Tuesday, November 3, 2009

October 2009 U.S. Auto Sales

General Motors U.S. October sales of 177,603 vehicles, was up 4 percent from last October, GM's first year-over-year gain since January 2008. Total sales increased 13 percent when compared with September. Year-to-date GM has sold 1,724,554 vehicles, down 33.8 percent from the first ten months of 2008. The Chevrolet nameplate accounted for 65.5% of GM's October sales and 74.8% of GM's 2009 sales led by the Silverado pickup truck and Impala and Malibu cars.

Toyota Motor Sales reported October sales of 152,165 vehicles, a decrease of 3.5 percent from last October. The Toyota Division posted October sales of 132,663 units, a decrease of 5.8 percent from the same period last year. The Lexus Division reported October sales of 19,502 units, an increase of 15.5 percent over the year-ago month. Year-to-date Toyota sales are 1,448,589, down 25.5 percent from 2008.

Ford, Lincoln and Mercury October U.S. sales totaled 132,483, up 3 percent versus a year ago and 21 percent higher than September. This marks the third time in the last four months Ford sales have increased. Ford sales so far in 2009 are 1,323,335, a drop of 20.4 percent from the first ten months in 2008. Volvo, still owned by Ford, had sales of 4,437, up 19.4 percent from October 2008, bringing the year-to-date sales total to 51,166, a 19.7 percent drop from the first ten months of 2008.

American Honda posted total October vehicle sales of 85,502, a decline of 4 percent compared to October 2008. Honda Division posted October sales of 75,751, a decline of five units versus October 2008. American Honda year-to-date sales of  969,638 representing a  23.4 percent decrease.

Chrysler Group reported total U.S. sales for October of 65,803 units, a decrease of 30 percent compared with the same time period in 2008. Year-to-date Chrysler sales are 781,319, 39 percent lower than the first ten months last year.

Nissan North America reported October 2009 sales of 60,115, an increase of 5.6 percent compared with October 2008. Nissan Division sales rose 7.7 percent for the month, while sales of Infiniti vehicles were 9.3 percent lower than a year ago. Nissan has sold 640,411 vehicles this year, a 24 percent decline from last year.

Hyundai Motor America October sales of 31,005 units, a 49 percent increase compared with October 2008. Calendar year-to-date, Hyundai sales are 373,222, up 4 percent from 2008. This marks the tenth consecutive month of year-over-year gains in retail market share.

Kia Motors America October sales of 22,490 units, a 45.3-percent increase over the same month last year. Year to date sales totaled 261,060, a 7.2-percent increase over the same period last year.

Volkswagen of America reported October 2009 sales of 17,037, a 7.2 percent increase over October 2008. Audi, which is owned by VW but reports separately, had U.S. October sales of 7,358, down just 1.1 percent from October 2008's all-time record. VW 2009 sales are 176,817 so far this year, down 7.5 percent from 2008 while Audi has sold 66,876 vehicles in 2009 down 8.7 percent from 2008.

The BMW Group in the U.S. (BMW and MINI combined) reported October sales of 20,619 vehicles, a decrease of 19.1 percent the same month of 2008. The BMW Group also reported a year-to-date sales volume of 199,838 vehicles, down 23.7 percent compared to the first ten months of last year.
 
Daimler AG reported sales for the Mercedes-Benz Cars division in the U.S. (Mercedes-Benz and smart combined) of 18,854 units, an increase of 9.4 percent compared to October 2008. Mercedes-Benz USA October sales of 18,193 vehicles was its highest month of the year and a 21.3% improvement over October 2008. On a year-to-date basis, Mercedes sold 153,606 new vehicles, trailing the comparable period last year by 20.1%. smart USA recorded 661 sales in October 2009, a 70.4 percent drop. Year-to-date sales now total 13,082 units, down 35.8 percent from 2008. Since its introduction in the United States, there are nearly 40,000 smart fortwos traveling the roads throughout America.

Subaru of America had record-breaking October sales of 18,169, a 41-percent gain over October 2008. Subaru had a 13-percent gain year-to-date with 176,590 units sold in 2009.

Mazda North American Operations reported October 2009 sales of 15,068, a decrease of 8.4 percent versus October of 2008. Overall, total yearly sales are reported at 175,257, down 24.4 percent compared to 2008.

Mitsubishi Motors North America October 2009 sales of 3,867 brings the 2009 total for 10 months to 46,706 vehicles.

Land Rover October U.S. sales were 2,160, a 7 percent increase over October 2008 and year-to-date Land Rover has sold 20,545 vehicles, a drop of 18 percent. Jaguar sold 882 cars in October, a 2 percent gain over last year and in 2009 Jaguar has sales of 9,556, down 26 percent from the same ten months of 2008. Jaguar Land Rover, owned by Tata Motors of India, has sold a combined total of 30,101 in the U.S. this year down 21 percent from the year ago period.

American Suzuki had sales of 1,745 in October, a 50 percent drop from a year ago. Year-to-date Suzuki has sold 35.270 vehicles, a 55 percent drop from the first ten months of 2008.
 
Porsche Cars North America October sales in the U.S. were 1,642, up 15 percent from the same period last year. This marks the third consecutive month that PCNA has recorded an increase in year-over-year sales from 2008. On sale for only about two weeks, Porsche’s new four-door Panamera has already recorded sales of 360. Year-to-date Porsche sales are 15,952, down 29.1 percent from ten months in 2008.

Previous monthly sales reports.















2010 Honda Accord Crosstour Starts at $30,380 MSRP



The all-new 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour is set to debut on November 20th with a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) starting at $29,670, plus a destination and handling charge of $710. The 271 horsepower Accord Crosstour is available in two model choices, the EX and EX-L getting an EPA-rated city/highway fuel economy of 18/27 mpg on 2WD models with Real Time 4WD drive is available.

The Accord Crosstour Crossover Utility Vehicle is based on the Accord V-6 Sedan with added cargo space and compartments in the rear. All Accord Crosstour models come standard with a 3.5-liter i-VTEC V-6 engine with Variable Cylinder Management (VCM). The VCM cylinder deactivation system is programmed to run on 3, 4 or 6 cylinders, based on current power requirements. A 5-speed automatic transmission is standard equipment.

Standard features on the Accord Crosstour EX include: dual-zone automatic air conditioning with second row ventilation, 360-Watt AM/FM 6-disc audio system with seven speakers, easy fold-down 60-40 split rear seat back, 17-inch aluminum wheels with 225/65 R17 all-season tires, hidden removable utility box, cruise control, moonroof, auto up/down driver and front passenger side windows, rear privacy glass, steering wheel-integrated audio controls, compass and outside temperature indicator, projector beam headlights with auto-off, fog lights, chrome door handles, body-colored power side mirrors with defrost, and more.

The Accord Crosstour EX-L adds or upgrades: leather-trimmed seating surfaces with heated front seats, leather steering wheel, leather gear shift knob, auto day/night dimming rearview mirror, 18-inch aluminum wheels with 225/60 R18 all-season tires, auto on/off headlights, memory driver-side seats, memory side mirrors with reverse tilting capability, cargo privacy cover, HomeLink transmitter, cargo privacy cover, Kevlar cone speakers, aluminum dome-type front tweeter speakers and a USB audio interface.



Sunday, November 1, 2009

2010 Subaru Outback & Legacy Will Continue To Boost Sales


Subaru, the only car company with year-over-year sales increases in 2008 over 2007 and so far this year over last, has two all-new re-designed models.



The all-new Subaru Outback has five trim levels starting at $22,995 for the 2.5i with the 170-horsepower 2.5-liter SOHC SUBARU BOXER® engine up to $28,995 for the 3.6R Limited with the 256-horsepower 6-cylinder SUBARU BOXER® engine coupled with leather-trimmed upholstery and 440-watt 9-speaker harman/kardon® premium audio system.



 The all-new Subaru Legacy 2.5i starts at $19,995 up to the Legacy 3.6R Limited starting at $27,995. All six of Subaru's vehicle lines have Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive which gives it sales traction in the Northeast, Northwest and all snow belt areas.

The Impreza, Impreza WRX, Forester and Tribeca all have attractive features along with trim and price levels for a wide range of car buyers.



Tesla Roadster: Electric In Frankfurt



In mid-September at the Frankfurt Auto Show, the pure-electric Tesla Roadster was charged and ready to go with its 248 hp 3-phase electric motor with a 14,000 rev limit. Driving in normal conditions (mixed city and highway conditions in a range of temperatures) results in “real world” range of 244 miles per charge, though in Australia at the 10th annual Global Green Challenge a Tesla Roadster achieved 313 miles on a single charge.

The Tesla Roadster has a base price of $109,000.


Fisker Karma S Plug-In Hybrid Convertible


 The Fisker Karma S is a four-seat, plug-in hybrid hardtop convertible. The deposit amount is $25,000.00 USD, with estimated delivery commencing at the end of 2011. Pricing for this model has not been finalized but is expected to be significantly higher than the current Fisker Karma model which is priced at $87,900.

Fisker Automotive has selected the former GM Wilmington Assembly plant in Wilmington, Delaware, to build its $39,900 (after $7,500 in federal tax credits) family-oriented plug-in hybrid sedan. Production is scheduled to begin in late 2012 and create 2000 factory jobs and more than 3000 vendor/supplier jobs when production reaches full capacity in 2014.


Fisker Karma: Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle

 

 The Fisker Karma uses Q-DRIVE plug-in hybrid technology which means a fully-charged Karma burns no fuel for the first 50 miles before a gasoline engine kicks in to charge the lithium ion battery and the car operates as a normal hybrid vehicle. The Karma's 0-60 mph time is less than 6 seconds and has a top speed of 125 mph. Delivery of the $87,900, 100mpg Karma sedan will begin next year.

Tesla Model S
























A 0-60 mph time of 5.6 seconds, a top speed of 120mph with a range up to 300 miles and 45-minute QuickCharge time gives this electric sedan impressive stats plus its superior fuel cost features - you can charge it from any outlet, without ever stopping for gas. Tesla brags that the Model S has more cargo space than other sedans, is twice as efficient as hybrids and offers 100 percent torque, 100 percent of the time without jerky shifting and a fraction of the noise and harshness of internal combustion engines.

The Tesla Model S can carry five adults and two children and has a base price is $49,900. Deliveries start in 2011.