January 13th, 2006 by admin
More Americans Are Steering Clear of Luxury Vehicles
With gas prices up and deep car discounts on the "Big 3" automaker’s vehicles, luxury car sales are down this month.
It seems most people are having trouble paying the exorbitant prices for luxury vehicles these days, especially during the holiday season.
While these numbers fluctuate greatly from month to month, this appears to be part of a trend that surely disturbs luxury automakers.
Interestingly enough, Lexus had a banner year:
Lexus sold 151,226 cars, up 15,000 units, while its trucks (all SUVs) were close to even at 151,669, one-to-one with cars. Thus Lexus exceeded 300,000 for the first time, well ahead of all other luxury brands.
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January 11th, 2006 by admin
Car Crazy Central is a hit with savvy car enthusiasts
If you love cars check out Car Crazy Central. The site has recently launched as a portal for car lovers. The site boasts e-cards, news, forums, and email newsletters to keep you abreast of auto industry happenings.
The Car Crazy News section provides daily updated video news segments ranging from the latest automotive manufacturing and industry stories to collector and enthusiast updates. I went directly to the humor section to watch short films and cartoons. Visitors can also download screensavers, wallpapers, instant messaging icons, and automotive e-cards. —
Media Post
The video news is full-screen and they also offer radio, daily news, and even a community area (that’s where the cartoons reside) with classifieds and event for the auto buff. The community area is actually fairly substantial. I was pleasantly surprised to see such depth here.
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January 10th, 2006 by admin
Cars sales rise at the end of the year.
Finally good news in the American auto industry, as sales rise 10.3% to end 2005.
The auto industry has weathered some tough news over the past year, and auto giants Ford and GM are seeing particularly bleak futures. But, it looks like an upswing is taking place, when compared to the sales figures of 2004 which showed a loss of 4.6% in overall sales.
Unfortunately, the growth was not as healthy as it may appear. 63% of the sales were for commercial vehicles. In addition, due to aggressive discounts and rebates, margins for new car and used car sales were slim.
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January 6th, 2006 by admin
Two rivals will join forces on new minivan
If you thought automotive news was boring, you haven’t been keeping up with all that has been happening lately. It was just announced that VW will design the interior of Chrysler’s next minivan.
The minivan will be based on the next-generation Dodge and Chrysler minivan platform, but VW will design the interior and exterior.
"We’re developing a design that will be uniquely Volkswagen’s because we believe there’s tremendous opportunity in this market for a vehicle of this type," Bernhard said in a statement.
Bernhard predicted sales of around 10,000 minivans annually once the vehicle hits the market, a fairly conservative estimate. VW sold 18,050 Touareg sport-utility vehicles, its largest current vehicle, in the United States in 2005. That was down 35% from the number of Touaregs the company sold in 2004.
The van will be co-branded and will be manufactured in the United States or Canada. I wonder if this will be the start of a beautiful friendship?
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January 6th, 2006 by admin
New sponsorship model showcases their popular models
Trying something a little different, Infiniti will air an original show with no commercial breaks on February 9 on BET, and again one week later. The show will center on design and follow a group of artists as they discuss design fundamentals with no mention of Infiniti or their automobiles.
The show marks the next phase of The True Agency’s year-old "Infiniti in Black" campaign and will be backed by teaser ads, events and public-relations initiatives that begin next week and run through March, said Garlanda Freeze, management supervisor at True in Playa del Rey, Calif. The cost of those efforts and the time on BET amounts to an estimated $7 million to $10 million.
The approach differs from those of General Motors and Ford, which have placed brands in TV shows such as The Apprentice and 24, respectively, as well as in music videos and films.
Original programming is a first for Infiniti, a unit of Nissan that hired True in late 2003 as its first agency dedicated to reaching the black market. The show also breaks new ground for BET, which previously scheduled paid programming only on weekends in the early morning. "If it were a hard sell and something that was clearly commercial … then it would have gotten different placement and different treatment," said Michael Lewellen, svp of corporate communications at BET in Washington, D.C. "At the end of the day, we felt this is something that our viewers will enjoy seeing."
At the beginning and end of the program the conversation will cease and a montage of the vehicles will begin. Other than the start and ending of the program, the cars will not be mentioned.
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January 5th, 2006 by admin
The luxury car manufacturer is spending the bulk of their ad dollars on or in conjuction with BET
With a mix of podcasts, blogs, flash ads, and BET editorial reviews, Lexus is targeting the technologically-savvy African American.
The Toyota luxury brand’s four-week effort is centered around
LexusFusion.com, a microsite where visitors can subscribe to podcasts, view a behind-the-scenes video of the making of a radio spot, and tell friends about the site. Independent interactive shop ImagineThat developed the online portion of the effort.
This ad campaign is designed to launch their newest SUV, the Lexus IS. Look for the flash ads on VIBE.com, blackplanet.com and BET.com.
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January 3rd, 2006 by admin
Warranties for Hyundai and Kia have always been impressive
With fantastic warranties, but sketchy performance, Americans have displayed a love/hate relationship with Korean car manufacturers, Hyundai and Kia.
”The Japanese are starting to get worried about the Korean brands for the same reasons the domestics worried about the Japanese,” said Art Spinella, president of CNW Marketing Research. ”The Japanese are looking over their shoulders right now.”
A recent J.D. Power survey of 34,000 new-vehicle buyers this year concluded that fewer people feel compelled to ”buy American” and more accept Korean brands.
CNW says the median age of Hyundai buyers is 30 and for Kia it is 28, the youngest in the industry. The average age of Honda and Toyota buyers is 42 and the industry average is 45.
This year Hyundai actually beat Honda and Nissan in a customer survey, put out by JD Power. The study measured problems within the first 90 days of purchase, ranking 11. Kia ranked 29.
Consumer Reports chose the Hyundai Sonata as the most reliable vehicle of 2004.
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December 30th, 2005 by admin
Should you have the right to have your vehicle repaired where you want?
Dealers hope you aren’t concerned enough to complain about their computer overrides, disallowing independent repair shops from repairing vehicles.
Now, two or three times per month, his computerized diagnostic equipment shows unknown codes when hooked up to an auto with a problem.
"The scanner gets codes, but no translation comes up, meaning the information hasn’t been released," Danneman said.
Manufacturers aren’t allowing shops access to some of the information they need to repair today’s computerized automobiles. They aren’t allowing independent’s to include the information in diagnostic tools that can be used on many different types of vehicles.
See Also
- Right to Repair
Should Dealerships Have The Right To Force You To Use Their Repair Services?
December 28th, 2005 by admin
Car Buyers Won’t Purchase From a Shaky Company
When Daewoo folded years ago, many customers were left with cars they were still financing that could not be fixed when they stalled because parts were not available. Warranty’s purchased from the manufacturer were voided and the buyers were left to bear the burden of a car that no longer had a parent company to back it.
A recent survey suggests buyers won’t enter into a similar situation this year.
There’s been talk in automotive circles that General Motors may be on the road to bankruptcy court. But GM executives may do a U-turn after reading the results of a new study that finds car buyers wary of buying a car from a bankrupt company.
The survey by Directions Research, Inc., found that only 26 percent of respondents said they would buy or lease a car manufactured by a company that was in bankruptcy.
GM will probably not collapse, but bankruptcy might be an option they choose. This survey may discourage that once attractive alternative.
See Also
- AutoWarranties.com
Warranties available on any year, make, or model vehicle with any mileage
December 26th, 2005 by admin
A Year In Review
Detriot’s news of late has been doom and gloom. With strikes, low sales, and dismal growth, the auto industry doesn’t have much to celebrate.
General Motors Corp. Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner sent a memo to workers in November assuring them bankruptcy isn’t an option for the world’s largest automaker, but concerns about GM’s financial health persist. The company recently announced a plan to cut 30,000 jobs and close 12 facilities by 2008. Next year, the automaker, which has a Fort Wayne plant, plans to sell a majority stake in its profitable finance arm, GMAC, to raise cash.
Ford Motor Co. is expected to announce its own restructuring plan in January. The nation’s No. 2 automaker had its share of turmoil this year, including an expensive bailout for its former parts division, Visteon Corp.
But, analysts say things are looking better for the coming year.
Despite the gloom in Detroit, 2005 will end on a fairly high note. Analysts are predicting full-year sales of around 17 million vehicles, a healthy pace that has held steady over the past 6 years.
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