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Chrysler December Sales Down 53%, Inventory At 115-Day Supply [Carpocalypse Now]

Автор: TaniaDonnelly | суббота, 3 октября 2009 г.

Chrysler sales for December, 2008 were down 53% compared with December, 2007. Although pickup sales were up 10%, the automaker finished the month with 397,659 units on hand, a 115-day supply of inventory.

Chrysler LLC Reports December 2008 U.S. Sales

- All Jeep(R) brand vehicles achieved sales growth over November 2008

- Chrysler Town and Country sales increased nine percent and Dodge Grand Caravan sales grew 14 percent compared to November 2008

- Dodge Ram light duty pickup sales rose ten percent versus November 2008

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Jan. 5 /PRNewswire/ — Chrysler LLC today reported total December 2008 U.S. sales of 89,813 units, up five percent versus November 2008 (85,260 units), and down 53 percent from the same month in 2007. For the year, Chrysler, Jeep(R) and Dodge U.S. sales decreased 30 percent (1,453,122 units) compared to total 2007 sales (2,076,650 units). Total sales were significantly affected by the industry's largest reductions in fleet sales, 63 percent for December and 31 percent for the year.

"Last year Chrysler and all of our stakeholders persevered through extraordinarily difficult economic conditions, made the necessary adjustments and always kept our focus on serving our customers," said Jim Press, President and Vice Chairman, Chrysler LLC. "As a result, our Company and our dealer network start this year stronger and better positioned to succeed in today's marketplace."

"From a customer perspective, we see consumers selecting vehicles based on their long-term transportation needs and committing to keeping vehicles for longer periods. As a result, characteristics such as utility, flexibility, efficiency and quality will grow in importance. In terms of product focus, Chrysler will continue to invest in quality and fuel efficiency improvements on its current lineup, while developing all-new vehicles for the next generation. From an organizational viewpoint, we will work with all of our stakeholders to continue the restructuring our Company. We have a special bond with the American people now and pledge to continue our efforts to provide the best quality and best value in the marketplace. We are committed to help drive America forward."

December Sales Highlights

— All Jeep brand vehicles achieved sales growth over November 2008 sales. Jeep Wrangler, the brand's top-selling model, marked sales growth of 15 percent (7,048 units) over November.

— Sales of the Jeep Patriot were up six percent in December (2,597 units) compared to November 2008. Year-to-date, Patriot sales grew 38 percent to reach 55,654 units.

— Minivan sales gained momentum over November. Chrysler Town and Country sales in December grew nine percent (8,152 units) and Dodge Grand Caravan sales increased 14 percent (6,927 units).

— Dodge Ram light duty pickup sales were up 10 percent (10,601 units) compared to November 2008, fueled by the availability of the all-new 2009 Dodge Ram.

— The Company finished the month with 397,569 units of inventory, or a 115-day supply. Inventory is down nine percent compared with December 2007, when it totaled 438,390 units.

January Incentives

Chrysler continues to offer customers highly competitive discount and financing programs to kick off 2009. In addition to offering discounts of up to $6,000 on 2008 MY vehicles and up to $3,000 on 2009 MY vehicles to all customers, the Company is also working with Chrysler Financial and additional financing companies around the country to create packages that offer customers a wide range of options for lease and purchase financing. On select 2008 models, 0% financing is available for 72 months, and rates as low as 1.9% APR are available on select 2009 models.

For the new year, Chrysler has entered into a partnership with Credit Unions across the nation to offer an additional $500 to $1,000 discount when any of the 90 million members of Credit Unions purchase or lease a new Chrysler, Jeep or Dodge vehicle. This program was successfully piloted in December in 12 states.

Chrysler Ceasing Production Friday, Won't Promise To Come Back [Carpocalypse Now]

Автор: TaniaDonnelly | понедельник, 28 сентября 2009 г.

Chrysler just announced plans to stop production for at least a month. Did anyone else notice they wouldn't commit to coming back?

In a statement from Chrysler, the company acknowledges the Carpocalypse and explains all 30 of the company's plants will be idled on Friday, December 19. But rather than giving a specific date for returning the release merely states:

"Chrysler manufacturing operations... will not return to work any sooner than Monday, Jan. 19, 2009." (emphasis added)

While we assume the company will come back at some point, maybe in order to produce its not-so-mysterious future vehicles, it does make the situation sound even more dire than even we could imagine.

In reality, this will probably allow the company to avoid bringing production of cars they have way too many of online until/if demand increases. It will also allow the company to completely scuttle certain lines altogether.

Or they've almost completely run out of money.

The carefully and eerily worded press release below.

Chrysler LLC Adjusts Production as a Result of the Deteriorating U.S. Credit Crunch
Auburn Hills, Mich., Dec 17, 2008 -

Due to the continued lack of consumer credit for the American car buyer and the resulting dramatic impact it has had on overall industry sales in the United States, Chrysler LLC announced that it will make significant adjustments to the production schedules of its manufacturing operations. In doing so, the Company will keep production and dealer inventory aligned with U.S. market demand. In response, the Company confirmed that all Chrysler manufacturing operations will be idled at the end of the shift Friday, Dec. 19, and impacted employees will not return to work any sooner than Monday, Jan. 19, 2009.

Chrysler dealers confirmed to the Company at a recent meeting at its headquarters, that they have many willing buyers for Chrysler, Jeep® and Dodge vehicles but are unable to close the deals, due to lack of financing. The dealers have stated that they have lost an estimated 20 to 25 percent of their volume because of this credit situation.

The Company will continue to monitor the production schedules of its manufacturing operations moving forward.

[Source: Chrysler, Photo: IIHS]

Michael Schumacher will return for the 2008 Race of Champions

Автор: TaniaDonnelly | суббота, 26 сентября 2009 г.

The Race of Champions is probably the most anticipated international motorsport event that takes place at the end of each year. It’s the only competition in the world where stars from Formula...

Ford Not A Bunch Of Baddies: Fan-Boy Forum Does Naughty Things With Big Blue Oval [Industry News]

Автор: TaniaDonnelly | пятница, 25 сентября 2009 г.

Remember the story about Ford going after Ford fan-boy site RangerStation.com? Turns out they were doing what we thought they were doing — selling trademarked merchandise without a license. Full e-mail from Ford below.

Thanks for bringing this issue to our attention. Without question, Ford enthusiasts are extremely important to us. Their enthusiasm and loyalty are part of our heritage and part of what's going to keep us moving forward.

Recently, there was an item posted stating that Ford was requesting TheRangerStation.com to turn over its URL to Ford and pay $5,000. We'd like the opportunity to share some additional facts that might make a difference in how you think about this situation.

In its communications, TheRangerStation.com stated that Ford was making them change the name of their site and pay $5,000. What was not mentioned was that TheRangerStation.com was selling counterfeit Ford-brand merchandise on the site. As a company, Ford has a responsibility to protect our brand and a responsibility to our licensees. We cannot let something like that pass. (The counterfeit goods have been removed from the website since TheRangerStation.com got the letter from Ford's attorney.)

Please know that Ford takes no joy in pursuing enthusiast sites. Since there are a number of sites out there with Ford vehicles as part of their names or URLs, some people have asked if they should be concerned. Ford has been and continues to be willing to license its trademarks for use by enthusiast groups and enthusiast websites. Requesting a license is done easily by contacting tmgroup@ford.com. To request a license to produce or sell branded merchandise bearing Ford's trademarks, contact branduse@ford.com.

In short, we are not asking for $5,000 and we would like you to keep the domain name. We simply encourage TheRangerStation.com to contact Ford to request a license to continue using the domain name.

We hope you will share this information with anyone who is concerned. We deeply appreciate our fans’ dedication and enthusiasm and want to be able to work together with all of our supporters to tell the Ford story.

Hat tip to Ford's Alan Hall for helping clear this up! He's a helluva guy.

Photo Credit: hotrodalex @ CarandDriver

Nevada Sen. John Ensign May Stall Auto Bailout, Thinks Casinos Deserve Cash [Carpocalypse Now]

Автор: TaniaDonnelly | пятница, 11 сентября 2009 г.

Sen. John Ensign (R-Nevada) told CNBC this morning he's not happy with the auto bailout bill. The Senator from Vegas is so unhappy he's willing to gamble on a real bankruptcy occurring while he tries to figure out how to make a pre-packaged bankruptcy occur. But don't think Ensign's making his decision on high-minded principles.

Later in the interview he was more than willing to agree to funds for the gaming industry, because "they employ more." Let's ignore for a moment Ensign's lack of understanding of the difference between a primary industry and a service / support industry. Let's also ignore the Senate Finance Committee member's ignorance of the term "indirect job." In fact, let's agree with the Senator that yes, the travel and hotel industry does employ more direct jobs than the automakers. But, let's not ignore what Ensign's ignoring: Guess where all those Strip-walkin' Midwestern beer-cozy-carrying union workers won't be visiting if the not-so-Big Three go under? [via CNBC]

‘Environmental Performance Stickers’ tell you how bad your new car is for global warming

Автор: TaniaDonnelly |

Starting next year, new vehicles being sold in the state of California will display window stickers that rate the vehicles “environmental performance.” The stickers will rate the vehicles...

U.S. dealers to get 80,000 units of the 2009 Honda Fit

Автор: TaniaDonnelly | понедельник, 7 сентября 2009 г.

The current generation Honda Fit was a major hit. When it made is stateside debut in April 2006, it sold 27,934 units. Kicking of 2007 the Honda Fit sold 23,769 units in the first six months, however...

Toyota denies Tacoma sudden speed change glitches

Автор: TaniaDonnelly | воскресенье, 30 августа 2009 г.

Toyota is denying claims from 431 customers around the country that complained that their Toyota Tacoma experiences ‘unintended or sudden acceleration.’ 51 crashes and 12 injuries have...

Ford offering ‘employee pricing’ on F-Series until June 30th

Автор: TaniaDonnelly | четверг, 27 августа 2009 г.

Already taking action on losing the number one spot as the top-selling vehicle in the U.S. for more than 15 years, FoMoCo is offering an incentive of its F-Series pickup trucks to cut down...

GM Declares Bankruptcy Imminent After $4.2 Billion Third Quarter Loss [Gm]

Автор: TaniaDonnelly | вторник, 11 августа 2009 г.

GM today announced a third-quarter loss of $4.2 billion (adjusted, $2.5 billion reported) on revenues of $37 billion while spending $6.9 billion of their lifeblood-like cash on hand. Although initially we thought the big news here was a cash spend of $2.3 billion per month, compared to around $1.1 billion a month in the previous quarter, but the real story is that GM basically acknowledged what we said first last month that bankruptcy is imminent (and we might add, were laughed at by some members of the auto intelligentsia for it) — as close as the end of the year if GM doesn't receive help.

Why is the cash burn rate so important? GM isn't exactly cash rich and needs to have at least $10 billion to operate and currently has around $15.8 billion on hand. This means that if the current trend continues the company will be unable to operate in approximately three months, meaning that they'll have to declare bankruptcy as we previously outlined. GM itself basically admits this themselves saying:

"Even if GM implements the planned operating actions that are substantially within its control, GM's estimated liquidity during the remainder of 2008 will approach the minimum amount necessary to operate its business. Looking into the first two quarters of 2009, even with its planned actions, the company's estimated liquidity will fall significantly short of that amount unless economic and automotive industry conditions significantly improve, it receives substantial proceeds from asset sales, takes more aggressive working capital initiatives, gains access to capital markets and other private sources of funding, receives government funding under one or more current or future programs, or some combination of the foregoing."

To summarize: give us some money or we're going to go bankrupt and the economy will have to grapple with the horror of hundreds of thousands of unemployed workers. Announcement from General Motors below.

GM Reports Third Quarter Financial Results

DETROIT –General Motors (NYSE: GM) today announced its financial results for the third quarter of 2008, reflecting rapidly deteriorating market conditions in the U.S., slowdowns in other mature markets around the world, and continued losses at GMAC Financial Services (GMAC).

During the third quarter the turmoil in the global credit markets resulted in the worst financial crisis in more than 70 years. The upheaval has had a dramatic impact on the auto business in particular, especially in the U.S. and Western Europe.

Tight credit, rising unemployment, declining income, falling stock markets, and continuing deterioration in the housing market in the U.S., resulted in an abrupt halt in consumer spending, with most consumers exiting the vehicle market. Many of those still intending to purchase vehicles were denied financing, or found the cost of financing prohibitive.

“The third quarter was especially challenging for the auto industry. Consumer spending, which represents close to 70 percent of the U.S. economy, fell dramatically, and the abrupt closure of credit markets created a downward spiral in vehicle sales,” said Rick Wagoner, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “The U.S. government’s actions to help stabilize the credit markets and eventually ease the credit crunch are an essential first step to the economy’s and the auto industry’s recovery, but further strong action is required.”

GM reported a net loss of $2.5 billion or $4.45 per share for the third quarter, including special items. That compares with a net loss from continuing operations of $42.5 billion or $75.12 per share in the third quarter of 2007, which included a non-cash charge of $38.3 billion to establish a valuation allowance against some of the company’s net deferred tax assets.

On an adjusted basis, GM posted a net loss of $4.2 billion or $7.35 per share, compared with a net loss from continuing operations of $1.6 billion or $2.86 per share in the same period last year.

Revenue for the third quarter was $37.9 billion, down from $43.7 billion in the year-ago quarter, reflecting dramatic sales declines across the industry driven by unstable market conditions, instability in the credit markets and dramatic retraction in consumer demand, especially in North America and Europe.

GM recorded net favorable charges of $1.7 billion for special items in the third quarter. Included in the charges was a curtailment gain of $4.9 billion resulting from the UAW Settlement Agreement becoming effective. The curtailment represents the accelerated recognition of net prior service credits, largely relating to the 2005 GM UAW healthcare agreement, scheduled for amortization after January 1, 2010.

The curtailment was recorded because GM's UAW retiree health plan will not exist after January 1, 2010, and therefore no further basis for deferring unamortized prior service credits exists beyond that date. The $4.9 billion curtailment gain was partially offset by a non-cash $1.7 billion settlement charge related to the elimination of post-65 salaried retiree healthcare coverage, including the cost of increased pension benefits that were announced in July as part of GM’s operating actions to improve liquidity as well as the recognition of accumulated deferred losses related to the healthcare plan.

In addition, GM reported charges of $652 million relating to its commitments as part of Delphi’s bankruptcy proceedings, $251 million for impairment of investments in GMAC, and $641 million in restructuring-related and other charges. Details on these and all other special items are in the financial highlights section of this release.

GM Automotive Operations

GM reports its automotive operations and regional results on an earnings-before-tax basis, with taxes reported on a total corporate basis.

GM recorded an adjusted automotive loss of $2.8 billion ($947 million reported loss) in the third quarter 2008. The loss compares with adjusted automotive earnings from continuing operations of $98 million in the third quarter of 2007 (reported net loss of $1.6 billion).

The results reflect losses in GM North America (GMNA) driven largely by the U.S. industry volume decline of nearly 20 percent, and shifts in product mix. In addition, Europe saw rapid auto market contraction, leading to sharply lower GM Europe (GME) sales volume in the third quarter. GM Asia Pacific (GMAP) results were down due to commodity hedging charges and moderating demand in key markets including China, Australia and India. These losses were partially offset by very strong results in the GM Latin America, Africa and Middle East (GMLAAM) region.

GM’s automotive results in the third quarter include $1.5 billion of expenses related to mark-to-market changes in the value of GM’s commodity and foreign exchange hedging contracts, due almost entirely to falling commodity prices.

GM sold 2.1 million vehicles worldwide in the third quarter, down 11 percent year over year. Sales in GMNA were down 19 percent compared to third quarter 2007. GM global market share was 13 percent, down 0.7 percentage points compared with the third quarter of 2007, due largely to weakness in North America and Western Europe.

Cash and Liquidity

Cash, marketable securities, and readily-available assets of the Voluntary Employees’ Beneficiary Association (VEBA) trust totaled $16.2 billion on September 30, 2008, down from $21.0 billion on June 30, 2008.

The change in liquidity reflects negative adjusted operating cash flow of $6.9 billion in the third quarter 2008, driven by the industry-wide slowdown in vehicle demand and compounding credit crisis, especially in North America and Europe. During the quarter, GM drew the remaining $3.5 billion of its secured revolving credit facility and made $1.2 billion in payments to Delphi as required by agreements between the companies as part of Delphi’s bankruptcy proceedings.

GM expects adjusted operating cash flow in the fourth quarter to be much improved versus the third quarter, and more consistent with the first half of the year. Improvements in fourth quarter cash flow are largely driven by anticipated improvements in working capital in North America relating to sales allowances, and lower fourth quarter finished vehicle inventory in Europe.

Improving its liquidity position remains a top priority for the company. In response to deteriorating market conditions, GM announced today that in addition to the $15 billion in liquidity initiatives it outlined in July 2008, it has identified $5 billion of incremental liquidity actions. Cumulatively, GM has announced actions aimed at improving liquidity by $20 billion through 2009. To date, $10 billion in internal operating actions have either already been completed or are on track for full execution by the end of 2009.

Even if GM implements the planned operating actions that are substantially within its control, GM's estimated liquidity during the remainder of 2008 will approach the minimum amount necessary to operate its business. Looking into the first two quarters of 2009, even with its planned actions, the company's estimated liquidity will fall significantly short of that amount unless economic and automotive industry conditions significantly improve, it receives substantial proceeds from asset sales, takes more aggressive working capital initiatives, gains access to capital markets and other private sources of funding, receives government funding under one or more current or future programs, or some combination of the foregoing. The success of GM's plans necessarily depends on other factors, including global economic conditions and the level of automotive sales, particularly in the United States and Western Europe.

[Source: GM]

Fisker counterfiles against Tesla Motors

Автор: TaniaDonnelly | понедельник, 10 августа 2009 г.

The war between Tesla and Fisker continues today as Fisker Automotive files for an arbitration in a response to Tesla lawsuit which accused Henrik Fisker and Bernhard Koehler of fraud. The request...

Bill Ford says turnaround is beating expectations

Автор: TaniaDonnelly | вторник, 4 августа 2009 г.

Bill Ford Jr, FoMoCo Executive Chairman gave a huge shout-out to CEO Alan Mulally and his efforts in restructuring and resurrecting the struggling Dearborn automaker.“Alan Mulally has done a...

Speculative Details Surrounding Toyota-Subaru Sports Car Emerge [Over The Back Fence]

Автор: TaniaDonnelly | суббота, 11 июля 2009 г.

The joint sports car effort between Toyota and Subaru has so far remained hugely secretive, but details are beginning to sneak out giving form to the highly anticipated venture. Several publications are making "informed guesses" about the basis for the car, assumed to be a shortened, two-door, two-seat version of the Subaru Legacy. Best guesses outfit the car with a 200 HP, 2.0-liter flat-four backed by a six-speed transmission and tipping the scales around 2,600 lbs. The word on all-wheel-drive is still out, but we'd bet the Subie would have it while the 'Yota may pass. Roll those specs around in your mind and try not to whisper the alphanumeric moniker "AE86." [Edmunds Straightline, Autocar, SevenTune]

Tesla sues Fisker of giving its hybrid sedan substandard design

Автор: TaniaDonnelly | понедельник, 6 июля 2009 г.

It’s the war of the hybrids! Tesla Motors has sued the owner of Fisker Coachbuild, after Fisker, who designed the body and interior of Tesla’s four-door electric-hybrid sedan, announced...

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