Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - (Page 25) AUGUST 4, 2008 • 25 S&P downgrades American Axle DETROIT — Standard & Poor’s downgraded its credit rating for American Axle Manufacturing & Holdings Inc. last week, predicting the supplier will continue to take a beating in a deteriorating market for light trucks. S&P’s outlook on American Axle is negative, which means its rating could be downgraded further. The downgrade, from BB- to B+, marks the second time in two months S&P has lowered its credit rating on the supplier. “The shift in demand away from light trucks is the most immediate challenge for American Axle,” S&P said. U.S. car and light-truck sales by make – July 2008 Make Car 2008 Car 2007 2008 share 2007 share Percent change (Ranked by total sales) Truck 2007 2008 share 2007 share Percent change Total 2008 Total 2007 2008 share 2007 Percent share change Truck 2008 Lincoln-Mercury exec joins Kia DETROIT — Michael Sprague, head of marketing for Ford Motor Co.’s Lincoln and Mercury brands, will become Kia Motors America Inc.’s vice president for marketing on Aug. 11. Sprague replaces Ian Beavis, who left Kia Motors in February. Sprague will report to Ahn Byung-mo, CEO of Kia’s American operations. Kaline out at Ford DETROIT — Mark Kaline, global media manager of Ford Motor Co., left the automaker Monday, July 28. Kaline is a casualty of Ford’s latest effort, announced in June, to cut 15 Mark Kaline: Out percent of its white-collar staff by Friday, Aug. 1. Kaline confirmed that he had left the company. Toyota Division Ford division Chevrolet Honda Division Nissan Division Dodge Hyundai division Kia GMC Pontiac BMW division Jeep Mazda Lexus Chrysler Division Mercedes-Benz Volkswagen division Saturn Subaru Cadillac Acura Scion Buick Mitsubishi Mercury Infiniti Lincoln Suzuki Audi Volvo Mini Porsche Smart Land Rover‡ Saab Hummer Jaguar‡ Isuzu Bentley Maserati Aston Martin‡‡* Rolls-Royce* Maybach* Other** TOTAL Made in North America Made in Japan Made in Europe Made in Korea Total Detroit 31 Total Japan2 Total Europe3 Total Korea4 General Motors Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Ford Motor Co.† American Honda Motor Co. Chrysler LLC†† Nissan North America Hyundai-Kia Automotive BMW Group Volkswagen Group of America Daimler AG†† Tata Motors††† 102,974 44,943 67,024 82,976 49,863 17,928 31,132 16,214 – 23,689 19,261 – 15,789 13,219 11,128 15,252 19,192 9,803 15,483 8,630 7,967 11,906 6,086 7,527 6,681 5,857 5,553 5,035 6,003 3,578 5,063 2,170 2,559 – 1,621 – 1,434 – 195 195 140 37 12 439 644,558 408,928 123,641 64,926 45,591 201,465 318,596 77,151 47,346 116,853 128,099 60,755 90,943 29,056 55,720 47,346 24,361 25,390 17,823 1,434 100,513 42,455 69,122 71,755 47,593 17,638 29,199 13,252 – 26,778 19,083 – 17,080 16,755 22,802 12,945 19,075 11,229 13,758 10,512 8,048 11,640 12,446 6,928 6,849 6,812 3,758 4,838 5,466 6,856 4,069 2,081 – – 2,689 – 1,136 – 271 186 171 35 13 446 646,282 438,520 106,233 63,967 37,562 223,589 305,720 74,522 42,451 132,776 128,908 61,054 79,803 40,440 54,405 42,451 23,187 24,812 12,958 – 16.0 7.0 10.4 12.9 7.7 2.8 4.8 2.5 – 3.7 3.0 – 2.4 2.1 1.7 2.4 3.0 1.5 2.4 1.3 1.2 1.8 0.9 1.2 1.0 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.9 0.6 0.8 0.3 0.4 – 0.3 – 0.2 – 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 100.0 63.4 19.2 10.1 7.1 31.3 49.4 12.0 7.3 18.1 19.9 9.4 14.1 4.5 8.6 7.3 3.8 3.9 2.8 0.2 15.6 6.6 10.7 11.1 7.4 2.7 4.5 2.1 – 4.1 3.0 – 2.6 2.6 3.5 2.0 3.0 1.7 2.1 1.6 1.2 1.8 1.9 1.1 1.1 1.1 0.6 0.7 0.8 1.1 0.6 0.3 – – 0.4 – 0.2 – 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 100.0 67.9 16.4 9.9 5.8 34.6 47.3 11.5 6.6 20.5 19.9 9.4 12.3 6.3 8.4 6.6 3.6 3.8 2.0 – 2.4 5.9 –3.0 15.6 4.8 1.6 6.6 22.4 – –11.5 0.9 – –7.6 –21.1 –51.2 17.8 0.6 –12.7 12.5 –17.9 –1.0 2.3 –51.1 8.6 –2.5 –14.0 47.8 4.1 9.8 –47.8 24.4 4.3 – – –39.7 – 26.2 – –28.0 4.8 –18.1 5.7 –7.7 –1.6 –0.3 –6.7 16.4 1.5 21.4 –9.9 4.2 3.5 11.5 –12.0 –0.6 –0.5 14.0 –28.2 2.4 11.5 5.1 2.3 37.5 – 60,362 92,692 70,054 42,940 36,207 36,618 9,571 11,807 26,348 1,684 4,653 22,705 6,629 8,963 9,730 5,494 1,250 7,800 788 4,392 4,861 – 3,927 2,117 2,731 3,392 3,266 3,068 801 1,546 – 958 – 2,042 405 1,877 – 303 – – – – – – 491,981 410,884 58,280 8,307 14,510 283,824 169,630 17,149 21,378 116,487 69,325 100,235 47,801 69,053 39,599 21,378 4,653 2,051 5,494 2,042 84,764 116,982 113,092 54,913 30,758 48,104 14,312 13,438 41,057 3,245 5,212 37,355 8,776 10,386 11,829 5,650 578 9,139 1,680 6,900 6,332 – 4,208 3,419 4,003 2,714 5,171 3,105 1,661 2,693 – 1,149 – 4,189 558 4,895 – 586 – – – – – – 662,853 555,382 73,855 13,221 20,395 405,980 207,433 21,690 27,750 183,094 95,150 133,038 61,245 97,288 33,472 27,750 5,212 2,239 5,650 – 12.3 18.8 14.2 8.7 7.4 7.4 1.9 2.4 5.4 0.3 0.9 4.6 1.3 1.8 2.0 1.1 0.3 1.6 0.2 0.9 1.0 – 0.8 0.4 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.2 0.3 – 0.2 – 0.4 0.1 0.4 – 0.1 – – – – – – 100.0 83.5 11.8 1.7 2.9 57.7 34.5 3.5 4.3 23.7 14.1 20.4 9.7 14.0 8.0 4.3 0.9 0.4 1.1 0.4 12.8 17.6 17.1 8.3 4.6 7.3 2.2 2.0 6.2 0.5 0.8 5.6 1.3 1.6 1.8 0.9 0.1 1.4 0.3 1.0 1.0 – 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.4 0.8 0.5 0.3 0.4 – 0.2 – 0.6 0.1 0.7 – 0.1 – – – – – – 100.0 83.8 11.1 2.0 3.1 61.2 31.3 3.3 4.2 27.6 14.4 20.1 9.2 14.7 5.0 4.2 0.8 0.3 0.9 – –28.8 –20.8 –38.1 –21.8 17.7 –23.9 –33.1 –12.1 –35.8 –48.1 –10.7 –39.2 –24.5 –13.7 –17.7 –2.8 116.3 –14.7 –53.1 –36.3 –23.2 – –6.7 –38.1 –31.8 25.0 –36.8 –1.2 –51.8 –42.6 – –16.6 – –51.3 –27.4 –61.7 – –48.3 – – – – – – –25.8 –26.0 –21.1 –37.2 –28.9 –30.1 –18.2 –20.9 –23.0 –36.4 –27.1 –24.7 –22.0 –29.0 18.3 –23.0 –10.7 –8.4 –2.8 – 163,336 137,635 137,078 125,916 86,070 54,546 40,703 28,021 26,348 25,373 23,914 22,705 22,418 22,182 20,858 20,746 20,442 17,603 16,271 13,022 12,828 11,906 10,013 9,644 9,412 9,249 8,819 8,103 6,804 5,124 5,063 3,128 2,559 2,042 2,026 1,877 1,434 303 195 195 140 37 12 439 1,136,539 819,812 181,921 73,233 60,101 485,289 488,226 94,300 68,724 233,340 197,424 160,990 138,744 98,109 95,319 68,724 29,014 27,441 23,317 3,476 185,277 159,437 182,214 126,668 78,351 65,742 43,511 26,690 41,057 30,023 24,295 37,355 25,856 27,141 34,631 18,595 19,653 20,368 15,438 17,412 14,380 11,640 16,654 10,347 10,852 9,526 8,929 7,943 7,127 9,549 4,069 3,230 – 4,189 3,247 4,895 1,136 586 271 186 171 35 13 446 1,309,135 993,902 180,088 77,188 57,957 629,569 513,153 96,212 70,201 315,870 224,058 194,092 141,048 137,728 87,877 70,201 28,399 27,051 18,608 – 14.4 12.1 12.1 11.1 7.6 4.8 3.6 2.5 2.3 2.2 2.1 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.5 1.4 1.1 1.1 1.0 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 72.1 16.0 6.4 5.3 42.7 43.0 8.3 6.0 20.5 17.4 14.2 12.2 8.6 8.4 6.0 2.6 2.4 2.1 0.3 14.2 12.2 13.9 9.7 6.0 5.0 3.3 2.0 3.1 2.3 1.9 2.9 2.0 2.1 2.6 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.2 1.3 1.1 0.9 1.3 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.7 0.3 0.2 – 0.3 0.2 0.4 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 75.9 13.8 5.9 4.4 48.1 39.2 7.3 5.4 24.1 17.1 14.8 10.8 10.5 6.7 5.4 2.2 2.1 1.4 – –11.8 –13.7 –24.8 –0.6 9.9 –17.0 –6.5 5.0 –35.8 –15.5 –1.6 –39.2 –13.3 –18.3 –39.8 11.6 4.0 –13.6 5.4 –25.2 –10.8 2.3 –39.9 –6.8 –13.3 –2.9 –1.2 2.0 –4.5 –46.3 24.4 –3.2 – –51.3 –37.6 –61.7 26.2 –48.3 –28.0 4.8 –18.1 5.7 –7.7 –1.6 –13.2 –17.5 1.0 –5.1 3.7 –22.9 –4.9 –2.0 –2.1 –26.1 –11.9 –17.1 –1.6 –28.8 8.5 –2.1 2.2 1.4 25.3 – U.S. car and light-truck sales by make – 7 months 2008 Make Car 2008 Car 2007 2008 share 2007 share Percent change Truck 2008 (Ranked by total sales) Truck 2007 2008 share 2007 share Percent change Total 2008 Total 2007 2008 share 2007 Percent share change Penske earnings drop slightly DETROIT — Penske Automotive Group Inc. posted slightly lower quarterly earnings last week and downplayed the impact that tightened leasing practices might have on its dealers. Net income slipped to $39.9 million in the second quarter from $40.4 million in the same quarter last year. Revenue declined to $3.36 billion from $3.37 billion. A sharp drop in U.S. sales of new vehicles overshadowed solid used-car sales. Same-store retail revenue declined 5.9 percent, as sales of new vehicles dropped 7.7 percent amid record gasoline prices, tighter credit and a housing market collapse. Asbury will move; profits slip NEW YORK — Public dealership group Asbury Automotive Group Inc. last week reported secondquarter net income of $10.9 million, down from $20.6 million in the year-ago quarter. Revenue fell 11 percent to $1.32 billion. Asbury also said it will cut back on advertising, eliminate some dealership jobs, shut offices in Stamford, Conn., and move its headquarters by March 2009 from New York to Atlanta. Toyota Division Ford division Chevrolet Honda Division Nissan Division Dodge Hyundai division Chrysler Division Jeep GMC Kia Pontiac Mazda Lexus BMW division Mercedes-Benz Volkswagen division Saturn Subaru Cadillac Acura Mercury Buick Scion Infiniti Lincoln Suzuki Mitsubishi Audi Volvo Mini Land Rover‡ Porsche Hummer Saab Smart Jaguar‡ Isuzu Bentley Maserati Aston Martin‡‡* Rolls-Royce* Maybach* Other** TOTAL Made in North America Made in Japan Made in Europe Made in Korea Total Detroit 31 Total Japan2 Total Europe3 Total Korea4 General Motors Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Ford Motor Co.† Chrysler LLC†† American Honda Motor Co. Nissan North America Hyundai-Kia Automotive Volkswagen Group of America BMW Group Daimler AG†† Tata Motors††† 717,901 370,724 505,745 535,311 340,495 184,955 203,661 133,088 – – 111,030 164,422 119,357 94,478 122,783 100,439 129,089 53,047 102,902 67,267 51,991 53,274 54,911 77,780 51,194 33,624 36,985 49,518 44,015 38,294 31,463 – 10,768 – 11,773 13,958 9,815 – 1,823 1,548 980 259 84 3,073 4,633,824 3,088,571 796,327 449,827 291,357 1,621,057 2,177,912 520,164 314,691 857,165 890,159 502,937 318,043 587,302 391,689 314,691 174,927 154,505 114,481 2,794 721,815 367,935 519,941 454,086 319,214 201,332 185,649 194,287 – – 91,767 186,550 125,296 115,665 132,478 97,085 129,925 73,017 96,723 67,902 60,277 68,196 74,762 72,644 54,352 43,846 37,805 54,293 40,204 44,902 23,828 – 14,000 – 16,991 – 9,597 – 2,527 1,355 1,198 245 91 3,119 4,704,899 3,243,307 757,358 443,515 260,719 1,797,768 2,112,170 517,545 277,416 939,163 910,124 535,332 395,619 514,363 373,566 277,416 172
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - August 4, 2008 Automotive News - August 4, 2008 Losing leases: It hurts already Crisis at Chrysler: Buyers bail GM's really bad news: Its revenue Lincoln reworks bonus plan for dealers Pain spreads beyond Detroit: Nissan offers employee buyouts Mitsubishi changes dealer advisory board GM repeats employee discount program Ford merges brands' sales, marketing After 5 funky years, Toyota's Scion now finds itself in a funk It's a body, er, a bus by Fisher At Tech Center, form follows function Industry nemesis again turns up heat on climate Right products, diverse customers raise suppliers' profits Last-minute leases swamp Chrysler With leases off the table, Chrysler offers new sales incentives GM favors 4 endorsed vendors of dealer management systems GKN to supply F-150 FX4's differential For sale: 2 Metaldyne plants 1 week's notice: Chrysler dealers deserved better Get used to the roller coaster That 1934 Reo had a clutch pedal We sell what the public wants Decision makers can't use hindsight Detroit's truck trauma is self-inflicted Why won't consumers buy Detroit cars? Speaking of ads, don't overlook VW Software helps dealers manage parts Service survey: Customer satisfaction rises Researcher: Vehicles can prevent crashes Personnel Microsoft will offer Live Search Dealers Picture This Nissan offers buyouts to its Tenn. workers Lincoln-Mercury exec joins Kia Kaline out at Ford Penske earnings drop slightly Asbury will move; profits slip S&P downgrades American Axle Best sales news: July is over Now THAT'S resale value ... Sirius-XM satellite radio deal: A mixed bag Don't be misled by Chery's sales; it's a key player McCurdy applies some political (tire) pressure A star is born: The saga of the shrinking sticker Our flag is still there Obama-mobile? Or McCain-carrier? Automotive News - August 4, 2008 Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - (Page Intro) Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - GM's really bad news: Its revenue (Page 1) Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - GM's really bad news: Its revenue (Page 2) Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - Ford merges brands' sales, marketing (Page 3) Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - After 5 funky years, Toyota's Scion now finds itself in a funk (Page 4) Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - After 5 funky years, Toyota's Scion now finds itself in a funk (Page 5) Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - Right products, diverse customers raise suppliers' profits (Page 6) Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - Right products, diverse customers raise suppliers' profits (Page 7) Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - With leases off the table, Chrysler offers new sales incentives (Page 8) Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - With leases off the table, Chrysler offers new sales incentives (Page 9) Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - For sale: 2 Metaldyne plants (Page 10) Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - For sale: 2 Metaldyne plants (Page 11) Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - Decision makers can't use hindsight (Page 12) Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - Decision makers can't use hindsight (Page 13) Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - Speaking of ads, don't overlook VW (Page 14) Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - Service survey: Customer satisfaction rises (Page 15) Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - Personnel (Page 16) Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - Dealers (Page 17) Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - Dealers (Page 18) Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - Picture This (Page 19) Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - Picture This (Page 20) Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - Picture This (Page 21) Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - Picture This (Page 22) Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - Picture This (Page 23) Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - Nissan offers buyouts to its Tenn. workers (Page 24) Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - S&P downgrades American Axle (Page 25) Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - S&P downgrades American Axle (Page 26) Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - Best sales news: July is over (Page 27) Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - Best sales news: July is over (Page 28) Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - Best sales news: July is over (Page 29) Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - Obama-mobile? Or McCain-carrier? (Page 30) Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - Obama-mobile? Or McCain-carrier? (Page 31) Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - Obama-mobile? Or McCain-carrier? (Page 32)
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