Why do you buy a car?
Is it the desire for the American mystique of lore of the open road, like that which inspired Bruce Springsteen to write Born to Run?
Or, is it the perceived precise engineering of Japanese and European automobiles?
It could be you just got sold a good deal by a salesperson, and dont care about that stuff, but it is likely one of the above.
Since Honda and Toyota began their lug-nut-tight grip on the American auto market to say nothing of the Japanese near-death hold on the motorcycle industry, which required a 45 percent tariff on import bikes to save Harley Davidson in 1983 American auto makers have been struggling to keep up.
Today, many blame the economic slowdown; then, the recession on slumping American sales. However, the sales of Japanese vehicles is also slumping.
As the vehicle models impacted by the economic shift of the current times Hummer and other larger SUVs; Janesville residents know this all too well as their GM SUV plant was mothballed recently die off and American car makers such as Chrysler, General Motors and Ford introduce a broader line up of efficient, gas sipping green machines, the above question will still need to be addressed.
What kind of car do you trust?
The brands that throughout the 1980s and 90s focused on large dashboard buttons and displays so clunky in many cases they felt like cheap toys American cars that struggled to cling to the mystique of the 1950s and 60s, despite those brands still have the heritage of American glory days attached?
Or, will a car buyer chose from brands that have a track record of fuel efficiency and a reputation for lasting longer, while running stronger than their American counterparts European and Japanese?
Even though American car makers are now vowing to sell the same types of autos as their foreign competition?
Recall, the U.S. car makers have been trying this for years; see the Ford Escort and Chevy Cavalier. The two models have been rebranded several times, but havent seriously dented the market success of their rivals, Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla.
There is a bit of good news as shoppers will come to ponder this essential question.
American car makers sales increased over last year in May.
See this article from the Associated Press Tuesday, June 2:
DETROIT (AP) Chrysler LLCs U.S. sales fell 47 percent in May, but the company says being under bankruptcy protection did little to deter customers from purchasing its vehicles.
Chrysler said Tuesday it sold 79,010 cars and light trucks last month. The company said its sales were pulled lower because it didnt sell any cars to fleet buyers like rental car companies, but its retail sales to individual buyers were the best theyve been all year.
With 789 dealers set to stop selling the companys cars next week, many of those purchases were fueled by deep discounts. Chrysler had the highest average incentive among automakers last month $4,159 per vehicle, according to Edmunds.com.
General Motors Corp.s sales fell 30 percent from a year ago, but they improved 11 percent from April as consumers pushed the automaker to its best sales month this year.
Ford Motor Co. posted even better results as it continued to snatch market share from its crosstown rivals. Ford said its May U.S. sales fell 24 percent from last year but rose 20 percent from April, and its share of the U.S. market rose to the highest level since 2006.
Other automakers reported month-to-month improvements Tuesday, a day after GM filed for bankruptcy protection in New York.
Toyota Motor Corp. said its U.S. sales fell 40 percent from last year but climbed 21 percent from April. Honda Motor Co. reported its year-over-year volumes dropped 41 percent, while Nissan Motor Co. said sales fell 33 percent.
The May results should be interpreted with some caution, given the current volatility in the marketplace, said Emily Kolinski Morris, senior U.S. economist for Ford, in a conference call with reporters.
Auburn Hills-based Chrysler filed for Chapter 11 protection in April and is preparing to exit bankruptcy under an operating agreement with Italian automaker Fiat SpA. Chrysler and GM had resisted entering bankruptcy protection, saying their sales would plummet because consumers would be afraid to make a big purchase from a company in bankruptcy court.
Industry watchers said improved consumer confidence helped draw buyers into showrooms. While sales remained depressed compared with last year and are likely to remain that way for the rest of 2009 automakers were optimistic that they had hit bottom.
Dearborn-based Ford said it sold 161,197 cars and light trucks in the U.S. last month. Sales of the Ford Fusion rose 9.4 percent as the company began selling new 2010 models of the midsize sedan along with a hybrid version. Ford said it sold a record number Fusions 19,786 in May which was surpassed only by sales of its F-series pickup trucks.
GM said it delivered 191,875 vehicles in May, helped by 110,866 truck sales.
GM entered bankruptcy protection with the hope of emerging within 60 to 90 days as a smaller, less debt-burdened company.
The Pontiac, Hummer, Saturn and Saab brands accounted for the companys biggest sales declines. GM has said it plans to get rid of those divisions as part of its restructuring and stick to four core brands: Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and GMC.
Saturn sales fell 56 percent, and Pontiac sales were down 52 percent.
Mark LaNeve, GMs vice president of North American sales and marketing, said the automaker expects to lose some market share given the sell off or phasing out of some of its brands, but it doesnt expect its share to fall below 16 percent.
The fact that a bankruptcy filing loomed over the company throughout the month of May did not hurt sales, he said, adding that consumers may have become desensitized to news of the bankruptcy protection filing.
Ford says its better cars are driving sales and its increasing market share, not GM and Chryslers troubles. The company said it plans to increase production levels in the second quarter by 10,000 vehicles, to 445,000, in contrast to its U.S. competitors that are cutting production and idling plants this summer.
GM said it plans to produce 390,000 vehicles in North America in the second quarter.
Automakers are facing the worst U.S. sales climate in 27 years. The companies and analysts are expecting a rebound as the consumer confidence improves, but theres concern that heavy incentives to are inflating sales.
Incentives over history and new direction?
It might be true, new car shoppers can get great deals, but would they purchase an American vehicle, or any vehicle for that matter if they didnt get a great deal on it?
Of course not, so what happens when the incentives can no longer be offered?
In the end, unless American automakers can sell a new history without defacing its current heritage, no bankruptcy restructuring or incentives will save American auto companies.
Chrysler is trying a company make over, and asking you and me to help out.
In a radio spot playing in southern Wisconsin, they state slightly paraphrased We are forming a new company and we want to know what you think we should be.
Interesting, perhaps asking the buyer what they want will help.
Take care and watch out for bicycles.
Is it the desire for the American mystique of lore of the open road, like that which inspired Bruce Springsteen to write Born to Run?
Or, is it the perceived precise engineering of Japanese and European automobiles?
It could be you just got sold a good deal by a salesperson, and dont care about that stuff, but it is likely one of the above.
Since Honda and Toyota began their lug-nut-tight grip on the American auto market to say nothing of the Japanese near-death hold on the motorcycle industry, which required a 45 percent tariff on import bikes to save Harley Davidson in 1983 American auto makers have been struggling to keep up.
Today, many blame the economic slowdown; then, the recession on slumping American sales. However, the sales of Japanese vehicles is also slumping.
As the vehicle models impacted by the economic shift of the current times Hummer and other larger SUVs; Janesville residents know this all too well as their GM SUV plant was mothballed recently die off and American car makers such as Chrysler, General Motors and Ford introduce a broader line up of efficient, gas sipping green machines, the above question will still need to be addressed.
What kind of car do you trust?
The brands that throughout the 1980s and 90s focused on large dashboard buttons and displays so clunky in many cases they felt like cheap toys American cars that struggled to cling to the mystique of the 1950s and 60s, despite those brands still have the heritage of American glory days attached?
Or, will a car buyer chose from brands that have a track record of fuel efficiency and a reputation for lasting longer, while running stronger than their American counterparts European and Japanese?
Even though American car makers are now vowing to sell the same types of autos as their foreign competition?
Recall, the U.S. car makers have been trying this for years; see the Ford Escort and Chevy Cavalier. The two models have been rebranded several times, but havent seriously dented the market success of their rivals, Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla.
There is a bit of good news as shoppers will come to ponder this essential question.
American car makers sales increased over last year in May.
See this article from the Associated Press Tuesday, June 2:
DETROIT (AP) Chrysler LLCs U.S. sales fell 47 percent in May, but the company says being under bankruptcy protection did little to deter customers from purchasing its vehicles.
Chrysler said Tuesday it sold 79,010 cars and light trucks last month. The company said its sales were pulled lower because it didnt sell any cars to fleet buyers like rental car companies, but its retail sales to individual buyers were the best theyve been all year.
With 789 dealers set to stop selling the companys cars next week, many of those purchases were fueled by deep discounts. Chrysler had the highest average incentive among automakers last month $4,159 per vehicle, according to Edmunds.com.
General Motors Corp.s sales fell 30 percent from a year ago, but they improved 11 percent from April as consumers pushed the automaker to its best sales month this year.
Ford Motor Co. posted even better results as it continued to snatch market share from its crosstown rivals. Ford said its May U.S. sales fell 24 percent from last year but rose 20 percent from April, and its share of the U.S. market rose to the highest level since 2006.
Other automakers reported month-to-month improvements Tuesday, a day after GM filed for bankruptcy protection in New York.
Toyota Motor Corp. said its U.S. sales fell 40 percent from last year but climbed 21 percent from April. Honda Motor Co. reported its year-over-year volumes dropped 41 percent, while Nissan Motor Co. said sales fell 33 percent.
The May results should be interpreted with some caution, given the current volatility in the marketplace, said Emily Kolinski Morris, senior U.S. economist for Ford, in a conference call with reporters.
Auburn Hills-based Chrysler filed for Chapter 11 protection in April and is preparing to exit bankruptcy under an operating agreement with Italian automaker Fiat SpA. Chrysler and GM had resisted entering bankruptcy protection, saying their sales would plummet because consumers would be afraid to make a big purchase from a company in bankruptcy court.
Industry watchers said improved consumer confidence helped draw buyers into showrooms. While sales remained depressed compared with last year and are likely to remain that way for the rest of 2009 automakers were optimistic that they had hit bottom.
Dearborn-based Ford said it sold 161,197 cars and light trucks in the U.S. last month. Sales of the Ford Fusion rose 9.4 percent as the company began selling new 2010 models of the midsize sedan along with a hybrid version. Ford said it sold a record number Fusions 19,786 in May which was surpassed only by sales of its F-series pickup trucks.
GM said it delivered 191,875 vehicles in May, helped by 110,866 truck sales.
GM entered bankruptcy protection with the hope of emerging within 60 to 90 days as a smaller, less debt-burdened company.
The Pontiac, Hummer, Saturn and Saab brands accounted for the companys biggest sales declines. GM has said it plans to get rid of those divisions as part of its restructuring and stick to four core brands: Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and GMC.
Saturn sales fell 56 percent, and Pontiac sales were down 52 percent.
Mark LaNeve, GMs vice president of North American sales and marketing, said the automaker expects to lose some market share given the sell off or phasing out of some of its brands, but it doesnt expect its share to fall below 16 percent.
The fact that a bankruptcy filing loomed over the company throughout the month of May did not hurt sales, he said, adding that consumers may have become desensitized to news of the bankruptcy protection filing.
Ford says its better cars are driving sales and its increasing market share, not GM and Chryslers troubles. The company said it plans to increase production levels in the second quarter by 10,000 vehicles, to 445,000, in contrast to its U.S. competitors that are cutting production and idling plants this summer.
GM said it plans to produce 390,000 vehicles in North America in the second quarter.
Automakers are facing the worst U.S. sales climate in 27 years. The companies and analysts are expecting a rebound as the consumer confidence improves, but theres concern that heavy incentives to are inflating sales.
Incentives over history and new direction?
It might be true, new car shoppers can get great deals, but would they purchase an American vehicle, or any vehicle for that matter if they didnt get a great deal on it?
Of course not, so what happens when the incentives can no longer be offered?
In the end, unless American automakers can sell a new history without defacing its current heritage, no bankruptcy restructuring or incentives will save American auto companies.
Chrysler is trying a company make over, and asking you and me to help out.
In a radio spot playing in southern Wisconsin, they state slightly paraphrased We are forming a new company and we want to know what you think we should be.
Interesting, perhaps asking the buyer what they want will help.
Take care and watch out for bicycles.
