June Auto Sales Dismal

[jyl]

Wow.

Chrysler June sales -36% year-over-year
GM -18%, w/ big discounting
Toyota -21%
Ford -28%, SUVs down over -50%
Nissan -18%
Honda -1%

Its not just the SUVs and pickup trucks. The car sales are down a lot too.

Media says its because insufficient supplies of the smaller/fuel-efficient cars. That's part of it - Toyota for one is short of Priuses and is reportedly diverting some to Canada, preferring the Canadian dollar.

But it can't all be the shortage of cars.

We're seeing credit tightening at work, IMO. Consumer finance is much less available, and rates are higher. And weak economy leaves fewer credit-worthy consumers.

[turbo6bar]

On the housing side, suppliers (paint, flooring, raw goods) are begging for sales. It isn't just a new construction slowdown. Remodeling and repair activity has really trailed off dramatically. I believe for some time the scene was feast or famine, but now, the slowdown is becoming more pervasive. That said, I do not believe this climate is permanent. The fear will subside. That's easy for me to say. I sit on cash and am hedged against more pain.
jurgen

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by jyl

Wow.

Chrysler June sales -36% year-over-year
GM -18%, w/ big discounting
Toyota -21%
Ford -28%, SUVs down over -50%
Nissan -18%
Honda -1%

Its not just the SUVs and pickup trucks. The car sales are down a lot too.

Media says its because insufficient supplies of the smaller/fuel-efficient cars. That's part of it - Toyota for one is short of Priuses and is reportedly diverting some to Canada, preferring the Canadian dollar.

But it can't all be the shortage of cars.

We're seeing credit tightening at work, IMO. Consumer finance is much less available, and rates are higher. And weak economy leaves fewer credit-worthy consumers.

#1 fastest selling car in America right now= Prius hybrid
#2 Lexus full size luxury SUV.

We really, really, really are as a society, simple minded idiots.

[JCF]

Originally Posted by m21sniper

#1 fastest selling car in America right now= Prius hybrid
#2 Lexus full size luxury SUV.

We really, really, really are as a society, simple minded idiots.

I think that just about says it all....

[speedracing944]

I was amazed at a poll we did for class. about 50% of people polled wanted an hybrid and only 1 person wanted a diesel. I was shocked.

Speedy

[Aerkuld]

Hardly a shock but still somewhat suprising.

Interesting when you look at Honda, down just 1%. Especially when you consider that a large proportion of their vehicles are relatively economical sedans and hatchbacks. Do they even make any full size trucks or SUV's?

[Danny_Ocean]

Originally Posted by m21sniper

#1 fastest selling car in America right now= Prius hybrid
#2 Lexus full size luxury SUV.

We really, really, really are as a society, simple minded idiots.

Best selling car in America right now:

#1 - Honda Civic (Prius is the best-selling gas/electric hybrid, not the best seller).

http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/10/news/companies/taylor_honda.fortune/

GM is still # 1 in sales overall:

http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/01/news/companies/auto_sales/index.htm

Lexus Full-Size luxury SUV? Not even close (do they make a non-luxury SUV? LOL).

Top 10 Sales June

1. Toyota Corolla: 42,180 (includes Matrix)*
2. Toyota Camry: 41,572
3. Honda Civic: 39,967
4. Honda Accord: 39,704
5. Ford F-Series: 38,789
6. Chevrolet Silverado: 34,290
7. Nissan Altima: 24,541
8. Chevrolet Cobalt: 20,888
9. Ford Focus: 17,950
10. Hyundai Sonata: 16,875

*Toyota combines Corolla/Matrix in their sales figures as they're built on the same platform. Honda Civic is still considered #1 on some lists.

[widgeon13]

Heck, most folks are having difficulty putting food on the table and gas in the tank, can't get credit and have no expectation about about when they will buy another vehicle, their just hoping it doesn't get much worse.

[David]

Originally Posted by speedracing944

I was amazed at a poll we did for class. about 50% of people polled wanted an hybrid and only 1 person wanted a diesel. I was shocked.

Speedy

I think the emission requirements for new diesels which significantly hurts mileage along with the almost 25% premium in diesel fuel cost will keep diesels from taking off. A year ago I thought just the opposite.

[onewhippedpuppy]

If I recall correctly, May was the best month ever for Honda sales. Also the first month that the F150 fell off of the top of the sales charts, replaced by the Civic. Nissan killed off the Titan, and is using much of it's Armada capacity to build small cars. Chrysler is reported going to be filing for bankruptcy protection, and Cerebus is supposedly considering selling or breaking up the company. Meanwhile, makers can't keep small cars on the lots, and theres a shortage of hybrids. Basically, our spending habits have shifted in a big way, it's not doom and gloom.

Anyone actually know someone DENIED for a loan? I'd say the only market that has "tightened" is the subprime market. Otherwise, I doubt anything has changed. Hell, I just sold my SUV to a girl with admittedly horrible credit. She was fairly easily able to get a car loan at a local bank. Otherwise, at least in KS, there's not a significant slowdown. New housing has slowed slightly, but is still doing good business. My father in law (remodeler) has a 1 1/2 year backlog of work. Lots of jobs available for anyone willing to work. I think this is just another case of people forgetting about the rest of the country, and focusing on the problems in a few large metro areas. Issues in CA, AZ, and FL don't mean that the sky is falling everywhere.

[David]

I'm really surprised GM and Chrysler haven't put all they're efforts into getting hybrid trucks on the road and maybe they are. GM put out the Tahoe hybrid earlier this year which is all well and good but pickup truck fleet sales are where the numbers are. We'd probably buy a couple of hybrid pickup trucks at work right now if they were available. Of course the first one's available will be fully loaded models which won't appeal to commercial buyers.

[Rot 911]

Another thing that is hurting the not so big now 3 is the year after year rebates on their cars. People, me included, were trading every year or so because you could buy a new car cheaper than a 1 or 2 year old car. Now that the economy is a bit tighter all of us every year buyers are holding onto the vehicle longer. No longer the same demand for a new car.

[jyl]

Trade-in values for SUVs, P/Us, etc are collapsing. Many are thus stuck in their SUV, unable to buy the desired small car.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Originally Posted by jyl

Trade-in values for SUVs, P/Us, etc are collapsing. Many are thus stuck in their SUV, unable to buy the desired small car.

And those who bought fads with short term thinking and money they don't have will (and should) get pummeled with high gas prices.

I can't say I have a helluva lot of sympathy for those incapable of seeing only to the end of their own noses when taking on long-term debt.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by 125shifter

I'm really surprised GM and Chrysler haven't put all they're efforts into getting hybrid trucks on the road and maybe they are. GM put out the Tahoe hybrid earlier this year which is all well and good but pickup truck fleet sales are where the numbers are. We'd probably buy a couple of hybrid pickup trucks at work right now if they were available. Of course the first one's available will be fully loaded models which won't appeal to commercial buyers.

Supposedly the hybrid Tahoe hasn't been all that successful. I guess the tree huggers don't want an SUV? I think the hybrid full size trucks are due next year. Personally, I think they should skip the hybrids and go for small displacement diesels. 25-30 MPG should be easily possible in a full size truck, and the high torque diesel easily lends itself to hauling and towing duties.

[kach22i]

Panic In Detroit

[Neilk]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

If I recall correctly, May was the best month ever for Honda sales. Also the first month that the F150 fell off of the top of the sales charts, replaced by the Civic. Nissan killed off the Titan, and is using much of it's Armada capacity to build small cars. Chrysler is reported going to be filing for bankruptcy protection, and Cerebus is supposedly considering selling or breaking up the company. Meanwhile, makers can't keep small cars on the lots, and theres a shortage of hybrids. Basically, our spending habits have shifted in a big way, it's not doom and gloom.

Didn't Cerebus also buy 51% of GMAC? They are going to get their asses handed to them when all those SUVs come off lease with resale values way less than the residual value that was calculated 2-4 years ago.

[TerryBPP]

I contribute some of the loss to horrible credit that is brought open by the rise in foreclosures. Something tells me if you just went belly up on a $400k house a car dealer isnt going to have an easy time financing that merc for you.

Cash is king.

[NICKG]

well i am buying another gti...0% finance 72 months

[Noah Holcomb]

There are no new "afordable" cars that interest me. All new cars tend to be too heavy and don't provide enough performance/$ to justify their cost.