Re: Ford falls to fourth place in domestic auto sales behind GM, Toyota, Chrysler

With GM and Ford with negative percentages and sales figures in steady
decline while Toyotas percentages increase it will not be very long
before Toyota reaches the number one spot in us sales as well as
becoming the worlds number one.

There are indications of oilprices going up as well as taxes on
poisenous gases from cars. That will mean that Toyota will ncrease
even faster with their zero and near zero emission vehicles.



On Feb 2, 1:03 am, "Jim Higgins" <gordian... (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote:

Ford falls to fourth place in domestic auto sales behind GM, Toyota,
Chryslerhttp://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070201/UPDATE/702...

For the first time, Ford Motor Co. has fallen to fourth place in domestic
monthly auto sales.
Ford in January sold fewer vehicles than General Motors Corp., Toyota Motor
Sales U.S.A. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group.

In part, the milestone slump at Ford can be credited to the automaker's
deliberate decision to slash unprofitable sales to daily-rental fleets. But
Ford's lackluster product offerings also are to blame, analysts say.

Chrysler edged past Ford by 2,104 units, selling 156,308 cars and trucks in
January. Ford sold 154,204 Lincoln, Mercury and Ford vehicles in the same
month.

GM eclipsed both with its 244,435 units, but Toyota maintained second place
with sales of 175,850 cars and trucks -- up 5 percent from last year.

Wooing buyers with special deals helped Chrysler last month, said David
Healy, an industry analyst for Burnham Financial Group.

"Chrysler's success was due as much to heavy incentivizing as anything,"
said Healy. "They were extremely aggressive, particularly on older models
like the Durango SUV and the Ram pickup truck."

By contrast, he said, Ford's product offerings just aren't driving demand.
"Ford has been bombarding us with high-quality, well-designed, exceedingly
dull automobiles for the last few years," he said. "Their market is marching
away. And they are in a lull in new product introductions."

Ford also was fourth in overall sales, posting a 19 percent decline.

GM said its January U.S. auto sales dropped 16.6 percent.

But Toyota Motor Corp.'s sales rose 9.5 percent to again surpass Ford's
monthly sales, while DaimlerChrysler AG's sales rose 3.2 percent compared
with January 2006,

This year, Toyota is expected to take Ford's No. 2 spot in U.S. sales after
its sales surpassed Ford's in two months last year. The Japanese automaker
sold 175,850 vehicles last month, including 100,256 cars and 75,594 trucks.

On Wednesday, Ford warned that it expected to post a 20 percent drop
compared with January 2006. And GM had said last week that it expected its
January sales to be down, also because of lower rental fleet sales.

"We are aggressively reducing our daily rental fleet sales as a continuing
element of our strategy to offer industry-leading value and improve
residuals," Mark LaNeve, GM's vice president for sales, service and
marketing, said in a statement.

GM's car sales dropped 22.5 percent for the month to 104,156, while light
truck sales were down 11.5 percent to 140,458. In all, it sold 244,614 light
vehicles for the month, remaining No. 1 in sales.

GM also lowered its first-quarter North American production forecast from
guidance given last month by 40,000 vehicles, or 3.6 percent, to 1.1 million
vehicles. GM said it was part of the effort to reduce rental fleet sales. In
the first quarter of 2006, GM produced 1.3 million vehicles in the region.

Toyota's car sales were up 13.1 percent in January, while truck sales rose 5
percent. Toyota said sales, which include the Toyota and Lexus brands, were
the best ever for January. Sales of its Camry mid-sized car rose 14.7
percent to 31,461, while its hybrid Prius and RAV4 compact sport utility
vehicle also made gains.

Including imports, Ford sold 165,877 light vehicles in January. It sold
55,842 cars, down 32.5 percent from a year ago, and 110,035 light trucks,
down 9.8 percent. It said sales to daily rental companies dropped 65
percent. Ford said it remains focused on its North American turnaround and
returning to profitability.

"Where we are in sales races and sales rankings ... is a distraction that
we're not going to be bothered with," George Pipas, Ford's top sales
analyst, said during a conference call with industry analysts and reporters.
"We've got a job to do in North America, and that is all we're focused on."

While the decline in fleet sales hurts overall sales numbers, GM and Ford
have said the focus instead on sales to more-profitable retail customers is
part of their North American turnaround efforts.

Ford's sales to retail customers were down 5 percent for the month.

In the first full month of sales for its new crossovers, Ford reported it
sold 5,586 Ford Edges and 1,699 Lincoln MKXs. But sales of Ford's F-series
pickup truck were down about 15 percent from a year ago.

Ford said it expects weakness in new home construction to hurt full-size
pickup sales through the first half of the year. Its sales include Ford,
Lincoln and Mercury brands, as well as Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo. Jaguar
sales fell 13 percent, Land Rover sales fell 11.7 percent and Volvo sales
fell 7 percent.

Ford's fleet sales were expected to be lower because it no longer is selling
the Taurus -- once the nation's top-selling car. But Pipas said fleet
reductions also came in many current products.

DaimlerChrysler sold 173,377 vehicles in January. Mercedes-Benz sales rose
36.9 percent to 17,069 in January compared with the same month of 2006.

The gains came as Chrysler saw its best January in six years and Mercedes
reported its best January sales ever, DaimlerChrysler said. Chrysler said
its January sales were driven by solid retail sales, while fleet sales were
down, but a statement on the results didn't provide specific fleet numbers.

"With a fresh product lineup in dealer showrooms and eight new vehicle
launches to come in 2007, Chrysler Group is well positioned to remain
competitive in the marketplace," Michael Manley, vice president for sales
and dealer operations, said in a statement. "We will focus on providing
innovation, quality and value to our customers -- and we will also provide
our dealers with competitive tools to sell these vehicles."

Other automakers reporting January sales include:

a.. American Honda Motor Co; 100,790 units

a.. Kia Motors America; 22,524

a.. Hyundai Motor America; 27,721

a.. Subaru of America; 12,074 units

a.. Mitsubishi Motors North America; 9383

a.. Audi of America; 6,399 units

--
Recruit:
A person just good enough to hinder the retreat made necessary by their
presence

On Feb 3, 2:06 pm, "Jeff" <j... (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote:

"Gosi" <gos... (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote in message

news:1170495855.306953.294650 (AT) s48g2000cws (DOT) googlegroups.com...



With GM and Ford with negative percentages and sales figures in steady
decline while Toyotas percentages increase it will not be very long
before Toyota reaches the number one spot in us sales as well as
becoming the worlds number one.

It seems it will be a while before Toyota reaches #1 in US sales. Gm's sales
are around twice Toyota's sales.

What do you get when you divide 244435 by two?
What do you get when you do 2 times 175850?

GM eclipsed both with its 244,435 units, but Toyota maintained second
place
with sales of 175,850 cars and trucks -- up 5 percent from last year.

However, worldwide, Toyota is expected to be #1 by the end of the year.

There are indications of oilprices going up as well as taxes on
poisenous gases from cars. That will mean that Toyota will ncrease
even faster with their zero and near zero emission vehicles.

There is no tax on the gases coming out of cars at least in the US. Oil

Even people in USA will eventually discover that it is in everyones
best interest to hike the oil prices and tax the exhaust in order to
get better vehicles.

It has been done for years in Europe and it has resulted in much more
effective vehicles.

prices are not expected to fall, but they are not expected to rise rapidly
either. And if you look at the price of oil when adjusted for inflation, it
is not out of line with historical prices.

Jeff

On Feb 2, 1:03 am, "Jim Higgins" <gordian... (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote:
Ford falls to fourth place in domestic auto sales behind GM, Toyota,
Chryslerhttp://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070201/UPDATE/702...

For the first time, Ford Motor Co. has fallen to fourth place in domestic
monthly auto sales.
Ford in January sold fewer vehicles than General Motors Corp., Toyota
Motor
Sales U.S.A. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group.

In part, the milestone slump at Ford can be credited to the automaker's
deliberate decision to slash unprofitable sales to daily-rental fleets.
But
Ford's lackluster product offerings also are to blame, analysts say.

Chrysler edged past Ford by 2,104 units, selling 156,308 cars and trucks
in
January. Ford sold 154,204 Lincoln, Mercury and Ford vehicles in the same
month.

GM eclipsed both with its 244,435 units, but Toyota maintained second
place
with sales of 175,850 cars and trucks -- up 5 percent from last year.

Wooing buyers with special deals helped Chrysler last month, said David
Healy, an industry analyst for Burnham Financial Group.

"Chrysler's success was due as much to heavy incentivizing as anything,"
said Healy. "They were extremely aggressive, particularly on older models
like the Durango SUV and the Ram pickup truck."

By contrast, he said, Ford's product offerings just aren't driving
demand.
"Ford has been bombarding us with high-quality, well-designed,
exceedingly
dull automobiles for the last few years," he said. "Their market is
marching
away. And they are in a lull in new product introductions."

Ford also was fourth in overall sales, posting a 19 percent decline.

GM said its January U.S. auto sales dropped 16.6 percent.

But Toyota Motor Corp.'s sales rose 9.5 percent to again surpass Ford's
monthly sales, while DaimlerChrysler AG's sales rose 3.2 percent compared
with January 2006,

This year, Toyota is expected to take Ford's No. 2 spot in U.S. sales
after
its sales surpassed Ford's in two months last year. The Japanese
automaker
sold 175,850 vehicles last month, including 100,256 cars and 75,594
trucks.

On Wednesday, Ford warned that it expected to post a 20 percent drop
compared with January 2006. And GM had said last week that it expected
its
January sales to be down, also because of lower rental fleet sales.

"We are aggressively reducing our daily rental fleet sales as a
continuing
element of our strategy to offer industry-leading value and improve
residuals," Mark LaNeve, GM's vice president for sales, service and
marketing, said in a statement.

GM's car sales dropped 22.5 percent for the month to 104,156, while light
truck sales were down 11.5 percent to 140,458. In all, it sold 244,614
light
vehicles for the month, remaining No. 1 in sales.

GM also lowered its first-quarter North American production forecast from
guidance given last month by 40,000 vehicles, or 3.6 percent, to 1.1
million
vehicles. GM said it was part of the effort to reduce rental fleet sales.
In
the first quarter of 2006, GM produced 1.3 million vehicles in the
region.

Toyota's car sales were up 13.1 percent in January, while truck sales
rose 5
percent. Toyota said sales, which include the Toyota and Lexus brands,
were
the best ever for January. Sales of its Camry mid-sized car rose 14.7
percent to 31,461, while its hybrid Prius and RAV4 compact sport utility
vehicle also made gains.

Including imports, Ford sold 165,877 light vehicles in January. It sold
55,842 cars, down 32.5 percent from a year ago, and 110,035 light trucks,
down 9.8 percent. It said sales to daily rental companies dropped 65
percent. Ford said it remains focused on its North American turnaround
and
returning to profitability.

"Where we are in sales races and sales rankings ... is a distraction that
we're not going to be bothered with," George Pipas, Ford's top sales
analyst, said during a conference call with industry analysts and
reporters.
"We've got a job to do in North America, and that is all we're focused
on."

While the decline in fleet sales hurts overall sales numbers, GM and Ford
have said the focus instead on sales to more-profitable retail customers
is
part of their North American turnaround efforts.

Ford's sales to retail customers were down 5 percent for the month.

In the first full month of sales for its new crossovers, Ford reported it
sold 5,586 Ford Edges and 1,699 Lincoln MKXs. But sales of Ford's
F-series
pickup truck were down about 15 percent from a year ago.

Ford said it expects weakness in new home construction to hurt full-size
pickup sales through the first half of the year. Its sales include Ford,
Lincoln and Mercury brands, as well as Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo.
Jaguar
sales fell 13 percent, Land Rover sales fell 11.7 percent and Volvo sales
fell 7 percent.

Ford's fleet sales were expected to be lower because it no longer is
selling
the Taurus -- once the nation's top-selling car. But Pipas said fleet
reductions also came in many current products.

DaimlerChrysler sold 173,377 vehicles in January. Mercedes-Benz sales
rose
36.9 percent to 17,069 in January compared with the same month of 2006.

The gains came as Chrysler saw its best January in six years and Mercedes
reported its best January sales ever, DaimlerChrysler said. Chrysler said
its January sales were driven by solid retail sales, while fleet sales
were
down, but a statement on the results didn't provide specific fleet
numbers.

"With a fresh product lineup in dealer showrooms and eight new vehicle
launches to come in 2007, Chrysler Group is well positioned to remain
competitive in the marketplace," Michael Manley, vice president for sales
and dealer operations, said in a statement. "We will focus on providing
innovation, quality and value to our customers -- and we will also
provide
our dealers with competitive tools to sell these vehicles."

Other automakers reporting January sales include:

a.. American Honda Motor Co; 100,790 units

a.. Kia Motors America; 22,524

a.. Hyundai Motor America; 27,721

a.. Subaru of America; 12,074 units

a.. Mitsubishi Motors North America; 9383

a.. Audi of America; 6,399 units

--
Recruit:
A person just good enough to hinder the retreat made necessary by their
presence

Toyota may well overtake Ford and GM in the US. It was not too many years
ago the soothsayers were telling us Ford was likely to overtake GM in few
years, as well. Current vehicles on the market from GM and Ford are scoring
as good or better than any import in numerous comparison test and owner
surveys. The company with the most recalls in 2006 was Toyota and they are
number one so far this model year.

If you will do a search of the CAFE Guide you will discover, contrary to
what many believe, GM and Ford have cars and trucks that do as well or
better than Toyota in fuel mileage and they don't sacrifice power for fuel
mileage to do so.


"Gosi" <gosinn (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

With GM and Ford with negative percentages and sales figures in steady
decline while Toyotas percentages increase it will not be very long
before Toyota reaches the number one spot in us sales as well as
becoming the worlds number one.

There are indications of oilprices going up as well as taxes on
poisenous gases from cars. That will mean that Toyota will ncrease
even faster with their zero and near zero emission vehicles.

I think it was "Gosi" <gosinn (AT) gmail (DOT) com> who asked

What do you get when you divide 244435 by two?
What do you get when you do 2 times 175850?

The Answer is 42, of course.

But the question is "WHAT DO YOU GET IF YOU MULTIPLY SIX BY NINE."

Now you know BOTH.

-Don (with an improbable Q and A)

--
A fine is a tax for doing wrong -- a tax is a fine for doing well