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Bill Cawthon provided these numbers on July 2001-to-July-2002 sales, which are surprisingly good, especially in the light of Dieter Zesche's warning:
We will report later on the down-side, but so far things do look very good, with most models up.
Over at the General, things are very rosy indeed. General Motors Corp. dealers sold 465,843 new cars and trucks in July in the United States, up 24 percent over last year. GM reported record July truck sales, up 36 percent, and July retail truck deliveries were up more than 40 percent. GM remains on track to establish a new calendar year industry truck sales record. GM's car sales were up 11 percent overall and up 18 percent retail. For the year, GM overall retail sales are up nearly 6 percent and retail truck deliveries are up 16 percent.
While General Motors has been discounting vehicles heavily, other manufacturers have followed suit, leading to deals such as Mitsubishi's "no interest and no payments this year" as well as Chrysler's usual panoply of rebates coupled with 7/70 powertrain warranties.
A model manufacturer located in Maine is looking for a Dodge Diplomat in the area for photography and measurement, leading to the production of a Dodge Diplomat model. A 1985 model would be preferred but similar years would be acceptable. Please e-mail us at allpar.com if you have one, or post at our forum (without personal information) and we'll contact you via private message. (You can also private-message Dave from the forums).
Chrysler head Dieter Zetsche warned analysis that July sales would be weak, because the company is not playing the incentive game. /our analysis/ Of course, some would call throwing in a 7/70 warranty an incentive, and others might suggest that a controversial ad campaign, telling everyone that Chrysler is now German and that Germans created the space program, highway system, Thomas Edison, and Albert Einstein, all this during a period of apparent jingoism, might have had something to do with it, too. Not to mention an apparent lack of minivan enhancement until 2006, and constant insinuations by DCX that Chrysler is an inferior vehicle. But those are all just side issues, we guess. The problem is that Chrysler is only offering a paltry few thousand cash back... /analysis over/
It was noted when Chrysler announced the sale of the Huntsville electronics plant that the facility had won a major quality award. The New Castle plant, which is in the process of being sold (in a way which avoids having to overtly violate or obey the union contract), is #1 in quality and attendance, according to an employee there, who said that employees gave concessions two years ago from their local contract, with the promise of job security and future employment with DCX. The employee noted, "We have made budget for the last two years and are on schedule to come in under budget this year." The New Castle local has protested the sale, against the wishes of the UAW's headquarters.
"MotorsportsNeon" wrote:
Congratulations to Bill Elliot and the #9 Dodge! Congratulations ladies and gentlemen, you have seen history! This is the first time in history that Dodge has sweeped all motorsports in one weekend!Robert Pressely takes the CTS race in his Dodge.
Hank Parker Jr. takes the Busch race in his Dodge.
Casey Atwood takes the ARCA race in his Dodge.
Bill Elliot takes the NASCAR race in his Dodge.
Now all we need is Dodge to win Top Fuel and Pro Stock in NHRA and the dominacy will be complete.
Also Sterling increased his point lead to 106 points over Mark "
July 30, 2002: Ford goes after diesels, UK reduces biodiesel tax
According to AutoWeek, Ford is planning to sell a downsized version of its PowerStroke diesel in the 2005 version of the F-150. Diesels generally last longer than gasoline engines and can nearly double gas mileage when used in trucks, where their high torque overcomes relatively low horsepower and very low redlines. Ford is also discussing a diesel Focus, to arrive in a year or two, which would greatly increase the top gas mileage of the hot-selling compact car.
Ford's diesels are generally not considered to be the best of their kind, particularly in trucks (where the GM/Isuzu diesel and Cummins engines used in Dodges seem to have more respect and better numbers), but the six-cylinder diesel would be the only one offered in a standard-duty full-size pickup. Likewise, the Focus would be the only American car offered with a diesel, and would likely steal some thunder from Volkswagen, currently the manufacturer with the largest selection of diesel cars in the US. Outside the US, diesels are common, and nearly half the cars sold in Europe come equipped with the efficient engines.
In related news, the UK reduced the tax on biodiesel fuel by 20 pence. Biodiesel comes from organic sources, and has the potential to reduce reliance on petroleum. Unlike "gasahol," biodiesel does not require massive amounts of energy to distill.
Chrysler uses diesel engines in its export versions of the Voyager, Cherokee (Liberty), Grand Cherokee, and (planned if not in production) PT Cruiser.
July 29, 2002: chryslertakeover: Top reasons to investigate DCX
In an unusual move for a pro-company site, chryslertakeover.com has put together a list of the "Top 11 Reasons to Investigate DaimlerChrysler." The webmaster is, according to site statements, trying to elicit interest from journalists in the foul play which led to the creation of DaimlerChrysler. (Daimler-Benz's CEO has admitted to making fraudulent statements prior to the takeover.) The goal is to split Chrysler back from Daimler-Benz, mainly to keep Chrysler employees working. The webmaster of the site (who wishes to remain anonymous, as a Chrysler employee) noted: "DCX plans to consolidate production of small/mid-sized cars with its partners (Hyundai and Mitsubishi). Mitsu has an almost-new plant, Hyundai is building a new plant that will surely be non-union. Who do you think will get the short end of this stick?"
DCX officials, in their turn, have repeated that the merger was necessary for Chrysler's long-term viability, pointing to losses which mounted once Chrysler was integrated into DCX. Some, including a writer from the Wall Street Journal, however, have questioned DCX's numbers for Chrysler's profits and losses, noting the opacity of German books. That will change as new laws take effect in Germany.
July 29, 2002: Racing roundup
Bill Elliott rolled to a 1.72-second victory over Kurt Busch on Sunday in the Pennsylvania 500 NASCAR Winston Cup race at Pocono Raceway, completing a weekend grand slam for Dodge Motorsports. >[?Dodge teams also won this weekend in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with Robert Pressley in the No. 18 Square D Dodge Ram at Michigan International Speedway, Casey Atwood in the No. 19 Dodge Intrepid R/T in the Pepsi ARCA 200 at Pocono Raceway, and Hank Parker Jr. in the No. 36 GNC Live Well Dodge Intrepid R/T in the NetZero 250 Busch Grand National race at Pikes Peak.
Elliott's No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Intrepid R/T took the lead from Dodge driver Sterling Marlin with 19 laps remaining and held on to score his fifth career victory at Pocono's 2.5-mile triangular track. Elliott started on the pole and led twice for 35 laps.
Marlin led the most laps in the rain-shortened event. The No. 40 Coors Light Dodge Intrepid R/T driver led four times for 106 of 175 laps and held on for a third-place finish. He gained 51 points on Mark Martin and now leads Martin in the series standings by 106 points after 20 events.
Elliott's victory was his first of the season and the fifth Cup win for Dodge in 2002. Ford continues to lead the manufacturers standings with seven wins and 133 points, followed by Chevrolet with five wins and 114 points. Dodge has five wins and 104 points, followed by Pontiac with three wins and 89 points.
Moving up to ninth in the series standings, Elliott now trails Marlin by 308 points with 16 races remaining. He's only 69 points out of fifth place. Elliott recorded his 42nd career victory in start No. 679. He last won at Pocono in 1989, and it was the first victory for Dodge at Pocono since Richard Petty won the Purolator 500 in 1976.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Robert Pressley's No. 18 Square D Dodge Ram led 74 of 100 laps en route to a truck-length victory over Jason Leffler's No. 2 Team ASE/Carquest Dodge Ram on Saturday in the Michigan 200 at Michigan International Speedway.
Pressley's victory deadlocked the manufacturers standings for Dodge. Dodge and Chevrolet each have 87 points and five victories after 13 of 23 NASCAR Craftsman Trucks Series races in 2002. Ford is third with 73 points and three wins.
Pressley, who also won the season opener at Daytona, gained one spot in the driver standings. He moved to seventh and trails leader Mike Bliss by 105 points.
Ted Musgrave entered Saturday's race with a 35-point advantage over second-place in the standings. Musgrave started on the pole after qualifying was postponed but a blown engine in his No. 1 Mopar Performance Parts Dodge Ram resulted in a 32nd-place finish for Musgrave. He dropped to third in the standings, 58 points behind the leader.
Leffler scored his fourth runner-up finish of the season and ranks sixth in the standings, 86 points behind Bliss.
Bill Lester took Raybestos Rookie of the Year honors in his No. 8 Dodge Motorsports Dodge Ram with a 15th-place finish. He moved up two spots to 16th in the standings. Dodge rookie Brendan Gaughan finished 18th in his No. 62 NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Ram and remained 11th in the standings. Carlos Contreras finished 17th in the No. 43 Hot Wheels Ram and moved up two spots to 14th in the standings.
Busch Grand National and ARCA
Hank Parker Jr. gambled on fuel mileage and led the final 17 laps to take the checkered flag. He finished 11 seconds ahead of runner-up Greg Biffle at Pikes Peak in Fountain, Colo.
Casey Atwood scored a .749-second victory over Jason Jarrett in the Pepsi ARCA 200 at Pocono Raceway. Atwood started from the pole and led 56 of 80 laps, including the final nine.
Pennzoil World of Outlaws
Mark Kinser had a busy weekend in his Mopar-powered Maxim in the Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series and ended up with three top-10 finishes at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa.
Kinser finished 10th on Thursday night in the 25-lap feature, fifth on Friday night and seventh in Saturday night's 30-lap feature. Kinser remains fifth in the series standings.
NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
Dean Skuza's Mopar Parts Dodge Stratus R/T Nitro Funny Car continued its mastery over 11-time Nitro Funny Car World Champion John Force. Skuza took home a third-straight round victory over Force and his fourth in the last five meetings. Skuza ran low elapsed time of the round at 4.962 seconds and 303.50 mph. Force smoked the tires and crossed the finish line in 7.152 seconds.
With rain ceasing activity, Skuza matches up today with Cruz Pedregon in round two.
An unusual first round match with Larry Nance ended in a red light for Mopar Parts Dodge Neon R/T rookie Gene Wilson. As rain threatened to end activities prematurely, Wilson and Nance's 105-second burn down did not please NHRA starter Rick Stewart.
Stewart asked the duo to step back and wait for other pairs to run. One of the many rain delays halted activity before the two went back onto the starting line. On the second go around, Wilson staged early, brought up the rev limiter, and left before it chimed green. It was Wilson's first red-light loss of the season.
Larry Morgan and the blue Mopar Parts Dodge Neon R/T fell in the first round of competition to point leader Jim Yates. After posting his best qualifying effort since a third at Memphis (Tenn.) Motorsports Park in 2000, Morgan clocked a 6.888-second elapsed time at 199.91 mph. Yates drove to a quicker 6.857-second lap at 200.65 mph.
July 29, 2002: Chrysler's full product plan
AutoWeek has reported on Chrysler's full product plan. This was e-mailed to us but we do not have a URL over at AutoWeek. We have however updated our new models page with the information. There are no real surprises and only a little more in the way of details - except for one tidbit: the upcoming entry-level Jeep will reportedly be based on the Liberty. They also say the Dakota's going to be lightened and downsized somewhat for its redesign.
In other news, some have speculated that the 3.5 may find its way into the minivans at long last, with engine production expanded. Perhaps that is just to ensure a good supply for the Pacifica and other Chrysler vehicles, but with the LX series moving to V8s, it might mean more power to the minis.
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