Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - (Page 15) AUGUST 18, 2008 • 15 U.S. medium- & heavy- truck sales, July. & 7 mos. July 2008 July 2007 7 mos. 2008 7 mos. 2007 Class 4 Class 5 Class 6 Class 7 Chevrolet* Class 5 Dodge* 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* Class 4† Class 5 Class 6 Class 7 Class 8 Total Class 4-8 Total Class 1-3 TOTAL TRUCK SALES 248 357 20 89 714 273 273 4,582 1,395 403 253 6,633 495 37 414 1,272 2,644 4,862 231 531 46 250 1,058 9 9 250 63 331 42 74 1,246 1,146 2,823 5,331 446 150 17 5 618 9 27 242 1,321 1,599 1,055 66 38 37 10 151 14 24 32 10 80 8 18 304 1,486 1,816 61 104 39 139 793 1,136 929 105 18 6,194 3,009 2,549 3,783 11,174 26,709 491,981 518,690 337 327 74 100 838 – – 4,307 1,594 780 492 7,173 156 29 708 2,133 2,219 5,245 258 1,507 116 1,048 2,929 11 16 233 65 325 41 94 948 735 2,111 3,929 828 193 15 137 1,173 – – 285 1,346 1,631 868 264 53 67 10 394 37 46 64 3 150 – – 426 1,620 2,046 29 4 88 224 1,031 1,376 664 147 78 6,268 3,863 3,093 5,658 10,084 28,966 662,853 691,819 2,562 2,774 412 821 6,569 3,219 3,219 23,711 11,266 5,206 2,135 42,318 2,132 221 5,740 10,293 19,050 37,436 1,660 5,864 556 2,200 10,280 114 95 2,346 672 3,227 1,931 548 9,789 10,220 17,670 40,158 3,951 1,314 207 32 5,504 80 468 1,598 9,462 11,608 6,949 681 281 406 53 1,421 174 189 346 87 796 92 113 2,162 9,884 12,251 423 593 331 1,125 4,562 7,034 8,041 727 97 37,339 26,536 25,920 31,398 76,442 197,635 3,917,014 4,114,649 3,159 3,559 610 1,028 8,356 – – 32,052 13,187 7,467 3,567 56,273 1,732 405 8,426 14,996 26,656 52,215 2,353 6,307 837 3,193 12,690 134 103 2,260 662 3,159 617 994 11,818 11,744 17,792 42,965 5,578 1,747 126 455 7,906 – – 2,563 12,116 14,679 8,257 2,045 613 798 70 3,526 248 408 524 57 1,237 – – 3,056 12,700 15,756 137 75 602 1,731 8,296 10,841 9,288 1,603 651 48,055 27,398 33,468 43,122 97,359 249,402 4,852,926 5,102,318 Scion ads show community of cool — but no owners Youth brand’s new theme: ‘United by individuality’ Mark Rechtin mrechtin@crain.com *Reported by Ward’s Communications Source: Automotive News Data Center †Includes Class 3 trucks for Freightliner, Isuzu, Mitsubishi Fuso and Nissan Diesel July trucks sales fall; rate of decline slows Craig Trudell ctrudell@crain.com Sales of medium- and heavy-duty trucks fell 7.8 percent in July from a year earlier, to 26,709 units. But the decline was less severe than the year-to-date result. Through the first seven months, sales of trucks in classes 4 through 8 are off 20.8 percent to 197,635. In July, Class 7 sales dropped 33.1 percent to 3,783 units, Class 5 sales fell 22.1 percent to 3,009 units and Class 6 sales were down 17.6 percent to 2,549 units. Heavy-duty Class 8s were the lone bright spot in the segment, up 10.8 percent to 11,174 units. International posted a 35.7 percent increase over July 2007, selling 5,331 trucks last month. International’s year-to-date sales are off 6.5 percent to 40,158. July sales for market leader Ford were down 7.5 percent to 6,633 units. Third-place Freightliner posted sales of 4,862 trucks, down 7.3 percent. GMC sales plummeted 63.9 percent from July 2007 to 1,058 units. Year-to-date sales for GMC have dropped 19 percent to 10,280 units. c LOS ANGELES — The No. 1 tenet of car advertising is “Show The Car.” With its new TV commercial, Scion is taking the theory to the extreme. The spot shows hundreds of modified Scion vehicles rolling across the Nevada desert to a large gathering. The mass of cars helps Scion pitch identity in a cool community, a departure for the brand. Previous Scion advertising had concentrated on single cars in urban or animated settings. The only person in the spot is a disc jockey, his lips protruding in profile from behind a hoodie sweater. He shouts into a microphone: “It is that which makes us different that brings us together.” The spot’s tag line is “United by Individuality.” After booming in 2005 and 2006, Scion sales have struggled to maintain the pace of past years, despite two redesigned models. Also, the brand’s median buyer age has drifted older, as baby boomers overlooked the vehicles’ outlandish appearance in exchange for fuel economy. By appealing to a community of kindred souls, the Scion creative work has a similar look and feel to some of the “Civic Nation” spots from Honda in 2003. Both campaigns pay homage to Hal Riney’s iconic Saturn “Homecoming” commercial from 1994. However, while the Scion ads show only the cars, the Honda and Saturn spots made a point of showing owners having fun with their vehicles. In another departure, the Scion spot appears to hit an off note with the background music. The Scion spot’s corporate-anthem music might be more appropriate for a Tony Robbins personal-empowerment revival. By contrast, past Scion spots tended to be backed with hiphop tracks. “Everybody would have expected us to do hip-hop, electro or metal,” said Dawn Ahmed, Scion corporate manager. “We wanted to shift gears and do something totally different. We wanted an anthemic spot.” The commercial was not part of a staged event. Rather, it was shot at a gathering of Scion owners outside Henderson, Nev. The event, Scion United, drew hundreds of people from as far away as Florida and Virginia. The spot will be shown in movie theaters and on late-night cable TV shows. To accompany the campaign, Scion has constructed a Web site, www.scion.com/scionunited, with pictures of customized vehicles and participants at the Nevada event. New print and billboard ads also will show modified Scions, featuring the first name and last initial of the owner. The billboards will be posted near the Scion owner’s hometown. “We are in a different place with Scion than three years ago,” Ahmed said. “We have 600,000 owners, and the community gets more passionate and exceeds our expectations every day.” c In Scion’s new advertising, hundreds of modified vehicles travel across a Nevada desert, above, to a gathering called Scion United — the event is real. Scion’s message: “United by Individuality.” Scion tries to get leg up when flexing its hip As the lone Scion employee remaining from the brand’s origins as the Genesis Youth Project in the late 1990s, Jeri Yoshizu has been the brand’s street-level marketing guru, unearthing new trends while keeping her finger on the pulse of young people and their interests. Yoshizu spoke with Staff Reporter Mark Rechtin about the new trends in youth marketing. Is Scion changing its focus to a new set of customers? When corporations look at youth, they look at it as 16 to 35 years old. But how many life stages is that? High school. College. First job. Young family. What have been the changes for the 13- to 19-year-olds who are now 18 to 24? What does the landscape look like? Just look at social networking. We’ve gone from Friendster to MySpace to Facebook. We’ve been through all of those. Blogs didn’t even exist in 2003. There was Angel Fire, and that’s gone now. But blogs are already changing. Scion is being forced to change. The (five-year) anniversary has put “five” in everyone’s head, because our customers are five years older, too. We’re having to refresh our message and move our picture back to the new 18- to 24-year-olds. What about how teenagers approach music? It’s different now. Why would the hipsters go to the Coachella (festival) when the same band is playing questionanswer Scion marketing exec Jeri Yoshizu: “We’re having to refresh our message” to the new 18- to 24-year-olds. an unannounced show two nights later? They’re smart. They see the gas and hotel costs, and 150,000 people, and guess what, this is the first year that Coachella attendance was down. Does Scion still want to be the hiphop brand? We’re looking at electro. We’re not moving away from hip-hop, but we can move to something impactful. So we’re having both hiphop and electro tours, even though hip-hop draws 700 people in small markets like Columbus while electro draws 200 people in big markets like Austin. Does the next wave of youth have a different view of the work-life balance? In 2003, it was about bling and champagne. Now it’s about quality of life. They are OK just getting by. It’s not so much about financial security as mental, emotional and creative security. The negative is that they won’t grow up. Twenty is the new 10. c http://www.scion.com/scionunited
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - August 18, 2008 Automotive News - August 18, 2008 Smart answer: A tiny Hyundai from India Toyota idles factories — but can't lay anybody off Sharing the pain N. America: Brembo's big break? Ford adds 7 preferred suppliers; total rises to 65 Suit: Report of store's death is premature Lincoln crossover will get MKT nameplate Ligocki will head Mexican/Chinese car deal Industry tries lean lobbying at conventions Ford reins in F-150 order combinations Nissan will buy more in Mexico Leland, master of precision and luxury cars Honda will launch Prius fighter in April Porsche bolsters warranty on pre-owned vehicles CTS wagon arrives in spring GM: Aerodynamic design boosts Volt's range Denso is Chrysler 'Supplier of Choice' Kudos to Ford for improving supplier relations How do we define 'automaker'? Concept of leasing had been polluted Totaled cars: We don't need a new law Hybrids too quiet? Sounds like trouble Marketing tips for the 21st century Scion tries to get leg up when flexing its hip Scion ads show community of cool — but no owners July trucks sales fall; rate of decline slows Hargrove forecast: Good for now, bad for long term Mitsubishi plans plant to meet battery demand Mini Cooper D(iesel) delivers, but not here yet Logistics company's goal: Cut fuel use even more Transporter joins the cars it delivers in going green Saturn, Scion lost that special feeling Expert: CAFE debate irrelevant Chrysler plans unibody, fuel-efficient Grand Cherokee Panel: CAFE will change U.S. car mix Toyota revs up its aftermarket parts business Dealers Who's that sporting Brembos now? Moody's cuts GM rating Analyst Merkle moves Ford will sell stock BMW recalls 320,000 vehicles Intermet in Chapter 11 again GM adds 4 XFE models Delphi ends battery venture Chamco cases bounce around court system Mercedes sues Cobasys over batteries For a while, the party's over at Toyota Buy Hummer? Nyet, says Russian automaker What cars will be the cruisers of tomorrow? GM sets 'em up for Dems, GOP Chung sprung A good day at work: $22 million Automotive News - August 18, 2008 Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - (Page Intro) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Sharing the pain (Page 1) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Sharing the pain (Page 2) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Ligocki will head Mexican/Chinese car deal (Page 3) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Nissan will buy more in Mexico (Page 4) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Nissan will buy more in Mexico (Page 5) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - CTS wagon arrives in spring (Page 6) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - CTS wagon arrives in spring (Page 7) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Denso is Chrysler 'Supplier of Choice' (Page 8) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Denso is Chrysler 'Supplier of Choice' (Page 9) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Denso is Chrysler 'Supplier of Choice' (Page 10) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Denso is Chrysler 'Supplier of Choice' (Page 11) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Totaled cars: We don't need a new law (Page 12) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Totaled cars: We don't need a new law (Page 13) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Marketing tips for the 21st century (Page 14) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Marketing tips for the 21st century (Page 14a) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Marketing tips for the 21st century (Page 14b) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - July trucks sales fall; rate of decline slows (Page 15) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Mitsubishi plans plant to meet battery demand (Page 16) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Mitsubishi plans plant to meet battery demand (Page 17) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Saturn, Scion lost that special feeling (Page 18) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Saturn, Scion lost that special feeling (Page 19) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Saturn, Scion lost that special feeling (Page 20) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Saturn, Scion lost that special feeling (Page 21) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Chrysler plans unibody, fuel-efficient Grand Cherokee (Page 22) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Panel: CAFE will change U.S. car mix (Page 23) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Panel: CAFE will change U.S. car mix (Page 24) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Panel: CAFE will change U.S. car mix (Page 25) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Panel: CAFE will change U.S. car mix (Page 26) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Panel: CAFE will change U.S. car mix (Page 27) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Dealers (Page 28) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Who's that sporting Brembos now? (Page 29) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Delphi ends battery venture (Page 30) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Delphi ends battery venture (Page 31) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Mercedes sues Cobasys over batteries (Page 32) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Mercedes sues Cobasys over batteries (Page 33) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - A good day at work: $22 million (Page 34) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - A good day at work: $22 million (Page 35) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - A good day at work: $22 million (Page 36)
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