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The economy remains wobbly, unemployment is still high and yet people are buying new cars at a pace that would suggest a sweeping wave of prosperity. Even auto industry analysts concede that it's counterintuitive … until you take a closer look at what's being traded in for new wheels. [snip] David Rodgers, senior vice president and general manager of the Sullivan Automotive Group, which oversees John L. Sullivan Chevrolet and Roseville Toyota in the Roseville Automall, said that, more than car age, he's been struck by the high mileage he's seeing on trade-ins. "The average (age) is running about three...

DETROIT (AP) -- Car buyers were out in force in October, snapping up trucks and SUVs and taking advantage of deals on Japanese cars. U.S. car and truck sales were expected to top 1 million in October, a surprising number for a month when sales are usually slow. When adjusted for seasonal factors, that would be the best pace since the Cash for Clunkers program in August 2009. Pent-up demand drove October sales. Japanese inventories are finally reaching normal levels after the March earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Many buyers who spent the summer waiting for Japanese cars could finally.......

Sorry, But Housing And Car Sales Just Do Not Show A Coming Recession New Deal democrat, The Bonddad Blog Oct. 6, 2011, 1:45 PM ECRI's recession call has justifiably gotten much coverage. On the other hand, many have noted the lack of transparency of their method, making reliance on them a matter of trust rather than testing. An alternative to their approach is based on the research of UCLA Anderson School Prof. Edward Leamer. Prof. Leamer made an excellent presentation (pdf) about the progression of business cycles at Jackson Hole in 2007. It is research I have relied on many...

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC managed to shrug off an ornery Mother Nature, some wild stock-market fluctuations and a stubborn economy to report Thursday double-digit percentage gains in U.S. sales for August. That wasn’t the case for the leading Japanese manufacturers. Toyota Motor Corp. /quotes/zigman/199376/quotes/nls/tm TM -0.95% fell behind Chrysler by just a few hundred cars and Honda Motor Co. /quotes/zigman/193599/quotes/nls/hmc HMC +0.96% saw its sales slip by more than 20% for the fourth consecutive month. GM /quotes/zigman/1466682/quotes/nls/gm GM -4.22% said it sold 218,479 cars and trucks in August, an 18%...

"Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, Mao Zedong and Chevrolet." That could be GM's new slogan if recent comments by CEO Dan Akerson are taken to heart. Akerson shared a somewhat bizarre vision for GM in an interview with the Detroit News when he stated, "Whoever comes after me; it's going to be a more important appointment than mine because he or she will have to carry on a cultural revolution here. It's just like the Communist Party in China in the 1960s, there has to be a cultural revolution here." These comments come just weeks after the Washington Times...

The automotive-information Web site Edmunds.com said it expects seasonally adjusted sales in September will be the worst of 2009, down 3 percent vs. February — "the darkest month of the recession" — and down 30 percent vs. last September "when the bottom was falling out of the economy." Dropping with the sales are the profits of dealers, who this month have had to goose incentives even as they carry hundreds of millions in debt as they wait for the government to make good on its Clunker vouchers. "The best month of the year for car sales is being quickly followed...

Clay, New York (WSYR-TV) Fewer used cars on the lot are driving up the price for those in the market looking for another car. "Part of the problem why the price is going up because the availability of the cars is a little bit lower," says Tom Loving of Summit Chevrolet. The higher prices are making car shopping a little more difficult for Kara Hooker, who was searching for a used car Friday night at the Great Northern Mall. "I missed out on the Cash for Clunkers deal because my car is a Volkswagen and you don't get anything for...

General Motors Co.'s top executive described July auto sales as weak compared with the same month last year, but said it's still early.

In the process of searching for a used car for my children to use to go to school and get to work (summer jobs), I have made a couple of significant discoveries. Many used cars are selling for way below book value because there is no book value due to the incentives for buying new cars and economic conditions. Few banks will give loans on a used car at this time. Many, many used cars are for sale and remain for sale for quite some time. Cars that should have elevated used values are selling for well below "usual" values....

Ford Motor Co. said Tuesday its U.S. sales fell 24 percent in May from a year ago, but sales rose 20 percent from April as the automaker continues to gain market share from its competitors now under bankruptcy protection. Dearborn-based Ford said it sold 161,197 cars and light trucks in the U.S. last month, the highest figure since July 2008. Sales of the Ford Fusion rose 9.4 percent as the company began selling new 2010 models of the midsize sedan along with a hybrid version. Ford said it sold a record number Fusions, 19,786 in May, which was surpassed only...

Some high-risk borrowers now get car loans with a digital leash attached: if they don't pay up, they can't drive. High-risk borrowers now get car loans come with a digital leash attached: if they don't pay up, they can't drive. (ABC News Photo Illustration) More PhotosElliot Munoz loves driving his Jeep Liberty around his hometown outside St. Louis, Mo. He particularly likes the four-wheel drive for the snow in his hilly town. But when a red light on his dashboard starts flashing, Munoz knows he needs to get out his checkbook or else he won't be able to start the...

Chrysler said April sales were down 48 percent compared to April 2008 moments ago, only hours after the troubled automaker opened its bankruptcy hearing. Car sales were down a staggering 61 percent, while sales of SUVs and trucks were down 44 percent. Chrysler sold 43,138 vehicles in April. In its bankruptcy filing, the automaker said it has an inventory of 336,913 vehicles, a 114-day supply. Chrysler idled its plants today for the duration of the reorganization. Chrysler hopes to emerge from government-backed bankruptcy in 30 to 60 days, a target many bankruptcy specialists believe is unrealistic. -- General Motors, which...

Was there anything good about the quarter? Since we're grasping at straws, lets note that February's sales were better than January and March's was better than February's. But, that's happened every year since 1991. Aside from that, the quarter was awful. Sales declined 38.4%, and that followed a 8% dip in the first quarter of 2008. The Detroit 3's domestic sales fell an astounding 46.2%. Import brand sales were down 30.6%--not as bad as Detroit's but not good. GM was the sickest of the sick in the first quarter, down 48.8%. Toyota led the Japanese in futility with a loss...

Sales of secondhand vehicles in Japan declined 7.3 percent in February from a year earlier to 346,610 units, a 22-year low for the reporting month, an industry group said Wednesday. "Since new car sales are slumping, that depleted the supply of used vehicles," an official with the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said. At this rate, sales for the 2008 business year ending this month look certain to fall for the third consecutive year, industry analysts say.

February was another dismal moth for carmakers as every major producer saw sales drop from 35% to 53%. The sales rate of 8.9 million cars sold was the worst February performance in 40 years as a dismal economy warded nervous consumers away from showrooms. Car sales fell 41% for the month; General Motors (GM) was the biggest loser, with sales falling 53%. Ford Motor (F) also took a big fall, as sales dropped 48%. Toyota 's (TM) U.S. sales fell 40% and the company has asked the Japanese government for $2 billion to help its finance arm write car loans....

DETROIT – Major automakers' U.S. sales continued their deep slump in February, putting the industry on track for its worst sales month in more than 27 years as huge rebates and low-interest financing failed to spur fearful consumers to make a major purchase. General Motors' sales tumbled 53 percent from a year earlier, while Ford's U.S. sales fell 48 percent. Toyota's sales fell 40 percent, and the other major Japanese automakers were only slightly better. The slide casts further doubt on the financial viability of GM and Chrysler, which planned to report its sales later Tuesday. They need to sell...

Legislation solidifying the right of car dealers to repossess a just-sold vehicle if the buyer's financing falls through has hit a snag in the General Assembly. The Senate Transportation Committee unanimously endorsed the bill Thursday, but added a clause requiring the assembly to pass the bill again next year before it takes effect.

As auto sales nationwide continue to dwindle, a Wisconsin auto dealer has offered a solution to boost demand and revive the flailing U.S. auto industry: $5,000 government discounts. John Bergstrom, CEO of Bergstrom Automotive based in Neenah, Wis., wrote a letter to President Barack Obama late last week suggesting that everyone who purchased a new vehicle in America, no matter where it was built, be given a government voucher for $5,000 during a 90-day period from Feb. 15 to May 15. The manufacturer would match that with another $5,000 voucher, meaning buyers would get a $10,000 discount under Bergstrom's proposal."If...

Two years ago, China zoomed past Japan to become the world's No. 2 vehicle market. "This is the first time in history that China has passed the United States in monthly sales," Mike DiGiovanni, General Motors Corp.'s executive director of global market and industry analysis, said in a conference call late Tuesday. DiGiovanni projects that Chinese auto sales could hit 10.7 million vehicles in 2009, more than his estimate of 9.8 million unit sales in the U.S. this year. Autodata Corp. forecasts 2009 U.S. sales at 9.57 million. For more, check the source.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- After nearly a year of flagging sales, low gas prices and fat incentives are reigniting America's taste for big vehicles. Trucks and SUVs will outsell cars in December, according to researchers at the automotive Website Edmunds.com, something that hasn't happened since February.