Clunkers boosts Ford sales; GM, Chrysler fall

DETROIT (AP) -- The Cash for Clunkers program boosted sales at Ford,
Toyota and Honda in August as consumers snapped up their fuel-
efficient offerings, but rivals Chrysler Group LLC and General Motors
Co. withstood another month of falling sales.

Ford Motor Co. sold 181,826 cars and light trucks compared with
115,117 in August 2008, when high gas prices and growing economic
uncertainty kept people away from showrooms.

Meanwhile, low supplies of fuel-efficient vehicles at Chrysler kept
the automaker from benefiting more from the clunkers program, whose
rebates encouraged customers to buy gas sippers in exchange for
guzzlers with gas mileage of 18 mpg or less.

Chrysler sales fell 15 percent to 93,222 units.

Pete E. Kruzer wrote:
> DETROIT (AP) -- The Cash for Clunkers program boosted sales at Ford,
> Toyota and Honda in August as consumers snapped up their fuel-
> efficient offerings, but rivals Chrysler Group LLC and General Motors
> Co. withstood another month of falling sales.
>
> Ford Motor Co. sold 181,826 cars and light trucks compared with
> 115,117 in August 2008, when high gas prices and growing economic
> uncertainty kept people away from showrooms.
>
> Meanwhile, low supplies of fuel-efficient vehicles at Chrysler kept
> the automaker from benefiting more from the clunkers program, whose
> rebates encouraged customers to buy gas sippers in exchange for
> guzzlers with gas mileage of 18 mpg or less.
>
> Chrysler sales fell 15 percent to 93,222 units.

Is that maybe why they stopped the program abruptly after approving a
couple more billion for it? The government's two ass-kisser car
companies weren't benefiting in spite of the non-free market deck being
stacked in their favor.

--
Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

"Pete E. Kruzer" wrote:

> Meanwhile, low supplies of fuel-efficient vehicles at Chrysler
> kept the automaker from benefiting more from the clunkers
> program

My 10-year-old Chrysler 300m gets 30 mpg on the highway, and passes it's
emissions tests by a wide margin.

It's too bad that Chrysler replaced the 300m with a 2-ton version
designed by Fisher Price.

If Chrysler had ANY brains, they'd bring back the LH platform and bring
the 300N concept into production.

On Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:18:18 -0400, Bill Putney >
wrote:

>Pete E. Kruzer wrote:
>> DETROIT (AP) -- The Cash for Clunkers program boosted sales at Ford,
>> Toyota and Honda in August as consumers snapped up their fuel-
>> efficient offerings, but rivals Chrysler Group LLC and General Motors
>> Co. withstood another month of falling sales.
>>
>> Ford Motor Co. sold 181,826 cars and light trucks compared with
>> 115,117 in August 2008, when high gas prices and growing economic
>> uncertainty kept people away from showrooms.
>>
>> Meanwhile, low supplies of fuel-efficient vehicles at Chrysler kept
>> the automaker from benefiting more from the clunkers program, whose
>> rebates encouraged customers to buy gas sippers in exchange for
>> guzzlers with gas mileage of 18 mpg or less.
>>
>> Chrysler sales fell 15 percent to 93,222 units.
>
>Is that maybe why they stopped the program abruptly after approving a
>couple more billion for it? The government's two ass-kisser car
>companies weren't benefiting in spite of the non-free market deck being
>stacked in their favor.

No, the stopped it because the new money was used up that quickly.

Ashton Crusher wrote:
> On Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:18:18 -0400, Bill Putney >
> wrote:
>
>> Pete E. Kruzer wrote:
>>> DETROIT (AP) -- The Cash for Clunkers program boosted sales at Ford,
>>> Toyota and Honda in August as consumers snapped up their fuel-
>>> efficient offerings, but rivals Chrysler Group LLC and General Motors
>>> Co. withstood another month of falling sales.
>>>
>>> Ford Motor Co. sold 181,826 cars and light trucks compared with
>>> 115,117 in August 2008, when high gas prices and growing economic
>>> uncertainty kept people away from showrooms.
>>>
>>> Meanwhile, low supplies of fuel-efficient vehicles at Chrysler kept
>>> the automaker from benefiting more from the clunkers program, whose
>>> rebates encouraged customers to buy gas sippers in exchange for
>>> guzzlers with gas mileage of 18 mpg or less.
>>>
>>> Chrysler sales fell 15 percent to 93,222 units.
>> Is that maybe why they stopped the program abruptly after approving a
>> couple more billion for it? The government's two ass-kisser car
>> companies weren't benefiting in spite of the non-free market deck being
>> stacked in their favor.
>
> No, the stopped it because the new money was used up that quickly.

Wow - that was fast. Have the dealers started to see the money yet?

--
Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

On Wed, 02 Sep 2009 05:50:01 -0400, Bill Putney >
wrote:

>Ashton Crusher wrote:
>> On Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:18:18 -0400, Bill Putney >
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Pete E. Kruzer wrote:
>>>> DETROIT (AP) -- The Cash for Clunkers program boosted sales at Ford,
>>>> Toyota and Honda in August as consumers snapped up their fuel-
>>>> efficient offerings, but rivals Chrysler Group LLC and General Motors
>>>> Co. withstood another month of falling sales.
>>>>
>>>> Ford Motor Co. sold 181,826 cars and light trucks compared with
>>>> 115,117 in August 2008, when high gas prices and growing economic
>>>> uncertainty kept people away from showrooms.
>>>>
>>>> Meanwhile, low supplies of fuel-efficient vehicles at Chrysler kept
>>>> the automaker from benefiting more from the clunkers program, whose
>>>> rebates encouraged customers to buy gas sippers in exchange for
>>>> guzzlers with gas mileage of 18 mpg or less.
>>>>
>>>> Chrysler sales fell 15 percent to 93,222 units.
>>> Is that maybe why they stopped the program abruptly after approving a
>>> couple more billion for it? The government's two ass-kisser car
>>> companies weren't benefiting in spite of the non-free market deck being
>>> stacked in their favor.
>>
>> No, the stopped it because the new money was used up that quickly.
>
>Wow - that was fast. Have the dealers started to see the money yet?


From all the news I hear it's pretty slow. It's taking as much as 30
days to get the paperwork thru the system.

Ashton Crusher wrote:
> On Wed, 02 Sep 2009 05:50:01 -0400, Bill Putney >
> wrote:
>
>> Ashton Crusher wrote:
>>> On Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:18:18 -0400, Bill Putney >
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Pete E. Kruzer wrote:
>>>>> DETROIT (AP) -- The Cash for Clunkers program boosted sales at Ford,
>>>>> Toyota and Honda in August as consumers snapped up their fuel-
>>>>> efficient offerings, but rivals Chrysler Group LLC and General Motors
>>>>> Co. withstood another month of falling sales.
>>>>>
>>>>> Ford Motor Co. sold 181,826 cars and light trucks compared with
>>>>> 115,117 in August 2008, when high gas prices and growing economic
>>>>> uncertainty kept people away from showrooms.
>>>>>
>>>>> Meanwhile, low supplies of fuel-efficient vehicles at Chrysler kept
>>>>> the automaker from benefiting more from the clunkers program, whose
>>>>> rebates encouraged customers to buy gas sippers in exchange for
>>>>> guzzlers with gas mileage of 18 mpg or less.
>>>>>
>>>>> Chrysler sales fell 15 percent to 93,222 units.
>>>> Is that maybe why they stopped the program abruptly after approving a
>>>> couple more billion for it? The government's two ass-kisser car
>>>> companies weren't benefiting in spite of the non-free market deck being
>>>> stacked in their favor.
>>> No, the stopped it because the new money was used up that quickly.
>> Wow - that was fast. Have the dealers started to see the money yet?
>
>
> From all the news I hear it's pretty slow. It's taking as much as 30
> days to get the paperwork thru the system.
Ashton,
From what I heard, the program was actually a success, almost 700K cars
sold. A friend of my wife's husband works at a Kia dealer and lots of
people were in buying the low-line Rio and other low price cars, using
the full $4500. Dealers will get the money, but it takes time to
accomplish with that much paperwork! The government probably didn't
expect this program to be the success it was! This is one of the
stimulus programs that they should have kept! It kept car dealers and
their employees going, it sold product, even if it was mostly foreign
makes(hey, the employees live here and have to eat). It is funny: most
car dealers are big time Republicans, and it is the Republicans in
Congress who bitched about the program! If more stimulus had actually
gone to manufacturing jobs like this one, maybe we would be on the road
to recovery. Hell, every government in Europe/Asia subsidizes their
auto industry to some extent. In Canada, the program really helped the
Dodge Grand Caravan, the Windsor, Ontario plant kept three shifts going!

In article
>,
"Pete E. Kruzer" > wrote:

> DETROIT (AP) -- The Cash for Clunkers program boosted sales at Ford,
> Toyota and Honda in August as consumers snapped up their fuel-
> efficient offerings, but rivals Chrysler Group LLC and General Motors
> Co. withstood another month of falling sales.
>
> Ford Motor Co. sold 181,826 cars and light trucks compared with
> 115,117 in August 2008, when high gas prices and growing economic
> uncertainty kept people away from showrooms.
>
> Meanwhile, low supplies of fuel-efficient vehicles at Chrysler kept
> the automaker from benefiting more from the clunkers program, whose
> rebates encouraged customers to buy gas sippers in exchange for
> guzzlers with gas mileage of 18 mpg or less.
>
> Chrysler sales fell 15 percent to 93,222 units.

I'd say because Chrysler and GM don't have fuel efficient vehicles many
desire. They weren't selling so they slowed production, then stopped
completely during their reorganization.
Last year I looked at their product and saw nothing I wanted.
Early this year both companies were almost giving away some car models,
unfortunately still nothing I desired. Nothing had changed, same
designs.

Chrysler knows that, the Sebring and Caliper aren't selling very well.
Chrysler ads don't even mention them anymore, it's all about trucks.

In article >,
CountFloyd > wrote:

> In Canada, the program really helped the
> Dodge Grand Caravan, the Windsor, Ontario plant kept three shifts going!

Actually they cut back a shift, then had to shut down during the
reorganization due to parts shortages. Vans became very difficult to
get.
Now they are back to 3 shifts and own the mni van market again.
The only Chrysler van not selling well is the bunch (20,000 I hear) that
Chrysler built for VW.

On Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:33:31 -0400, CountFloyd
> wrote:

>Ashton Crusher wrote:
>> On Wed, 02 Sep 2009 05:50:01 -0400, Bill Putney >
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Ashton Crusher wrote:
>>>> On Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:18:18 -0400, Bill Putney >
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Pete E. Kruzer wrote:
>>>>>> DETROIT (AP) -- The Cash for Clunkers program boosted sales at Ford,
>>>>>> Toyota and Honda in August as consumers snapped up their fuel-
>>>>>> efficient offerings, but rivals Chrysler Group LLC and General Motors
>>>>>> Co. withstood another month of falling sales.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Ford Motor Co. sold 181,826 cars and light trucks compared with
>>>>>> 115,117 in August 2008, when high gas prices and growing economic
>>>>>> uncertainty kept people away from showrooms.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Meanwhile, low supplies of fuel-efficient vehicles at Chrysler kept
>>>>>> the automaker from benefiting more from the clunkers program, whose
>>>>>> rebates encouraged customers to buy gas sippers in exchange for
>>>>>> guzzlers with gas mileage of 18 mpg or less.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Chrysler sales fell 15 percent to 93,222 units.
>>>>> Is that maybe why they stopped the program abruptly after approving a
>>>>> couple more billion for it? The government's two ass-kisser car
>>>>> companies weren't benefiting in spite of the non-free market deck being
>>>>> stacked in their favor.
>>>> No, the stopped it because the new money was used up that quickly.
>>> Wow - that was fast. Have the dealers started to see the money yet?
>>
>>
>> From all the news I hear it's pretty slow. It's taking as much as 30
>> days to get the paperwork thru the system.
>Ashton,
> From what I heard, the program was actually a success, almost 700K cars
>sold. A friend of my wife's husband works at a Kia dealer and lots of
>people were in buying the low-line Rio and other low price cars, using
>the full $4500. Dealers will get the money, but it takes time to
>accomplish with that much paperwork! The government probably didn't
>expect this program to be the success it was! This is one of the
>stimulus programs that they should have kept! It kept car dealers and
>their employees going, it sold product, even if it was mostly foreign
>makes(hey, the employees live here and have to eat). It is funny: most
>car dealers are big time Republicans, and it is the Republicans in
>Congress who bitched about the program! If more stimulus had actually
>gone to manufacturing jobs like this one, maybe we would be on the road
>to recovery. Hell, every government in Europe/Asia subsidizes their
>auto industry to some extent. In Canada, the program really helped the
>Dodge Grand Caravan, the Windsor, Ontario plant kept three shifts going!

I agree. I'm not saying it's a failure, only that it's taking a long
time to process the paperwork. It was expected that this program
would be $1B and run for several months, they tripled it to $3B and it
only took about a month to use it up. So the workload effectively
went up by a factor of around 10x.