Hybrids and minivehicles continue to top Japan’s list of best-selling cars in May. With 20,789 units sold, Toyota’s Prius is leading the list now for the 12th month in a row. Hot on its heels is Toyota’s Aqua, better known in the U.S. as Prius C. Only supply constraints at Toyota can keep the compact and affordable hybrid from taking the top spot. Read More >
While vacationing in the land of neverending chotchkies and kitsch, I came across Jack Baruth’s recent article on Captivas.
This second-tier Chevrolet is getting a stiff price premium at the auctions these days for two simple reasons.
1) GM is willing to throw more financing at this vehicle than it’s actually worth… at least the first 50 coming through their auctions.
2) There will likely be at least 50 people willing to pay that premium, and then some. Just to have any late model vehicle.
The first reason is nothing more than an old trick used by manufacturers for decades on end at the auctions. Limit supply. Finance aggressively. Hope that the ever larger loads of off-lease and rental vehicles that follow can hit a similar price premium.
Other than a few early victories, the manufacturer has to bow down to the limits of their dealer network and financing arm. Then the independent dealers enter the fray and the price finds an equilibrum that may yield profits for everyone. From the bean counters, to the shareholders, to the consumers. Everyone wins!
Except, in GM’s unique case, the Captiva has been a fleet-only vehicle. Which brings on the question. Do fleet-only models make sense?
Finally, the real story on the Hyundai Veloster Turbo pricing is here. $22,725 (including the $775 destination fee). A 6-speed automatic is another $1,000.
The Detroit News interviewed presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Tuesday, and the Republican candidate-to-be shared his thoughts on government ownership of GM stock and the future of CAFE.
Pursuant to our recent discussions of Honda’s spiral into the mundane – and the market’s warm reception despite this move, here’s another example of one of the big H’s vehicles picking up steam as it becomes more mainstream.
According to Automotive News [sub] and other media reports, the UAW is trying again to unionize Nissan’s Canton, Miss,, plant. A rally was held over the weekend. It is hard to believe that the UAW is serious, given the fact that it had tried two times, and failed two times. Read More >
Old-timers will tell you that the Golden Age of the Sleeper ran from the end of World War II through the late 1960s, when you could take, say, a Grandma-spec ’61 Lancer wagon and stuff the engine compartment full of Max Wedge 413 power. I think the old-timers are as wrong about that as they are about the superiority of film cameras over digital cameras; the current era of computerized engine controls, big turbochargers, and tougher drivetrain components means you can get ridiculous power (and handling) out of quotidian transportation appliances. So, looking at the current lineup of snore-inducing machinery that nobody would ever in a million years suspect of being quick, which new car would provide the best balance of potential performance and invisibility? A Kia Rio with a huge turbocharger and the finest suspension upgrades that cubic yards of cash can buy? Read More >
Dongfeng-Nissan President Kimiyasu Nakamura watches Yao Bin, Huang Kai Fong, and Ye Lei
Yesterday, Nissan’s affable China president Kimiyasu Nakamura brought a Chinese delegation home to Yokohama, to explain to a largely skeptical Japanese press why Nissan had started a new brand in China with joint venture partner Dongfeng. The brand goes by the name of Venucia. Nissan is not the only one doing that. Nearly every foreign joint venture partner in China either has established a Chinese brand in China, or is intensively thinking about it. Read More >
With a few of our readers providing some particularly good insight into Acura’s ILX campaign based on their work in marketing, I’m submitting an ad for the TSX from 2009 for their consideration, as well as my own commentary.
Brussels has bad news for Fiat and PSA, and by extension for Chrysler and GM. There will be no EU assistance for an orchestrated and painless capacity shedding, Financial Times Deutschland says. A report of an expert group puts European overcapacities at 25 to 30 percent. Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has been publicly lobbying for government support, PSA pressured the French government. As predicted here months ago, a lobby of German carmakers torpedoed any support from Brussels and is for Darwinian solutions instead. With carmakers at odds, European governments are happy that they don’t have to act. After all, there are more pressing problems in Europe. Read More >
The big news for the 2013 Ford F-Series appears to be the use of buttons, rather than trying to cram MyFord Touch down the gaping maw of every single product in the lineup implementing the MyFord Touch infotainment system. Apparently, it all has to do with work gloves.
Already pronounced shot by a bursting bubble, the Chinese new car market most likely will be up when the May numbers will be announced later in the month. How do we know? By looking at GM’s China May sales results that were announced today. When we do that, we will do something that TTAC allegedly is incapable of: We will salute and applaud GM. Three times. Read More >
Yesterday, I learned a very valuable lesson in Journalism 101, having published erroneous information before having it confirmed.
The Japanese car market that has been on a multi-month winning streak could be slowing down quite soon. The reason: The record run on new cars also ran down the government’s subsidy budget in record time. The Japanese government currently is paying a bounty to everybody who buys an environmentally friendly (read: most of them) new car. Thought to last through September, the subsidy-kitty now is expected to be empty by the end of July, The Nikkei [sub] reports. Read More >
Up until last month. the German car market was oblivious to the European carnage that had started in Mediterranean countries. and then slowly crawled north. In May. the car consumption disease arrived inside of Germany’s borders. Read More >
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