I’m down with Eddie on this one: how can you tell the difference between April Fool’s Day and the normal cavalcade of pap? The above bon mots arrive courtesy Jim Press, via the Detroit Free Press. The paper reassures its remaining readers with the news (well it’s news to me) that the shockingly bad March sales numbers—down 36.8 percent overall—are actually good. “Industrywide auto sales are usually about 20% higher in March than in February, largely because March is a longer month and people begin to buy more cars as the snow melts and spring arrives. But this year, industry-wide auto sales increased 24.5% from February to March, according to Autodata Corp. of Woodcliff Lake, N.J.” That’s what I call a stretch. Reuters journeys all the way to Italy to find its silver lining, revealing that the government’s market distortion has created a 0.24 percent rise in new car registrations. And The Gray Lady feels compelled to dignify the Chrysler–Fiat link with pre-pack PR. “‘We’re not doing this because we’re good Samaritans,’ Mr. Marchionne told a New York Times reporter in an interview this year.” Sometimes old news is the only good news, I guess.
This kind of nonsense seems to be the mainstream media’s MO these days – sift through a pile of disastrous economic data, pull out a couple of obscure “positive” figures, and use them as an excuse to claim that the “bull is back”.
The bull is back alright, but not in the same sense.
Marchionne is telling the truth when he says they are not doing it to be good smaritians. He is just interested in Jeep…………
People in the MSM are also invested in stocks and property, and don’t mind trying to talk up their portfolios, when given the chance… :-)
But this begs the question: where are the genuine good news in automotive, these days?
Stein X Leikanger :
April 2nd, 2009 at 2:27 am
People in the MSM are also invested in stocks and property, and don’t mind trying to talk up their portfolios, when given the chance… :-)
But this begs the question: where are the genuine good news in automotive, these days?
No idea. Daimler and BMW stock is rising today about 10% – heeding the market. But where is the good news from the economy? Strange ..
The only good news for Auburn Hills in March was that some folks took the Federally subsidized EP++ cash on the hood and pushed the sale of Jeep Wranglers ahead of last March.
Other Chrysler models to include Avenger, Sebring and Caliber continued to tank even with. I mentioned these models, because they should be the bread and butter of Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge.
I love the spin from Auburn Hills. Our sales are down 36.8% for the month of March compared to a year ago, but our inventory is only 17% lower.
The same goes for warranty claims. Sales have tanked – so the number of warranty claims are down. The official spin is that this means their reliability has drastically improved.
Not to be picky, but isn’t Nardelli the CEO instead of Press, or have I missed a news cycle?
“The same goes for warranty claims. Sales have tanked – so the number of warranty claims are down.”
Warranty claims are measured as a percentage of vehicles sold – not absolute claims. Otherwise when you have fantastic sales year it would look like your warranty claims are higher. So yes, warranty claims are actually down.
“Reuters *journeys* all the way to Italy to find its silver lining…”
Was that intentional? Do I get a prize for noticing it? :-)
windswords
True dat. My bad. Headline amended.
Why anyone considers the NYTimes a credible news source for Carmageddon is a mystery to me. The only cars NYTimes reporters know about are the cabs in NYC. None of them come from Chrysler. These folks understand how the rest of us use cars, pickups and minivans about as well as we Americans understand how Siberians use motorcycles with sidecars. Or Plains Indians used dogs.
Good point about NYT reporters. One has to wonder when the last time was that any one of them was in the front seat of a car.