Automotive News - August 4, 2008 - (Page 30) 30 • AUGUST 4, 2008 final assembly comment EARNINGS ROUNDUP >> Magna International releases its secondquarter financial report on Wednesday, Aug. 6. For live coverage of this and other corporate earnings news, visit www.autonews.com. Now THAT’S resale value ord on the street is that the Prius is in such short supply that some Toyota dealers have contacted Prius owners and offered to buy back the hybrids at the original sticker price. Now the Power Information Network has some data that may support that topsy-turvy concept. Power says used Priuses sold for more than new ones in June. The transaction price of a new 2008 Prius sold in June was $26,672, while the price of a used 2008, with an average of nearly 8,000 miles on it, was $27,945. In June, the transaction price of a new 2008 Toyota Prius was $26,672 — $1,273 less than that of a used 2008 model. Used 2007 Priuses, with an average of 22,000 miles on the clock, have been selling at an average of $26,396 — just $276 less than new 2008s. What’s going on? Power’s Tom Libby speculates that Toyota dealers selling the used ones don’t have any new ones in stock, “so the customer can’t compare the used to the new, and the dealer therefore can charge whatever he wants for the used. If the dealer has both new and used, it is hard to understand how the customer would pay more for the used than for the new if the new one was sitting right there.” In short, a pretty good deal for the Toyota dealers: They can sell the same vehicle twice — presumably with a profit both times. Don’t be misled W by Chery’s sales; it’s a key playerhery Automobile Co., long the fastest-growing Chinese automaker, stopped growing in the first half of this year. Can it still become a world-class automaker — a goal its president, Yin Tongyao, set late last year? Yes. Actually, the company now has a much better chance to succeed than ever before. Passengervehicle sales in China reached 3.6 million units in the first six months, up 17.1 YANG JIAN IS THE MANAGING percent from the first half of 2007. EDITOR OF AUTOMOTIVE By contrast, NEWS CHINA. Chery’s sales — about 208,000 units — barely changed from a year ago. Chery obviously is losing market share. But that is because the company has put the quality of its products before their quantity and has halted new model launches since October of last year. Chery was incorporated in March 1997. In August 2007, it became the first domestic automaker to produce 1 million units. That’s remarkable growth, but it came at a cost. While aggressively expanding production, the company compromised a key to sustainable growth: product quality. Fortunately, Chery’s managers realized that changes were needed. They also realized that without quality, the deal they signed with Chrysler won’t lead anywhere. To make its next new model, the A3 mid-sized sedan, a fine product, Chery has postponed its launch repeatedly. Meanwhile, with Chrysler’s help, Chery is making improvements to the vehicle that it plans to sell in the United States with a Chrysler badge. Also, Chery’s joint venture project with the Israeli investment company Quantum is well under way. The new venture mainly targets the international market. Chery also is cooperating with more global suppliers, such as ArvinMeritor and Continental, to obtain high-quality parts. True, Chery still may be a thousand miles from becoming a world-class player. But the company is making progress. Chery introduced four new models in the first nine months of 2007, but no new model since then. I expect to see its new products come out of such a long waiting period with much better quality than their predecessors. Dealership’s full-page newspaper ad rallied residents. Our flag is still there A CHRIS DOANE/BRENDA PRIDDY & CO. ■ Obama-mobile? Or McCain-carrier? No, this isn’t a prop from the new X-Files movie. It’s believed to be the next presidential limousine, a camouflaged Caddy that’s going through final testing before carrying the next U.S. president on Jan. 20, Inauguration Day. It’s part Cadillac, part tank; armor-plated doors are about 8 inches thick. And did that exhaust sound like a diesel? Lobbyist Dave McCurdy: Making a point with an air pump. A star is born: The saga of the shrinking sticker I n late June, gasoline prices soared and Albuquerque, N.M., Dodge dealer Ken Zangara watched his Ram pickups gather dust. Then his brainstorm, a 50 percent-off-sticker sale, moved 150 new Rams, gave Zangara Dodge its best July ever — and made him a star. An Automotive News story on the $30,000 trucks selling for $15,000 brought calls from local papers, The Wall Street Journal and, says Zangara, “hundreds” of dealers thinking about following his lead. Says Zangara: “Hundreds of them called me. I couldn’t answer all the calls.” The idea worked so well that Zangara has expanded it to other models for August. He’s advertising discounts on a sliding scale ranging from 50 percent for big trucks to 20 percent for smaller vehicles. One dealer who picked up the half-off idea was Mark Hodos, owner of Monarch Dodge in Lauderdale Lakes, Fla. “A lot of people are doing it,” said Hodos, speaking of other Dodge dealers. It appears Chrysler was paying attention, too. As part of the package of new incentives it announded Friday, the company said it was offering the Ram pickup at 40 percent off the sticker price through August (see story, Page 8). McCurdy applies some political (tire) pressure W You may e-mail Yang Jian at yangjian@autonewschina.com ho would have thought Dave McCurdy’s experience as a teenage pump jockey at Oklahoma gas stations in the 1960s would come in handy 40 years later, now that he’s an auto lobbyist? But there he was last week, kneeling in a sweltering underground congressional parking garage and pumping air into the tires of lawmakers’ and staffers’ vehicles. Although members of Congress generally bring their own hot air to work, McCurdy was making a point: Making vehicles more fuelefficient is important, but consumers can do a lot for themselves with better driving habits and vehicle maintenance — including proper tire inflation. “There was no such thing as selfservice,” said McCurdy, waxing nostalgic about his pump jockey days. Now he heads the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, representing the Detroit 3, Toyota and six other automakers. The National Automobile Dealers Association also helped with the demonstrations. flag flap between a Florida dealer and local officials ended last week with a ruling that will allow the dealer to keep the Stars and Stripes flying. Greg Clark, owner of Cecil Clark Chevrolet in Leesburg, Fla., about 50 miles northeast of Orlando, said a 30-by-60-foot flag his father began flying over the store more than 20 years before was threatened by a local ordinance that regulates the size of business signs and flags. While the flag was 120 square feet larger than the ordinance allowed, Clark said it has “never been in anyone’s face.” All he had heard, he said, were positive comments. When Clark was told he would have to take the flag down, he took out a full-page ad in the local newspaper. He fielded calls from local and national news stations. People from as far as 40 miles away drove to the store to voice their support. “It’s amazing when you say you’re going to make someone take their flag down, what it can draw,” Clark said. More than 100 people showed up at last week’s Leesburg city commission meeting. City officials decided to grandfather the dealership’s flag into the ordinance and keep it flying. Clark purchased the dealership in 2002 from his father, Cecil, who served in the Navy during World War II and died about a year ago. “He felt a very strong desire to have it flying,” Greg Clark said. “It was something we felt we did as much for his name as anything.” Sirius-XM satellite radio deal: A mixed bag L ast week’s merger of Sirius and XM is a mixed blessing for automakers, says Thilo Koslowski, an analyst with Gartner Inc. Customers get more program choices, making the service more desirable. But having just one provider means carmakers lose a point of distinction. “It’s going to be tough as a vehicle manufacturer to differentiate your XM service from Sirius service,” Koslowski says. “Now they have to tell consumers it doesn’t really matter.” Every automaker has an exclusive deal with XM or Sirius for factory-installed satellite radio. Some promote unique services, such as XM NavTraffic or Sirius Backseat TV. The first effects of the merger likely will show up in the The Sirius-XM combo may shift some marketers’ plans. aftermarket. Federal regulators have ordered that within nine months, the combined company, Sirius XM Radio, must offer receivers capable of getting both XM and Sirius. Factory-installed interoperative radios probably won’t be available that quickly, Koslowski says. In the interim, subscribers to one service will have a chance to get limited “best of” programming from the other using their current radios. http://www.autonews.com
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)
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.