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Ron DeSantis has signed a law banning automakers from selling cars direct to consumers in Florida – but it contains a carve-out that will benefit his political backer Elon Musk and his Tesla company.House Bill 637 requires most automakers to sell to Floridians through third-party car dealers, who sometimes add exorbitant markups to vehicles’ sales tags.Drafted by lobbyists for dealers, who have made substantial donations to DeSantis, the law could have been a big blow to Tesla owner Elon Musk, who hosted his glitchy presidential campaign launch on Twitter.Tesla cuts out the middleman by operating its own dealerships. Forcing it...

Tesla got a carve-out. It’s a good day for auto dealers in the Sunshine State, and not so great for motorists who’d prefer a more direct route for buying a new coupe, sedan or SUV. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a measure (HB 637) banning most direct-to-consumer vehicle sales, solidifying the future viability of car-selling operations across the Sunshine State. The measure, championed and authored by lobbyists representing the Florida Automobile Dealers Association (FADA), prohibits automakers from selling vehicles directly to buyers.That restriction, which goes into effect July 1, was considered a direct threat to the business model of Tesla, an...

May U.S. auto sales: Ford, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Subaru post declines behind choked supply chains, tough comparison to robust May 2021 Acura 6,460 18,153 -64.4% Honda 69,031 158,662 -56.5% American Honda 75,491 176,815 -57.3% Hyundai brand 59,432 90,017 -34.0% Hyundai Motor America 63,832 93,745 -31.9% Kia Motors America 57,941 80,298 -27.8% Hyundai-Kia 121,773 174,043 -30.0% Mazda N.A. 15,312 42,187 -63.7% Subaru of America 42,526 56,558 -24.8% Lexus 21,767 29,724 -26.8% Toyota 154,223 212,447 -27.4% Toyota Motor N.A. 175,990 242,171 -27.3% Volvo Cars USA 9,372 13,221 -29.1% Total 7 Reporting OEMs 593,898 865,515 -31.4% Note: Ford Motor Co. resumed monthly...

Key Points •The last global economic cycle ended with a housing bust; will the bust in auto sales end this cycle? •Auto sales have crashed, the unsold inventory and delinquent debt may worsen well into 2020. •This auto-led downturn may be less damaging to the global economy than the housing bust was 10 years ago, but automobile manufacturing still accounts for a sizable amount of production, debt, and jobs. In 2009, the world economy was starting to climb out of a housing-led downturn. Ten years later, a downturn in auto production following tumbling car sales is driving a bust in...

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Almost every negative thing happening in the car business – in particular, ludicrous technical complexity for the sake of electronic gimmickry and also to cope with diminishing returns federal “safety” and emissions mandates – could be gotten under control by the simple expedient of cutting off the monopoly money/debt-financing that makes it all possible. The seven year loan. “Free” money (zero or very low interest). Give-away leases. The car industry is riding a bubble that’s proportionately as large as the housing bubble of a decade ago. And it is going to pop. For the same reason that a wave has...

Major automakers posted lower September U.S. sales on Monday despite big consumer discounts, as pickup truck volumes fell for both General Motors and Ford. With the top six U.S. market leaders reporting, deliveries fell 0.6 percent from a year earlier. But sales were still strong at 17.8 million vehicles on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, Bill Fay, head of the Toyota brand in the U.S. market, told reporters on a conference call. GM, the top-seller in the United States, posted a 0.6 percent decline. Ford reported an 8 percent drop, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles was down 1 percent. Shares of...

Before the 'election' of President Maduro, Venezuelan domestic car sales were in the 8 to 10,000 range per month. Since Maduro's election things have gone south fast in the socialist utopia...

General Motors says its U.S. sales fell 1.2 percent last month as rising truck and SUV sales couldn’t offset falling car sales. Three of GM’s four brands reported declines for the month. GMC, which sells only trucks and SUVs, reported a 10 percent increase. …

<p>Auto sales rose to their highest August levels in about a decade based on the early reports from automakers Wednesday.</p> <p>Chrysler, Ford, Toyota and Nissan all posted gains while General Motors saw sales slip.</p> <p>Automakers sold about 1.6 million vehicles in the U.S. in August, an increase of about 3% from the same period a year earlier, according to initial industry estimates released Wednesday.</p>

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missouri lawmakers are set to begin a last-minute fight over whether electric car manufacturers like Testa Motors should be able to sell their product directly to consumers. With only a week left in session, the Missouri Senate quietly attached language to House Bill 1124 that would effectively bar Tesla from selling directly to consumers in Missouri. Similar hurdles for the company have popped up in other states. Supporters of the legislation believe the current franchise-based model for selling automobiles has served the state’s economy and its consumers well, and that they don’t understand why Tesla will...

… Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday that it sold 2.583 million vehicles in the January-March period, ahead of Detroit-based GM at 2.42 million and Volkswagen of Germany at 2.4 million. The Japanese automaker’s first quarter sales rose by more than 6 percent from the same period the previous year. GM’s sales grew 2 percent, while Volkswagen’s added nearly 6 percent. …

After posting a fairly disappointing 918 Volt sales in January – the first time sales were under 4 digits in 2 years (603 - Jan 2012), the extended range Chevy bounced back a little in February notching 1,210 deliveries. Year-over-year, this February’s result was up against some fairly stiff competition as 1,626 were sold this month a year ago, meaning sales were off 25.6%. For the year to date, 2,128 Volts have been sold as compared to 2,766 – off 23.1% There just isn’t enough casr to even get the Volt a fighting chance as the General opted to produce...

DETROIT – March will be one of the most crucial months for the U.S. auto industry in years. Sales were slower than expected in January and February, and the number of unsold cars on dealer lots grew. Some automakers had to resort to juicy discounts to lure reluctant buyers. Most industry executives, dealers and analysts blame the historic cold temperatures and snowfall, and expect warmer weather to restore consumers’ enthusiasm for car buying. Most still expect annual sales to exceed 16.1 million, which would be the highest level since 2006. But a continuation of the trends could signal more fundamental...

A combination of higher prices for new cars and relatively low rates for auto loans means Americans are borrowing a record amount to pay for their new rides. According to Experian Automotive, which tracks millions of auto loans written each quarter, the average amount borrowed by car buyers last quarter climbed above $27,000 for the first time ever. "It's not surprising buyers are borrowing more," said Melinda Zabritski, Experian's senior director of automotive credit. "If you look at the most popular segments, they are full-size pickups and SUVs. It's hard to find one of those models new and fully loaded...

Cal Worthington -- the legendary car dealer who became famous for his "Go see Cal" TV commercials has gone on to that great used car lot in the sky, TMZ has learned. Worthington -- who had dealerships in Long Beach, CA, Anchorage, Alaska, Phoenix, Houston, Sacramento and other cities -- died Sunday at his ranch in California.

Yes, it's shocking. California automaker Tesla Motors is outselling a number of very well established vehicle brands in its home state—with only one model: the all-electric Model S. In June, Tesla outsold (on the basis of registrations) Buick, Lincoln, Porsche, Volvo, and Cadillac—and far outsold Jaguar and Land Rover combined. And the long-established, full-line luxury brand Infiniti only posted just 51 more registrations in the state than Tesla. This wasn't just a monthly sales blip, either. Even on a year-to-date basis, through June, Tesla has sold more vehicles in California than Land Rover, Jaguar, Lincoln, Volvo, or Porsche.

Americans are keeping their cars and trucks longer than ever, and even with new car sales increasing, the average age will continue to rise, an industry research firm says. The average age of the 247 million cars and trucks on U.S. roads hit a record of 11.4 years in January, the latest figures available from state registration data gathered by the Polk research firm. That's up from 11.2 years in 2012, and nearly two full years older than in 2007, before the start of the Great Recession, Polk said Tuesday....

Electric car sales hummed along in May amid a solid month for the auto industry. But the surprise story this year was May's strong full-size pickup truck sales – not exactly a sign an endorsement of efficiency and alternative fuels. Nissan sold 2,138 Leafs in May, up 319 percent over last year. In March, the company sold a record 2,236 units of its all-electric vehicle. General Motors sold 1,607 Volts in May, down 4.3 percent from a year ago. In the first five months of 2013, the company sold only 100 more Volts than during the same period last year.

The Chevy Volt has inarguably been the poster child for President Obama's push to electrify America's auto fleet. Billions of taxpayer dollars have been spent to produce and subsidize the plug-in electric car. For years we have heard about the supposedly amazing technology for the Volt which would lead America to energy independence, be a "game-changer" for General Motors and provide a multitude of new green jobs. Proclamations were made that supply for the wonder-car could not keep up with the demand. Well, March's sales figures are in and give further confirmation that the lofty claims were all lies. March's...