Ford is the largest automaker in America for the first time since 1998. Ford has dethroned the reigning champion, giving Toyota its first defeat since becoming #1. Ford sales for the month of February were up 43% compared to last years numbers of the same month. While my heart lies with Ford I must give GM their due as well because their sales are up 12% and they only lost out to Ford by a total of 334 vehicles. CLOSE ONE! Even Chrysler, who is thought to be months and months away from having positive numbers, posted a 1% gain. Toyota sales on the other hand are down 9% compared to last year of the same month. Honda, Nissan, Hyundai and Kia have all posted positive gains, proving one thing, people are buying cars once again. Here is how they rank in America. 1.) Ford 2.) GM 3.) Toyota 4.) Chrysler and while I would love to say the "Big Three" are back, I can not because Chrysler fell short but just like the singer "Meatloaf" says "Two out of three ain't bad". The question is Will it stand? My answer is "Does it ever?" The real point here is, not that Ford is first or GM is second or even that Toyota is third. The point is, everyone is doing great. I know Toyota is down 9% but most thought they would be down by 20% and here is the best part; Most experts believe that Detroit's gains are not from Toyota's problems but rather that Detroit is finally learning how to make and sell a car. The experts believe that Toyota's loss of sales is only because Toyota's consumers are waiting to buy when Toyota gets through the recall issue. So what does this all mean? It means Chrysler while on the right road is no threat now but it is a three horse race between Ford, GM, and Toyota. So I am proud to say that Ford and GM are here to play ball and Toyota though down this month will be contending next month and we as consumers all benefit from that. So do not be surprised to see a new Champion every few months because these three companies are in it to win it.
Chrysler is just regrouping, get ready for a huge increase in Chrysler sales near mid 2010. Chrysler is coming back stronger than ever, after Damiler looted them & tried to kill the entire company! Mopars are here to stay!
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteI could not agree more with you. Chrysler was on the fast track under the guidance of Lee Iacocca and under Mercedes guidance they have derailed. Mercedes thought they could operate Chrysler with little effort because they are Mercedes and once they realized they actually had to do some work they bailed. I do believe that Fiat has started off correctly.
You may like a previous article I wrote about Chrysler and Iacocca.
http://bestandworstcars.blogspot.com/2010/02/chrysler-at-its-best-and-worst.html
Sesto
Chrysler got behind under Daimler and then under Cerberus. But they've got great products, although a bit dated, and they have even greater products in the pipeline. I think we'll see a resurgence in Chrysler toward the end of this year!
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteI would like to say that I agree with you so I will. While Daimler was not the absolute worst owners on the planet, Cerberus I think was. I worked for Chrysler durning the days of Mercedes ownership and while they had good ideas for some highend vehicles like the 300, they had horrible ideas for cheaper vehicles. Chrysler has now done the right thing by eliminating vehicles that do not sell well. If you ask me they should cut out about 40% of their line up and just do what they do best, minivans for one example. So concentrate on things like the minivans and cars like the Charger and 300 are just incredible cars but they need some improvements in the interior. If they really try hard and if Fiat is in it to win it, then we all win. I do have high hopes. Mr. Iacocca did a commercial in the 80's when I was a kid and I can still remember it like it was yesterday. He said "GM is bigger, Ford is richer so we will just have to settle for being better".
Sesto