July Sales: Cash for Clunkers Spurs FoMoCo; Toyota Regains Second-Place

DETROIT – Ford Motor Company is ebullient about its first year-over-year sales increase since November 2007. Total Ford-Lincoln-Mercury sales, including fleet, rose 2 percent in July 2009 compared with July 2008, and of that, retail sales rose 9 percent. Still, it’s too early to party. The Great Recession isn’t over yet.”Right now, the legs under the economy are not strong enough to sustain a 14-16 million sales rate as we saw at the end of July,” says Ford analyst George Pipas. “A sales increase in July is not the end of the journey.”Aside from the minor increase compared with a very weak July ’08, when gasoline averaged $4.11 per gallon, Ford proved through individual model sales that the Cash for Clunkers program helped move fuel-efficient metal. Probably not coincidentally, the low-priced cars and trucks that consumers who until now were driving clunkers could afford to buy moved the most. Ford Focus sales surpassed Fusion sales, although both models were up compared with last year. Even though a four-cylinder Fusion is within a couple mpg city/highway, the smaller, cheaper Focus easily outsold the Fusion, 21,830 (up 43.6 percent) to 17,610 (up 66 percent).The redesigned-for-2009 Focus became Ford’s darling when gas topped $4 per gallon. Earlier this year, the facelifted 2010 Fusion was Ford’s savior in some of the slowest sales months in decades. Advertising dollars targeting new models helps.If Cash for Clunkers money drew a lot of prospective buyers to Ford lots in the last week, I’ve got to bet that some of those consumers trading in ’90s Explorers chose, say an $18,000-list Focus over a $23,000-list Fusion because it better met their budgets. Many of those clunkers undoubtedly were third or even fourth cars, driven by the high schoolers in the family. Estimates of how much oil the program saves may be a bit of a stretch.No matter. The program is a success for bringing consumers back into the market — either those who have been holding off or those who figured credit had dried up so much, it wasn’t worth it to walk into a showroom. General Motors estimates July sales for all makers totaled an annual rate that would equal about 11.3-million vehicles, marking the first month in 2009 above the 10-million level.And GM has just announced a lease program with U.S. Bank for Chevrolets, Buicks, GMCs and Cadillacs (its core four in North America) for New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Michigan and Ohio through August 31. U.S. Bank leases for the new Cadillac SRX are available nationwide.Meanwhile, Chrysler says that The Wall Street Journal got it wrong Monday morning. Chrysler will continue to offer matching incentives of up to $4500 on certain models whether you bring in a clunker or not. Obviously, if your local dealer is out of, say, 2009 PT Cruisers, you’re not going to get $4500 off a 2010 model. And so, to the numbers:GM: 189,443, off 19.4 percent.Inventory of about 466,000 is the lowest on record, says sales veep Mark LaNeve.With inventories dropping for all automakers, the deals aren’t likely to get any more desperate.Chevy division sales were relatively strong, at 124,948, still down 9.3 percent.Equinox was a rare gainer, up 77.8 percent to 10,834. About 60 percent were ’10 models, and most of those were four-bangers.Buick Enclave remains strong, selling 3,797, off 2.5 percent.Cadillac, at 6,171, off 52.6 percent, was the biggest loser of the core four.Saab was off 71.7 percent to 574 and Hummer was off 57.4 percent to 799.Impala was up 9.6 percent to 14,649 but Malibu was off 7.8 percent to 15,339.Modern wagon wars continues: Toyota sold 9,407 Highlanders, (+39.1 percent), Chevy sold 6,690 Traverses, Honda sold 6,430 Pilots (-15.3 percent), Dodge sold 4,165 Journeys (+21 percent) and Ford sold 3,631 Flexes (+64.7 percent).The new Camaro continues to be in short supply. Chevy sold 7,113, vs. 6,686 Ford Mustangs (-37.6 percent) and 886 Dodge Challengers (-69 percent).GM will build some 2010 G6s for fleet customers, LaNeve said, making it the last Pontiac.The New GM of Chevy, Buick, GMC and Cadillac, sold 160,078 vehicles, a couple thousand more than Ford/Lincoln/Mercury but short of Toyota.Toyota-Scion-Lexus: 174,872, off 11.4 percent.Toyota division accounted for 156,355 (including Scions), off 10.8 percent, making Toyota the U.S.’ best-selling brand.Lexus fell 16.5 percent to 18,517.Prius jumped 29.7 percent to 19,173. Camry sales fell 19.4 percent to a still-strong 33,974.RAV4 may have benefited from the clunkers credit, up 32.5 percent to 15,912.Midsize pickups also are doing well. Tacoma was up 7.6 percent to 12,552.Monthly Scion numbers: 6,754, vs. 11,906 in July ’08.Ford-Lincoln-Mercury: 158,838, up 2 percent.Focus was Ford’s best-selling car, up 43.6 percent to 21,830.Fusion was up 66 percent to 17,610.F-150 remains Ford’s best-selling vehicle, off 19 percent to 36,327.Escape was up 94.2 percent to 20,241.Ranger was up 64.5 percent to 7,695. Looks like another Cash for Clunkers winner.Taurus was off 57.1 percent to 1,760 as Ford ramped down the old model.Mercury Milan was up 59.8 percent to 2,934 while Mariner was up 70.5 percent to 3,682 as the Lincoln side of the showroom suffered a 24.3 percent drop.Inventory of 295,000 vehicles, averaging less than a 50-day supply, is 41 percent thinner than at the end of July ’08.Honda-Acura: 114,690, off 17.3 percent.That’s 106,028 Hondas, off 15.8 percent, and 8,662 Acuras, off 32.5 percent.Civic was up 3.1 percent to 30,037.Accord was off 28.1 percent to 29,774.Fit was off 27.6 percent to 8,876 but CR-V was up 9.9 percent to 19,151.Acura RDX was off 62.5 percent to 519 and TSX was off 35.8 percent to 2,232.Chrysler LLC: 88,900, off 9 percent.Winners were small models, helped by heavy incentives. Chrysler PT Cruiser was up 24 percent to 4,092 sold.Jeep Patriot was up 134 percent to 8,084 and Compass was up 95 percent.Jeep Wrangler, which posted increases for the first five months of the year, was down for the second month in a row, off 25 percent to 4,540.Dodge Caliber was up 63 percent to 7,814.Avenger was up 30 percent to 5,616.Sebring was off 27 percent to 2,781. Chrysler has sold 13,466 for the entire year so far, well below Ford Fusion’s monthly sales.Chrysler Town & Country fell 15 percent to 6,837. Dodge Caravan was up 15 percent to 8,405, however.Ram was off 17 percent to 17,723.Nissan-Infiniti: 71,847, off 24.6 percent.Nissan division was off 24.8 percent to 64,751.Infiniti was off 23.3 percent to 7,096.Nissan Versa was off just 2 percent to 8,530, though Sentra fell 13.5 percent to 9,496.Rogue sales were up 3.8 percent to 6,770.Z was up 11.9 percent to 890. Inexplicably, Infiniti QX56 was up 0.4 percent to 553.Nissan GT-R was off by 19 units to 128.OTHERS …Hyundai says 22 percent of its trade-ins were “clunkers.” Sales rose 12 percent, to 45,553. Accent, Sonata, Elantra and Genesis all posted gains and Santa Fe was down very slightly.Kia sold 29,345 units, up 1,324 units from last July. Subaru was up an impressive 34 percent, to 21,839. Mazda sold 19,032, off 15.1 percent.BMW Group, including Mini, was off 26.7 percent, to 21,253. BMW brand sold 16,381, off 31.5 percent. Mini was off 3.8 percent, to 4,872. Only all-ne
w models gained sales last month; BMW Z4 (up 33.8-percent) and 7 Series (up 14.5 percent), and Mini Cooper convertible (up 45.1 percent).Cash for Clunkers helped Volkswagen, which was up 0.7 percent, to 20,590 while Audi says it outperformed the premium segment, dropping just 5.8 percent, to 6,407. The clunkers program does not help with new cars north of $45,000.Mercedes-Benz USA, sold 17,646, including 16,228 Mercedes (off 21.7 percent) and 1,418 smarts, off 44.6 percent.Jaguar Land Rover fell 25 percent, to 2,607. Jaguar was down 45 percent, to 785 cars and Land Rover was down 11 percent, to 1,822.
Source : blogs.motortrend.com/6564996/car-news/july-sales-cash-for-clunkers-spurs-fomoco-toyota-regains-second-place/index.html

Koenigsegg Is the Right Size to Own Saab

DETROIT – “GM’s reinvention achieves another milestone,” reads the press release announcing the automaker’s sale of Saab Automobile AB (a redundant name, given the “ab” in Saab) to Koenigsegg Group AB. And so one tiny, proud Swedish automaker will own another tiny, but somewhat larger Swedish automaker. Good match. And good deal for Koenigsegg. The “reinvention” of GM includes selling off unwanted divisions, including Hummer and Saturn, for just about nothing.

Like Fiat picking up 20 percent of Chrysler with no cash down, there’s no indication so far that Koenigsegg will pay GM anything for 100 percent of Saab. Meanwhile, the European Investment Bank now is willing to kick in $600 million to keep Saab’s expensive factory in Trollhattan running under Koenigsegg ownership. That’s operating capital that GM was unable to procure for Saab. And yet, those true blue-and-white Saabs will run on GM underpinnings for some time to come.

Trollhattan will build the all-new 2011 9-5 beginning next year. It’s based on the Epsilon II platform (Opel Insignia, ’10 Buick LaCrosse). That factory also will continue to build the 9-3, which is on the Epsilon I platform (Chevy Malibu, etc.). And all indications are that GM will go forward with 9-4x production in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, alongside the new Cadillac SRX.

The 9-4x has all the makings of becoming what the 9-7x could never be — a real Saab, and not just by its ignition location. The production 9-4x is said to be very close in interior and exterior design to the concept, making it perhaps the most handsome midsize crossover in the segment. It’s critical to maintaining a Saab presence, no matter how small, in North America. And that segment is important in Europe (BMW X3/Audi Q5/Mercedes GLK, etc.) too.

But there lies the problem GM has had in owning Saab. It bought 50-percent of the Swedish company after it lost Jaguar to Ford Motor Company in the late ’80s, then bought the remaining 50 percent a decade later. GM tried to turn a small, quirky automaker that had a small, quirky and loyal following into a kind of mainstream entry-level luxury manufacturer.

Saab and Volvo operate two of the most expensive manufacturing facilities in the world, in southern Sweden. This explains why of all Ford’s foreign brands, selling Volvo is the toughest proposition.

It will be tough for Koenigsegg to keep costs, and prices down. At least to the low-volume exoticar manufacturer, Saab already is far more mainstream and high-volume. If Koenigsegg can be satisfied with small margins and can keep the volume 9-3 model in the upper $20s to $30s in current U.S. dollars, Saab will have a future, once again, as a small-volume maker of interesting, quirky automobiles for people who don’t want to see their cars coming and going.

Source : blogs.motortrend.com/6521869/corporate/koenigsegg-is-the-right-size-to-own-saab/index.html

Saab Models

2008 Saab 9-3 Convertible

1997 Saab 9-5 V6 at Link?ping, Sweden, on the occasion of SAAB’s Diamond Jubilee

Saab 9-7X

Saab 9-3 (1998 ? present)

Saab Turbo X (2008)

Saab 9-5 (1997 ? present)
Saab 9-7X (2005 ? present)

Future models

Saab 9-4X (2009 ? present)

Historical models

Saab Sonett I

1959 Saab 93

1975 Saab 96

1995 NG 900SE convertible

Saab 92 (1949 ? 1956)
Saab 93 (1955 ? 1960)

Saab GT750 (1958 ? 1960)

Saab 94 (1956)
Saab 95 (1959 ? 1978)
Saab 96 (1960 ? 1980)

Saab Sport (1962 ? 1966)

Saab Formula Junior (1960)
Saabo (1964 ? 1968)
Saab 97 (1966 ? 1974)
Saab 99 (1968 ? 1984)
Saab 900 “Classic” (1979 ? 1994)
Saab 90 (1984 ? 1987)
Saab 600 (1985 ? 1988)
Saab 9000 (1985 ? 1998)
Saab 900 “New Generation” (1994 ? 1998)
Saab 9-2X (2004 ? 2006)
Saab 9-3 (1999 ? 2003)

Concepts and prototypes

Ursaab (1946)
Saab Monster (1959)
Saab 60 (1962)
Saab Quantum (1962)
Saab Catherina (1964)
Saab MFI13 (1965)
Saab Toad (1966)
Saab 98 (1974)
Saab EV-1 (1985)
Saab 9-X (2001)
Saab 9-3X (2002)
Saab 9-3 SportHatch (2003)
Saab 9-5 Aero BioPower (2006)
Saab Aero-X (2006)
Saab 9-4X BioPower (2008)
Saab 9-X BioHybrid (2008)
Saab 9X Air (2008)

wikipedia

Saab history

Saab 92

Saab 99 2-door Sedan

Saab 9000

Saab was originally created as a division of the Swedish Aeroplane Company (Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolag in Swedish). The company had been established in 1937 for the express purpose of building aircraft for the Swedish Air Force. With World War II nearing its end, the company began looking for new markets in which to expand. In 1944, Project 92 began, with the goal of creating the first Saab passenger car. Five years later, the Saab 92 began production. The design highlighted the company?s roots in aviation. Notably, the car?s drag coefficient of 0.30 was the lowest of any production car at the time.

In 1955 the 92 was reworked and became the 93. The engine was upgraded from two to three cylinders but unusually remained a two stroke. The car received a facelift, including the first Saab with the brand?s trademark trapezoidal grille. A wagon variant, the 95, was added in 1959 and would remain in production for the next twenty years. The decade also saw Saab’s first foray into true performance cars with the Saab 94, the first of four Saab Sonetts.

The need for a larger model saw the birth of the Saab 99 in 1967. The 99 was the final Saab designed by Sixten Sason, who had designed all their earlier models. Its design, a clean break from all earlier Saabs, would mark the brand’s styling for the next twenty years. The 99 was also important in that it marked Saab’s first turbocharged model.

In 1970, the 500,000th Saab was built. Six years later the 1,000,000th would follow.

Saab signed an agreement with Fiat in 1978 to sell a rebadged Lancia Delta as the Saab 600 and jointly develop a new car platform. The agreement yielded the Alfa Romeo 164, Fiat Croma, Lancia Thema and Saab 9000, all riding atop the Type Four chassis.

In 1987 the 2,000,000th Saab was manufactured. However, the company began to struggle and to cut costs, the Arl?v plant was closed, but heavy financial losses continued. On March 15th 1990, General Motors bought 50% of Saab for US $600 million, with an option to acquire the remaining shares within a decade. Despite this, losses continued and the Malm? plant was closed in 1991.

GM’s involvement spurred the launch of the “new generation” Saab 900 in 1993. The new car used the same platform as the Opel Vectra and polarized Saab aficionados, but thanks to its sales, the company declared a profit in 1995 for the first time in seven years. In 2000, GM purchased the remaining shares of Saab, making the company a wholly-owned subsidiary.

In March 2005, it was announced that GM would move the production of the next-generation Saab 9-5 from Trollh?ttan to the Opel plant in R?sselsheim, Germany in 2009. The Trollh?ttan factory now produces European Cadillacs. The next-generation Saab 9-3 is scheduled to be produced at Trollh?ttan.

Current models are the 9-3 and 9-5, both of which are manufactured in Trollh?ttan, Sweden and the Saab 9-7X SUV, manufactured in Moraine, Ohio. The Saab 9-2X, a rebadged Subaru Impreza that was manufactured in Japan, was discontinued after the 2006 model year.

A new crossover SUV, dubbed the 9-4X will share a platform with a new Cadillac BRX is on its way for 2009 and will be built in North America.

wikipedia

Saab

Saab Automobile AB, better known as Saab, is a Swedish car manufacturer and currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Motors. It is the exclusive automobile royal warrant holder as appointed by H.M., the King of Sweden. Since its inception, Saab has become known for turbocharging, ?quirkiness?, safety and green technology.

Type
Subsidiary of GM

Founded
1947 by Svenska Aeroplan AB

Headquarters
Trollh?ttan, Sweden

Key people
Carl-Peter Forster (Chairman)
Jan-?ke Jonsson (CEO)

Industry
Manufacturing

Products
Automobiles

Employees
4,733 (2006)

Website
saab.com

Saab 9-3 Special Edition

Saab Celebrates 25 years of Convertibles with Special Edition on show at LA Motor Show.
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