U.S. Auto Market News and Reviews

stever · June 2016

New Car Sales Still on Track to Set a Record in 2016 Despite Small Decline in May

The WSJ reports "General Motors Co. , which posted an 18% decline for the month, estimated the pace at 17 million, below the same period a year earlier. Other major car makers also reported weaker sales compared with a year ago.

Toyota Motor Co. reported a nearly 10% decline compared with a year earlier. Ford Motor Co. , Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. also posted year-over-year drops. Strong increases in Jeep sport-utility vehicle sales helped Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV eke out a 1% U.S. gain over a year earlier. "

fushigi · June 2016

The big gainer appears to be Hyundai, who was up 11.6% v. May 2015 (up to 71,006 from 63,610). Well, Tesla was up 55% but that's just 1050 additional cars.

stever · June 2016

This was interesting.

"In the NADA’s survey, Toyota’s brands were followed by Honda and Fuji Heavy Industries ’ Subaru as favorites of auto dealers. Volkswagen AG ’s Porsche rounded out the top five brands— Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. ’s Jeep franchise—growing rapidly amid a sport-utility boom—and Ford’s Blue Oval brand were the lone domestic nameplates in the top 10."

American Dealers Prefer Japanese Auto Makers Over U.S., Survey Says (WSJ - free link at time of posting)

Mr_Shiftright · June 2016

Well wouldn't you? I would if I were investing a lot of money and most of my life. I mean, there's personal preferences and then there's BUSINESS.

stever · June 2016

Toyota certainly made Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom rich, fat and happy.

tlong · June 2016

I don't see how VW dealers could be all that happy right now.

On another note, with the rapid innovation starting in vehicles re: Tesla, self driving, etc. - how will the established dinosaur nameplates react - or not? It will be interesting to watch over the next decade or so.

Mr_Shiftright · June 2016

Google and Tesla might just end up selling the technology to the automakers rather than staying/getting into the car business themselves.

tlong · June 2016

and then there's Apple...

stever · June 2016

Siri, please turn my AC on in 6 minutes. And give me a battery status report and fuel level.

berri · June 2016

...but it won't start because of the car's stop/start system!

stever · June 2016

There's an app to override that.

stever · June 2016

"Despite adding sophisticated electronic safety features and touch screens that once were prone to glitches, most automakers improved their reliability scores this year in an annual survey of new-car buyers.

The latest survey by the J.D. Power consulting firm determined that quality improved for 21 of 33 auto brands in the survey. This year's scores improved 6 percent over 2015, double last year's increase and the biggest jump in seven years. And for the first time in 27 years, a brand for the masses led the pack as Kia edged out Porsche as the automaker with the fewest problems.

General Motors led all manufacturers with seven top finishers by segment, followed by Toyota with six."

Car quality improves even as new technology is introduced (timesfreepress.com)

circlew · June 2016

My 2011 still going strong...

Kia leads the list with just 83 problems reported per 100 vehicles, displacing Porsche to the second spot, while Hyundai has jumped from fourth to third in the 2016 ranks.

stever · June 2016

I guess when you offer a ten year/100k warranty, you can't afford not to screw them together well.

The naysayers will claim that Kia/Hyundai are notorious for finding excuses to void warranties. If that was the case, why would the owners still complete a good JD Power survey? The last time I got one back in the 90s, they just stuck a dollar bill in the envelope as my bribe - not quite enough to sway my survey results.

It sounds like Honda is back on their game with the new Civic, but it'll take a while for them to get back above average. It's hard to beat Kia or Hyundai right now in the bang for buck category.

It's nice to see Chevy joining Buick in the upper echelon.

CR isn't too different in their brand rankings, although they still rate Honda high.

Mr_Shiftright · June 2016

Volvo better get their act together or they're the next car company in trouble. I mean, if you are ONLY better than Fiat and Smart.....GEESH.....

andres3 · June 2016

stever said:
I guess when you offer a ten year/100k warranty, you can't afford not to screw them together well.

The naysayers will claim that Kia/Hyundai are notorious for finding excuses to void warranties. If that was the case, why would the owners still complete a good JD Power survey? The last time I got one back in the 90s, they just stuck a dollar bill in the envelope as my bribe - not quite enough to sway my survey results.

It sounds like Honda is back on their game with the new Civic, but it'll take a while for them to get back above average. It's hard to beat Kia or Hyundai right now in the bang for buck category.

It's nice to see Chevy joining Buick in the upper echelon.

CR isn't too different in their brand rankings, although they still rate Honda high.

I've always found JD's initial quality survey results as "ODD" and seemingly arbitrary to the highest bidders. Things seem to jump around year to year much faster than say a CR list. Either way, initial quality is highly unimportant to me, because I test drive my vehicles so they won't come with initial issues, and the warranty will cover anything that breaks down in the first few years.

The more options you get, the more chance you buy something that can go wrong. I think Audi's BLIS (blind spot information system) is still in its beta phase unfortunately. I'm more annoyed that I paid extra for it, than I am by not having it most of the time (the system will often say it isn't working right now). For me personally, I don't need it, and I shouldn't have bought it equipped that way; saves the trouble of mentioning it as a warrant-able issue at the 5,000 mile oil change. Maybe it's just a bad sensor, who knows.

stever · June 2016

Yep, just what you want to do the first three years - cool your heels at the dealer for hours and hours.

andres3 · June 2016

stever said:
Yep, just what you want to do the first three years - cool your heels at the dealer for hours and hours.

Thats the problem with JD, you don't know whether Volvo is just really bad with things that don't have any effect on getting from A to B, whereas someone higher on the list might be having head gasket, engine, and transmission issues that far outweigh your MP3 player compatibility.

Mr_Shiftright · June 2016

I would think, if you look at the other cars at the bottom of the list, that where there's smoke, there's fire in this case. We know Smart cars are gawd-awful, we highly suspect Fiat, we recoil in terror at Range Rover, and I'm here to assure you that MINIS are built by blind men.

stever · June 2016

I always preferred JD to CR because the database isn't self-selected.

berri · June 2016

But is there any proven correlation between initial 90 days results and long term reliability? I'm not sure that 90 days initial really means a whole lot? I'm more interested in 3 and 5 years out reliability.

stever · June 2016

MINI would be the canary that would prove the 90 day metric.

I like the 5 year studies too. The rap on them is that at a certain point, maintenance can start to sway the numbers. But in a big enough sample, the anomalies should weed themselves out.

Be interesting to compare True Delta to the majors, especially CR, since True Delta is self-selected too.

laurasdada · June 2016

Ouchie for Jag, quite a fall. Maybe related to intro of new XF? But, my XF remains trouble free. Knock wood and aluminum.

andres3 · June 2016

Mr_Shiftright said:
I would think, if you look at the other cars at the bottom of the list, that where there's smoke, there's fire in this case. We know Smart cars are gawd-awful, we highly suspect Fiat, we recoil in terror at Range Rover, and I'm here to assure you that MINIS are built by blind men.

And yet Mini is tied with Mazda and Jaguar, who seem to get a better reputation than MINI; at least as of late. I don't just smell smoke and fire, I smell fish.

stever · June 2016

I think the CX-7 offset the rest of the Mazda fleet. Then again, I think losing Ford's part ownership didn't help them.

Mr_Shiftright · June 2016

If Jaguar's new SUV isn't a smashing success, then they might be in trouble too.

The automobile business is brutal beyond measure. They take no prisoners and show no mercy.

Michaell · June 2016

Mr_Shiftright said:
If Jaguar's new SUV isn't a smashing success, then they might be in trouble too.

The automobile business is brutal beyond measure. They take no prisoners and show no mercy.

Unless and until the government steps in to save your bacon.

Mr_Shiftright · June 2016

Hey, if they can pitch that and someone buys it, that's a survival skill, too. You think Japan isn't knee deep into its automakers?

Michaell · June 2016

Mr_Shiftright said:
Hey, if they can pitch that and someone buys it, that's a survival skill, too. You think Japan isn't knee deep into its automakers?

And Korea, and Germany, and China?

Yep, exactly. Not saying I agree or disagree, but it's not as "free" of a market, given the number of jobs at stake with these companies (and their suppliers, and the guy who owns the restaurant down the street from the factory).

Mr_Shiftright · June 2016

Japanese banks and automakers are real cozy, much more than would probably even be allowed here.

Michaell · June 2016

Mr_Shiftright said:
Japanese banks and automakers are real cozy, much more than would probably even be allowed here.

Absolutely they are. Probably similar in Korea as well.

imidazol97 · June 2016

circlew said:
My 2011 still going strong...

Kia leads the list with just 83 problems reported per 100 vehicles, displacing Porsche to the second spot, while Hyundai has jumped from fourth to third in the 2016 ranks.

This as analyzed in the original report points out how GM had more vehicles move lower in the number of problems than any other group. Whether the changes from the earlier IQ studies were1 or 10 for any model, they all moved up.

But the reality is if one looks at the top quartile of the group, there's no major problem for me with purchasing any of them. It would be interesting to analyze the truck portion of the companies separate from the sedans for problems: Chevrolet makes lot of trucks, which I suspect have more problems, and it lowers their position on the chart. GMC and Ford also are truck production rich, same result.

What's with Cadillac? Which vehicles are lowering their scores?

berri · June 2016

I agree on that truck impact assessment. They tend toward old fashion construction techniques.

uplanderguy · June 2016

I just got back from Savannah with a week (1,600 miles) in a Hyundai Santa Fe. We rented it for space and the ability to reach into the back from the back seat while driving. I got it with unlimited mileage for $261.99 for the week, from Enterprise, a great rate I think.

It was comfortable and pretty economical, but both my wife and I felt the brakes were touchy and our daughters complained about us driving it in a 'jerky' fashion. It concerned us a few times as at idle it would start getting very rough, as if to stall. It never did, and this happened maybe ten times in all that driving. It had 25K miles when we picked it up.

I know that everything is geared for economy these days, and my wife's Malibu is like that too, but sheesh, you had to punch it to get it to move off-the-line, and then it felt like you were about to enter airspace, revving high and then taking off quickly.

Just because the conversation was about Kia, thought I'd throw this in.

And...the tires were noisy! Although I dislike that about my wife's '11 Malibu, too. My Cobalts have almost zero tire noise. I think noise insulation has come out in the quest for increased MPG, sadly.

The only new car that even turned my head on the trip was a '16 Malibu 2LT, with the unusual aluminum wheels and in a color like mid-seventies GM 'Firethorn' I hadn't seen before on a new GM. I have $3,250 in GM card money and $1,000 from GM when I complained about my dealer (LOL), but with three years still due at Miami University, out-of-the-question still. Planning on putting new batteries for the first time in both my Cobalts.

uplanderguy · June 2016

Oh, I did get passed by the first real-life Maybach I've ever seen, on I-77 in WV.

berri · June 2016

A little different timing and you may have needed a boat in WV. I've only driven a couple of different Korean cars, but I just can't get into their steering and suspension. But that's really just a personal matter.

henryn · June 2016

Have you driven a new (or fairly recent) Hyundai Genesis? That would probably change your mind about Korean cars.

berri · June 2016

Nope. Are they in the rental fleets? I'd be willing to try it, but I'd have to be sure I was going to keep it for quite awhile because I'd fear the depreciation hit otherwise. My most recent Korean rental was a Kia Sedona. It was a pretty nice vehicle, but personally I preferred the Sienna I rented previously. I'll be the first to admit that's primarily a subjective thing though. I felt detached in both (they are minivans of course) but the Kia seemed a bit more vague. I also preferred the seating in the Toyota on the longer stretches. I liked both of those vans better than the Dodge I had rented. I will say that the latest Korean cars are significantly improved from even just 4 or 5 years ago from my rental experiences.

jpp75 · June 2016

I had a new Ford Edge a couple of weeks ago, quite a nice ride. Very quiet and the infotainment system in the new model is a nice upgrade.

I also had a Kia Optima for about 450 miles of driving out in CA. Nice enough but I didn't find the seats that comfortable for long stretches, however everything else seemed well done.

berri · June 2016

The Edge seems fairly close in price to the Explorer on the new car lots. I wonder if that hurts Edge sales, or if it doesn't matter because the Explorer is getting kind of long in tooth and frequent in fleets?

jpp75 · June 2016

berri said:
The Edge seems fairly close in price to the Explorer on the new car lots. I wonder if that hurts Edge sales, or if it doesn't matter because the Explorer is getting kind of long in tooth and frequent in fleets?

I think the size difference probably makes up for that, the Edge is strictly a 5 passenger and a bit smaller whereas the Explorer is larger and has the third row so I wonder how much they are actually cross shopped.

fushigi · June 2016

I at least cross-sat the Edge & Explorer at the Chicago Auto Show this past February. I could not get comfortable in the Explorer. Too high to climb into and the seat was oddly shaped with a small seat cushion but overly wide seatback. Could not get comfortable. The Edge was much more to my liking.

But if I'm spending nearly $50K on a crossover (loaded Edge around $47K; Explorer $54K) I may as well stretch a little and get an MDX or QX60. The QX60 was hands-down my favorite crossover of the show. Exceptionally comfortable seats, good dash layout & ergonomics, materials quality was a cut above non-premium vehicles. Only detractions were a lack of Android Auto and, pending test drive, a concern if the engine is sufficiently powerful for the weight. I'm currently waiting for the '17s to see if either issue gets addressed.

laurasdada · June 2016

There will always be a Jaguar. Or, is that an England? Pish posh, still love my Jags.

circlew · July 2016

GM Market Share Update - Lower but higher profit.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2016/07/gm-losing-kinds-market-share-ok/

Mr_Shiftright · July 2016

laurasdada said:
There will always be a Jaguar. Or, is that an England? Pish posh, still love my Jags.

Tata has been good for Jaguar, given that Ford couldn't make much of a profit with it. Tata was smart, treating Jaguar and LR as individual brands rather than try and mush them into some global product line like Ford tried to do.

On the other hand, Tata has pumped an enormous amount of money into JLR, and in the auto biz, you can't rest or let up for a moment--especially with much larger competitors like BMW.

laurasdada · July 2016

I just don't want to be an orphan!
Saw a Saab 9-4X SUV this morning. I don't even remember that being in the Saab lineup! Handsome little thing, though.

Mr_Shiftright · July 2016

Nothing wrong with buying an orphan if you have your parts supply and your expert wrench lined up. But you have to accept that some shops don't want to see a Saab pulling into their driveway, and that some parts suppliers will just give you a blank stare when you ask for anything beyond a spark plug.

laurasdada · July 2016

Oh, I'm not considering a 9-4x. I don't want my XF to become an orphan!

Mr_Shiftright · July 2016

Well unless Tata does something really stupid, that doesn't appear as likely as it did when Ford owned the company.

laurasdada · July 2016

There will always be a Jaguar.

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