GM dealers remain in limbo
Posted by Staff (03/12/2010 @ 5:06 pm)
Confusion with dealers at GM is not a good start to reinstatement. What has changed in the last year that GM now needs another 661 dealers? Why did they get rid of them in the first place? Who made the final call to ax these dealers last year?
From CNN.com:
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The 661 axed auto dealers General Motors is offering to reinstate aren’t ready to pop the champagne just yet. They’re still waiting to find out about the terms they’ll have to meet to regain their franchises.
“Initially, we were excited,” said Howard Braunstein, CEO of M&M Auto Group in Liberty, N.Y. “However, I am concerned that GM’s offer for reinstatement will mandate requirements that will be difficult or impossible for many dealers to meet, especially in the 60-day timeframe we were given.”
Read the full article here.
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Need help with recalls? Here’s a helpful list.
Posted by Staff (03/12/2010 @ 2:16 am)
With all of the high profile safety recalls out there we need a what to do list on recalls. Here it is from Yahoo and it’s a good read if you have any concerns about your vehicle.
If you own a car, you’ve probably received a safety recall notice in the mail at some point. Manufacturers are required to attempt to notify owners of recalled products and to provide a free remedy. You may be inclined to ignore a recall notification letter – especially if it contains confusing jargon or seems like it concerns something minor.
But here’s a newsflash: In the realm of safety recalls, nothing is minor. According to Rae Tyson, spokesman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the federal agency that issues automotive recalls, every recall has a serious safety implication. “A defect exists that is a safety issue and it needs to be corrected,” Tyson says. “There are some worse than others, yes, but in some way they all have potential to lead to injury or death.”
Read the full article here.
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No business plan for GMAC?
Posted by Staff (03/12/2010 @ 2:13 am)
GMAC is on the ropes? That’s right, after over $17 billion in US taxpayer bailout funds this is the new headline ” Congressional panel says GMAC has no business plan; suggests break up” We need some answers fast! Maybe Alan Mulally could right this ship?
From Automotive News.com:
WASHINGTON — GMAC Inc. still has no business plan even after receiving a $17.2 billion investment from the government, and the Treasury Department has been lax in making sure that the bank repays taxpayers, a congressional panel said today.
“The panel is deeply concerned that Treasury has not required GMAC to lay out a clear path to viability or a strategy for fully repaying taxpayers,” said the Congressional Oversight Panel, which was created to oversee Treasury’s spending of Troubled Asset Relief Program funds.
Treasury should consider the possibility of breaking up GMAC and merging its auto-finance unit back into General Motors Co., the panel said in a statement.
Read the full article here.
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Ed Whitacre clueless in Motorcity?
Posted by Staff (03/12/2010 @ 1:31 am)
Peter Delorenzo at Autoextremist.com is not feeling the love for GM everything Ed Whitacre.
No one could miss the headline screaming “Whitacre wants more sales – NOW!” on the top of the front page in this week’s Automotive News. And as the story attempted to flesh out Big Ed’s growing impatience with the whole “sluggish sales” quandary that continues to vex GM – and the reassignment and in some cases jettisoning of sales and marketing executives – and after observing the day-to-day chaos that seems to define GM of late, I’m getting the distinct impression that Whitacre still doesn’t have a clue as to what he’s dealing with here in the auto biz.
So I thought I’d give Big Ed a few pointed reminders…
Dear Ed:
I’m sure you’ve figured this out about now, but just in case you haven’t, this business isn’t about consolidating “Baby” Bells, or fixin’ to make deals, or playing phone and cable customers off against each other, either. And it’s not about packaging cable, phone and Internet service into tidy little bundles that people can deal with by the month, at the expense of a competitor you want to bury.
Read the full article here.
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Toyota sales to rise 30%?
Posted by Staff (03/12/2010 @ 1:26 am)
Will consumers stick with the problematic Toyota? According to this report Toyota sales for March are forecasted to rise 30% compared to March 2009. Looks like the heavy incentives are doing the trick for now but time will tell how much damage Toyota will suffer from this mess.
From Automotive News.com:
DETROIT — New incentives are boosting Toyota’s U.S. sales big time in early March, and analysts forecast a 30 percent bounce for the full month.
After Toyota brand sales fell 10 percent in February as it struggled with safety recalls, on March 1 Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. introduced 0 percent financing, subsidized leases and free maintenance incentives.
Toyota Senior Vice President Don Esmond told suppliers today that North American sales surged about 50 percent in the first eight days this month, The Associated Press reported.
Read the full article here.
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Nissan entering commercial van market
Posted by Staff (03/12/2010 @ 1:20 am)
Looks like Nissan is entering the commercial van market and it’s with a van built in the USA. Ford has owned this segment for the past 40 years and I’m sure they’ll do whatever they can to hold onto market share. Also, Fiat has plans to enter this market with one or two products coming over from Europe so look for this segment to start having real competition.
From the Detroit Free Press:
 Nissan will challenge General Motors’ and Ford’s stranglehold on the market for full-size vans when it unveils its big NV today.
The large van is the first from a foreign brand to go after a small but profitable business segment U.S. automakers have had to themselves. Nissan will build the van in its under-utilized Canton, Miss., assembly plant. The van shares its basic engineering with the Titan pickup Nissan builds in Canton.
“The commercial van segment has been relatively ignored” by domestic automakers, simply because there’s not enough competition to force them to improve their vehicles, said Joe Castelli, Nissan vice president for commercial vehicles and fleet sales.
Read the full article here.
2010 Jaguar XKR Review
Posted by Staff (03/10/2010 @ 3:29 pm)
Sub5Zero.com recently did a road test and review of the 2010 Jaguar XKR. See what they had to say.
Back in 2005, Jaguar’s hottest selling model of all time ended its production run. That car was the XK. In the spring of 2006, the 2007 model emerged as a completely reworked vehicle that Jaguar hoped would continue to see record sales. The challenge for the company has been competing in a segment – Large Premium Sports Cars – that doubled from the mid 90s to the mid 2000s. Jaguar sought to blend the two major groups – grand tourers and sports cars – into a single kickass car.
That generation ran through 2009 offering a 4.2-liter V8 good for 300 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque as well as a supercharged variant providing 420 hp and 412 lb-ft of torque. But with everyone stepping up their game, Jaguar quickly realized that even though they had satisfied their goal, they certainly had no BMW M6 or Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG killer…
When you think of Jaguar, tires evaporating into plumes of smoke is not the first thing that comes to mind. And rightfully so. The company has made a name for itself by producing solid touring vehicles that get you from point A to point B in style and luxury. The 2010 Jaguar XKR Convertible doesn’t depart from the company’s core principles, but it does add a performance spark that instantly transforms the car into an entirely different class of vehicle: the entry-level supercar.
Read the full review here.
GM to be more youth oriented?
Posted by Staff (03/10/2010 @ 3:21 pm)
Is this the future design of the fabled Corvette? Word has it GM wants a more “youth oriented” appeal with a smaller design for the next gen C-7. Whichever direction or market that they are targeting that is one smooth looking ride!
From AutoGuide.com:
General Motors sees rough waters ahead for the Corvette unless changes are made to the vehicle now. So in an effort to solve any potential issues before they actually become problems, Chevy has decided to look outside America for help.
So what would sort of problems could the incredibly capable American icon have? Well, according to a report in AutoWeek, GM saw a 48 percent sales decline for the Corvette over the last year, while the bigger issue might be that the average age of Corvette buyers continues to rise. Last year, the average age was 54. Chevy believes that in order to combat this issue and make the Vette more attractive to a younger demographic it needs a design change. After all, the car’s performance certainly can’t be in question.
Read the full article here.
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More problems for Toyota
Posted by Staff (03/10/2010 @ 3:16 pm)
More problems for Toyota with a runaway Prius in California!
From the Detroit Free Press:
LOS ANGELES — The driver of a Toyota Prius who called 911 on Monday to report his accelerator was stuck finally got the car stopped after about half hour with the help of the California Highway Patrol, law officers said.
“He was reaching speeds over 90 miles per hour,” CHP Officer Larry Landeros said of the driver, James Sikes.
A Toyota spokesman on Monday evening said the company was sending a representative to investigate the cause of the incident, which took place on Interstate 8 in San Diego County.
Read the full article here.
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Cash for Clunkers a great success
Posted by Staff (03/10/2010 @ 3:11 pm)
Remember the “Cash for Clunkers” program last year? I know that everyone who is familiar with the program has their own take on whether it was a good idea. According to a new analysis by Maritz Research, an automotive market research company the program was better than even it’s supporters imagined!
From CNN.com:
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The government’s Cash for Clunkers program resulted in a far bigger boost to car sales than was previously estimated, even by the government, according to a new analysis by Maritz Research, an automotive market research company.
Maritz estimates that a total of 765,000 new vehicles were sold because of the program. Those cars wouldn’t have rolled off dealer lots without the offer, they say.
That’s more than double the Department of Transportation’s estimate of 346,000 sales that wouldn’t otherwise have been made.
Maritz’ estimate of additional new car sales resulting from the program is actually even larger than the total number of vehicles sold under Cash for Clunkers.
Read the full article here.
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