Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Pickup Sales Fall in April
About a month ago pickup sales were at their highest point in recent memory even with gas passing four dollars a gallon in some places. As expected the trend did not last long and every brand save Toyota saw sales of their full size pickups fall compared to last month. Spurred by high demand for its V6 engines Ford's F-150 led all with 45,435 sales in April, while this was an improvement over a year ago it could not match the previous month's sales. In second place the Chevy Silverado posted its second worst month of the year and was fractionally worse compared to a year ago. Much like the Sierra the Dodge Ram struggled when compared to March but was able to improve upon 2010 sales by around four thousand units. The biggest surprise of the month was certainly the Toyota Tundra that continued to improve its sales for the fourth month this year as it closed its gap to the GMC Sierra. Click the chart below to see pickup sales over the course of this year.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Looking at Luxury Brands Selling Prices
There is always a lot of talk about which luxury brand is the best, which luxury brand sells the most, and which brands even deserve to be called luxury altogether. To clear up some of these questions let's take a look at the average selling prices of the biggest eleven brands that claim to sell luxury cars in the United States. While the manufacturers do not release their average transaction prices in the way that they do with overall sales figures here is our best attempt to see who gets the most for their cars on average. At the top is Mercedes-Benz with an average asking price of around 55,000 per vehicle. Mercedes has by far the most models available for sale in the 75,000+ range. Second is BMW which is able to average a little over 50,000 per every vehicle sold. BMW falls behind Mercedes by offering fewer models over 100,000. Up third is Cadillac that benefits greatly by moving a significant amount of its pricey Escalades every month. Following Cadillac is Audi that sells its models for comparable prices as Mercedes and BMW but moves fewer A6 models compared to the competition. Up next is Infiniti that charges around 45,000 on average followed closely by Lexus that loses ground because of a significant amount of ES sales. Lincoln is able to average a little over 40,000 thanks to Town Car and Navigator sales. Right around the 40,000 dollar cutoff Acura suffers by not having a true flagship sedan or having a coupe or convertible version of the TSX. Opening up the premium category Volvo lacks serious firepower without a V8 in its lineup. Second to last Buick is a great example of selling vehicles at a premium but not luxury prices. Bringing up the rear is Chrysler with a majority of its sales comprised by the 200 and the Town&Country minivan.
*The data represented below is an attempt to find out the average selling prices of the luxury brands based on their product mix. The figures are averaged based on sales, thus a brand selling more flagship sedans versus entry level models has a higher average price than a brand selling mostly entry level models. Because of lack of sales figures BMW's M lineup and Mercedes's AMG models were not factored in, thus those brands likely have slightly higher transaction prices than indicated here.
*The data represented below is an attempt to find out the average selling prices of the luxury brands based on their product mix. The figures are averaged based on sales, thus a brand selling more flagship sedans versus entry level models has a higher average price than a brand selling mostly entry level models. Because of lack of sales figures BMW's M lineup and Mercedes's AMG models were not factored in, thus those brands likely have slightly higher transaction prices than indicated here.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
April 2011 Sales Recap
Car sales continued to surge in April with the industry up 18% overall with many brands once again posting some of their best sales ever and other brands regaining their former glory. Pacing the industry was the surprising Mitsubishi brand that more than doubled its sales thanks to its two Outlander crossovers. On the other side of the spectrum Porsche also showed an incredible 82% sales growth thanks to excellent sales of its Cayenne SUV. The new Grand Cherokee also powered Jeep sales on route to a 65% improvement. Among the largest automakers Chevrolet and Ford both posted sales increases of around 25% percent with both automakers experiencing stronger car sales than truck sales. Of note was the Chevy Cruze breaking past the 25,000 sales figure for the first time. Kia and Hyundai continued their blistering sales pace with improvements of 56.7 and 40% respectively. Japanese mainstream automakers on the other hand saw more subdued sales increases with Nissan registering a 12.2 increase, Honda a 10% improvement while Toyota only managed a a 2 percent improvement. Dwindling inventories are likely to play an even greater role in the coming months for the Japanese automakers.
April was the first month that saw the Nissan Leaf outsell the Chevrolet Volt 573 to 493. With about twice as many Volts on the streets currently it will be interesting to see how this plays out the rest of the year. Also it will be interesting to see how the mix between cars, crossovers and pickups continues throughout the year. Currently pickups and SUVs are losing market share but are not facing declining sales when compared to last year just yet. Stay tuned to see if the trend continues.
April was the first month that saw the Nissan Leaf outsell the Chevrolet Volt 573 to 493. With about twice as many Volts on the streets currently it will be interesting to see how this plays out the rest of the year. Also it will be interesting to see how the mix between cars, crossovers and pickups continues throughout the year. Currently pickups and SUVs are losing market share but are not facing declining sales when compared to last year just yet. Stay tuned to see if the trend continues.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Bottom Line: First Quarter Profits and Revenues
Like any other for profit businesses in the world auto companies are here to make money. With that in mind lets take a look at the automotive earnings released this past week. All of the brands releasing earnings this week showed positive profits and all but Honda had increased their profits from a year ago. Ford led all brands with a 2.55 billion first quarter profit thanks to its best first quarter since 1998. Percentage wise, Kia was at the top of the leader board as it increased its earnings by 91% while fellow South Korean Hyundai increased earnings 46.5%. Also doing well was Volkswagen which posted its best first quarter ever while Daimler AG nearly doubled its first quarter profit compared to last year. Effected by the March natural disasters at home Honda lost about half of its profit compared to last year. Click on the charts below to see the brands ranked by profits and revenues.
5/4/11 Update: More earnings have been released, BMW posted a 1.8 billion dollars profit, Chrysler posted a modest profit of 116 millions which is small compared to other automakers but is the first profit for the current Chrysler group (since 2009). General Motors is rumored to post a 1.74 billion profit when it reports tomorrow.
5/5 Update: General Motors reportd two billion dollars of adjusted earnings before taxes on 36.2 billion dollars of revenue. If you include GM's sale of its Delphi stake and a few other one time occurances its total first quarter net profit was 3.2 billion.
5/4/11 Update: More earnings have been released, BMW posted a 1.8 billion dollars profit, Chrysler posted a modest profit of 116 millions which is small compared to other automakers but is the first profit for the current Chrysler group (since 2009). General Motors is rumored to post a 1.74 billion profit when it reports tomorrow.
5/5 Update: General Motors reportd two billion dollars of adjusted earnings before taxes on 36.2 billion dollars of revenue. If you include GM's sale of its Delphi stake and a few other one time occurances its total first quarter net profit was 3.2 billion.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Plymouth Prowler Retrospective: Could Have Used a V8
There are some things in life that go so well together that they are famous for being together; peanut butter and jelly, mac & cheese, burgers and fries and so on. Hot Rods and V8s go together just as well, ever seen a Hot rod without one? As a modern take on the Hot rod the Plymouth (and later Chrysler) Prowler certainly had the styling to look like one, but lacked the horsepower and the requisite V8 to truly be one. For these and other reasons some saw the Prowler as a disappointment, Time magazine even rated it as one of its 50 worst cars of all time. With that in mind let's take a look at the Prowler's legacy and see what this unique vehicle was all about. We'll compare the Prowler to its contemporary competition in areas of styling, performance and value to see if it really deserves to be called one of the worst of all time.
Design
Certainly the Prowler looked and still looks like nothing else on the road today. If you disagree, ask yourself when was the last time you saw Formula 1 style wheel and suspension combination? The Chip Foose inspired Prowler draws attention with classic Hot rod proportion, wider and higher at the rear than at the front. Looking sleek and wide the Prowler looked great with its 17 inch wheels upfront and 20 inch wheels at the rear at a time when no one else was even thinking of 20 inch wheels. The 20 inch wheels were not the only mechanical element ahead of its time; aluminum construction gave the Prowler a relatively light curb weight of around 2,800 pounds. Upfront inboard mounted shocks handled suspension duty. The Prowler also used a rear mounted transmission as seen on the Corvette. The 4 speed automatic transmission was connected to a 3.5 liter V6 upfront. Overall the Prowler certainly looked like a performance Hot Rod and had some trick technology to boot.
Powertrain
Before we begin this section it's important to consider that it's been over a decade now since the Prowler stopped production so the horsepower numbers of that time period will look tame all across the board. Chrysler's decision to adapt its LH sedan powertain components (of 300M/Dodge Intrepid fame) has certainly been questioned by many critics. The Prowler first used 3.5 liter V6 with 214 horsepower which was updated for the 1999 model year to 253 horsepower and 255 pound feet of torque. At the time the Chrysler V6 was around 30 horsepower more powerful than any other mainstream V6 from Acura, Lexus or even BMW's inline six in the 5 series. At the time the most powerful Porsche Boxster had a 250 horsepower 3.2 liter flat six while the non M BMW Z3 topped out at 230 horsepower. On the domestic front the C5 Chevrolet Corvette produced 345 horsepower from its then new LS1 V8. Chrysler on the other hand did not have a powerful V8 option to consider. Its most powerful V8 at the time, the 5.9 Magnum, produced 250 horsepower (torque was greater @ 345 lb-ft), essentially ruling it out as a performance improvement over the V6. The LS1 challenging Hemi would not go on sale until after the Prowler ceased production. Based on the lack of a powerful V8 available at the time Chrysler's decision to use a "parts bin" sedan V6 was reasonable and financially sound, but hindsight would indicate that something like a V8 version of the Viper V10 would have made the Prowler a true modern day hot rod.
Performance
While the Prowler lacked a V8 soundtrack (the V6 was quite loud though) and was limited by a four speed automatic gearbox its acceleration performance was not too bad for its day but slightly slower than its competitors. The Prowler accelerated to 60 in 6 seconds flat or about the same as the regular Boxster but around half a second slower than the BMW Z3. More expensive competition like the Corvette, BMW M Roadster, Mercedes SLK 320AMG all featured more power and were about a second and a half quicker to 60. Despite its light weight the Prowler was not known for great handling being more of a cruiser than a sports car.
Value
By using "parts bin" components for the powertrain and the interior Chrysler was able to keep Prowler's price to a competative level between 40-45,000 dollars throughout its life cycle. Closest convertible competition such as the Corvette convertible, BMW Z3 Mercedes SLK320 and the Porsche Boxster were priced in a similar price range, between 38-45,000. While the Prowler enjoyed a competitive sticker price dealer markup of 10,000 or more was abundant during the first few model years indicating the public's interest in the Prowler.
The final tally of 11,702 Prowlers produced tells much about it as a vehicle. Featuring styling that turned heads like nothing else except a few Italian exotics it was not for everyone. A V8 would have made it that much more desirable but it's certainly can not qualify as one of the 50 worst cars of all time under any circumstances. Click on the photo below to view more of the Prowler.
Design
Certainly the Prowler looked and still looks like nothing else on the road today. If you disagree, ask yourself when was the last time you saw Formula 1 style wheel and suspension combination? The Chip Foose inspired Prowler draws attention with classic Hot rod proportion, wider and higher at the rear than at the front. Looking sleek and wide the Prowler looked great with its 17 inch wheels upfront and 20 inch wheels at the rear at a time when no one else was even thinking of 20 inch wheels. The 20 inch wheels were not the only mechanical element ahead of its time; aluminum construction gave the Prowler a relatively light curb weight of around 2,800 pounds. Upfront inboard mounted shocks handled suspension duty. The Prowler also used a rear mounted transmission as seen on the Corvette. The 4 speed automatic transmission was connected to a 3.5 liter V6 upfront. Overall the Prowler certainly looked like a performance Hot Rod and had some trick technology to boot.
Powertrain
Before we begin this section it's important to consider that it's been over a decade now since the Prowler stopped production so the horsepower numbers of that time period will look tame all across the board. Chrysler's decision to adapt its LH sedan powertain components (of 300M/Dodge Intrepid fame) has certainly been questioned by many critics. The Prowler first used 3.5 liter V6 with 214 horsepower which was updated for the 1999 model year to 253 horsepower and 255 pound feet of torque. At the time the Chrysler V6 was around 30 horsepower more powerful than any other mainstream V6 from Acura, Lexus or even BMW's inline six in the 5 series. At the time the most powerful Porsche Boxster had a 250 horsepower 3.2 liter flat six while the non M BMW Z3 topped out at 230 horsepower. On the domestic front the C5 Chevrolet Corvette produced 345 horsepower from its then new LS1 V8. Chrysler on the other hand did not have a powerful V8 option to consider. Its most powerful V8 at the time, the 5.9 Magnum, produced 250 horsepower (torque was greater @ 345 lb-ft), essentially ruling it out as a performance improvement over the V6. The LS1 challenging Hemi would not go on sale until after the Prowler ceased production. Based on the lack of a powerful V8 available at the time Chrysler's decision to use a "parts bin" sedan V6 was reasonable and financially sound, but hindsight would indicate that something like a V8 version of the Viper V10 would have made the Prowler a true modern day hot rod.
Performance
While the Prowler lacked a V8 soundtrack (the V6 was quite loud though) and was limited by a four speed automatic gearbox its acceleration performance was not too bad for its day but slightly slower than its competitors. The Prowler accelerated to 60 in 6 seconds flat or about the same as the regular Boxster but around half a second slower than the BMW Z3. More expensive competition like the Corvette, BMW M Roadster, Mercedes SLK 320AMG all featured more power and were about a second and a half quicker to 60. Despite its light weight the Prowler was not known for great handling being more of a cruiser than a sports car.
Value
By using "parts bin" components for the powertrain and the interior Chrysler was able to keep Prowler's price to a competative level between 40-45,000 dollars throughout its life cycle. Closest convertible competition such as the Corvette convertible, BMW Z3 Mercedes SLK320 and the Porsche Boxster were priced in a similar price range, between 38-45,000. While the Prowler enjoyed a competitive sticker price dealer markup of 10,000 or more was abundant during the first few model years indicating the public's interest in the Prowler.
The final tally of 11,702 Prowlers produced tells much about it as a vehicle. Featuring styling that turned heads like nothing else except a few Italian exotics it was not for everyone. A V8 would have made it that much more desirable but it's certainly can not qualify as one of the 50 worst cars of all time under any circumstances. Click on the photo below to view more of the Prowler.
Mercedes-Benz Prices 2012 SLK and CLS
Mercedes-Benz announced pricing today for its redesigned 2012 SLK roadster and the 2012 CLS coupe line. The SLK350 will start at 55,675 while the CLS model line begins at 72,175 for the CLS550 and rises to 95,775 for the CLS63 AMG, including destination charges. Both the SLK and the CLS feature complete redesigns and new powertrains. The SLK350 features a new 302 horsepower direct-injected 3.5 liter V6 while the CLS lineup will be powered entirely by direct-injected biturbo V8 engines. The CLS550 uses a 402 horsepower 4.6 liter V8, the AMG version ups the ante with a 518 horsepower 5.5 liter V8. Both models also feature new styling with the SLK ditching its SLR inspired front styling of the previous generation in favor for one inspired by the SLS. The CLS features a more significant styling departure from the trend-setting design of the last CLS. The four door coupe now has bolder front end styling along with more pronounced design elements as seen on the current E-class.
Friday, April 22, 2011
New York Auto Show Wrap Up
While many believed that the New York Auto Show would end up being overshadowed by the Shanghai Auto Show occurring during the same week, New York did quite well for itself with many production debuts and concepts. While the overall trend was towards 40 mpg compacts and subcompacts the show also delivered on the performance side with several 400+ horsepower debuts. Subaru, Chevrolet, Hyundai, Honda and Kia unveiled new sedans while Jaguar and Ford showed face lifted versions of the XF and the Taurus. On the concept side Scion showed its own version of Toyota's FT-86 concept while Mercedes previewed its next A-class with a shiny concept. Let's take a look at the highlights from the 2011 New York Auto Show:
Best In Show: Volkswagen Beetle
The best in show competition came down to the Beetle, Scion FR-S concept and the Chrysler 300C SRT8. The Volkswagen wins for its excellent job of following up a retro design with one that is even more retro inspired yet still manages to look newer than the model it replaced, not an easy task. Volkswagen would do quite well for itself if the Beetle creates the same brand excitement as the previous New Beetle.
Best Concept: Scion FR-S Concept
Featuring a multitude of sharp creases and pronounced styling elements the FR-S concept looks the part as a modern interpretation of a compact coupe. Featuring a more than expected styling departure from the Toyota FT-86 concept leads to questions if both versions will make it to the states. Also interesting will be to see how the FR-S and the current TC mesh in the Scion lineup. Nevertheless if Scion can keep the concept styling into production the other questions may not matter much.
Best Performance Debut: Chrysler 300C SRT8
Looking exceptionally well in white with contrasting black painted grille and wheels the the high performance SRT8 finally makes the new 300C look great. The 465 horsepower Hemi V8 provides the performance necessary to back up the great styling.
Most Significant Production Debut: Chevrolet Malibu
The Malibu is vital for Chevy to continue improving its car sales at home and expanding oversees. Facing tough competition in the important mid size segment Chevy unveiled an interesting design that aims to blend a curvy front end with a sharper Camaro inspired rear. Perhaps Chevy's desire to expand Malibu sales abroad played a role in the design process. Time will tell if the Malibu finally captures the mid size category after the last generation was so close to the top, but not exactly there.
Best Paint Job: Mercedes Benz SLS AMG
Mercedes Benz takes the category with the SLS AMG in the traditional Gulf color combo that always looks spectacular. The A-class concept takes second place with a nice silver color that meshes well with its metal grille.
Best In Show: Volkswagen Beetle
The best in show competition came down to the Beetle, Scion FR-S concept and the Chrysler 300C SRT8. The Volkswagen wins for its excellent job of following up a retro design with one that is even more retro inspired yet still manages to look newer than the model it replaced, not an easy task. Volkswagen would do quite well for itself if the Beetle creates the same brand excitement as the previous New Beetle.
Best Concept: Scion FR-S Concept
Featuring a multitude of sharp creases and pronounced styling elements the FR-S concept looks the part as a modern interpretation of a compact coupe. Featuring a more than expected styling departure from the Toyota FT-86 concept leads to questions if both versions will make it to the states. Also interesting will be to see how the FR-S and the current TC mesh in the Scion lineup. Nevertheless if Scion can keep the concept styling into production the other questions may not matter much.
Best Performance Debut: Chrysler 300C SRT8
Looking exceptionally well in white with contrasting black painted grille and wheels the the high performance SRT8 finally makes the new 300C look great. The 465 horsepower Hemi V8 provides the performance necessary to back up the great styling.
Most Significant Production Debut: Chevrolet Malibu
The Malibu is vital for Chevy to continue improving its car sales at home and expanding oversees. Facing tough competition in the important mid size segment Chevy unveiled an interesting design that aims to blend a curvy front end with a sharper Camaro inspired rear. Perhaps Chevy's desire to expand Malibu sales abroad played a role in the design process. Time will tell if the Malibu finally captures the mid size category after the last generation was so close to the top, but not exactly there.
Best Paint Job: Mercedes Benz SLS AMG
Mercedes Benz takes the category with the SLS AMG in the traditional Gulf color combo that always looks spectacular. The A-class concept takes second place with a nice silver color that meshes well with its metal grille.
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