Ford Motor Co. officially unveiled their 2011 Ford Fiesta at the Los Angeles Auto Show today.
The subcompact sedan and four-door hatchback is Ford’s smallest offering in the United States as the Blue Oval continues its plans to bring some of its best European models to America. Ford will debut an all-new Focus, based on the popular European model, at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this January.
Ford Motor Co. introduced a 305-horsepower V-6 engine for the Mustang this week at the Los Angeles Auto Show. For anyone counting, that’s one horse more than the Camaro’s V-6, which clocks in at 304 horsepower. LOL! And it’s far more powerful than the 210-horsepower V-6 on the 2010 Mustang.
Ford also promises better fuel economy from the 3.7-liter, Duratec all-aluminum engine, with 30 miles per gallon on the highway to Camaro’s 29. Let’s let the sales do the talking.
The Chevrolet Suburban and Dodge Challenger are some of the biggest gas-gulpers available, but they don’t cause quite the environmental harm other cars do.
That title is reserved for vehicles that combine their poor gas mileage with high tailpipe and greenhouse gas emissions. Think along the lines of some of the bulkiest cars on the road, like the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Chevrolet Trailblazer and Dodge Dakota.
1. Jeep Grand Cherokee
2. BMW M5
3. BMW M6 Sedan/Convertible
4. Chevrolet Trailblazer
5. Mercedes-Benz CL600
6. Mercedes-Benz S600
7. Chrysler Aspen
8. Dodge Dakota
9. Dodge Ram 1500
10. Dodge Durango
Ford Motor Co. plans to sell a new police cruiser vehicle to replace its Crown Victoria “Police Interceptor” once the sedan is phased out of production in 2011.
The automaker said the new vehicle will be more fuel efficient and offer lower ownership costs to municipalities than the existing Crown Victoria law enforcement vehicle.
The Crown Victoria police cruiser, badged the “Police Interceptor,” has long been a staple at police departments around the country, favored for its durability. Ford sells about 45,000 police vehicles a year, or about 75% of all police vehicles sold in the U.S..
Sales for the Ford Fusion are on a roll in 2009, the automaker reported recently. Sales in the first ten months of the year are 15% above those from the same time in 2008.
50% of Fusion sales come from the model’s Sport, SEL, and Hybrid trims — the latter consisting of 20% of the total. Ford says 60% of Fusion Hybrid customers have been garners from the import buying sect.
The Chevrolet Corvette remains GM’s iconic lynchpin sports car. It is powered by a very highly spirited line of V8 gas engines, though new CAFE rules regulating a fleet average of 35.5 MPG by 2016 have some pundits wondering if the powerhouse’s days could be numbered. Tom Stephens, GM vice chairman in charge of product development, says GM has plans to keep the car viable for the near future without resorting to hybridization. Yes, let’s stay outdated!
Toyota Motor Corp.’s sales in the U.S. dropped at the slowest pace this year and the carmaker outsold Ford Motor Co. for the first time in three months as government- backed rebates helped Asian auto brands beat estimates in July.
The results may signal the start of a recovery for the industry (Whew, about time!), which has been in the worst slump in demand since at least 1976. Automakers have struggled as average U.S. gasoline prices surged to a record $4.11 a gallon in mid-2008 and tight credit and unemployment sapped vehicle demand.
Is there a light at the end of the tunnel for General Motors? The Harvard Business School faculty weighs in..
Robert D. Austin, Associate Professor:
When I worked in a U.S. auto company in the mid 1990s, we were doing many of the right things. But often, when we ran up against the really tough problems, when we started to feel the real pain associated with real change, we pulled back. We were so profitable then, it was hard to muster the will to make the hard choices.
Nancy F. Koehn, James E. Robison Professor of Business Administration:
In the 1970s, Detroit managed to turn out some mediocre small cars. It drove many of us out of the showrooms. It wasn’t the fault of the dealers, although their customer service skills needed work.
Meanwhile, the Big 3 agreed to generous contracts that piled on legacy costs and kept small cars as loss leader, while the Hondas and Toyotas of the world managed to eke out a profit on their tiniest vehicles.
Moving into the late ‘90s, profitability rose among the Big 3 to World Class levels, but the damage had been done. Naturally enough, capital that was available was plugged into SUVs that were earning thousands of dollars in profit per vehicle.
General Motors Corp. and Chrysler will tell as many as 2,000 dealers they are no longer wanted. Brace yourselves! They won’t go without a fight. GM, which posted a $6-billion quarterly loss Thursday, plans to notify 1,000 to 1,500 dealers early next week that it will not renew their franchises.
Chrysler, which filed for bankruptcy protection in New York last week, is expected to notify roughly 800 of its 3,200 dealers as soon as today that it will tear up their contracts.
A group of US senators has agreed to a plan that would give consumers as much as $4,500 to purchase a fuel-efficient car or truck. The goal is to stabilize sales at struggling automakers, including General Motors and Chrysler, which are surviving on taxpayer aid.
The Senate plan, like the House measure, would provide rebates to consumers for any new car that meets certain fuel-efficiency requirements. Only vehicles getting 18 miles per gallon or less would qualify for trade-in.
Despite the recession, most American consumers are still planning to buy a car within the next two years. However, a recent consumer sentiment survey also found that car buying plans varied considerably by region of the country. There was also regional disparity on whether the potential car buyers were considering a US auto nameplate.
In the Plains states (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota), 62% of consumers plan to purchase a new or used vehicle within the next two years.
Ralph W. Sifford, owner of seven General Motors dealerships in Miami, claims to be the first dealer in Miami to hang an American flag from a pole 80 feet high; red, white and blue color his company like a poster of Uncle Sam.
All around Mr. Sifford car dealerships are closing. Five have disappeared or gone up for sale within a 10-minute drive of his showroom here; nationwide, more than 1,000 shut down in 2008.
A new study found that more than four out of every five US car owners now plan to keep their current car longer, due to the bad economic climate.
According to the survey of US vehicle owners aged 18 and over, 82% reported they now intend to keep their car longer than originally planned. The findings suggest an end to the cycle of frequent new car buying. The trend is even stronger for low income drivers and families.
Imports once again dominated Kelley Blue Book’s annual ranking of the most-researched new vehicles on its website. Of the top 20 vehicles, 15 were Japanese, 3 were American and 2 were German.
Given the spike in gas prices earlier in the year and the recent slump in the economy and stock market, shoppers gravitated toward fuel-efficient, economical models.
1. Honda Civic
2. Honda Accord
3. Toyota Camry
4. Toyota Corolla
5. Nissan Altima
6. Honda CR-V
7. Toyota Prius
8. Toyota Highlander
9. Toyota RAV4
10. Mazda3
11. Toyota Yaris
12. Ford Escape
13. Honda Odyssey
14. Honda Pilot
15. Honda Fit
16. Ford Mustang
17. Chevrolet Malibu
18. Toyota Sienna
19. Mini Cooper
20. Volkswagen Jetta
So Bush saved the day for the Auto Industry. General Motors Corp. and Chrysler would gain access to $13.4 billion in loans in December and January, with another $4 billion expected to be made available in February. The companies must prove by March that they have restructuring plans in place. Certainly it’s good news that we won’t see the auto industry go under in the immediate future. And while many jobs will be lost in the restructuring process, it’s nice to see the bulk of the auto industry won’t be laid off during the holiday season.
Response from The Grayline article Would You Buy American To Save Jobs?:
“Yes and No. Many foreign vehicles are actually made America. Did you know that? Down in the south, far from Detroit companies such as Toyota, build trucks and cars using American workers and American plants. American jobs will be lost more because of poor management more so than from poor worker quality. Of course, part of the blame does fall on the American auto workers union’s for being greedy all of these years, constantly wanting to get paid more even if they are producing less. The whole industry is very shortsighted and is now reaping the rewards of their shortsightedness.
On the streets of today’s China there are a growing number of new icons that Mao Zedong never dreamed of, with prestigious names like Rolex, Louis Vuitton — and Buick?
Look anywhere in China and there they are: Buick sedans, Buick station wagons, even Buick police cars. The old symbols are still there: the monuments, the uniforms, even the red flag. Six decades after the communist revolution, China has become the hottest capitalist engine on earth. And ironically, some of the most revered symbols of success in today’s China are Cadillac, Buick and Chevrolet.
General Motors said Monday its October sales tumbled 45 percent from a year ago, saying the industry was on track for its worst month in 25 years. GM delivered 170,585 new cars and trucks in the month, a stunning decline attributed to “uncertainty over the deepening credit crisis” and weak consumer confidence.
Wow. GM is in for some tough tough times. Honda’s hanging in there. Produce some reliable fuel-effecient vehicles and things may change.
With all the problems in the auto industry, you may wonder if the car brand you’re thinking about buying today will be around tomorrow. The bottom line is this: Stick with the strongest brand. It’s not what could go wrong with your car while you own it. It’s what happens when you want to unload it.
There’s been a lot of speculation lately that Chrysler and General Motors may be in talks to join forces. Great!!! If the two companies do become a single automaker, analysts expect a number of brands to be phased out.
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