NOVEMBER U.S. AUTO SALES


Ford, GM, Toyota, Honda sales fall more than 30%

'Economy continues to weaken'

Chrissie Thompson
Automotive News
December 2, 2008 - 12:13 pm ET
UPDATED: 12/2/08 2:45 p.m. EST

Ford, General Motors, Toyota and Honda reported U.S. sales drops of
more than 30 percent in November as a staggering U.S. economy again
dragged industrywide demand to 25-year lows.

Ford Motor declined for a 12th consecutive month. GM plunged more than
40 percent for the second straight month. Toyota Motor was down for
the 11th time in the past 12 months and American Honda's fall was its
steepest this year. BMW recorded a 26.8 percent drop, the Volkswagen
brand 19 percent, and Subaru 7.8 percent.

"The economy continues to weaken, and auto sales reflect this
reality,'' said Jim Farley, Ford's marketing chief, in a statement.

Ford slashed its 2009 North American first-quarter production plan by
37.9 percent from year-earlier levels, and GM announced a 32 percent
cut.

Automakers are releasing sales results the same day that Ford, General
Motors and Chrysler LLC are submitting plans to Congress in hopes of
receiving $25 billion in government loans.

GM fell 41.3 percent. Ford's decline was 32.6 percent, Toyota's 33.9
percent and Honda's 31.6 percent.

Ford sees improvement in 2011

In its plan to Congress, Ford said it may break even or post a profit
in 2011, ending a streak of losses that began in 2006.

In May, Ford abandoned a goal of making money next year as soaring
fuel prices and a weak housing market sapped sales of profitable
pickups and SUVs. The company said today it will seek $9 billion in
loans but would only access them as a safeguard if market conditions
worsen.

At the start of the year, Ford had projected U.S. sales would total
15.7 million units this year. Last month, sales came in at a 10.9
million rate, the lowest in 25 years.

The decline has steepened as consumer confidence plunged to
near-record lows in the wake of global credit-market collapse.

The National Bureau of Economic Research, the nation's business cycle
arbiter, said yesterday that the economy slipped into recession in
December 2007. The current recession, which many economists expect to
persist through the middle of next year, is already the third-longest
since the Great Depression, behind only the 16-month slumps of the
mid-1970s and early 1980s.

Analysts had projected U.S. auto sales to fall at least 25 percent
percent in November, their third straight decline of more than 25
percent and the third month below 1 million.

The average selling rates projected by 33 analysts surveyed by Reuters
was 10.4 million. That would be the lowest figure since February 1983,
according to U.S. Commerce Department data.

October's rate of 10.8 million was the lowest since March 1983. A year
ago, the seasonally adjusted figure was 16 million units.

Impact of cheap gas seen

In November, sales of every Toyota model except the Sequoia SUV
declined.

Earl Stewart, who owns a Toyota dealership in North Palm Beach, Fla.,
sold 100 fewer new vehicles than the 350 he delivered a year earlier.
He attributes the decrease to the crash of South Florida's housing
market and concerns about financial markets.

Plunging gasoline prices contributed to the Sequoia's 52 percent rise
in nationwide sales and a drop in small cars like the Prius hybrid,
Stewart said. Stewart sold 57 Priuses in November, down from 67 in
October.

He is discounting his Priuses by $1,200 on the base model and $2,000
on the most-expensive versions.

But the Tundra sales are STILL in the tank.

"C. E. White" <cewhite3@removemindspring.com> wrote in message
news:493592e4$1@kcnews01...
> NOVEMBER U.S. AUTO SALES
>
>
> Ford, GM, Toyota, Honda sales fall more than 30%
>
>
> Plunging gasoline prices contributed to the Sequoia's 52 percent rise in
> nationwide sales and a drop in small cars like the Prius hybrid, Stewart
> said. Stewart sold 57 Priuses in November, down from 67 in October.
>
> He is discounting his Priuses by $1,200 on the base model and $2,000 on
> the most-expensive versions.

Official Release: MINI USA reported November sales of 4,545 automobiles, up
43.1 percent from the 3,177 cars sold in November 2007. Year-to-date, the
division reported sales of 50,511 automobiles, an increase of 31.3 percent,
compared to the 38,483 cars reported in the first eleven months of 2007.
"We've seen some slowing in MINI showroom traffic just the same as everyone
else in the last month," said Jim McDowell, Vice-President of MINI USA.
"However, we're still positive about our future sales due to the fact the
recent frenzy towards more efficient transportation has introduced more
consumers to our brand. This has helped us hit the milestone of 50,000 sales
in November, one month sooner than we expected."



Jack G.

(2 MINI Cooper Ss and one Highlander)

On Tue, 2 Dec 2008 15:24:35 -0500, "Mike Hunter" <mikehunt2@lycos/com>
wrote:

>"C. E. White" <cewhite3@removemindspring.com> wrote in message
>news:493592e4$1@kcnews01...
>> NOVEMBER U.S. AUTO SALES
>>
>>
>> Ford, GM, Toyota, Honda sales fall more than 30%
>>
>>
>> Plunging gasoline prices contributed to the Sequoia's 52 percent rise in
>> nationwide sales and a drop in small cars like the Prius hybrid, Stewart
>> said. Stewart sold 57 Priuses in November, down from 67 in October.
>>
>> He is discounting his Priuses by $1,200 on the base model and $2,000 on
>> the most-expensive versions.
>

[top post corrected]

>But the Tundra sales are STILL in the tank.

But your trolling continues to grow by leaps and bounds.

On Dec 2, 11:56*am, "C. E. White" <cewhi...@removemindspring.com>
wrote:
> NOVEMBER U.S. AUTO SALES

.......

> Plunging gasoline prices contributed to the Sequoia's 52 percent rise
> in nationwide sales and a drop in small cars like the Prius hybrid,
> Stewart said. Stewart sold 57 Priuses in November, down from 67 in
> October.

Typical $heeple behavior. They mindlessly follow the price of a FINITE
resource, as if it's suddenly less finite because of recession-based
demand lag. Do people really have attention spans that short? People
DO.

When the global oil production peak hits (WHEN, not if), $heeple will
be permanently denied the right to be brain-dead consumers of all
that's dangled in front of them. "Bleeaat! Bleeaat!" they will cry as
they go through crude oil withdrawal. America has been using 7.6
billion barrels of oil per year, which drains our remaining
conventional crude in about 4 years. No saviors offshore or in Alaska.

When the global peak is undeniable, oil gluttons will try even harder
to blame environmentalists for "locking up Utah's shale" (etc.) but it
will be completely futile. Shale oil is a long-standing joke in terms
of energy input vs. output. It takes too much heat energy to cook it
into liquid form. Shale is America's final claim to having huge
reserves and it's 95% hype when you get practical. It would also wreck
timeless landscapes, but right-wing punks don't blink over that
aspect.

Schools should teach kids at an early age about finite resource
depletion, and how money is just a temporary value judgement. Oil gets
scarcer every single second no matter how it's priced, and the speed
of consumption rises (in good economic times) as the price falls. This
recession-induced price drop is an anomalous dip, not a trend, you
$#@! idiots.

Anyone can choose to conserve at any time. A price void doesn't NEED
to be filled with lousy gas mileage once again. The power of foresight
is supposed to separate us from lower animals.

E.A.

http://enough_already.tripod.com/

Can one really be a productive member of a consumptive society?

In article
<3b42cfc5-a25b-4c8c-822c-faea8091c512@z27g2000prd.googlegroups.com>,
Enough Already <enough_already@lycos.com> wrote:

> America has been using 7.6
> billion barrels of oil per year, which drains our remaining
> conventional crude in about 4 years.

Oh now, come on--we heard the exact same story 30 years ago.

Elmo P. Shagnasty turned on the Etch-A-Sketch and wrote:

> In article
> <3b42cfc5-a25b-4c8c-822c-faea8091c512@z27g2000prd.googlegroups.com>,
> Enough Already <enough_already@lycos.com> wrote:
>
>> America has been using 7.6
>> billion barrels of oil per year, which drains our remaining
>> conventional crude in about 4 years.
>
> Oh now, come on--we heard the exact same story 30 years ago.

Bingo.

I'm still waiting for a high-mileage car or truck that isn't a sub-compact
like the Fit or Prius or Smart.

As it is, "high mileage" nowdays still only refers to cars with - say - 30
MPG.

What about 150 MPG?

Why can't a nice mid-size truck like my Avalanche (18-20 MPG) get 150 MPG??


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