Oh my. They must be price gouging. (See any XOM thread.)
Can't imagine why trucks that get 11 mpg aren't selling.
It's all about quality! (And Ford/Gm/D-C just don't have it.)
My niece is picking up a brand-new 2007 Toyota Scion coupe as we speak.
I begged her to buy Toyota. She'll have that car for 20 years.
One thing I'm looking at is Delphi, and what looks to be their using the Pension account to fund their continuing operational deficit - if I'm not mistaken, GM is on the hook for the pensions of Delphi workers (as Delphi was spun off from GM).
To wit, in the Monthly Operating Reports for May and June of this year, an increase of $1.6B was recorded against Pension Obligations (carried under "Liabilities Subject to Compromise" in the Balance Sheet), whereas $1.6B from the "Pension and other postretirement benefit expenses" was used to partially offset the $-1.8B net loss in the June Statement of Cash Flows.
If my admittedly facile understanding of this issue is correct, then decreased sales at GM aren't the only thing the General has to be worrying about.
(Anybody?)
But they aren't standing still. They are getting better and better at a rapid pace and now they have turned their attention to trucks and SUVs - up to now the only real bright spot in Detroit.
Even more omininously (from the viewpoint of Detroit), the Japanese Big Three have moved onto American turf, building U.S. factories, putting Americans (in mostly red states) to work and blurring the lines between "American cars" and "imports." And they have no UAW to worry about!
What is more American? A Ford made mostly in Mexico and assembled by union workers in Detroit who vote the "straight Democratic ticket" because their pinky-ringed bosses tell them to? Or a Nissan made in Tennessee by non-union workers, most of which go to church on Sundays, vote Republican and aren't afraid to fly the American flag on their front lawns?
What's worse for the Detroit Big 3, who continue to operate in some weird 1968 time warp, is that even once laughed at nameplates like Hyundai and Subaru are now kicking Detroit butt in carmaking. The ways things are going, Ford will soon be replacing Yugo as the butt of car jokes.
Scion and Prius are really selling. It's the high gas prices. Remember, the Pinto and the Vega were really hot tickets during the last one.
You're welcome.
P.S. - I like the new Pilot.
I take pleasure in noting this headline is most certainly a result of my own purchase last evening of a 2007 Toyota Yaris to be used in the vocation of delivering food for a well-known local Italian restaurant opening a new location a week from today. 7/31/06 was a great day to wheel and deal for a Toyota.
A little anecdotal evidence here-last Saturday I took my 16-yo son car shopping. We hit all the dealerships, and the so-called "Big 3" )Chrysler, Ford, Chevy) were abandoned. Really! NO customers at all at either of them when we stopped...
OTOH, the Honda and Toyota dealers were packed-I had trouble finding a place to park at the Toyota place. At the Toyota dealership, ALL the salespeople were busy. At the Honda dealer, there were a few salespeople available, and I got help immediately.
We looked at a Honda Fit, which was sold as we were looking at it! Looked at the 2007 Civic, with which my son and I fell in love! 30 city, 40 highway on a LOADED Civic w/ auto trans.
Saleslady said no deals on the Fit or Civic, but they'd talk turkey on the Accords, Pilots, and CRV's.
All I'm sayin' is; try to beat that Civic at a Chevy, Ford, or Chrysler dealer-can't be done...no wonder GM, Ford & Chrysler are hurting!
In July we traded in our 2 Fords for 2 Toyotas. Sick to death of the constant repair bills and the gas guzzling.
It's nice to know when we're on the road that we'll make it to our destination.
I bought a used Land Cruiser.....they make good caca.
I refuse to drink the jap car koolaid. Jap cars are overrated, overpriced, underpowered, underbuilt and uninspiring. Their styling looks like it came from a bad sci-fi movie set, they just seem so 'japanese'. I'm simply not in the market for a generic four door compact sedan anyway.
I still own three Fords and am very satisfied. What can I say? I like pickup trucks and muscle cars. I own an '04 F150, an '03 Mustang and an '00 Ranger. The F150 remains the best pickup truck.