Category Archives: marketing

Chrysler Group U.S. Sales Up 27% in September, Led By Trucks

Posted on 3 October 2011 by Ken Zino

Chrysler Group’s Retail sales were up 50%. Chrysler Group has beaten the average industry sales increase in eight of nine months this year, and is in a dead heat with Toyota Motor Sales for the Number Three position in the U.S. Continue reading →

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Competition in Chinese Auto Market Results in Cross Shopping Record. U.S. Brands Suffer Because of Poor Fuel Economy

Posted on 30 September 2011 by Ken Zino

Fuel economy is also among the top rejection reasons, particularly given the sharp increases in gas prices that have occurred in recent years. Fuel economy is becoming a challenge for nearly all manufacturers, but particularly so for U.S. brands. Approximately one in four rejecters (24%) say they rejected a model of a U.S. brand because they expected better fuel economy. Continue reading →

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Nissan Taking Leaf EV Orders in New U.S. Markets

Posted on 29 September 2011 by Ken Zino

Year-to-date Nissan has delivered about 7,000 of the pure electric vehicle, which has a range of about 85 miles. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price of the 2012 Leaf is $35,200 for the SV trim level, and $37,250 for the SL trim level. The monthly lease price begins at $369. Continue reading →

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The Business of Plugging In Adds EV Experts to Panels

Posted on 27 September 2011 by Ken Zino

The Center for Automotive Research is holding a timely conference – The Business of Plugging In, an electric vehicle conference – this October that will discuss the emerging plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) against a background of contentious budget debates in Washington about subsidies for automakers, global warming, emission regulations, and tax policies. Continue reading →

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OnStar Reverses Tracking of Ex-Users after Privacy Uproar

Posted on 27 September 2011 by Ken Zino

The OnStar privacy about face does not address what will remain an issue about OnStar’s data collection and reselling of current subscriber information. In the U.S. automakers and other marketers assume customer information is their property to do what they will with. This is the exact opposite of laws in place in Europe that stipulate the customer, not the company, owns and controls their information. Continue reading →

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First 2012 Chevy ZL1 Camaro Brings $250 K in Charity Auction

Posted on 26 September 2011 by Ken Zino

The first 2012 Camaro ZL1 offered to the public sold for $250,000 at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Las Vegas last Saturday evening. The car was offered by Fairway Chevrolet-Buick-GMC in Las Vegas, with 100% of the auction proceeds benefitting the YMCA of Southern Nevada.

Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports and chairman of Hendrick Automotive Group, placed the winning bid and is expected to take delivery of his new Camaro in the first quarter of 2012. Hendricks’s son, Greg, is the president of Fairway Chevrolet. Continue reading →

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Auto Industry Reputation Shows Big Gains as Airlines, oh, Crash

Posted on 22 September 2011 by Ken Zino

The latest Harris Poll that measures how the public perceives twenty-two of the nation’s largest industries shows huge shifts during the last two years. The biggest changes since 2009, when the survey was last conducted, are a huge improvement in the auto industry reputation as measured by the number of people who think that the auto industry is doing a good job of serving consumers, while there is also a “very large increase” in those who think the airline industry is doing a bad job. Continue reading →

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Toyota Prices 2012 Prius Plug-in Hybrid at $32,760 and $40,285

Posted on 19 September 2011 by Ken Zino

With its tiny battery, plug-in Prius has a pure electric power range of a mere 25 miles and runs off of its gasoline engine at full-throttle. This is apparently enough to qualify for a federal taxpayer subsidy under consideration via a direct tax credit of about $2,500 in these deficit ridden times. Continue reading →

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Toyota Production Now at 100% in North America and Japan

Posted on 14 September 2011 by Ken Zino

Toyota’s North American production has now returned to 100%. The resumption of all car and truck manufacturing – months ahead of initial projections – is welcome news at Japan’s largest automaker, whose U.S. sales through August have declined 16% year-over-year, relegating it to fourth place, while the market grew 10.5%. Continue reading →

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Honda Reeling From Sales, Quality Declines Has New Ads

Posted on 12 September 2011 by Ken Zino

American Honda is launching a new national advertising today starring actor Patrick Warburton, which attempts to reverse its recent sales decline by looking backward at the Japanese company’s long tradition of earning awards, while using humor to parody industry marketing techniques that even Honda once used. Continue reading →

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Honda Struggles, Toyota Flat and Nissan Up in August Sales

Posted on 1 September 2011 by Ken Zino

This means, among other things, that the Detroit Three – GM (219,000), Ford (175,000) and Chrysler (130,000) in descending sales order – were literally the Big 3 once again. However, if you eliminate the rounding used here, Chrysler led Toyota by 636 vehicles. Continue reading →

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Ford Motor August Sales Increase 11% led by Trucks, SUVs

Posted on 1 September 2011 by Ken Zino

Ford Motor Company’s August sales totaled 175,220 vehicles, an increase of 11% compared to a year ago, largely because of an increase of 16% by Ford brand sales of trucks and sport utility vehicles to 117,000 units. Continue reading →

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Chrysler Group August Sales Up 31% in U.S.

Posted on 1 September 2011 by Ken Zino

Chrysler Group August sales were 130,119 vehicles in the U.S., a 31% increase compared with sales in August 2010 of 99,611 units. The smallest of the Detroit Three said this was the best August sales since 2007. Based on early sales numbers this was much greater growth than average auto industry growth in August. Continue reading →

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General Motors U.S. August Sales Increase 18%

Posted on 1 September 2011 by Ken Zino

General Motors today reported total August sales of 218,479 vehicles, an 18% increase compared with August 2010. The August sales gains were evenly divided among car, crossover and the truck segments that GM reports on. Continue reading →

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August Auto Sales Down Again, Below Recent Predictions

Posted on 31 August 2011 by Ken Zino

Hurricane Irene only added to ongoing auto sales woes, as consumer confidence declined yet again. Housing prices also dropped and not only the ones under water; the Federal government admitted, finally, that real GDP growth for the first half of 2011 was less than 1%; while Federal Reserve Board meeting notes showed that the governors were at a loss as to what to do next to stimulate a stalled economy. Continue reading →

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