Automotive Fleet has published their mid-year report of fleet sales, and there are a few surprises to be found. The Crown Vic's place at the top of the list (94.2 percent of sales to fleets) is not one of them. Nor will anyone gasp at the Sebring's (69.9 percent of convertibles and 62.2 percent of sedans) and Avenger's (65.5 percent) rankings. However, the stats show that 56.6 percent of Dodge Calibers went to fleets, as did 49.9 percent of Chevy Impalas. The highest import nameplate: the Mazda6 (59.5 percent) followed by the Suzuki XL7 (53.2 percent) and, believe it or not, the Volvo S40 (48.9 percent). Brands you'd think were naturals for fleets like Hyundai and Kia placed below the 50 percent level. Overall, 21.8 percent of the cars and 20.8 percent of the trucks sold the first half of this year went to fleets. As overall sales drop and inventory builds up, that number will probably grow for the second half. We'll offer a more detailed analysis of fleet sales soon. [Thanks to NoSubstitute for the link]
Posts By: Frank Williams
Those of you headed to the California State Fair this month can take the kiddies along for brainwashing "a new eco-friendly show" at the "Buick-Pontiac-GMC Rainforest Pavilion." What the division that produces some of GM's biggest and thirstiest vehicles has to do with the rainforest escapes me at the moment, but the "'green' fun" features a "Dr. Greenius Biofuel" as host and "will engage fair-goers with interactive fun while also educating about alternative fuels and how to be more eco-friendly in day-to-day life." The kiddos can participate in "hands-on demonstrations like learning to juggle, piecing together puzzles, and playing with an easy squeezy biofuel tool demonstrating the difference between petroleum and ethanol in a fun-filled way." And then once you're through in the Rain Forest, you can shuffle over to the "Chevy Alt Fuel Magical Biodome" to see "Harry Hybrid-dini" with "an act that incorporates alternative fuel words of wisdom." And of course, "Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac and GMC will present a variety of fuel-friendly vehicles to explore throughout the Fair." If you've managed to hold down your lunch so far, or really do believe that the children are our future, you can read the entire press release here.
Disney's Magic Kingdom has nothing on GM, the new Happiest Place on Earth. Why, things are so good there that CFO Ray Young told Bloomberg they may be able to reap a larger chunk of their projected $10b savings this year, instead of waiting for next year. Speaking at at the Traverse City auto management lovefest yesterday, Young said The General may have "as much as $17 billion" cash to get them through next year. And it's all because they're "accelerating all of [the] stuff" in Rick Wagoner's July 15 magical "Cut Your Way to Prosperity" plan. Of course, their model mix is still out of kilter for the market. And they have to look at "how strategic" GMAC will be as they enter "another stage" of their relationship with the floundering finance company (read: find some sucker to buy their share of that turkey). Oh, and they may have to "reconsider" their "contractual obligation… with the UAW" on retiree health care even before they make the first payment into the union-run superfund. And they'll do all this while "reinventing the automobile and GM," according to Young's slideshow. GM Deathwatch later today.
GM may have a several thousand disappointed Voltophiles on their hands before this sad saga plays out. Automotive News [sub] reports Dennis Lyle from GM-Volt.com claims over 33k people have joined his unofficial waiting list, expressing a desire buy the electrowundercar when it's "released in 2010." Oh dear. First of all, a 2010 release date is a reality only to those who live in GM Car Czar Bob Lutz' fantasy world. Next, GM's already said they'll build fewer than 40k Volts per year for the first five years, and many of those will be exported. And you know those left stateside will go to GM execs, politicians, celebrities and celebrity politicians. Finally, Lyle's prospective buyers indicated they were willing to pay an average of $31,261 for a vehicle that GM's already said will top the $40k mark (and will lose money on, even at that price). You have to wonder how long the people on this list will put up with GM's gratuitous promises (being charitable) before they finally give up.
Although Ford only makes about $100 from each Focus it currently sells, The Blue Oval Boyz plan to bank big bucks from small cars. At a dinner with journalists last night [Ed: our invitation must have gotten lost in the mail], Ford Americas President Mark Fields said the small car segment is at "critical mass" and that Ford's "eager to tap it." The Detroit News reports that the formerly mulleted Mulally minion stated "we'll see a bigger smaller car segment," and wistfully added FoMoCo wants to start charging premium prices for small cars. And how will they accomplish this goal? With "exciting designs, best-in-class fuel-economy, excellent craftsmanship and innovative new infotainment technologies." And even though the Fiesta will be hecho en Mexico, the Mother of All Union Payoffs (a.k.a. the health care VEBA deal) will save Ford enough money that they can finally build small cars at a profit. Of course, the first thing they have to do is convince the average American small car buyer that a Ford small car is worth the same money as a comparable model from Honda or Toyota. [Ken Elias' Ford Death Watch later today.]
An Aveo that sounds like a Corvette? The Detroit News says it's possible using technology developed by Eberspacher GmbH and its North American subsidiary after exhaustive research [sorry– couldn't help myself]. The system, called "ActiveSilence," goes Lotus' "Safe & Sound" system one better. It works by inserting a heat-resistant speaker into the exhaust system in lieu of a muffler. Then, depending on driver preference, sound waves from the speaker can either cancel engine noise completely or tune it for a variety of sounds from limo quiet to a roaring big block. Those who want to turn their ride into a rolling ghetto blaster can even blow music out their tailpipe. The system is ready for production but an Eberspacher spokesman said it would be two or three years before you'll see hear it on the road. Once that happens there's bound to be a booming business in downloadable sounds to personalize your car with the automotive equivalent of ring tones. But the burning questions is: will it include a jack so you can plug in your iPod?
TTAC's Best and Brightest have spoken. You provided us with 81 nominations for our Ten Best award, from the Aston Martin Vanquish to the HUMMER H2. From this cornucopia of cars, our ever-eager writers selected the short list of 20 finalists. As you might expect, the final list leans heavily towards vehicles notable for their performance and driving excellence. Half of this year's contenders were also finalists last year [indicated by an asterisk]. So here they are, along with some of your more "colorful" comments. Once you've had a look, please step into the e-voting booth and choose TTAC's Ten Best.
Bob Lutz better watch out; his boss is challenging him for the title of Most Delusional Person on Earth. After the Olympic Games' opening ceremonies, Rick Wagoner told Financial Times, "I would say, from an assembly perspective [the pain] is largely behind us." And even though GM has had to cut large chunks of their workforce, is losing market share on an almost daily basis and flushed $15.5b down the toilet last quarter, he feels they're in "a pretty good position." Since the interview was in China, the discussion turned to their Chinese operations. "This has been miracle story from our perspective. For me it's the replay of the US auto industry in the 50s, 60s, 70s, but the upside potential is dramatically greater." Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't those the decades when GM began, advanced and perfected the brand dilution and model overlap that brought them to the point they are today? And when someone pointed out that analysts expect sales growth in China to slow drastically this year, he didn't care. "That's not something we are losing sleep over." Of course, with the golden parachute he has strapped to his back, he probably doesn't loose any sleep over very much of anything. His private little world must truly be a wonderful place to live in.
The inventory levels and average sales per franchise (SPF) numbers as of August first are out and almost everyone looks good on the car side of the inventory sheet. Trucks are a whole ‘nother matter, though. Dealers are doing whatever they have to– including half price sales– to move body-on-frame trucks but inventory is still piling up. Just how bad is it? Well, let's take a look…
We aren't the only ones who question the viability of the Volt. U.S. News has jumped aboard the bandwagon, asking "What is the Chevy Volt, and Why is GM Advertising it During the Olympics?" Observing that GM is pushing the Volt as though it was readily available at your corner Chevy dealer, they state "The car won't reach showrooms until 2010, if it reaches them at all." They wonder about Chevy advertising director Kim Kosak's statement to Edmunds: "We wanted Volt to be an important punctuation to the spot. It's the first [ad] where we've brought [Volt] to the market this clearly." I have to wonder about that one too. After all, don't you have to have a viable product before you can bring it "to the market?" No, wait, that's right… GM's marketing the concept, not the vehicle. And apparantly they're doing a good job of it. Right after the commercial, the Volt jumped to the number eleven search on Google. "Now," as U.S. News notes, "all GM needs to do is actually build one."
While any move to improve fuel efficiency in full-sized trucks is a move in the right direction, you have to wonder if GM's straining at gnats while swallowing camels with their latest move: XFE versions of Silverado, Sierra, Tahoe and Yukon. The press release brags the changes make them "the most aerodynamic full-size pickups in the industry." To accomplish this, they'll install a soft tonneau cover on the pickups and extend the front air dam, lower the suspension, revise the chassis tuning, use aluminum in the wheels and engine and install low rolling-resistance tires. And what's the gain for all these changes? One whole mile per gallon on both the city and highway ratings, which "reflect[s] GM's quick adaptation to an evolving market that remains a very important segment." They haven't said how much all these changes will cost, but just like with the hybrid versions. it's bound to take a while to offset the additional cost with fuel savings.
Big Cadillacs are an endangered species. Unnamed "people familiar with the situation" told Bloomberg that Caddy is adding more versions of the CTS and smaller SUVs while putting the replacements for updating the DTS and STS on hold. The Hamtramck, Michigan plant where the DTS is built alongside with the Buick Lucerne is scheduled to switch over to produce the Volt in 2010. What happens to the biggest of Cadillac's cars after that is pretty much up in the air. The future of the STS, which is built in the same plant as the CTS, is equally uncertain. While some industry experts say "it's the absolute right thing to do right now" because of declining sales of the big cars and stricter CAFE standards, they're missing an important point completely: when the DTS goes, Cadillac's last ties with its past also go – remember, DTS originally stood for "Deville Touring Sedan." It will mark the final step in taking Cadillac totally downmarket and mainstreaming a brand that once had a proud luxury heritage. Lincoln's done it and now Cadillac is doing it. Sad. Truly sad.
Press releases aren't supposed to be funny, but occasionally, one comes out that you can't help but laugh at, either for the product it's promoting, the way it attempts to make it sound unique, or both. Case in point: Toyota's release describing the "Design Ins and Outs of the 2009 Toyota Venza." Having seen pictures of this bastard child of a Camry and an Aztek, I think it would be better described as the "Design Do's and Don'ts," with emphasis on the don'ts. They struggle to find a way to describe it, settling on "not an SUV, not a wagon, not a coupe and not a sedan." So what the Hell is it? They say it "incorporates SUV utility and roominess, while maintaining passenger car essentials, such as ease of ingress/egress, performance, a lower, sleek
side profile with aerodynamic lines." Uh… doesn't that pretty much describe a station wagon? Anyway, the design incorporates "Toyota's design philosophy, ‘Vibrant Clarity'" (which sounds like a Honda FCX with a tire out of balance) to produce "look-at-me" styling. Inside, it has a "floating…60/60 center dashboard" that makes spatially-challenged drivers and passengers "feel as if 60 percent of the space is in their personal zone." There's more, but I'll let you read it for yourself.
If you're a manufacturer with operations all over the globe and a model is bombing in one market, what do you do? You send it to other markets to see how it fares. At least that seems to be Toyota's plan for the Tundra and Sequoia, according to Steve St. Angelo, president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky Inc. Automotive News [sub] reports he stated today that the humongous "trucks could be attractive to overseas buyers." They have to do something to reclaim their investment in design and manufacturing as they aren't selling here. They halted production on both last Friday to try to clear an inventory backlog, with plans to resume production – most likely at a greatly reduced rate – in November. St. Angelo didn't say just where they plan to sell these gas-sucking mega-trucks, or who they think will buy them, but I have a feeling Europe and Japan are pretty low on their list.
GM dealers are catching it from all directions. The General cutting back on leasing (with a very sharp knife) even as the troops wait for central command to fix the mix, And now the corporate mothership's gutting the dealers' GM Mark of Excellence 2008 Recognition Programs. A message to dealers outlined the "difficult" changes that resulted in canceling "select rewards" but added new cheaper incentives. Travel rewards are toast. In their stead: prepaid $1k debit cards and "exclusively yours®" reward points. "GM PerQs" are also gone, whatever the Hell they are. On the positive side, GM's cut the dealers' monthly enrollment fee by 50 percent. However, any refunds for prepaid feeds will "be applied to the Dealer's Open Account." Click here for a PDF of the complete communique. If a GM dealer or an industry-savvy member of our Best and Brightest can parse this for us, we'd be much obliged.
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