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Bill Cawthon wrote:
How bad is it at Ford? Even after a record-breaking August, every Ford division except Jaguar and Land Rover is behind 2001 in year-to-date sales. Out of 40 models offered by Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo, only the following seven are beating their 2001 numbers:
- Ford Explorer, up 5.2%
- Ford E-Series full-size vans, up 1.8%
- Jaguar X-Type, up 1,760.4% (it was still a new model last August - its first full month on the market. It is the only Jaguar model beating its 2001 numbers)
- Mercury Sable, up 13.9%
- Mercury Mountaineer, up 2.3%
- Range Rover, up 57.7% (the Freelander has no 2001 numbers for comparison)
- Volvo S60, up 12.1%
Compare that to Chrysler, with 27 light vehicle models, where eleven are currently ahead of 2001. And Chrysler's winners include volume models like the Dodge Ram pickup, Dodge Caravan, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Dodge Intrepid, Dodge Neon, PT Cruiser and Chrysler Cirrus Sedan. While whole company comparisons suffer because Plymouth is gone, Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brands are all ahead of last year.
September 24, 2002: smart won't enter the US
(Written by Bill Cawthon of just-auto.com:) Jürgen Hibbert, head of Mercedes-Benz, says the Smart won't come to the U.S. unless American safety standards are changed. Hibbert says DaimlerChrysler studies have shown a strong potential market, but the Smart cannot meet bumper requirements. Hibbert was referring to the Smart City Coupe and made no reference to the new Smart Roadster.
Hibbert also said he hopes Mercedes sales will keep pace with last year. If there is no war with Iraq, Hibbert said sales should be flat compared with last year.
September 24, 2002: Ford Focus plant shuts for a week
Due to a fall in sales, the Ford Focus plant is closing for a week. (Before we gloat, we need to remember that an entire Neon plant is permanently closed due to lack of sales - the Toluca, Mexico plant is now producing PT Cruisers instead of Neons, as it did from 1993 to 1999).
September 24, 2002: Chrysler to actually take some work in-house
Reversing a trend of farming more work out to contractors, Chrysler announced that it would be taking back its axle production for the Jeep Grand Cherokee from Dana. Once known for its high durability, Dana has more recently developed a reputation among Chrysler mechanics for problems. The move to having Grand Cherokee axles built at Chrysler's Detroit Axle factory will occur with 2005 or 2006 models, according to Chrysler's Dave Barnas.
Through August of this year, Chrysler has sold nearly 147,000 Grand Cherokees.
September 24, 2002: Ford gets new line of medium duty trucks
Ford is revamping its line of medium-duty trucks, such as the F-759 and F-650, assembled at the Navistar plant in Escobedo, Mexico. These trucks will be produced in December, and will compete against offerings from GM, Freightliner, Volvo, and others - including, perhaps, Chrysler, if a medium-duty Ram is produced (as has been rumored since 1993). The new medium-duty F-series look more like the original Ram than the current Fords.
September 23, 2002: Shelby-Dodge show/autocross in Delaware
The Delaware Valley Chapter of the Shelby-Dodge Auto Club is having a Cruise & Show, and autocross "Motorsports Weekend" on Saturday and Sunday, October 5th & 6th in Northeast Philadelphia! This event'will include a DV-SDAC / Strauss Discount Auto sponsored car show, performance and repair discussion groups for all MOPAR fans, clinics to discuss specific repair and performance topics, and even door-prizes and a significant in-store discount in the Strauss discount Auto Store for all registered attendees showing a car - and that doesn't have to be a "show car." Gary A. Joseph wrote:
This is a FUN event! It does NOT matter if it's a trailer queen, a show-car, a work-in-progress, or a demonstration of your spray-can-of-primer abilities!! BRING IT WITH YOU!!"Last year, we had several 'Performance Clinics', that were very successful. Some of them were inside Strauss' bays, and others were outside in the parking lot. If you would like to HOST A SESSION, and share what you know (or what you have accomplished) with your ride, with others, please let us know ASAP!! You might be surprised at how large your audience is!
The show is going to be attended by members of the Philadelphia Region SCCA, and they too have some nice cars for show. Philly SCCA is expected to have their timing truck on-site, and will have lots of SCCA propaganda and decals (etc) for those that need them.
For more information:
http://www.dv-sdac.org/events.htm
http://www.dv-sdac.org/meetings.htm
September 23, 2002: CAW wins raises, concessions from GM; Ford next
The Canadian Auto Workers, which split some years ago from the United Auto Workers (now a US-only union), won substantial concessions from General Motors, their initial strike target. GM is the sole member of the former Big Three to have consistently earned profits over the past two years, and has a rejuvenated product line as well as Bob Lutz in a leadership role. Bill Cawthon wrote: "Ford will be next up for negotiations with the Canadian Auto Workers. The talks are unlikely to go as well as the ones recently concluded with GM. In particular, Ford wants to close the Oakville Truck Plant, a key Canadian facility. Ford may be over a barrel, however, as a strike could cripple production of its most popular lines."
September 23, 2002: Honda extends warranty to cover bad transmissions
Honda will provide a seven-year, 100,000 mile automatic transmission warranties on about 1.2 million Acura and Honda models due to a problem which could cause unpredictable failure. The problem appears to be a bearing in some cases, and a third-gear clutch part in other cases. Honda had been requiring owners to pay for their transmissions unless the cars were still under the standard three year (Honda) or five year (Acura) warranty. Affected vehicles are the 2000-2001 Odyssey, Accord, and Prelude, and 2000-2003 Acura 3.2 TL and CL (some 2003 models not included).
September 23, 2002: Chrysler says zero-percent financing will stay
Chrysler's sales and marketing head Jim Schroer (inherited from Ford) said that zero percent financing will stay as long as interest rates remain low.
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