The newer big Chryslers are butt-ugly IMHO, look like something from a Third Reich comic strip. Even this one has a kind of ugly vibe. Buuut, I could see myself driving one, provided it has an alarm system. ;')
Posted on 01/05/2005 6:21:13 AM PST by wmichgrad
DETROIT (AP) — The auto industry's traditional Big Three remained intact in 2004, but record demand for vehicles from Japan's top carmakers helped reduce the Detroit automakers' share of the American market to its lowest level ever.
Due largely to a robust December, sales for the year rose about 1 percent from 2003 to roughly 17 million units.
But the U.S. market share for GM, Ford and Chrysler dwindled to an unprecedented 58.7 percent in 2004, down from 60.2 percent in 2003 and 61.7 percent in 2002, according to the automotive research firm Autodata Corp.
At the same time, Toyota, Nissan, Honda and other Asian brands increased their share from 32.6 percent in 2003 to 34.6 percent last year. Three years ago Asian imports accounted for only 30 percent.
The trend is expected to continue in 2005, though most automakers said Tuesday a blistering December sales pace bodes well for the start of business this year.
December's seasonally adjusted annual sales rate was a 2004-best 18.4 million units, up from 17.4 million a year ago, Autodata said. The rate indicates what sales would be for the full year if they remained at the same pace for all 12 months.
General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co., the nation's two largest automakers, reported lower U.S. sales in 2004 despite an onslaught of new vehicles, while DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group rode the success of the popular Chrysler 300C sedan to the lone gain for the Big Three.
Meanwhile, the American arms of Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. sold more cars and trucks in the United States than ever before.
"In an era where prices can't be raised, the Big Three of Asia — Honda, Nissan and Toyota — and the Chrysler Group ... all picked up market share," said Paul Taylor, economist for the National Automobile Dealers Association. "Exciting new product remained the key to success."
Toyota's U.S. division sold more than 2 million vehicles for the first time in its 47 years of existence as its sales grew 10 percent for the year. Business in December rose 18 percent.
Chrysler, the smallest of Detroit's Big Three, sold 146,000 more vehicles than Toyota last year. Chrysler's edge in 2003 was roughly 260,000.
"Our products have stimulated demand," said Yukitoshi Funo, president and chief executive of Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. "The sales milestone is a reflection on the acceptance of products as varied as Scion, Sienna and Prius."
Honda's 30-percent rise in sales in December helped propel the automaker to its 11th consecutive year for a sales increase. With 1.4 million U.S. vehicle sales, Honda said business rose 3 percent in 2004.
Nissan North America, aided in part by full-year sales of its full-size Titan pickup and other new vehicles, said sales rose 23.7 percent for the year and 32.7 percent in December.
GM's business declined 1.4 percent in 2004, a disappointment given its industry-leading 29 vehicle introductions. Car sales were down 3.7 percent; truck sales rose less than 1 percent.
Two bright spots were Chevrolet and Cadillac, two brands that received billion-dollar infusions in recent years to increase offerings and appeal. Chevy had its best year since 1988, Cadillac its best since 1990.
Chevy also made considerable progress against Ford in the battle for America's top-selling brand, but Ford retained the distinction for the 18th consecutive year.
GM's total sales for December fell roughly 7 percent, with losses on both the car and truck sides.
"For the year as a whole, we came up a bit short," said Paul Ballew, GM's executive director of global market and industry analysis. "We certainly have been talking about that as the year played out. We did see a stronger second half. However, that couldn't fully offset the weak start we had in the first half."
No. 2 Ford's U.S. sales fell 4.9 percent for the year and 3.6 percent in December, the 10th monthly decline of 2004.
Ford said sales of its Ford, Lincoln and Mercury cars rose nearly 1 percent in December, helped by late-year arrivals such as the next-generation Ford Mustang and its new flagship sedan, the Ford Five Hundred.
Ford's retail car sales rose on a monthly basis for the first time since January 2003, said Ford's top sales analyst, George Pipas.
"It's just one month, but it's very encouraging to see car sales improve as we filled the pipeline with the products we introduced in October and November," Pipas said.
But truck sales fell 5 percent in December.
For the year, car sales were off 14 percent, despite Ford's much-touted "Year of the Car" promotion.
Truck sales fell slightly less than 1 percent for the year, but Ford's F-Series lineup retained its position as America's best-selling vehicle for the 23rd straight year. Truck sales include pickups, vans and sport utility vehicles.
Another high point: Ford set an industry record for full-size pickup sales in 2004, breaking its own mark of three years ago.
For the year, Chrysler's volume was up a little more than 3 percent. It was up 5 percent in December.
All percentages are adjusted and based on the daily sales rate. There were 27 selling days last month and 26 in December 2003. There also was one extra selling day for all of 2004 versus 2003.
GM closed down 41 cents to $39.89 on the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday. Ford shares shed 5 cents to $14.66. DaimlerChrysler's U.S. shares ended off 26 cents to $47.42.
On the Net:
General Motors Corp.: http://www.gm.com/
Ford Motor Co.: http://www.ford.com/
DaimlerChrysler AG: http://www.daimlerchrysler.com
Toyota Motor Corp.: http://www.toyota.com
Honda Motor Co., http://www.honda.com
Nissan Motor Co.: http://www.nissanusa.com
That's a tough question, but here's the rule I follow. It led me to buy (new) a 2003 Lexus RX300, built in Japan:
"Money demands that you sell, not your weakness to men's stupidity, but your talent to their reason; it demands that you buy, not the shoddiest they offer, but the best your money can find. And when men live by trade - with reason, not force, as their final arbiter - it is the best product that wins, the best performance, the man of best judgment and highest ability - and the degree of a man's productiveness is the degree of his reward." -- Francisco d'Anconia, Atlas Shrugged -- Ayn Rand
Oh, I don't know about that. I've a 5 yr. old BMW that's never had a problem and never been in the shop except for the few(er) instances of normal fluids service.
But Toyota, Nissan and Honda all build substantial numbers of cars in the USA. Ford and GM build a lot of cars overseas, and even market them as American cars. Chevy's small cars are made in Korea. The new Pontian GTO is made in Austrailia. So nameplates are not a good way to measure where a car is built.
Ownership of a company is also somewhat problematical. The Dodge boys are part of Mercedes, so if you go by corporate-ism they aren't really American anymore. On the other hand Ford owns Mazda and Volvo --- will you buy them proudly?
Of course the real owners of all public companies are the shareholders. Unless you've done a lot of analysis it is probably hard to know what the nationality of the majority of shareholders of a publicly held company is.
Yep, those South Korean models are very attractive.
Oh, you meant the cars....
I remember the late 70's where American autos (not trucks) were getting slaughtered by the Japanese. Japan gave us the Datsun and Ford gave us the Pinto. In the 80's Chrysler got smart and started using Japanese made engines, Mitsubishi. The American cars started getting a little better by the late 80's and into the 90's. American autos made a great financial comeback. Now I have friends that own American cars. They are junky and made like crap once again. No wonder American auto sales are down. Make a good vehicle, get market share. Make a junky vehicle lose market share.
Nope, don't know about that one.
"Average speed from CT to SC last Thanksgiving was 66.9"
That was YOU clogging up I-95?
LOL, GE, your sample size is barely lower than my own. I only have a sample size of one but it's the one that matters. Having owned/driven just about everything made, this older BMW is, without a doubt, the best car we've ever owned.
I drove his 735i ??? a few times. It is by far the best handling car I've driven. Very fun to drive.
"My dad worked at Ford for 30+ years. 99% of the time, he didn't vote for dems. Neither did a lot of the people he worked with."
We've all heard apocryphal stories about how so many union members are really all just Republicans. It's only their leadership that support the Democrats. Bullsh*t, I say. If this is so, then why can't any union member explain to me why they sit back and allow their unions to support and their union dues to bankroll every idiotic leftist cause, leftist candidate, and leftist party to come down the pike.
I have an apocryphal story to tell of my own. My brother-in-law's father was an Electrician who worked at the Ford Rouge Plant for over forty years, beginning in the late thirties. He was one of the original members of the UAW Skilled Trades council, back when the UAW was being created. He saw it all through the years, including the "Battle of the Overpass", the burning of the Ford Rotunda, the construction of the Ford World Headquarters building. But, before he retired he was so disgusted with what the UAW became that he hated every day he went to work and was against everything the union advocated and everyone the union propped up just on general principle.
He told me the turning point for him was during the sixties, when the union was forcing minorities into positions that they were obviously unqualified for just to fill racial quotas. He viewed this policy as life-threatening to him and his colleagues. There was one Sunday he had to repair some high-voltage welding transformers on the line with some minority guy they told him to work with. The minority had brought a liqour bottle with him and was drinking shots all day. My brother-in-law's father had to tell this guy to just sit down and drink because he was afraid the guy would either knock over his ladder or wind up flipping a switch and zapping him to death.
The fact that the union foisted these types of things on the membership, and many other things too numerous to mention, led him to despise the day he ever bought into the "union brotherhood" bullsh*t.
I would look at an American car if it could match up to the quality of a Japanese car.
"killing the goose" ping...
Since the US auto industry's decline continues (despite a rising US population), the best thing for the economy of Michigan is to raise taxes. ;')
The newer big Chryslers are butt-ugly IMHO, look like something from a Third Reich comic strip. Even this one has a kind of ugly vibe. Buuut, I could see myself driving one, provided it has an alarm system. ;')
My first car was an 85 Cougar(10 years old when I bought it). A wire went out and shut the thing down. They had to go inside the door to eventually find it....$400
The less electrical the better IMO.
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