Auto sales at 16 year low - sudden shift towards passenger cars hitting Detroit hard

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

U.S. auto sales plunged to a 16-year-low in July, led by a 27 percent drop at General Motors Corp, as high gas prices and tight credit sent the industry into a tailspin.

...

Automakers struggled to meet demand for fuel-efficient small cars and hybrids, only to see those gains wiped out by a 25 percent drop in sales of light trucks in July.

Ford Motor Co sales were down 15 percent. Toyota's sales fell 12 percent.

Nissan Motor Co Ltd surprised investors by posting an 8.5 percent increase. Honda Motor Co Ltd reported a weaker-than-expected 1.6 percent drop in sales, but outsold Chrysler for the third straight month.

...

U.S. auto sales fell to a seasonally adjusted, annualized rate of 12.55 million units in July, the worst showing since April 1992.

...

The sudden shift in buying patterns toward passenger cars hit the Detroit-based automakers hard. As a group, the market share of GM, Ford and Chrysler dropped to 43 percent in July.

http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/080801/usa_autosales.html

[Ban Hammer 14,586]

not surprising is it?

[S and S 12]

I'm certainly not suprised by this. People who loved their big, gas guzzling vehicles have learned they aren't worth it when they pay considerably more in fuel costs. I've owned a Honda since 2002 and I thank God for that. Who knows how much money I've saved from that.

[Heracles 417]

The only thing holding these guys up is their international divisions. Who ironically not only build much better cars but also much nicer cars.

EG:

Ford Mondeo Australia - Mid size

------------

Ford Falcon Australia - Family size

Edited August 3, 2008 by Aficionado

[S and S 12]

The cars above look great, but what kind of gas mileage are they getting?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Chevy builds this for the India market... it does very well there: http://www.chevyspark.in/

[MrsCat 6]

Chevy builds this for the India market... it does very well there: http://www.chevyspark.in/

Love the ad - hate the car. I gas guzzling Fords - this one just seems too mileage friendly.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Chevy builds this for the India market... it does very well there: http://www.chevyspark.in/

Love the ad - hate the car. I gas guzzling Fords - this one just seems too mileage friendly.

Gas is much more expensive in India than here.. so this car is perfect for that market. It sells very well too, so clearly Chevy knows what it's doing there.

I agree about the gas guzzlers though, I still want an SUV.

[MrsCat 6]

Chevy builds this for the India market... it does very well there: http://www.chevyspark.in/

Love the ad - hate the car. I gas guzzling Fords - this one just seems too mileage friendly.

Gas is much more expensive in India than here.. so this car is perfect for that market. It sells very well too, so clearly Chevy knows what it's doing there.

I agree about the gas guzzlers though, I still want an SUV.

Good point about the cost of gas there - sometimes I forget that not everyone is paying as little as us. Poor souls - I'd have to harness gerbil power to get around there.

[Ken y Leidys 20]

You want an SUV? At dinner tonight, my friend told me about a woman who ran a stop sign, and his Jeep Cherokee totalled the small Toyota car that pulled out in front of him. Not sure if she died of a heart attack, or from the impact of the small SUV on the subcompact, but one could only imagine.

My Jeep is armored for use on rocks, so I know its safe on the street. I feel safe in this vehicle - roll cage and all. But, I am careful with pedestrians and small, efficient cars.

[Nagishkaw 510]

This is really stale news to us in the Motor City.

[Heracles 417]

The cars above look great, but what kind of gas mileage are they getting?

The mondeo gets about 24.5 mpg and the diesel version gets 32.2 mpg.

The falcon gets 23.3 mpg for a 261 hp engine.

Keep in mind in AUS they average the highway/city. Rather than showing both.

[Heracles 417]

Ford and GM should have moved their head offices out of Detroit years ago. They need to be near some modern and larger cities. This way they can reflect more of what the modern customer wants.

Detroit is the wrong place to have your designers / engineers in. Mitsubishi suffered the same fate in Australia. Whereas GM, Ford and Toyota have their offices / engineering team in large modern cities. Different culture. Different attitude. Much more modern and stylish.

I always wondered why Renault and various other European companies never brought their cars here. They have some awesome looking cars. With excellent MPG, build quality and safety..

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Chevy is performing well in India - just released. Why can't they do this here? I bet they can.

General Motors Corp.'s Indian subsidiary GM India said July sales increased 25 percent to 5,706 units, mainly on higher offtake of its small car Chevrolet Spark. Chevrolet Spark sales rose 120 percent to 3,570 units.

[Heracles 417]

Chevy is performing well in India - just released. Why can't they do this here? I bet they can.

General Motors Corp.'s Indian subsidiary GM India said July sales increased 25 percent to 5,706 units, mainly on higher offtake of its small car Chevrolet Spark. Chevrolet Spark sales rose 120 percent to 3,570 units.

They are doing well in Australia as well. Actually the commodore, Pontiac G8 here, is outselling the Camry there. Which is America's #1 selling Sedan..

Both Ford and GM have awesome sedans in Australia, considering trucks never took off there.