Fiat recently released October sales for the U.S. market, and the results are disappointing. Fiat sales of the 500 and 500C dropped to 1965, a 71% drop in sales from September. Also, this happened in a month that saw sales increase for many automakers, including Chrysler. There are various reasons for the decline including the 500 losing its “new car” appeal and the dealer network being small, but I only want to point to one source: Jenny from the Block.

Read the rest of this entry »

From Nissan News.com:

Nissan North America, Inc. (NNA) today reported October U.S. sales of 82,346 units versus 69,773 units a year earlier, an increase of 18 percent. Nissan Division sales set a new October record, increasing 22.1 percent for the month to 75,484 units. Sales of Infiniti vehicles decreased 13.5 percent from the prior year, to 6,862 units.

NISSAN HIGHLIGHTS
- Nissan vehicles posted a new record for October sales with 75,484 units, an increase of 22.1 percent over the 61,843 units sold in October 2010.

- Versa – led by the all-new 2012 Versa Sedan in its second full month of sales – set a new October record with 8,889 deliveries, an increase of 47.1 percent over the prior year.

- Strong sales of the Nissan Altima continue, with 21,838 units marking an increase of 15.1 percent over the prior year and an October record.

- The Rogue crossover continues to gain momentum, with sales of 10,034 units marking a 13.2 percent increase over last year – another new October record. The 2012 Rogue, on sale now, is the first vehicle in Nissan’s lineup to offer the innovative, segment-exclusive Around View Monitor.

- Sales of the 100-percent electric Nissan LEAF totaled 849 units in October, with deliveries totaling 8,066 units of the innovative, zero-emissions vehicle since its December 2010 U.S. debut.

Read the full article.

When the Lincoln MKT was launched there wasn’t a soul out there who predicited block buster sales but what we are seeing now is not good for any sales chart.

Sales figures released from Ford indicate the Lincoln MKT 3 row luxury crossover came in with a pultry 369 units sold last month! That is compared to only 506 MKT’s sold in October 2010. We’re aware that the Lincoln MKT is a large and fairly expensive luxury vehicle but 369 sales in a fairly strong month? Come on…..We tested this crossover and thought it was a solid entry but it might be time for the Blue Oval to cut the price on the MKT and start moving units out of the showrooms and into garage’s or this might be one of those great ideas that just couldn’t get traction. One area that might help the MKT is that the unit will be used as the replacement for future limo’s now that the Town Car is being laid to rest. That’s all fine and dandy but what does that do to help the retail market for the MKT? It’s high time to get creative and get the MKT selling or there will be alot of dust collected at Lincoln dealerships on this pricy people mover.

Think tanks are a wonderful thing. Where else can you publish pages of biased research, get paid tons of money for it, and then have no accountability if your results are used? Car enthusiasts need their own think tank. Dashboard News is filling this void with lukewarm, soft facts with our new feature: “There I Fixed It.” In this column, we make somewhat logical solutions to an automaker’s problems. No rants about manual, diesel hatchbacks for under $25k here, our rants have data and evidence, sort of. So read on, and make sure to put your own thoughts on the subject, or new problems, in the comments below.

The first automaker to need our help is VW. On a quest to become the world’s largest automaker, VW has both decreased prices and content on some cars (Jetta), and has strengthened their niche offerings (New New Beetle) to attract more sales. However, they want the New Beetle to be bought by both girls and boys this time, instead of mostly girls like last time. AP details some of the efforts VW made to make the Beetle “manly”, such as boost gauges, bolder lines, and a stereo from Fender. But here’s the problem, the Beetle will never be manly.

Read the rest of this entry »

From PRNewswire.com:

FRANKLIN, Tenn., Sept. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Nissan North America, Inc. (NNA) today reported August U.S. sales of 91,541 units versus 76,827 units a year earlier, an increase of 19.2 percent. Nissan Division sales increased 22.4 percent for the month with 82,517 units. Sales of Infiniti vehicles decreased 4.3 percent from the prior year, to 9,024 units.

NISSAN HIGHLIGHTS
- Nissan vehicles posted August sales of 82,517 units, an increase of 22.4 percent over the 67,399 units sold in August 2010.
- The launch of the all-new Versa Sedan helped boost sales of the Versa subcompact by 14.9 percent to 8,566 in August.
- Strong sales of the Nissan Altima continue, with 23,016 units marking an August increase of 24.5 percent over the prior year.
- Sales of the Rogue crossover achieved a record in August, up 13.2 percent with 11,467 deliveries.
- Deliveries of all-electric Nissan LEAF totaled 1,362 in August, with 6,187 units sold since its December 2010 launch.
- The Nissan Juke continues to outperform earlier projections, with August sales totaling 3,464 units.

Check out the full article.

For the fourth month in a row, the Chevy Cruze is the best-selling compact car in the U.S., recording a total of 21,807 sales in August and 169,427 sales this year!

From Chevrolet News:

Calendar year to date, Chevrolet has sold a total of 169,427 Cruzes. Due to sustained customer demand, Chevrolet dealers have about a 30-day supply of Cruze sedans, roughly half the industry average.

“The Cruze has been a great success story for Chevrolet,” said Alan Batey, U.S. vice president, Chevrolet Sales and Service. “In less than a year, the Cruze has become one of the most-popular cars on the market, and it is successfully bringing new customers to Chevrolet showrooms.”

The Cruze contributed to Chevrolet’s overall growth in August, when the brand sold a total of 152,779 vehicles, an increase of 16 percent over the same month a year ago. Much of that growth has been fueled by car sales, which increased 22 percent over last August.

The brand’s car sales are expected to continue gaining momentum, as the all-new Sonic subcompact and 2012 Chevrolet Volt electric car with extended range start arriving at dealerships this month.

The Cruze Eco manual delivers an EPA-estimated 42 miles per gallon highway, making it the most fuel-efficient, gasoline-powered car in the United States, excluding hybrids and diesels. To achieve its segment-leading fuel economy, Cruze’s engineers focused on aerodynamic performance, reducing weight and powertrain enhancements.

Read the full article.

And a big sigh of relief from all of those Lincoln dealers is heard across America. This has to be a bold plan with alot of top designers dedicated to a long term plan. The luxury market is very fluid with brands getting smarter and better everyday so gaining share will be a real challenge. It’s really difficult to have an opinion until we start seeing and driving the products that will actually make it to the showrooms and for that we are looking forward to the excitement of a new beginning for Lincoln!

From Auto Blog:

The Ford Motor Company is finally marshaling the resources and money to transform Lincoln into a true luxury brand again. While the company is guarded in discussing the full details of its plan, it’s divulging enough for now to let the world know that this is going to be a serious effort. And the early signs are encouraging.

The linchpin to this turnaround will be daring new products and significantly upgraded dealerships. And the key to accomplishing that is a new organizational structure for Lincoln. Up through the 1950s, Lincoln was a stand-alone “house” with its own headquarters, designers, engineers and assembly. The new organization will not recreate that original “house” concept, but it’s a big step in the right direction.

Lincoln says it will not abandon its traditional customers, but it must attract a new generation of buyers, people with a different psychographic mindset than those who have been buying Town Cars for the last quarter century. Yet, while it may not abandon those buyers, saying they’ll suffer from benign neglect may not be too far off the mark.

Read the full article.

From the Detroit News:

The three Detroit-based automakers all reported double-digit U.S. sales increases in June, led by Chrysler Group LLC’s 30 percent increase from a year ago with 120,394 vehicles sold and the best June for the automaker since 2007.

That is followed by a 13.6 percent increase reported by Ford Motor Co. with 194,114 vehicles sold.

The third domestic automaker, General Motors Co., reported a 10.2 percent increase on sales of 215, 358 vehicles compared with June 2010.

Among the top Japanese automakers, who continue to struggle with earthquake-related shortages, Honda Motor Co. Ltd. reported a 27.1 percent decline for the month with total sales of 83,892. The Honda brand suffered a 27.4 percent drop in sales for the month while the luxury Acura brand was off pace by 24.5 percent.

Toyota Motor Corp. saw a 21.1 percent falloff for the month with 110,937 vehicles sold. The Toyota brand dropped 18.7 percent; Lexus division sales fell 37.8 percent compared with a year ago, when Japanese production was at full throttle.

“June marked a significant turning point for Toyota as sales moved up over last month (May),” said Don Esmond, head of U.S. operations. Supply and selection are improving daily, he said.

Read the full article.

Behind the scenes look at how Chrysler broke away from government control.

From AutoNews.com:

NEW YORK – On the morning of May 24, an upbeat Sergio Marchionne was combing his music library to compile a playlist for an employee event that afternoon at Chrysler Group LLC’s headquarters.

As the chief executive settled on Bruce Springsteen’s version of “Eyes on the Prize,” he received a phone call with long-awaited news: Chrysler finally repaid $7.6 billion of bailout loans from the U.S. and Canadian governments.

That day marked a new chapter in the comeback of the smallest of Detroit’s three automakers, the one the Obama administration wasn’t sure was worth saving back in 2009.

It was the Italian businessman’s deep involvement in Chrysler, and Fiat SpA’s willingness to put in $1.27 billion, that helped the company pull off one of the largest debt deals since the financial crisis — winning the backing of some of the same banks that were wiped out in its bankruptcy.

Investors who looked at the deal were initially skeptical about the large size of the financing as Chrysler still had to address concerns over its vehicle lineup and financial outlook, people involved in the process said. There were also questions over whether the company had really transformed itself.

Read the full article.

From the Wall Street Journal:

Hyundai Motor Co. sells one out of every two cars in South Korea, so it’s difficult for the slanted-H logo to mean anything other than ubiquity in its home country.

That’s why Hyundai has to do something special for its upscale cars. Its top-of-the-line Equus and luxury Genesis sedans operate as distinct brands in South Korea, with no Hyundai logos on the car.

But even so, the two sedans are also so common among South Korea’s elite that Hyundai has to stretch even more to produce something different for those who really want to stand out.

The result is the company’s first luxury co-branded product: a limited-run Genesis sedan with Prada.

The 1,200 Genesis Prada sedans will be sold in South Korea over the next few months. Another few hundred will be shipped to luxury buyers in the Middle East and China.

The starting price for the car is 79 million won (about $73,000), which is 20% more than a regular Genesis model with the same V8, 460-horsepower Tau 5.0 GDi engine.

Read the full articles.