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Forget Toyota. Chrysler's got the most problems.

News - Domestic
Thursday, 11 March 2010 00:00
NEW YORK -- Industry experts say that even though Chrysler's overall sales are down only 3% during the first two months of the year, estimates show more than half of Chrysler's sales have been to fleet customers, such as rental car companies. Chrysler's sales to consumers have plunged more than 44% so far this year, according to estimates by industry tracker Edmunds.com. Fleet sales may be masking bigger problems at Chrysler right now, but experts say they are not a very secure lifeboat for an automaker whose customer demand is sinking fast. "You can not viably survive with fleet and rental sales over 50%," said Jesse Toprak, vice president of industry trends for TrueCar, a car pricing and sales service. "The math just doesn't work." Chrysler's weakness in mid-size sedans, compacts and so-called crossover utility vehicles means that it is gaining the least of any major automaker from the problems at Toyota. Jessica Caldwell, director of industry analysis at Edmunds.com, said traffic on its site for almost all the other major manufacturers moved up in the wake of Toyota's recall woes. "But nothing happened at Chrysler," she said. Read more at CNNMoney.com.

GM seeks to reinstate 661 rejected dealerships

News - Domestic
Friday, 05 March 2010 00:00
GM seeks to reinstate 661 rejected dealerships DETROIT -- General Motors Co. said today it plans to reinstate 661 of the 1,160 rejected dealerships that applied for arbitration to get their franchises back, scrapping a nine-month plan to reduce its showroom network by 40 percent. The decision to begin settlement procedures as early as next week stemmed from a desire to avoid the rigors of congressionally mandated arbitration, GM executives said. Letters of intent are scheduled to start going out as early as Wednesday, March 10. The process could take just a few weeks for some dealers and as long as several months for others, they said. GM hopes to have the effort completed by mid-summer

Ford Comes in as No. 1, as Toyota Falls

News - Domestic
Thursday, 04 March 2010 00:00
Sales numbers trickled in throughout the day yesterday as Ford and GM both showed vast improvements over January and 2009 numbers. Ford reported their sales were up 43%. This is the first time since 1998, is the new number one seller in the U.S., beating out both GM and Toyota. Toyota, as industry experts predicted, reported a 9% drop in U.S. Sales. GM reported sales for their four key brands were up 32% over numbers from 2009. Both Kia and Hyundai showed an increase as well. Industrywide sales were up 13% over this time last year, which is good seeing how most manufacturers were worried about the hard winter weather that hit most of the U.S. during February

GM Lutz Retiring May 1

News - Domestic
Thursday, 04 March 2010 00:00
General Motors announced today, Vice Chairman Bob Lutz will retire May 1, 2010, ended a 47-year career with GM. GM said that Lutz decided to retire now in part because hot-selling vehicles like the Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac SRX, GMC Terrain, Chevrolet Equinox and Chevrolet Camaro, along with the growing strength of GM's four brands, prove that a product-focused mindset inside the company is in place for the long term. Lutz will continue to provide guidance on design and key products initiatives until May 1.

Ford Sales Top GM For First Time Since 1998

News - Domestic
Wednesday, 03 March 2010 00:00
For the first time in 12 years, Ford Motor Co. has General Motors Co. in its rear-view mirror. February U.S. auto sales showed Ford ahead of its crosstown rival by the slimmest of margins -- 471 vehicles -- but enough for the Dearborn automaker to claim bragging rights. Ford led the pack last month with a 43.5 percent gain in car and truck sales compared to the same month a year ago, according to figures released Tuesday. Though Ford's tally of 142,006 vehicles sold just beat GM's 141,535, Ford's gains were across all vehicle lines and brands, including Volvo. "Consumers say they like our products," said Ken Czubay, Ford's vice president of U.S. marketing sales and service. "We don't expect it to let up."

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