Category Archives: results

Chrysler Group Reports U.S. April Sales Increased 22%

Chrysler Group LLC today reported U.S. sales of 117,225 vehicles, a 22% increase compared with sales in April 2010 at 95,703 units. It was Chrysler’s best April sales since 2008 before the global financial markets collapsed. Continue reading

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Toyota April U.S. Sales Remain Flat as Auto Industry Grows 18%

Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A. today reported April sales results of 159,540 units, a decrease of 2.4% compared to the same period last year, on a daily selling rate (DSR) basis. On a raw volume basis, unadjusted for 27 selling days in April 2011 compared to 26 selling days in April 2010, TMS sales were up 1.3% over the year ago month. Continue reading

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Chrysler Group Credit Ratings Remain at Junk Level with Latest Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investor Assessments

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said today that it assigned its preliminary “B+” corporate credit rating to Chrysler Group LLC. The rating outlook for what remain “junk bonds” for posing significant financial risk. The outlook is stable, though.

Concurrently Moody’s Investor Services assigned Chrysler a “B2” rating, also a junk rating or non-investment grade. Continue reading

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Ford April Sales in U.S. Up 16% as Fusion Sets Another Record

Ford Motor Company April, were 189,778, up 16% from the year earlier period, the second largest of the Detroit Thee automakers said today. Retail sales were up 10% and fleet sales were up 31%.
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General Motors April U.S. Vehicle Sales Increase of 27%

“Recently, rising fuel prices have led many to re-think their vehicle choice,” said Don Johnson, vice president, U.S. Sales Operations. “Because of the investments we’ve made in fuel-efficiency and global product architectures, the company is well positioned to meet these needs.” Continue reading

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Kia Recalls Spectra and Sorento Models for Safety Defects

In the first recall, almost 60,000 Spectra cars from model years 2004-2007 are being recalled because of corrosion, which can lead to the fuel tank to fall and contact the road.

The second recall was promoted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigation into the sudden loss of power on 2011 Sorento 2wd vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions and 2.4-liter engines, when the intermediate driveshaft failed. Continue reading

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U.S. April Retail Auto Sales Predicted at 11 Million, SAAR 13 M

“As April’s sales pace confirms, increasing gas prices and shortages in vehicle inventory have yet to trump the overall recovery that has been progressing since the fall of 2010,” said Jeff Schuster. Continue reading

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Chrysler Posts First Profit Since 2009 Taxpayer Bailout

It is primarily the interest on government loans -$1.23 billion – that prevented Chrysler from earning a profit during 2010 and resulted in an overall loss for the year $652 million. Chrysler has announced that it intends to pay back those loans by June of this year by refinancing them through a combination of bonds and debt in private equity placements. Continue reading

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U.S. Motorcycle Sales Rise During the First Quarter

Motorcycle sales among major brands rose 7.2%  in the first quarter of 2011 compared to the same period last year, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council. Not surprisingly the “inexpensive” scooter segment saw the biggest gain, up nearly 50%. Sales … Continue reading

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Ford Motor Nets $2.6 Billion in Q1 on $33 Billion Revenue

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) today reported first quarter 2011 net income of $2.6 billion, or 61 cents per share, an increase of $466 million, or 11 cents per share, from first quarter 2010 as the global auto industry continued … Continue reading

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Honda Sets Fiscal Year Record for Overseas Auto Production

That of course was before the parts shortages and vehicle production disruptions caused by the Japan earthquake and tsunami on 11 March took hold. Continue reading

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Nissan Recalls Pathfinder, Infiniti QX4 for Rust, Steering Failure

Nissan Pathfinders from model years 1996-2004, and Infiniti QX4 SUVs from 1997-2003 are affected by regional recalls for vehicles originally sold in or currently registered in the following 20 states and the District of Columbia: Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington D.C., West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Critics of regional recalls for safety defects maintain that they do not address the entire population of defective vehicles. Automakers like them since it cuts the expense by limiting the inspection to fewer vehicles. Continue reading

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Toyota Recalls Rav4 and Highlander SUVs for Bad Airbags

Toyota has been aware of the problem since October of 2007, and changed the software in new vehicles in 2008, and yet did not recall the defective vehicles. Previous such coverups resulted in record fines imposed on Toyota by NHTSA in 2010 for failure to act promptly on a safety defect. Continue reading

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EU Car Sales Dip 2.3% in Q1 2011, March Worse at -5%

Sales woes for light vehicles in the European Union continued in March as registrations totaled 1,558,915 new cars, a decline of 5% compared to what was a weak March for EU car sales last year. The month counted on average … Continue reading

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April U.S. New Vehicle Retail Sales Strong But Inventories Drop

However, the pace isn’t expected to be sustainable as inventory dries up, especially among small cars, and becomes a more widespread problem toward the end of April and into May Continue reading

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