Automotive News - June 23, 2008 - (Page 17)

JUNE 23, 2008 • 17 U.S. medium- & heavy-truck sales, May & 5 mos. May 2008 May 2007 May percent change 5 mos. 2008 5 mos. 2007 5 mos. percent change Class 4 Class 5 Class 6 Class 7 Chevrolet* Dodge Class 5* Class 4 Class 5 Class 6 Class 7 Ford Class 3 & 4 Class 5 Class 6 Class 7 Class 8 Freightliner* Class 4 Class 5 Class 6 Class 7 GMC* Class 4 Class 5 Class 6 Class 7 Hino* Class 4 Class 5 Class 6 Class 7 Class 8 International Class 3 & 4 Class 5 Class 6 Class 7 Isuzu* Class 5 Class 6 Class 7 Class 8 Kenworth* Mack Class 8* Class 3 & 4 Class 5 Class 6 Class 7 Mitsubishi Fuso Class 3 & 4 Class 5 Class 6 Class 7 Nissan Diesel Class 5 Class 6 Class 7 Class 8 Peterbilt* Class 4 Class 5 Class 6 Class 7 Class 8 Sterling* Volvo Class 8 Western Star Class 8* .. Other Class 8* 358 410 64 134 966 482 3,280 1,675 408 393 5,756 459 44 694 1,472 2,708 5,377 270 1,596 127 414 2,407 8 8 257 92 365 116 60 1,452 1,643 2,633 5,904 654 258 40 2 954 5 74 237 1,396 1,712 1,127 100 45 51 4 200 27 30 50 27 134 12 8 348 1,474 1,842 63 106 31 169 646 1,015 1,286 123 7 458 492 99 227 1,276 ± 5,666 1,891 1,346 421 9,324 275 21 1,103 1,677 2,426 5,502 293 1,026 104 479 1,902 12 12 271 69 364 131 109 1,757 1,570 2,315 5,882 927 275 23 46 1,271 – – 463 1,754 2,217 1,132 346 109 125 11 591 31 73 97 9 210 – – 439 1,824 2,263 22 9 109 209 1,464 1,813 810 286 143 8,161 4,017 5,034 5,620 12,154 34,986 759,975 794,961 –21.8 –16.7 –35.4 –41.0 ± 24.3 ± –42.1 –11.4 –69.7 –6.7 ± 38.3 66.9 109.5 –37.1 –12.2 11.6 ± 2.3 –7.8 55.6 22.1 –13.6 26.6 –33.3 –33.3 –5.2 33.3 0.3 –11.5 –45.0 –17.4 4.6 13.7 0.4 –29.4 –6.2 73.9 –95.7 ± 24.9 – – –48.8 –20.4 ± 22.8 ± 0.4 –71.1 –58.7 –59.2 –63.6 ± 66.2 –12.9 –58.9 –48.5 200.0 ± 36.2 – – –20.7 –19.2 ± 18.6 186.4 – –71.6 –19.1 –55.9 ± 44.0 58.8 ± 57.0 ± 95.1 –34.6 17.8 –35.3 –12.2 –6.2 ± 15.2 ± 24.5 ± 24.1 1,932 1,963 257 515 4,667 2,549 15,967 8,331 4,359 1,605 30,262 1,411 160 4,641 7,561 13,313 27,086 1,173 3,672 372 1,667 6,884 94 80 1,854 531 2,559 1,767 403 6,978 7,649 12,542 29,339 2,886 967 148 22 4,023 54 381 1,110 6,685 8,230 4,702 528 205 283 35 1,051 138 128 258 37 561 69 79 1,579 6,774 8,501 288 367 248 814 3,049 4,766 5,975 516 75 26,184 18,948 19,858 23,125 53,631 141,746 2,924,912 3,066,658 2,220 2,708 454 777 6,159 ± 22,272 9,731 5,559 2,532 40,094 1,319 347 6,613 10,655 22,390 41,324 1,646 3,000 577 1,816 7,039 109 80 1,750 538 2,477 525 781 9,562 9,788 13,736 34,392 3,747 1,245 98 263 5,353 – – 1,920 9,205 11,125 6,352 1,355 447 555 53 2,410 157 293 348 30 828 – – 2,216 9,269 11,485 87 56 420 1,276 6,349 8,188 7,657 1,268 417 33,437 18,688 25,936 31,864 76,643 186,568 3,480,649 3,667,217 –13.0 –27.5 –43.4 –33.7 ± 24.2 ± –28.3 –14.4 –21.6 –36.6 ± 24.5 7.0 –53.9 –29.8 –29.0 –40.5 ± 34.5 –28.7 22.4 –35.5 –8.2 ± 2.2 –13.8 0.0 5.9 –1.3 3.3 236.6 –48.4 –27.0 –21.9 –8.7 ± 14.7 –23.0 –22.3 51.0 –91.6 ± 24.8 – – –42.2 –27.4 ± 26.0 ± 26.0 –61.0 –54.1 –49.0 –34.0 ± 56.4 –12.1 –56.3 –25.9 23.3 ± 32.2 – – –28.7 –26.9 ± 26.0 231.0 – –41.0 –36.2 –52.0 ± 41.8 ± 22.0 ± 59.3 ± 82.0 –21.7 1.4 –23.4 –27.4 –30.0 ± 24.0 ± 16.0 ± 16.4 Serra deal reflects GM channel strategy Craig Trudell ctrudell@crain.com An acquisition by a large Michigan dealership group is in line with General Motors’ channel strategy, which calls for combining multiple brands under one roof. Serra Automotive Inc. has purchased Superior Pontiac-Cadillac in Flint, Mich. Serra will move the two brands into separate showrooms at its Al Serra Auto Plaza in Grand Blanc, about 10 miles south of Flint. The Pontiac franchise will be added to Serra’s BuickGMC showroom, which is renamed Al Serra Buick-Pontiac-GMC. Cadillac will move into Serra’s Hummer showroom, which becomes Al Serra Cadillac-Hummer. GM has looked to combine its Cadillac, Saab and Hummer premium brands into single dealerships as it has with Buick, Pontiac and GMC. Serra ranks No. 19 on the 2008 Automotive News list of the top 125 U.S. dealership groups, ranked by the number of new units sold at retail in 2007. Here are other recent deals. Seller: Fred Jones Cos. Location: Tulsa, Okla. Franchise: Mitsubishi Old name: United Ford New name: Jim Norton Mitsubishi More: Fred Jones closed the Ford dealership in 1998 but kept the building. Norton also owns a Toyota store in Tulsa and a Ford dealership in Broken Arrow, Okla. Koehn/Finkelstein Buyers: Ed and Aaron Koehn Sellers: Edward, Raleigh and Mort Finkelstein Location: Wayland, Mich. Franchise: Ford Old name: Wayland Ford New name: Ed Koehn Ford of Wayland Koehn/Fuller Buyer: Ed Koehn Seller: James Fuller Location: Greenville, Mich. Franchises: Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep Old name: Greenville ChryslerDodge-Jeep New name: Ed Koehn ChryslerJeep-Dodge More: Koehn moved the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep brands to a new location near his Ed Koehn FordLincoln-Mercury dealership, also in Greenville. Vialle, Thompson/McCarthy Buyers: Norman Vialle and Frank Thompson of Overland Park Jeep Seller: John McCarthy Location: Overland Park, Kan. Franchise: Dodge Old name: McCarthy Dodge More: Vialle and Thompson’s Jeep dealership will take inventory from the McCarthy store. The McCarthy dealership, which sold 552 units last year, will close. Performance/Smith Buyer: Performance Automotive Group Seller: Roger Smith Location: Kansas City, Kan. Franchise: Toyota Old name: Roger Smith & Sons Toyota More: Nebraska-based Performance Automotive plans to move the dealership closer to downtown. Huang, Severin/Childress Buyers: Joey Huang and Seth Severin Seller: Rusty Childress Location: Phoenix Franchise: Kia Old name: Childress Buick-Kia New name: Camelback Hyundai/Kia Knight/Penske Buyer: Bill Knight Seller: Penske Automotive Location: Tulsa, Okla. Franchises: Ford, Jaguar, LincolnMercury, Volvo Old names: United Ford, Jaguar of Tulsa, Lincoln-Mercury of Tulsa, Volvo of Tulsa New names: Bill Knight Ford, Jaguar Tulsa, Bill Knight LincolnMercury (Volvo of Tulsa is unchanged) More: Knight simultaneously sold his United Hummer store to Don Thornton Cadillac-Saab in Tulsa at the request of General Motors. Need Salespeople, Tech’s, Managers & Other Employees? The Auto Industry’s #1 Recruiting, Training & Marketing Company Salespeople~BDC~Detailer~Porter~Technician Body Tech~Service Advisor~Service Manager Parts Counter~Parts Manager~Sales Manager Finance Manager~Office Staff~GSM~GM Class 4† 5,335 Class 5 4,731 Class 6 3,256 Class 7 4,935 Class 8 11,400 Total Class 4-8 29,657 Total Class 1-3 573,908 TOTAL TRUCK SALES 603,565 800-421-4550 www.clickhereforadvice.com Brian C. Hall, President & CEO *Reported by Ward’s Communications Source: Automotive News Data Center and company sources †Includes Class 3 trucks for Freightliner, Isuzu, Mitsubishi Fuso and Nissan Diesel Big-truck sales fall 15.2% in May Craig Trudell ctrudell@crain.com Huang, Severin; Ganley/Deluca, Jannis Buyers: Joey Huang and Seth Severin; Thomas Ganley Sellers: Marvin Deluca and George Jannis Location: Bedford, Ohio Franchises: Chrysler, Jeep Old name: Deluca Chrysler-Jeep New name: Kia of Bedford More: The Chrysler and Jeep brands were moved to Ganley’s Dodge dealership across the street, which became Ganley Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge. Huang and Severin established a Kia store at the Deluca Chrysler-Jeep location. The decline of U.S. medium- and heavy-duty truck sales continued in May. Sales of trucks in classes 4 through 8 fell 15.2 percent in the month from a year earlier, to 29,657 units. Sales of Class 4 and 6 dropped by more than a third from May 2007. Class 6 sales fell 35.3 percent to 3,256 units. Class 4 sales dropped 34.6 percent to 5,335. Sales of Class 7 trucks fell 12.2 percent to 4,935 units. Class 8 sales slid 6.2 percent to 11,400. In contrast, Class 5 sales rose 17.8 percent in May to 4,731 units, the second straight monthly gain. Through the first five months of 2008, sales in classes 4 through 8 fell 24.0 percent from the year-earlier period to 141,746. For the month, Ford Motor Co. lost its spot as the market leader. International posted a 0.4 percent increase to 5,904 units. That was enough to pass Ford, whose May sales fell 38.3 percent to 5,756. In year-to-date sales, Ford remains ahead of International. Ford’s sales of 30,262 units through May are off 24.5 percent. International’s sales of 29,339 are down 14.7 percent. GMC’s May sales rose 26.6 percent to 2,407 units. GMC sales through May are still down 2.2 percent to 6,884. c BIG Automotive/Levis Buyer: BIG Automotive Group, of Slidell, La. Seller: Robert J. Levis Location: Baton Rouge, La. Franchise: Mitsubishi Old name: Levis Mitsubishi New name: BIG Mitsubishi More: The new partnership describes itself as a Christian company. BIG is an acronym for “Brothers in God.” The partners are Manny Manzano, David Bottner and Robert Moncada. Norton/Jones Buyer: James C. Norton http://autonews.com/green http://autonews.com/green http://www.clickhereforadvice.com http://www.clickhereforadvice.com http://www.hiousa.com http://www.hiousa.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - June 23, 2008

TRW exec: We're in the 'sweet spot' for growth 'Like house of cards,' used trucks fall Detroit 3 a big drag in global supplier race Ford rethinks big-block V-8 plan Looters and broken levees Plastech's Brown stands to get $9.25 million Lawmakers: Redo roof rule Hunt takes job at Gallup Lawmakers urge roof rule rewrite Webinar offers tips on going green Lawmakers: Redo roof rule Webasto sees more demand for retractable hard tops Why small isn't always big To move metal, hire an Ironman Chevy limits ZR1 Corvette to top dealers Lithium ion battery is key to hybrid growth With Russia hot, Ford will boost Europe production BMW exec: We can grow in U.S. The man who put the wind in GM's sales GM's parts ordering comes down to Earth More Fits for U.S. in fall GM: Volt buyers deserve tax credit Mercedes exec seeks more exclusive technology from suppliers Bosch, Mahle execs to lead turbo venture Supplier personnel ZF moves steering operations in Ky. Slowing Volvo, Saab add to Sweden's industry woes Feds: Drivers don't have to hang up phones Magna eyes new growth strategy: Powertrain-driveline modules Alleged sales scam snares Ohio dealers GM center troubleshoots IT in plants around the world Senator: Plants have capacity for plug-ins Lots of talk but little to show Going green pays off The Detroit 3 are smart to cut sales to fleets Drop Mercury? No; Ford needs it Awareness isn't GM's problem Leno was off base in bashing U.S. cars Roofs, rollovers and reckless driving Big-truck sales fall 15.2% in May Serra deal reflects GM channel strategy No. 2 vehicle hauler to go out of business Chinese company's car looks a lot like a Mini Honda taps star power for fuel cell car Dealer wanted media attention — and got it Dealers European sales dip 7.8% in May Merger gives Hughes Telematics a cash boost Mexico sales bounce back in April Suzuki dealers test system to turn Web leads into sales Bosch-Samsung venture to make lithium batteries Hyundai plans Elantra hybrid for Korea in '09 RV sales drop 8.5% in April Japan’s best-kept secret Utilities join automakers for plug-in r&d Ford likely to build '11 Focus at 2 plants Glut of '08 Ford F-150s delays launch of '09s '09 Porsche SUV prices rise Ford calls off Ohio plant sale Ford idles Mich. truck plant CarMax net earnings decline Dodge Journeys recalled 2009 Chrysler hybrid SUVs start at $45,340 GOP: Climate bills would make $4 gas look cheap EVs on eBay: It's all the rage In terms of market value, the General is a buck private Sign of the times: Hummer store to be used-car lot Bob Stempel's legacy is the future Flying 1 series? It's BMW's joke Dealer hurt in sky-dive navigates the road to recovery Opel car recognizes signs; BMW plans similar system JCI, Magna unit buy main parts of Plastech The little engines that could Suppliers to the 2008 Dodge Viper

Automotive News - June 23, 2008

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