Only one more day until we get August sales data, and September 4th will bring us the latest inventory numbers. Here at TTAC, we’re keeping an eye on GM’s full-size truck inventory, which is as high as 145 days for the GMC Sierra – well above the 100 day supply that’s considered safe for full-size trucks.
Hyundais will be in short supply this coming month. Workers in Korea refused to make them and went on strike in July and August. Hyundai and the unions reached a tentative wage deal today, “ending the second-costliest strike in the firm’s 45-year history,” as Reuters reports.
Wolfsburg’s Über-VW, the Phaeton, will be produced in China. At least if the Chinese car site Auto.163 is correct. The news is coming to you via Chinacartimes, which doubts the article’s veracity, not only because the logic behind Auto.163’s reasoning is a bit backwards. Is it really? (Read More…)
Chinacartimes, the website that monitors the Chinese car market, put its finger on a disturbing new trend in China: Cars adorned with Nazi paraphernalia.“Some Chinese like to dress up in period military costumes and stick WW2 era German military insignia all over their motors,” reports Ash Sutcliffe, the owner/operator of the site. (Read More…)
Fuel economy standards for the year 2025 have now been set, as the government released the finalized CAFE regulations, in a massive tome totaling 1,994 pages in PDF form
The rotary engine and Mazda have had a tumultuus, on-and-off relationship that rivals an Old Hollywood marriage. Market conditions and government regulations have made mass production of the rotary a constant challenge, and the death of the Mazda RX-8 looked like the final nail in the Wankel’s coffin.
Today, the Moscow Motor show opened its doors its doors to the public. This time, it is the Russian of more modest means who has the attention of the world’s carmakers, keen to profit from one of Europe’s few growing markets,” says Reuters, reporting from the show. (Read More…)
Electric cars haven’t taken the market by storm, despite a hurricane of propaganda, and despite of tsunamis of government subsidies. Now, India is joining the fray. India will spend some money to entice its citizens to go electric. Like the U.S. and China, India expects them to do so by the droves. (Read More…)
| Sales Forecasts August 2012 | ||||||
| Forecast TrueCar | Forecast Kelley | |||||
| Units | YoY | Share | Units | YoY | Share | |
| Chrysler | 142,593 | 9.60% | 11.4% | 142,600 | 9.60% | 11.2% |
| Ford | 191,456 | 9.50% | 15.3% | 191,600 | 9.60% | 15.1% |
| GM | 227,087 | 3.90% | 18.1% | 225,950 | 3.40% | 17.7% |
| Honda | 133,458 | 62.10% | 10.6% | 129,450 | 57.30% | 10.2% |
| Hyundai/Kia | 117,212 | 17.60% | 9.3% | 119,662 | 20.00% | 9.4% |
| Nissan | 97,022 | 6.00% | 7.7% | 105,000 | 14.70% | 8.2% |
| Toyota | 182,896 | 41.30% | 14.6% | 176,950 | 36.70% | 13.9% |
| Volkswagen | 47,069 | 32.80% | 3.7% | 53,500 | 50.50% | 4.2% |
| Industry | 1,255,392 | 17.20% | 100.0% | 1,273,000 | 18.70% | 100.0% |
When U.S. August sales numbers will be announced next week, TrueCar expects them to be up strongly. The Santa Monica forecaster predicts August new light vehicle sales to be in the neighborhood of 1,255,392 units, up 17.2 percent from August 2011. TrueCar’s forecast would translate into a Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Rate (“SAAR”) of 14.2 million new car sales, up from 12.1 million in August 2011. (Read More…)
In rapper parlance, the word “ignorant” often denotes someone or something that is offensively ostentatious, lacking in taste, discretion or refinement. It’s a great descriptor for the Cadillac Escalade, and according to an Automotive News report, things aren’t going to change when the next generation debuts.
In the most recent installments of the never-ending rumors on Lincoln’s long march to China, Chinese media claimed that the Lincolns would be built at a new Ford plant in Hangzhou. Dearborn denied everything. Yesterday, Ford confirmed for the first time that Lincoln would be coming to China. Today, Ford broke ground at the Hangzhou plant, while someone says that Lincoln had been in China on the say, and that it did not work out. (Read More…)
The Chrysler K platform was getting pretty dated by the early 1990s, though the 2.2/2.5 engine family was still technologically relevant (when compared to such Industrial Revolution-era machinery as GM’s Iron Duke). Chrysler put together yet another version of the K platform to create the P-body, which it then used as the basis for a family of compact cars intended to replace the even-more-dated Omnirizon cars. Thus was the Dodge Shadow born. Chrysler sold quite a few Shadows, which means you still see them on the road every now and then. I’ve been seeing Shadows and Sundances in large quantities in junkyards for the last 15 or so years, and only recently has the flow of P-bodies to The Crusher slowed down. Before they’re all gone, here’s a bronze Shadow I spotted at a Denver self-serve yard. (Read More…)
On July 1, all 37 million car owners in France were required to spend 2 Euros for a disposable breathalyzer to be kept in their vehicles at all times. Failure to do so will result in a fine of 11 Euros. Lest you think this is a weak attempt at a parody of the French and their love of wine, go here. (Read More…)
Japan’s automakers released global production and sales data for July today. It is an ancient Japanese tradition, which is also shared by large European carmakers, but shunned by most American globals. GM for instance reports only quarterly on a global basis, and keeps observers guessing in between. July data released by Japanese large automakers shows a strong rebound after last year’s multiple disasters. Honda looks especially strong, while Toyota’s march towards regaining the title “World’s largest automaker 2012” appears unstoppable. (Read More…)
Craig writes:
My daily driver for a while has been a 1988 Volvo 240 sedan with about 100K miles. I do have some nagging maintenance issues I need to address when the weather warms up. (Read More…)
Recent Comments