Consumer and Car Exam News # 29: BMW & Mercedes outselling Lexus in 2011, and more new cars sold in January

The race against Lexus is getting tighter: Automotive News is reporting that BMW and Mercedes have gotten off to a better start in the sales race in 2011 than Lexus. Lexus has outsold BMW and Mercedes every year since 2000, but BMW and Mercedes have been closing the gap, especially in 2010. It is expected that the sales race between the three brands will be even tighter this year.

Source: Automotive News (http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110202/COPY01/302029988/1292) 2/2/11

January 2011 auto sales better than January 2010: The Detroit Free Press is reporting that auto sales in January 2011 were up 17.3 % over January 2010. Consumer confidence rose in January; more new car sales went to individual buyers than fleets. Nevertheless, General Motors and Toyota are still offering sales incentives to attract more customers–if you’re a consumer looking to find a good deal on a new vehicle, a G.M. or Toyota product just may look more appealing to you at the moment.

Source: The Detroit Free Press (http://www.freep.com/article/20110202/BUSINESS01/102020335/Auto-industry-sees-17-3-increase?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Auto News) 2/1/11

P. Scott

The Car Exam News #28: Mercedes to sell smaller cars in U.S., Chrysler’s lofty 4th Q expectations, & better U.S. sales helps Honda recover

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Smaller M.B.’s on the way to U.S. market?

Mercedes-Benz is getting serious about selling smaller cars in the United States: Automotive News is reporting that M.B. will sell smaller vehicles in the U.S.–an SUV targeted at the BMW X1, a small coupe, and maybe a FWD-based car if the demands calls for it here in the U.S. (a compact hatchback or small wagon) within the next three years.

Source: Automotive News (http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110131/OEM01/301319941/1193) 1/31/11

How was Chrysler in the Fourth Quarter?

The Detroit Free Press is reporting that Chrysler will report its 4th Quarter financial results today (we’ll update this later after the results are revealed). U.S. sales where 23% higher than the year before, production rose 6%, and retail sales accounted for more profit than fleet sales did. Sergio Marchionne and his company would like investment banks to refinance its higher-cost government loans, and making a decent profit would go a long way of convincing them to do so.

Source: The Detroit Free Press (http://www.freep.com/article/20110131/BUSINESS01/101310413/Expectations-high-Chrysler-s-4Q-results-today?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Auto News) 1/30/11

Honda Sales Recovering?

Automotive News is reporting that Honda has increased the expectations of its profits. Stronger earnings and growth in the United States and Asia, and model updates of the Civic and CRV models are just some of the reasons why Honda may have a brighter financial outlook moving forward.

Source: Automotive News (http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110131/COPY01/301319876/1401) 1/31/11

P. Scott

The Car Exam News #24: Encouraging GM and Ford News

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Good news for General Motors

Good news for GM this week: The Detroit Free Press reports that GM will build a new, smaller Cadillac, the ATS, at its Lansing Grand River plant. The ATS will be smaller and priced lower than the CTS (pictured above). No word yet on when production of the ATS will begin.

Source: The Detroit Free Press (http://www.freep.com/article/20101027/BUSINESS01/101027034/1210/business01/GM-Lansing-plant-will-build-new-Cadillac) 10/27/10

More good GM news–and good news for Ford, too: Consumer Reports is reporting that the reliability of GM’s cars is improving–a must if it wants its recovery to continue. Recently launched vehicles, such as the Cadillac SRX, Chevrolet Camaro and Equinox, and the Buick LaCrosse V6 (FWD) have proven to be reliable from the start–something not very common to GM in recent decades. Some older GM models, like the Corvette, for example, have even improved with their reliability. GM can still do a lot better, though, as it still trails far behind the leading Asian brands (Toyota and Honda, for example) in reliability. If GM can keep improving, it just may get back on top one day…

Meanwhile, Ford continues to shine. Consumer Reports also notes that 90% of all Ford models (including Lincoln) are at least rated as having at least average reliability. Furthermore, Fords are now more reliable than Mazdas and Nissans, and just lags behind the legendary Toyota luxury brand, Lexus–quite an impressive feat. Ford has already had good news earlier in the week of record third-quarter profits of a whopping $1.7 billion dollars, so executives in Dearborn must be jumping for joy!

Source: Consumer Reports (http://blogs.consumerreports.org/cars/2010/10/consumer-reports-2010-annual-car-reliability-survey-gm-makes-big-strides-while-honda-toyota-dominate-pr.html?CMP=OTC-NEWS2) 10/26/10

P. Scott