OK, Sharon we'll bite. What's the deal with the Ford Escape Hybrid? Is it true that The Blue Oval Boyz purposely restrict supply because they lose money on every one they sell? And the answer is… "There are regional spots of very high demand," FoMoCo spinmeister Alan Hall told The Detroit News. "We are building to our production plans of 24,000 units per year (of Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner hybrids) combined." Sigh. So, surely that's it, yes? I mean we can't very well talk about a shortage of GM's hybrid SUVs, as customers for the two-mode gas – electric behemoths are lined-up none deep. Or can we? "GM's other hybrid trucks, the full-size Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon, are hard to find, in part because about half of the automakers' dealers opted not to sell them. Also, GM has produced the vehicles in limited numbers." Aw c'mon Sharon, the reason GM dealers don't have hybrid SUVs on their lots is that nobody wants them. By your own count, GM sold less than 1500 hybrid SUVs so far this year. Suggesting that GM dealers won't stock them because they don't want to "go through special training" is more than disingenuous. It's lying.

Yesterday felt like some kind of tipping point. TTAC's traffic didn't jump (growth continues to be slow and organic). We didn't land a new advertiser or score a junket or receive an award or introduce a new feature. We just kept doing what we do. Only this time, we were covering the June sales stats. Working as a team, our writers turned around the data faster than our rivals, and did so with our usual panache (a.k.a. lousy attitude). If persistence is the key to success, then we will be successful. But we will never forget that our reputation must exceed– I mean "proceed us." We must stay resolutely not-to-say violently independent. I contrast this pledge with a new low in Motor Trend's decline and fall, from Dealer Sales & Marketing. "Mudd Advertising announced the launch of a new marketing program that lets dealerships leverage the renowned MOTOR TREND name and MOTOR TREND “Car of the Year”, “Truck of the Year”, and “Sport Utility of the Year” logos. Through a special licensing agreement with MOTOR TREND, Mudd Advertising dealer clients can use these MOTOR TREND award logos in direct mail pieces and POP displays to attract more in-market buyers and increase vehicle sales." When you have to literally sell your good name, it's time to call it a day. Ours is just beginning. 

First, this was an easy call. Commodity costs have jumped significantly in the last year, eating into Toyota's– and everyone else's– profits. Second, as the new world leader, ToMoCo is best positioned to pass on those costs. Quoted by Automotive News [sub] CEO Carlos Ghosn admitted as much. "It's very, very difficult to move in a market without somehow the leader of the market (making a) move." Third, you gotta read between the lines here. "Our basic principle is to continue to work on cost reductions within the company first," said Toyota spokesman Paul Nolasco. "But we won't be able to avoid thinking about price hikes in the future considering a recent jump in raw materials costs." How… inscrutable. As I reported in General Motors Death Watch 182, here's real deal: Toyota wants to see what happens to the other guys– specifically GM– before upping its profits. "We'll make a final decision after evaluating April-June sales and production costs," a "top Toyota official" told The Nikkei business daily. 

GMInsideNews says that the 2010 Saturn Aura, a clone of Opel's new Insignia midsize sedan, is on hold. GM has already shipped much of the tooling to the Kansas facility where it was planning on churning-out the Aura in late 2009 as a 2010 model. While GM hasn't made an announcement, GMI confirmed that the program has been paused, and speculates that the move will, at the very minimum, delay the next gen Aura's arrival in America. This after recent rumors that one or more of GM's brands is headed to the great automotive dealership in the sky. Is Saturn about to be strategically reviewed to death? We're not exactly talking about a critical brand for GM here, with about 7k – 8k non-SUV sales per month. Lest we forget, GM did the same product pause prior to Oldsmobile's euthanasia a few years ago. Talk about irony: Oldsmobile was starved for product and funding in the 1980s to develop the Saturn brand. On the other hand, some commenters at GMInsideNews see it differently: the pause is for fresh fuel efficient engine development. Or alternatively, Saturn will delay the Aura until 2012 or 2013, adding "Oh, and by 2013 GM will be picking up momentum at which time the 4-Door Sedan version of the Aura can return." With apologies to all you extremists, I respectfully think that's notgonnahappenatall.com.

Let’s say you've mentally prepared yourself to pay full whack– $42,185– for the new Dodge Charger Super Bee. In other words, you're looking to "invest" an additional $2760 (over the normal SRT/8) version to get some gaudy matte paint, suede seat inserts and “Super Bee” badges. In that case, you’d better hope you don’t live in Oklahoma. Closely examining the window sticker on said Bee, I noticed the presence of an additional half sheet of paper next to the window sticker, crudely copied from a handwritten note used on who knows how many other cars. This “limited availability charge" (a.k.a. “screw you sticker”) detailed a $10,500 hike in the Bee's MSRP. So, want to drive it? Not a chance. My salesman explains that the Bee's a “very expensive car” A sizable deposit (10 percent or more) would be required to take it off the lot. To Bee or not to Bee? Not. Unless you're looking for a garage queen for life, anyone who pays full whack for a new Chrysler– any new Chrysler– is staring down the barrel of epic depreciation. Will "collectible" gas guzzlers escape this curse? We'll tell you in twenty years. Meanwhile, you might want to consider the fact that base and SXT Chargers get $1,500 rebate or low APR financing. RT models get $2,500 rebate or low APR. Both models qualify for gas plan, as well. (Story Courtesy of Capt Justin Crenshaw)

Sources tell TTAC that the glut of SUVs and trucks is so bad that the banks are not calling in the repo men. I repeat: banks are cutting maximum slack to people who are behind in their loan payments– to the point where some are driving around in their vehicles without making any payments. In a bizarre way, this makes perfect sense. Repo services cost money. Re-conditioning costs money. Storing the vehicles costs money. Equally important, the banks/credit agencies don't take the full hit to their bottom line until they sell the vehicle. Needless to say, the market is so stuffed with both brand spanking new and slightly used (i.e. excellent condition) product that we're talking about a MASSIVE hit. What's more, our man in the auction biz tells us that many dealers are holding their light trucks until the end of the month– and then selling them without reserve. You can imagine what that's doing to residuals. If not, check this from Tom Folliard, president and chief executive officer of CarMax: "During the quarter, wholesale industry prices for SUV's and trucks declined nearly 25%, which is approximately four times the normal depreciation expected over this period and well in excess of the depreciation expected over a full year. This is the most rapid depreciation of any vehicle segment that we have experienced in our 15 years."

"Chrysler LLC reduced its number of U.S. dealerships by 196 in the past year and increased the percentage of outlets selling all of its brands, as the automaker tries to create a stronger sales network." That's one way to look at it. The alternative theory– that the "reduced" dealers simply went belly-up– doesn't get a look in from Bloomberg. Reading between the lines… "The pace of consolidation may be quickening as falling real estate values and declining auto sales convince more of the Auburn Hills, Michigan-based company's dealers to sell," ChryCo executive vice president of sales for North America Landry told Bloomies. It would be interesting to know to whom these dealers sold. Meanwhile, the ailing American automaker claims 3,488 outlets at the end of May, a decline of 5.3 percent from a year earlier. So what of Project Genesis, Chrysler's attempt to consolidate its dealers into tri-branded stores? The hard numbers are notable by their absence. But we do get anecdotal evidence of the plan's progress. "John Gunning, owner of Manassas Dodge in Manassas, Virginia, said many Chrysler dealers in his area can't afford the risk of borrowing money to buy another franchise and build a new dealership as auto sales decline." Hey! Maybe Chrysler could buy-out the dealers? Uh, maybe not.

I was wrong. In spite of indications to the contrary, the GMC salesman blogger defending your right to suck-up fuel and clog the roadways with oversized trucks didn't have a change of heart about hybrids. In his latest anonymous posting on the Commercial Auto Dealers web site, the same person who warned us about the dangers of hybrids (so quiet we'll all fall asleep behind the wheel) is "irked"  about environmentalists who "who think hybrids are God's gift to humankind" because of "Al Gore's half-truths and theories."  And he's specifically "annoyed" with those of you who've commented about his views on trucks vs. hybrids. Just to make sure you understand where he's coming from, he states "I'm sticking with my truck and I'm not going to feel guilty about it." Neither should anyone else "feel guilty about going to your local GMC truck dealer and getting the biggest, baddest truck you can find and driving it for no reason at all." Gas prices be damned. After all, "when [hybrid owners] need a tow, the guys with the big trucks are the ones they're going to call first."

Truck buyers shouldn't feel like eco-pariahs just because they want to use huge trucks as commuter cars or SUVs as grocery-getters. An unknown writer on Commercial Auto Dealers' GMC Truck Dealer blog wants you to know that hybrids aren't "really that much better for us than trucks." He/she warns you hybrids make you drowsy because "with their quiet motors and lack of exhaust noise, you can't hardly [sic] tell the car is on" which "could be a problem for people who want to drive at night or even during the day after a long shift at work." And if the risk of pandemic narcolepsy isn't enough to scare Prius owners back into a professional-grade Sierra 3500 Dually, "the electricity that the car uses to operate the vehicle isn't good for our health either." So while hybrid drivers are microwaving their tender parts, you can "just smile and walk away secure in the fact that you won't be subject to the same potentially harmful electromagnetic fields that they encounter every day." The anonymous writer concludes "if you want that large truck or SUV, don't hesitate to visit your local GMC truck dealer." And don't worry about $4/gallon gasoline. After all, what's a $136 fill-up compared to the peace of mind that hearing your engine and exhaust noise can bring? 

Go to Butler, Missouri and you'll find Max Motors, an independent car dealer that specializes in (i.e. only sells) American cars. Yup, under one roof you can buy a Buick, Cadillac, Chevy, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Jeep or Pontiac. Your guess is as good as mine if they sell Korean-made Aveos, Mexican made Fusions or Canadian made all sorts of stuff. Oh wait, I checked, they do. But that's not why we're telling you about Max Motors. No, we're telling you because through May 31st if you buy a new car from Max Motors you get your choice of free gas card or handgun. That's right, Max Motors is aware of both "the gasoline and crime problem [sic] in America." And while to some throwing gas at a gas problem and guns at a crime problem is like throwing fire at a fire problem or fat at a fat problem, Max Motors sees it different. Explains sales manager Walter Moore, around Butler people believe in "God, guts and guns," though they aren't handing out free Bibles or chitlin's. As you would (probably) expect, 80 percent of the customers are opting for the gun. And hey, why not? I just traded my Colt Python .357 Magnum for $250 worth of scotch and bourbon. The only drawback we see is that you don't get the gun immediately (you have to pass a background check). Max Motors might be inadvertently setting up the world's most ironic carjacking.

eBay Motors is a great site. Although our resident sharp end guy Steven Lang has, uh, moved on, he still reckons there's no better gauge of a car's worth than the completed items section. And these guys are serious about providing a safe place to buy and sell an automobile over the internet– an inherently dicey proposition. As Automotive News [sub] reports, eBay has 2k– count 'em two thousand– staffers who "handle complaints and investigate sham auctions and dishonest sellers." OK, now, in February, eBay announced they were going to list GM's Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles (CPO) on the site. All sorts of alarm bells went off. Knowing GM as we do, it seemed obvious that eBay would make it difficult (if not impossible) for consumers to cross-shop the price of these CPO-mobiles against the same cars sold independently. To its discredit, eBay still refuses to provide details of the agreement. In fact, eBay now says they're talking to "other automakers" about replicating the deal. We call on eBay to disclose enough information about this arrangement to reassure its base– the hundreds of thousands of people who buy cars via the service– that eBay's not going to sell the end users down the proverbial river by firewalling CPO and non-CPO vehicle sales.  

The 6.0-liter G8 is a wonderful car. But I was curious about the V6. Supposedly, the smaller engined variant will account for the majority of sales. And RF's been bugging me for a review of the "entry level" G8 ever since the Aussie-built sedan first hit the showroom floor. Getting a G8 V6 via the GM press fleet is as about as realistic as dividing by zero. So I hit up NY-area dealerships. Two weeks, no joy. A regular check of Pontiac.com eventually revealed two G8 V6s at Cunningham Buick Pontiac GMC in Bayside, NY. Upon arrrival, I discovered they had no G8s or any kind, sort or description. "But give us your number, and we'll call you this Friday when we get several more delivered– including a V6." Great. On Saturday morning, a salesperson called. "The V6 G8 is here!" When I got there in the early afternoon… no G8 V6. "Oh, we must have sold it this morning." Yes, in the course of a morning, a G8 V6 was arrived by a truck, found a buyer, got prepped and left. In four hours. All without the salesman's knowledge. The G8, in eight-cylinder form at least, is a kick ass car and a great deal. But with dealerships plying the ole' bait and switch, product excellence doesn't matter. [NB: this is not the first report of this c'mon down oops no V6 we've heard. Has anyone even seen one?]

While it seems perfectly natural to assume that clicks on cars reveal trends down at the showroom, I'm not entirely convinced. For example, Autoblog's post on GayWheels top ten researched vehicles would have you believe that a large number of Dodge Caliber buyers are that way inclined. So when the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) put out a press release claiming "interest in motorcycles increases as commuters seek two-wheel alternatives" based on their website's traffic, I was interested to see if they mentioned any "real world" impact. To their credit, they did, right from the git-go. "Motorcycle buying interest at NADAguides.com increased 48 percent in March 2008 compared to March 2007, even though sales of motorcycles were down over seven percent at the end of 2007, with NADAguides.com estimating sluggish sales so far this year." And yet, motorcycle ed Lenny Sims is ready to climb out on that limb. "We believe the current state of the economy, coupled with recent summer fuel price predictions, has caused consumer mindset about motorcycles to shift. In our opinion, motorcycles have become attractive options as primary vehicles for daily drivers — due to their fuel efficiency — and are no longer considered just a luxury, 'secondary-vehicle' purchase." Your take?

Saturn is planning on launching a new web-based purchasing scheme which will place even more of the buying process online. The plan is aimed at moving functions like checking dealer inventories, applying for credit and scheduling a test drive to a unified Saturn online platform. Down the road, the website could also be used to handle the evaluation of customers' trade-in vehicles and to negotiate price using online chat and e-mail. Although this last goal is particularly strange given Saturn's "No Haggle" pricing. Of course, this program is not being pitched as "the end of the Saturn dealership," although Edmunds AutoObserver notes that it came out of efforts aimed at "developing the Internet as a tool that might someday enable them to eliminate the middleman entirely." Since these efforts were thwarted by legal concerns, Saturn will just be centralizing a few online capabilities which most dealers already offer. At enormous expense.

Thinking long-term (as always), Toyota wants its dealers to spend millions expanding showrooms, adding service bays and upgrading their architecture. Thinking short term (as always), Toyota dealers are contemplating the "Image USA II" plan and saying "not on my dime, Bub-san" [paraphrasing]. Automotive News [sub] reports that slumping sales are leading to some serious foot-dragging. "There's never a good time to do a facility modification," TMNA prez Jim Lenz insists. "It doesn't matter if it's two, five or 10 years from now; it will be more expensive than it is today." Toyota's stick: they're threatening not to renew franchises on older stores and offering just two-month franchise extensions to dealers slow to spend the cash. Toyota's carrot: better allocation of popular models. Some dealers say "more cars are the last thing I need." What's more, many just finished investing in Toyota's "Image USA I" plan; they don't relish spending another $1.5m to go to a totally different look. Dealers are telling Toyota: "show me the money." "GM and other brands offer… interest-free financing for their facility program to help you out," a suitably anonymous dealer reports. "But Toyota doesn't."