U.S. auto sales showed their first overall increase since May, with a 1.2 percent gain over last October– if you don't adjust for selling days. If you do, (as does BusinessWeek) then sales were down about 3 percent.. The good news: sales growth by GM, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan. The bad news: Ford and Chrysler weren't so fortunate (as in very, very unfortunate). Bloomberg attributes their sales tumble to the popularity of small cars and car-based SUVs (aka CUVs), one or the other (or both) of which are poorly represented in Chrysler's and Ford's lineups. Here's how the top seven fared overall:
Nissan – up 13%
Toyota – up 4.5%
Honda – up 3.8%
GM – Up 3.4%
Hyundai – down <1%
Chrysler – down 8.9%
Ford – down 9.5%
We'll have the detailed By The Numbers breakdown for our bellwether models next week.
Poor Ford. They’re haemorraging market share at a rate which isn’t being off setted by their growth in other markets and they’re making ugly cars.
Good show by GM, maybe they are turning the corner? Toyota are still marching forward, but won’t get number spot this year. Nissan is the one which surprises me. I thought Toyota’s line was boring, but Nissan’s puts me into a coma!
Hyundai seem to be plateauing out. Maybe Hyundai’s core market has reaching saturation and will have to create a new brand to make in roads in new markets. I hear Jaguar is up for grabs….?
But this is where I make a really bad confession. I want Ford to go under because the majority of people I hate in my life are employed by Ford and I want them to lose their jobs! It’s nasty, but that’s how I feel! lol
Wow, Katie, you made me laugh out loud. Good thing I didn’t have any coffee at the moment, or I’d have spat it all over my monitor….
Thanks for the cheer-up on a cold Friday afternoon. At least I get to head for the house in under an hour and a half!!! More good news.
I’ve given up, by the way, trying to get into a Detroit 2.8 car factory. Here I am 1/2 century “un-young” and haven’t been in a car plant to see my fave thing being built – ever.
The Detroit 2.8 can’t get it together – I’ve been trying for almost 15 years to get into one of their plants to see cars being made.
Gave up. I’m going to get out of Michigan for four days, drive straight south to Montgomery Alabama late in January (just in time to get the heck away from snow, gray skies, cold, icy roads and imbecilic Michigan “drivers” / cell phone users who are also attempting to marshall SUV’s).
I’m going to hit the Detroit auto show for the first time since January 1975 (where I saw my first AMC Pacer), I’m hitting Lane’s Microcar Museum in Nashville, then on to Montgomery, then on home. It’s “only” 2250 miles (33 hours of driving) over 4 days….
It’s now or never…. Except the wife’s Sonata isn’t going to “get a trip home to visit the new siblings” because the Prius will cost us $150 less in gas to do the trip…
glenn,
I did go to the National Corvette Museum this year, and they are supposed to offer tours of the factory next door. My father and I didn’t bother since we didn’t have the time, and they are only scheduled for certain times of day. Sorry if I’m telling you something you’ve already tried.
Mr Glenn126,
Did I show a rather vindictive side, there?!
Seriously, I really hate Ford! Hate their cars and hate the company. Plus I hate Mark Fields and his stupid “Billy Ray Cyrus” haircut! Totally overrated CEO.
I just don’t get why people buy Nissan cars. So boring. But when I saw the Nissan GT-R I just said 2 words and they were both “Hubba”…….
A defender of Nissan I will be.
Best powertrains, (for the masses) in the business. More exciting to look at than a Toyota.
Granted, I’m biased, my Altima coupe is sitting outside, freshly washed.
Wow Katie—-I didn’t know you had such hate and vitriol :)
Actually—-Ford held their share even with declining sales. Also, I checked their math—and sure enough they weren’t blowing smoke—-the loss of the old Taurus fleet sales really did account for most of their October year-on-year decline.
The tale of the tape will be their earnings results over the next 4 quarters. Loss of low profit old Taurus fleet will not hurt, but If other factors (slower internal change or more rapid market deterioration)force them to burn through cash quicker than they are planning..then the ability to turnaround with new ’08-’09 products will be compromised. I hope their strategy works as I have a soft spot for Ford (unlike you Katie) and believe Mulally has them on the right track strategically.
Katie:
I’m not trying to pick a fight, but calling Nissan boring compared to Toyota? What about the Z?
People like their Nissan’s here in the north-east US. There are more Muranos on the road here than you can shake a stick at. Good thing they look nice.
With the Versa out, I think lots of folks are keeping it in the Nissan family when they downsize.
They’ve been making a notable push to get TV ads and product placements of the new Rogue, too.
I’m not surprised Nissan did well this month. I look forward to breakdown to see what GM did right.
Ryan,
The Z350? the Audi TT rip off? No ta! And don’t get me started on the engine. Did Nissan develop a twin turbo charged engine like in the 300Zx (aka Fairlady)? Nope, they nicked it from a Renault Vel Satis.
People slate the Jaguar X-type for being built on a Ford Mondeo platform, yet people are happy to drive a sports cars with a Renault engine!
Go figure…..
Katie:
Renault sourced the wonderful NISSAN VQ series V6 for the ugly Renault Vel Satis not the other way around.
Z is exciting, GT-R even more, the Maxima and Altima is still more exciting than their Toyota counterparts.
I’ve given up, by the way, trying to get into a Detroit 2.8 car factory. Here I am 1/2 century “un-young” and haven’t been in a car plant to see my fave thing being built – ever.
Roll on down to Kentucky and try the Corvette plant for a tour. I think you have to book ahead. While you’re there, ask them when I can order an XLR-V in something close to Maserati Blue Nettuno.
Phil
The Ford Rouge Factory in Dearborn is also open to visitors with a pretty healthy schedule. Its part of the larger Henry Ford Museum Complex which is terrific. My family an I had a great time this summer. Go during the week when the factory is running and building F150’s.
Frank “The bad news: Ford and Chrysler weren’t so fortunate (as in very, very unfortunate). Bloomberg attributes their sales tumble to the popularity of small cars and car-based SUVs (aka CUVs), one or the other (or both) of which are poorly represented in Chrysler’s and Ford’s lineups”
I’d welcome you to revisit the article for the real reasons for Ford declines (i.e fleet reduction)…Ford is in fact doing well in the CUV segment with the Edge / MKX + Escape / Mariner. You were correct in your statement regarding reasons behind Chrysler.
Gee Glenn 126 wish you could come and work with me for a shift.I could find an excuse to go take a floor count in the truck plant. You just watch a few of those sweet little pick ups rolling off the line.
Hey you would be trading that Prius in on a 4 WD Silverado tomorrow
Good one, Mikey.
No, getting Glenn126 out of his Prius and into a Silverado is as likely as Bob Dillon shilling for Cadillac.
Wait a minute,…
Yeah, Glenn, go for it. A tour of an assembly plant is fascinating. Manufacturers probably should promote plant tours as a marketing tool.
Or maybe not. Many years ago I went through a Ford plant. There were two especially memorable sights. When doors were added to a body, a guy used a big mallet to wallop the window frame until it fit the body well enough. And at the end of the line a worker jumped in a car to drive it away. Once the engine started, he floored the accelerator, slammed the car into gear and roared away trailing smoke from the engine and the tires. “Break-in” indeed!
Mikey, do they still torture vehicles at birth?
I know that Suzuki is a smallish player in the US market (with exactly one year of reaching the 100,000-vehicle mark), but TheAutoChannel.com reports that Suzuki’s October year-to-year sales are up by 10% / 586 vehicles (unadjusted for selling days), while Suzuki’s YTD sales are up by 1% / 1258 vehicles.
50 MERC: No, unless you want the super early retirement package.
So, is it worth asking how Mazda’s numbers are? The Mazda3 has been one of the top selling small cars up here in the Great White North(TM) since 2005..
I hate post-1990’s-Toyota, but I realize their about harvesting money, with the car only being a bait on a hook, than vice versa. But Toyota, despite its boring offerings, substandard engineering, and now shitty reliability, still keeps selling. And then it came to me, pistonheads shouldn’t hate Toyota, they should hate the game, as in the general American car-buying public. Toyota is just giving dumb ‘mericans what they want, and they know ‘mericans aren’t picky about build-quality anymore. So, when I get the urge to flame Toyota, I stop and think, then conclude I should flame my fellow Americans, the ones supporting the loopy T mafia anyway!
Jason:
“Shitty reliability”? and “‘mericans aren’t picky about build quality”?
I think you’re being extremely harsh about Toyota, there (Much like I was about Nissan). Toyota may have had a few more recalls than normal, but they still are streets ahead of the competition (but just behind Honda).
And I think americans DO care about build quality, why else are they abandoning Detroit steel? They general story with customers who “flipped” (been watching “The Sopranos”!) was that Detroit burnt them and the Japanese never let them down.