Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 16) 16 • NOVEMBER 17, 2008 ADVERTISING STAFF 10-month sales tell a sad, sad story John K. Teahen Jr. With two months to go in a brutal year for car and truck sales, let’s look at how bad things are. It’s an ugly picture, but ignoring it won’t make it any prettier. For those who like their news in small bites: Everybody is struggling. The overall U.S. new-vehicle market was off 14.6 percent for 10 months. Each of the Detroit 3 was down 18 percent or more from last year. But, hey, the Japanese leaders also wrote their 10-month sales reports in red ink. salestales John K. Teahen Jr. is senior editor of Automotive News. For the first 10 months of 2008, new-car sales were down 6.1 percent from last year. Light-truck deliveries were socked Small-car sales were up through October, and the Ford Focus led the pack. much harder. They fell 22.6 percent. Today the credit crunch heads the list of retailer problems. Dealers say customers are hard to find. And when you do find one, the finance company is likely to blow him away. Every market segment except small cars took a bath. But small cars sales have declined since gasoline began slipping back toward $2 a gallon. Last summer, all carmakers — especially the Detroiters — were doing their darnedest to crank out little autos. Now some may be having second thoughts. In June, 201,195 new small cars were sold in the United States. In October, sales dwindled to 105,153 units. Of course, the virtual collapse of the newvehicle market contributed to that 47.7 percent drop. But the gnawing suspicion remains that Americans really don’t want small cars. For 10 months, small cars were up 2.4 percent. Top cat in the small-car derby was the Ford Focus, with 175,958 sales for 10 months. The Toyota Corolla/Matrix had 307,071, but that’s two nameplates; Toyota refuses to break them out. this year, with a sales decline of 12.8 percent for 10 months. That segment has the industry’s widest price range, from a $30,000 Audi A4 to a RollsRoyce or Maybach at $300,000-plus. Sales leadership is no contest. BMW’s 3 series had 97,329 sales for 10 months. The second-place Mercedes-Benz C class had 61,959 sales. The sporty class didn’t fare as well as other car segments. Sales dipped 17.2 percent for 10 months. The winner was the Ford Mustang, even though its 83,557 sales for 10 months were 29.8 percent lower than a year ago. On to trucks, and now the numbers get really bad. Sales of pickups dropped 24.7 percent through October. Each of the three leaders — the Ford F series, Chevrolet Silverado and Dodge Ram — plunged 23 percent or more in sales. Circulation 313-446-0450 Advertising 313-446-6050 Classified Advertising 313-446-6065, 800-388-1800 Web site www.autonews.com ADVERTISING AND SALES DETROIT 1155 Gratiot Ave., Detroit, MI 48207-2997 313-446-6790 Fax: 313-446-8030 Hitting the canvas Minivans got slugged almost as hard, down 19.3 percent for 10 months. Leading the pack was the Dodge Caravan at 110,767, followed by the Chrysler Town & Country at 102,954. The Chrysler outsold the Toyota Sienna by 64 units. Sales of crossovers dropped 8.8 percent, in line with the dips for car segments. That’s proper because crossovers are more rightly cars — the station wagons of the 21st century. The best-selling crossover for 10 months was the Honda CR-V at 171,193 sales. In second place, almost 36,000 back, was the Ford Escape. SUV sales fell off a cliff — down 57.4 percent for October and 37.0 percent for 10 months. The biggest loser among SUV nameplates was Hummer, down 64.6 percent in October and 48.8 percent for 10 months. Any wonder General Motors is having trouble selling the brand? You may e-mail John K. Teahen Jr. at jteahen@crain.com Down, but not out Mid-sized cars, America’s best-sellers, outperformed the market in the 10-month period. Their sales were down 6.7 percent vs. 14.6 percent for the entire market. The sales leader was the Toyota Camry, long the bestselling car in the United States. The upscale class has held up well Rick Greer Director of Sales and Marketing rgreer@crain.com 313-446-6050 Kathleen C. Lightbody, klightbody@crain.com, 313-446-6037 Russ Procassini, rprocassini@crain.com 313-446-0350 Karen Rentschler, krentschler@crain.com 313-446-6058 Jerry Salame, jsalame@crain.com 313-446-0481 Regional Sales Managers Colleen Robar Director of Marketing Communications crobar@crain.com, 313-446-0331 Ellen Dennehy Director of Relationship Marketing edennehy@crain.com, 313-446-6039 Cheryl Rothe, Marketing Manager crothe@crain.com, 313-446-6767 Lance Graves, Promotion Art Director lgraves@crain.com, 313-446-0469 Brandi Johnson, Marketing Coordinator bnjohnson@crain.com, 313-446-0326 Classified Advertising Sales Jim McCarter Marketplace Advertising Director jmccarter@autonews.com, 313-446-6065 Melissa McKay Classified Sales Manager mmckay@autonews.com, 313-446-1642 Denise Hendricks, 313-446-6066 LOS ANGELES Justus Breese jbreese@crain.com, 323-370-2446 Pacific Region Sales Manager Todd Landau, tlandau@crain.com 323-370-2466 Fax: 323-655-8157 Regional Sales Manager 6500 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048-4947 NEW YORK Scott Ghedine sghedine@crain.com, 212-210-0126 Henry Woodhouse hwoodhouse@crain.com, 212-210-0125 Regional Sales Managers 711 Third Ave., New York, NY 10017-4036 Fax: 212-210-0489 CHICAGO Jim Farnan, Regional Sales Manager jfarnan@crain.com, 312-649-5257 360 N. 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Reprints Mike Shober, The YGS Group, 800-494-9051, Ext. 100 automotivenews@theygsgroup.com Microfilm ProQuest Information and Learning Co. 800-521-0600 Cars.com will kick off its 2009 marketing with a Super Bowl ad. The National Football League championship game will be broadcast Feb. 1 on NBC. Advertisers are paying as much as $3 million for 30 seconds of air time. Cars.com, which advertised during the Super Bowl this year for the first time, will run one 60-second commercial in the second quarter. The vehicle-shopping Web site says it made “significant strides” in brand awareness with this year’s spot. Next year’s spot will continue the Cars.com ad campaign, “Confidence Comes Standard.” It features shoppers who express confidence about their new-vehicle purchases because they used the Web site for research. Cars.com, which was launched in 1998, says it will maintain a national media campaign throughout 2009. General Motors, a regular Super Bowl advertiser, has said it will not buy ad time in next year’s game. Hyundai Motor America plans to advertise during the game. c PRODUCTION Terry Driscoll, Production Manager tdriscoll@crain.com, 313-446-6062 Larry Williams, Production Supervisor AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE www.autonewseurope.com Jason Stein, Publisher jstein@craincom.de/+49-8153-907522 Nina Sauer, Sales and Marketing Director nsauer@craincom.de/+49-6992-884646 AUTOMOBILWOCHE www.automobilwoche.de Helmut Kluger, Publisher hkluger@craincom.de/+49-8153-907402 Thomas Heringer Sales and Marketing Director theringer@craincom.de/+49-8153-907404 http://www.autonews.com http://www.dealertrack.com/accessories http://www.dealertrack.com/accessories http://www.autonews.com http://www.Cars.com http://www.Cars.com http://www.autonews.com/subscribe.htm http://www.Cars.com http://www.Cars.com http://www.autonewseurope.com http://www.Cars.com http://www.automobilwoche.de
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - November 17, 2008 Automotive News - November 17, 2008 Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page Intro) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page BB1) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page BB2) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 1) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 2) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 3) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 4) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 5) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 6) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 7) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 8) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 9) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 10) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 11) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 12) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 13) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 14) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 14a) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 14b) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 15) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 16) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 17) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 18) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 19) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 20) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 21) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 22) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 23) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 24) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 25) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 26) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 26a) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 26b) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 27) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 28) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 29) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 30) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 31) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 32) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 33) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 34) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 35) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 36) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 37) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 38) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 39) Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 40)
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