forecasting 14.4 million U.S. vehicle sales in 2011… what do you think? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 20 May 2010 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read?|?Permalink?|?Email this?|?Comments

Follow this link:
A.T. Kearney forecasting 14.4 million U.S. vehicle sales in 2011… what do you think?

Filed under: By the Numbers

Ford outsells GM, Toyota sales fall hard

A number of things transpired last month to paint most of our By the Numbers table below green. A minor contribution can be credited to Toyota and its recall woes, the effect of which has been that many other automakers are grabbing conquest sales from the wounded Japanese automaker.

The Toyota Camry for instance, long the best-selling car in the U.S., moved 16,552 units last month compared to 20,634 the year before, a drop of almost 20 percent. The Ford Fusion, which has been gaining sales on the back of positive reviews and a mantel full of awards, sold 16,459 units last month. That’s a 117-percent sales increase compared to last year, some of which we have to believe is directly attributable to customers turning away from Toyota and the Camry. (Note: The Honda Accord beat them both with 22,456 sales, though the new Crosstour accounts for 2,432 of those sales, and the Nissan Altima fell below the Fusion with 16,198 sales.)

The major contributing factor to so many brands and companies reporting positive sales results in February is the fact that sales in February of last year were so dismal. It’s easy to be in the green when the bar has been reset so low. That said, Ford Motor Company’s performance in particular has to be noted, as it now stands as the largest domestic U.S. automaker after selling more vehicles last month than General Motors (142,285 vs. 141,951), a feat that hasn’t happened for 12 years. Expect it to happen a lot more as GM’s non-core brands wind down into non-existence.

*Brands and companies are displayed in descending order according to their percentage change in volume sales. There were 24 selling days in February 2010 and 24 selling days in February 2009, so the change in monthly sales volume will be the same as the change in the average daily sales rate (DSR) for each brand/company.

By the Numbers – February 2010: Easy Being Green Edition originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink?|?Email this?|?Comments

See the rest here:
By the Numbers – February 2010: Easy Being Green Edition

Filed under: Car Buying

2009 was not a good year for car sales. No surprises there. An interesting side effect of lowered sales last year, though, is that the total number of vehicles in the overall U.S. car fleet dropped. There were 250 million cars here in 2008, and only 246 million at the end of 2009. We may have been buying fewer cars than we usually do in a year – there were around 10 million sold in 2009 – but we still got rid of 14 million units.

Lester Brown, president of the Earth Policy Institute, will be speaking to reporters Wednesday about why he thinks these numbers mean that “America’s century-old love affair with the automobile may be coming to an end.” Part of Brown’s reasoning is that he sees the shrinking U.S. fleet trend continuing through 2020 thanks to market saturation, economic uncertainty and a “declining interest in cars among young people who have grown up in cities,” among other factors. The end result? Brown believes the shrinking fleet “will also largely eliminate the need for building new streets and highways, and will set the stage for increased investment in public transit and high-speed intercity rail.” Is Brown on to something, or will a widely-expected rebound in new car sales due to pent-up demand render his argument spurious? Check out the EPI’s press release after the jump, then be sure to leave your thoughts on the matter in ‘Comments.’

[Source: Earth Policy Institute | Image: kodiax2 - C.C. License 2.0]

Continue reading Report: Number of cars in the U.S. dropped by four million in 2009 – is America’s love affair ending?

Report: Number of cars in the U.S. dropped by four million in 2009 – is America’s love affair ending? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink?|?Email this?|?Comments

Original post:
Report: Number of cars in the U.S. dropped by four million in 2009 – is America’s love affair ending?

Filed under: Car Buying, Earnings/Financials

This just in from Hard Numbers News: From 2000 to 2007, an average of 16.8 million vehicles were sold in the States. In 2008, that figure dropped to 13.2 million. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the tally for 2009 is expected to put the sales needle somewhere around 10.4 million. According to Bloomberg, that would make last year the worst for new car sales since 1982, when there was not only a recession but also 25 percent fewer Americans.

The good news: sales began to rise at the end of 2009, having sustained themselves nicely after the revelry of cash-for-clunkers. The final data isn’t in yet, but Bloomberg‘s survey of analysts suggests two months of gains in November and December. Predictions estimate that Ford, Toyota, Honda and Nissan saw increases, with General Motors and Chrysler looking at slipping sales.

The silver lining? Meager sales could “indicate significant pent-up demand.” That kettle of demand is going to take some time to boil, but a rise in household spending is penciled in for late 2010, along with greater availability of credit, and a drop in unemployment numbers is in the forecast as well. The road to recovery will be a slow one, but hopefully with the turn of the calendar year will come a turn in fortunes for the U.S. economy.

[Source: Bloomberg | Image: Scott Olson/Getty]

Bloomberg: U.S. auto sales “probably rose” in December originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 01 Jan 2010 16:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read?|?Permalink?|?Email this?|?Comments

The rest is here:
Bloomberg: U.S. auto sales “probably rose” in December