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GM, Ford, Toyota, Honda...Who will sell you your next car?
Gm and Ford finally turned around the skid in sales since they put the regular prices back up after summer. The bright job market outlook and the uptick in consumer confidence, and recent signs the economy has bounced back from the Gulf Coast hurricanes along with its new pricing policies boosted sales. But Japanese companies grabbed more of the market share in January, dampening the good news for U.S. automakers who enjoyed their first monthly sales increases since employee discount deals ended last summer.
Toyota Motor Corp. said its January sales were up 14 percent, largely because of increases in the sales of the Prius hybrid as well as gains in the Scion brand. Toyota also bucked a trend toward lower truck and sport utility vehicle sales, reporting a 13 percent increase for those vehicles.
Honda Motor Co. said its sales were up 20.7 percent in January, its eighth consecutive record-breaking month. Honda reported strong sales of its cars especially the 2006 Honda Civic as well as its SUV's and trucks. Honda saw sales of its truck and SUV up 15 percent, while car sales rose nearly 25 percent.
GM had a 5.8 percent increase due to strong car sales. Truck sales were flat for the year, although GM saw a 23 percent rise in full-size SUV sales as its redesigned SUV's hit the market. GM is depending on its new lineup of SUVs to boost sales this year. GM also lowered prices on most of its vehicles and is trying to stress value instead of relying on incentives which hurt their profits.
Ford on the other hand saw its sales rise 2.7 percent in January from sales of its new lineup of mid-size sedans. Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brand car sales rose 23 percent from last January mostly from new sedans that went on sale last fall, the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr. Ford’s truck sales fell 7 percent, dragged down by SUV sales.
The results were good news for GM and Ford, which had a rough year in which they announced plans to lay off 60,000 workers, a number that depends how well they do in sales in the coming years. So the questions is, who will sell you a car or truck this coming year and why, what brands, style features will you be looking for this year. What American consumers buy in vehicles this year could have a big affect in deciding what lines or styles companies are going to expand or shrink as they plan for future market share. There arent going to be as many colors or choices and maybe more fuel economy as companies and consumers take a close look at the bottom line. The buyer is also going to be in the drivers seat as to which styles or types of vechicles such as 'Muscle Cars' or 'Full Size' pickups or SUV's will be built or phased out, so who sells you your car or truck could have a wide ranging impact. What you buy and why you buy, brand loyalty, fuel economy, style, color... will be closely looked at and researched to gleem what the consumers want, whats hot, whts teh demographics of buyers, what will be the winners and also the losers. It could determine as to which companies shrink and go bankrupt and which ones see their market share go up could depend on it.
So who will sell your car and why is looking to be shaping up as a important question for consumers......
Toyota Motor Corp. said its January sales were up 14 percent, largely because of increases in the sales of the Prius hybrid as well as gains in the Scion brand. Toyota also bucked a trend toward lower truck and sport utility vehicle sales, reporting a 13 percent increase for those vehicles.
Honda Motor Co. said its sales were up 20.7 percent in January, its eighth consecutive record-breaking month. Honda reported strong sales of its cars especially the 2006 Honda Civic as well as its SUV's and trucks. Honda saw sales of its truck and SUV up 15 percent, while car sales rose nearly 25 percent.
GM had a 5.8 percent increase due to strong car sales. Truck sales were flat for the year, although GM saw a 23 percent rise in full-size SUV sales as its redesigned SUV's hit the market. GM is depending on its new lineup of SUVs to boost sales this year. GM also lowered prices on most of its vehicles and is trying to stress value instead of relying on incentives which hurt their profits.
Ford on the other hand saw its sales rise 2.7 percent in January from sales of its new lineup of mid-size sedans. Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brand car sales rose 23 percent from last January mostly from new sedans that went on sale last fall, the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr. Ford’s truck sales fell 7 percent, dragged down by SUV sales.
The results were good news for GM and Ford, which had a rough year in which they announced plans to lay off 60,000 workers, a number that depends how well they do in sales in the coming years. So the questions is, who will sell you a car or truck this coming year and why, what brands, style features will you be looking for this year. What American consumers buy in vehicles this year could have a big affect in deciding what lines or styles companies are going to expand or shrink as they plan for future market share. There arent going to be as many colors or choices and maybe more fuel economy as companies and consumers take a close look at the bottom line. The buyer is also going to be in the drivers seat as to which styles or types of vechicles such as 'Muscle Cars' or 'Full Size' pickups or SUV's will be built or phased out, so who sells you your car or truck could have a wide ranging impact. What you buy and why you buy, brand loyalty, fuel economy, style, color... will be closely looked at and researched to gleem what the consumers want, whats hot, whts teh demographics of buyers, what will be the winners and also the losers. It could determine as to which companies shrink and go bankrupt and which ones see their market share go up could depend on it.
So who will sell your car and why is looking to be shaping up as a important question for consumers......
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Comments
Why fix it, if it ain't broke?
For the cars I buy, mainly small or medium size ones, the domestics never even get close to the Japanese for the attributes I look for (maybe they got close once - the Focus was pretty good among its competitors back in 2001 - I won't mention all the recalls though). I highly doubt I will be buying domestic, especially since I get the itch to turn over cars every 2 or 3 years, and the resale problem alone will sway the decision away from the domestics.
After 20 years, test driving the domestics regularly, and millions of pages of posting here, not much has changed in my preferences. My next car will almost certainly come from Toyota, Honda, or Subaru.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
All right I'm a snob.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Typically we will not go out and look at competitor's vehicles because we are very happy with Toyota and since this is a major expenditure, we are less inclined to experiment.
But in the past, we did experiment with a few other makes-Hondas/Acuras/Audi/Merc and all of them more or less burned us.
Charger or 300 SRT-8 mainly because ya get alot of car for the money.
Rocky
In the last year I have driven the Elantra and the Cobalt, as well as the Corolla and the old Civic. If I were buying today I would stil choose between the Mazda3 and the Corolla, and would probably go with the Corolla because of the Mazda's weird dash. But I haven't driven the new Civic yet.
However, I just bought an even smaller car, to complement my truck. I have now driven the new Rio, am glad I didn't go that route, and I have driven the Aveo, forget it. You can test drive them all, but ultimately with the Japanese the fact is that the same attributes they used to provide are the ones they continue to provide - they are just very consistent. So there's no reason to stray.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
If it were my choice I'd probably go with none of the above and either do a VW or if I had a windfall, an Audi. (Not much thought put into that answer, just knee jerk!). I also secretly want a truck - so then it would be Ford F-150.
And the 2006 Audi A3 rings in at around $31,000, give or take a Hasselback competion or two. Yikes. The 2006 Kia Rio5 out-brakes and out-slaloms the Audi A3, too. For $14,195 and better looks I'll pick the 2006 Kia Rio5, oh yes I will. I don't bite at this German heritage malarkey. It's hooey, so much hooey to me.
That may make regulars here laugh, because I'm a Kia man. And yes, reddogs, I'm fixin' to buy me another Kia! I do love the Long-Haul Warranty and I love the body styling of Kia. Not so much Hyundai, based on their overall lineup, but Kia, based on their overall lineup(including their Sedona minivan, the Kia stable of vehicles impresses me the most).
When I discovered that any hitches in my Kia's glitches were so petty and minor and not an inconvenience to fix (and saw that both Kia Motors and my local dealer would fix any hitches immediately and without inconvenience to me, and not try to duck out of Warranty responsibilities)and that by putting some 70,000 mile Yokohama all-season radials and Konig Diva wheels on my Sephia in a great deal from Discount Tire not only improved the '99 Sephia's looks tremendously but really improved the car's handling, I was sold on the Kia brand. My '99 Sephia cost me a whopping $7995. Wow, that was pretty tough for me to take.
My '01 Sportage 4x4 is built solid and steady and gets me through the eastern Idaho Rocky Mountain winters quite nicely with the 4WD availability. I've yet to burn out a single lightbulb at 107,735 miles and just changed out my Sportage's OEM Hankook SUV tires on the rig for a set of Toyo's at the 102,000 mile mark, with a tad of tread left!
That's unheard of, my cyber car-nut friends. Absolutely mah-velous rigs from Kia Motors, of South Korea.
Mah-velous like Seattle's Seahawk juggernaut, which will dismantle bubble-butt busboy and company in timely fashion on Sunday evening. Huddle up to a nearby TV and you'll see Matt and company pick apart the Steeler secondary and linebacking corps with steadfast precision. Hand off to Shaun Alexander (the NFL's 2005 MVP)for TD's and general running back fun. Oh, yeah. :P Oh, don't forget about Pro Bowl linemen Walter Jones and Steve Hutchinson for blocking prowess. These guys are loaded and want a ring, and watch as they get it and prove the Lost Wages oddsmakers to be glazy-eyed goofballs.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
CR had some good things to say about the Fusion/Milan though. I congratulate Ford on a job well done. (although its Mazda6 based)
Guess this didn't go as you had thought.
Seattle getting beat like a red-headed stepchild .. "and" driving a Kia.?
.... oooh, the pain ...
Terry
Like the Kias, long on promise but short on delivery.
Only **10** points even with Big Ben's lackluster performance ....
I'm glad I did not bet on them. I guess Paul Allen will have to spend a few billion more to get a winner.
My next car will probably be another VW TDI, MB CDI or Wrangler CRD.
If the 06 Passat got totaled today, it would be very hard not to buy another VW. We've really enjoyed the car so far. It drives great and is getting at least what the EPA ratings say for fuel mileage, usually better. Also has a better warranty than most other makes: 4years/50,000 miles. The only problem is that we are so far from the dealer. I have to take it 80 miles to get it to the nearest VW dealer.
Choice #2 would probably be a Mercury Milan. I like its looks better than the Fusion and it appears to be just as big as the Passat. We've got a FLM dealer right here in town, so service would be much more convenient. Furthermore, nothing currently offered by any other automaker in the midsized (affordable) family sedan market really impresses me.
That is a great point. A couple of times, I have purchased a vehicle that wasn't neccessarily my #1 choice, but instead have purchased based on convenience of the dealership. I prefer to purchase from dealers that are near my workplace. This way, I can drop the car off on my way to work, and then bum a ride a couple of miles to work and then back to the dealer.
In terms of our next vehicle, my wife and I like the new Suzuki Grand Vitara (actually, she really likes it). The problem is that there are 2 Suzuki dealers in my "area". One is 30 miles north of us in a nice part of town, and the second is 20 miles away in a part of town I would prefer not to go (much less send my wife there). This means that we will probably end up purchasing a Mitsu Endeavor, new V6 Rav4, or possibly a Pilot (althought this might be too large for her to feel comfortable driving) instead.
If my wife's Pacifica was written off TODAY, I'd really try and get her in a minivan, instead. She's really a tough nut to crack on that, though. But, if she caved, I'd like to direct her to a slightly used MPV. Horrible resale value makes it a good used buy, IMO. If she insisted on another SUV, we might get a Pilot (even though we traded a Pilot for the Pacifica) because we probably wouldn't get as good of a deal on a replacement Pac as we did the one we have now.
If my Lincoln bit it TODAY ... much tougher to answer. I've only had the car for 4 months, so I might be inclined to replace it with another '03 LS. Then again, better fuel efficiency would be nice. But I do like the get-up-and-go factor. Now that the Accord sedan comes with a 6-speed, it would be at the top of my shopping list, if the lease numbers worked out for me.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
I realize their dealerships and quality isn't that great (mechanics tell me they use cheap Korean parts), but how they design their cars to feel matches what I want. They know they can't get much mass appeal doing things like taking out the on-center steering dead spot, and their cars tend to feel a little nervous, and for some of us that's perfect. I'd feel like moving to Europe if it weren't for Mazda.
As for the Super Bowl, I will not say it was rigged but I will question about a half-a-dozen ill-witted and paid-off...I...mean bad calls by those men in striped shirts that the NFL is paying and labeling so-called referees. If it looked like a knowledgeable football head coach like Mike Holmgren was inquiring of the referees what their logic behind ticky-tack calls that actually changed the outcome of the game, it's because he was inquiring of the referees what their logic was for making such dumb, wrong calls like they did in a game like the Super Bowl. You don't make stupid ticky-tack calls during the Super Bowl. Why would you do that? After reviewing the calls on video tape, even, no less.
That call on Jackson of the Seahawks for offensive holding in the end zone was a non-call if I ever saw it, yet because some bozo decided that the Super Bowl was the right time to make sure Jerome Bettis gets the call so the Steelers could win, he called it. It took a Seahawk touchdown away and absolutely elicted thoughts of amazement from Seahawk coaches, players, player's families, Seahawk fans and innocent bystanders anywhere and everywhere.
Another game-changing idiotic call was Rothelsberger's non-TD that the officials decided to just make a TD. Clearly he was downed short of the goal line and the big 'ole rule that the ball must cross the plane was not accomplished. It was ruled a Steeler TD and there you have two idiotic calls that swung the game 14 points. Seattle victory. Done deal. I have never seen a nation make totally sure that their adopted, all-of-a-sudden-beloved Steelers win the Super Bowl before like yesterday's Super Bowl in Detroit. Let's just hand it to Steel town on a silver platter. Why? Because Jerome Bettis is retiring and he's just such a good role model for everyone, everywhere. It just seems like the level-headed thing to do, let's just make sure Jerome gets a ring, so he can show it off to everyone he sees, everywhere. Seems right, huh?
Right.
What a joke.
OTOH, Kia Motors is a stable, growing company making great cars for less and selling them with an unbeatable Warranty. What's not to like about that? Too much to like about Kia to ever turn back.
Oh, let me express my gratitude to the NFL for making sure Jerome has his Super Bowl ring. I'm so happy!
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
Honestly, how do you feel about the Super Bowl?
We know you like Kia.
I'll give you the lame call on pushing off. Not the goal line cross over by Pittsburgh. Seattle missed so many passes it was embarrassing. Pittsburgh just was not quite as bad as Seattle last night. Not an exciting game by any measurement. Except for the Randle El pass for a touch down. Then you had a working man's team playing in a working man's city, against the rich folks in Seattle with all the money and yachts.
In the distant past, whatever was cheap and could be maintained was my car of choice. I was buying used cars exclusively. The list included the likes of Mazda, Chevy, and Subaru.
Most recently, I began buying new. I was more concerned with long-term longevity, personal use utility, comfort, and safety. That's when Honda started to earn my money.
The more time I spend with cars, the more my tastes shift to performance. The cars that catch my eye are less utilitarian and more like expensive toys. So, another brand could steal me away.
As for the Superbowl... The Seahawks made lots of impressive little plays. The Steelers made three or four big ones.
I'll let the results speak for which strategy was best.
I agree that the "push" in the end zone was a weak call since it did not seem to impact the defender's play. But, then again, the defender's hand on Hasselbeck's jersey didn't make him fall down and fumble the ball either.
As for the Super Bowl................
Lets see, their was the lame call on pushing off, the even lamer holding call where the blocker never even got a hold of the rusher, the quarterback illegal block below the knees which thankfully was reversed but still was crooked and definetly from a paid off official. All in all, there were some key calls by the officials who seemed to be waiting for a big play to drop the flag on. So the players got into it and didnt get called unless it was a huge play or touchdown, then the officials throw the yellow flag with great fanfare as if it wasnt happening on all the other plays. All of a sudden its "CASABLANCA" all over again where the police official says "I'm shocked, absolutely shock to see gambling going on here" as they bring him his winnings..... :surprise:
Vegas sent their money men over and the Seahawks was robbed........ :sick:
Come on, Paul Allen could buy more officials than the state of Nevada... Pittsburgh wanted the win more than the Seahawks, and it showed in the playing, as poor as it was. I think the Texas Longhorns or USC could have beat either team yesterday.
Vegas must have trumped it $$$$$$.......
The Seahawks are the better team and they were robbed yesterday. Oh well. They'll have to play all those downs next season and whittle their way right back there, then, huh?
As long as Jerome Bettis got his ring that he deserved so much, I'm down with what happened. Right.
Ya know, I'm reminded of a NBA Western Conference playoff game in Phoenix in the mid-90's, when Barkley was still playing. It was in Phoenix and the Suns won. Funny thing is, the Suns went to the free throw line 64 times. The Sonics visited the stripe 27 times. Could that ever be considered fair? Referees do influence games in a large manner.
Once again, as long as Jerome Bettis got his Super Bowl ring, I'm a happy camper.
Right.
Ya just don't get it, do you Scott?
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
Nobody likes the Sonics. And the fact that they were called for twice as many fouls as the Suns is clear proof. It couldn't possibly have been that they committed more fouls.
Nobody likes the Seahawks. Everybody knows that, other than Denver, all good football is now played back East. Hell, a certain Seahawks fan can't even spell Roethlisberger, so what can they possibly know about real football? The refs gave Ben that touchdown on a third down run, just so they didn't really cause a stir by doing it on fourth down. And the reversed Hasselbeck fumble? - they didn't have time to doctor the film to remove the defender's fingers touching his Jersey. It couldn't possibly be that the Steelers, in a game full of mistakes and mediocre play, made one or two fewer blunders and got one or two more break out plays.
And, if that's not bad enough, nobody likes Kia. How could it be that a certain Seahawks fan's 1999 Sephia is only worth $1,844, whereas a 1999 Honda Civic is worth $6,360? My God, even Edmunds is involved in this conspiracy.
Right.
Back to the cars, gentlemen............
As I was saying, it seems to be that at least in here, reliability, the comfort factor and price are the only real criteria that are being used when looking at new cars, is that all a $30,000-40,000 investment merits, is it that easy to make a 3-5 year commitment in getting a new car that nothing else need to go into researching it....
As I stated earlier, I also consider location of the dealership. I won't buy from any dealer that is more than 20 miles away, or that is located in an unsafe part of town. I don't need that kind of a hassle when I take the car in for service.
Another factor is past experience. There is one manufacturer that I will never buy from again, because I have owned 2 of their vehicles in the past and both proved to be overly problematic. I also did not care for the "service" I received from their service departments (and I used 3 different service departments over the course of owning these 2 vehicles). Granted, 3 dealership service experiences are a drop in the bucket compared to the thousands of dealerships they have across the country, but it still left a bad taste in my mouth.
Criteria for buying. If it is a PU truck towing and comfort are tops. If it is a car Handling, braking, performance and Fuel economy. I don't worry about safety or emissions. Big Brother has loaded all vehicles with more than enough of that crappola.
Right now I like GMC for trucks and EU cars for driving pleasure.
20 miles? Wow. 20 miles gets me exactly one Chevy dealer, and 30 miles gets me a Ford, Dodge, Toyota, and another Chevy.
The big issue is feelings and feelings are totally subjective. So go out and buy whatever makes you FEEL good. Sure, the rest of us may think you're crazy, but as long as you're happy with your purchase, I guess that's really all that matters.
JefferyG is right in saying that we buy what appeals to us. And sometimes what appeals to us will vary depending on which type of vehicle we're after. Right now I'm driving an MDX, which serves as my family hauler, daily commuter vehicle, and utility vehicle for all my various projects. But if I were looking for a roadster (a fellah can dream), my criteria would not be so focused on safety, comfort, and cargo space.
Sure thing. And the vast majority of car buyers are sold on the sizzle, not the steak. The car dealers know that. The pipe smoker with the Edmunds printouts is not their favorite customer. Our relationship with our car is so strong and long term we certainly want to feel good about our purchase.
Honda fulfills a lot of these 'feelings'.
But like many shoppers I have to struggle with the choice of a reliable, more expensive Japanese car/truck, or usually cheaper, but "Good Old Made in the USA - - by a USA Corp." machine.
Why do Ford, GM, and Chrysler, (now German owned of course), not build cars with the same quality and reliability of most Japanese?
Yes there are exceptions, some Asian and European cars are junk, and some American are better than many people realize. But look at Consumer Reports and JD Power reports. Look at the frequency of repair charts and the resale values.
People buy Hondas and Toyotas now and put 200,000 miles on them routinely.
Why do the American companies not obsess over quality, reliability and constant refinements/improvements like they do???
Look what happened to the Ford Taurus, they tried to build so many so quickly they became junk and burned out the brand totally. Now we have the replacement 500. The Honda Civic has been constantly improved since they first started selling it in the US in the early '70's.
Hey GM/FORD/Chrysler build products that will last and last, even with poor maintenance! Charge more for the higher quality. I realize the high costs U.S. makers face due to unions, rust-belt factories, high health care expenses, fuel bills, etc.
Honda could have hit a home run with the FIT if they put a CVT and smaller engine in it to get 48 mpg, but no. GM, please make a reliable econobox (or import one from Korea), that gets 50 mpg highway.
1) Dodge Charger
2) Nissan Altima
3) Ford Fusion
Anymore, I am in the camp that I will NEVER buy a new car. There are too many USED bargains out there currently.
And my current ride has been so reliable that I am in NO rush to replace it.
I am in the camp that I will NEVER buy a used car - new car prices and financing is so good why take a chance on buying a car who's history you know nothing about?
FWIW, February marks my 15th month without a car payment. The Intrepid used to be $347.66 per month. So in a way, I guess I've saved around $5,215 so far by not getting a new car. And in those 15 months, I don't think I've had to put much more than $500 into it...mostly maintenance-type stuff like rear brakes, battery, oil/air filter changes, or stupidity-type stuff like when I stripped my oil pan!
So basically, not getting another car paid for my '76 LeMans, all the maintenance/repairs that every car I have has needed in the past 15 months, registration renewals, and probably with a little left over.
I'm getting rid of the Intrepid before the time comes to replace the battery again. That was enough of a pain that I NEVER want to go through it again! :P Of course, PAYING someone to replace the battery is still cheaper than buying a new car...
"NEVER SAY NEVER WHEN YOU MAY CHANGE YOUR MIND"
I've gone in many a times to buy a used car and ended up buying a new one for the same monthly payment... :shades:
"UNKNOWN HISTORY ALWAYS CAN BE FOUND OUT IF YOU STUDY IT"
Carfax anyone..........
I probably couldn't get $1000 for it on a trade, so I'll probably just drive it until it gives up the ghost, or until someone comes along who needs it worse than I do and makes me an offer I can't refuse.
IF I got that offer I'd probably try and talk my wife into trading the Mountaineer for another truck. But that's a topic for Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous.