January 10, 2006
Looks like GM is trying to move closer to a flat price on most of its cars, though they admin rebates & incentives aren’t going away.
GM cuts sticker prices, dealer discount
DETROIT — General Motors is cutting the sticker prices on all its Chevrolet, Buick and GMC products and many Pontiacs — an aggressive move to stabilize its market share and cut its spending on incentives.
The price cuts take effect on Wednesday, Jan. 11, and will affect vehicles that account for 80 percent of GM’s total sales volume, said Mark LaNeve, vice president of North America Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing.
LaNeve said GM is not eliminating incentives. “They are a part of the automotive landscape and, frankly, part of what makes this business fun,” he said.
But to compensate for the price changes, GM will be changing the dealer discount on some product lines, LaNeve said, without giving specific examples. A change in the dealer discount means there will be a smaller gap between the invoice price and the sticker price on a vehicle.
Some examples of prices changes on Chevrolet vehicles:
The new base price of the 2006 Cobalt LS coupe will be $12,990 including shipping charges. That is $1,500 less than the current base price of $14,490.
The new base price of the Impala LS will be $20,990, $1,000 less than the current base price.
The Silverado regular cab WT will be repriced to $16,990, down $2,275 from the current base price. The Crew cab version of that truck will be repriced to $25,490, $2,500 less than the current base price.
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General Motors
January 8, 2006
Recent news has featured GM, Ford and Toyota in the headlines - don’t forget about Honda:
Honda Civic, Ridgeline sweep car and truck awards
DETROIT — Honda Division swept the 2006 North American Car and Truck of the Year awards on Sunday, with honors going to the redesigned Civic small car and the unconventional Ridgeline truck.
The Civic beat out the Ford Fusion sedan and Pontiac Solstice roadster for the Car of the Year award. Jurors gave the Civic 244 points out of a possible maximum of 490 points.
For the Truck of the Year award, the Ridgeline won out over two redesigned SUVs, the Ford Explorer and Nissan Xterra. The Ridgeline received 296 points out of a possible 490.
The awards were handed out Sunday morning during the first press preview day of the North American International Auto Show.
This is the first year that the Honda Division has won the award. The Honda Element was a truck of the year finalist in 2003, and the Honda Insight hybrid was a car of the year finalist in 2001. Acura, the luxury division of Honda Motor Co., won a truck of the year award in 2001 for the Acura MDX SUV.
The redesigned Civic, launched last autumn, is slightly bigger and heavier than the model it replaces. Under the hood is a lineup of new four-cylinder engines, ranging from a 140-hp, 1.8-liter unit to a 197-hp, 2.0-liter engine used in the reborn Si performance trim level. Honda also offers the Civic with natural gas-fueled and hybrid powertrains. Civic sales fell 0.3 percent in 2005 to 308,415 units.
Honda developed the Ridgeline to compete in the important pickup segment in the United States, even though it didn’t have a body-on-frame platform. So the automaker started with the underpinnings of its Honda Pilot/Acura MDX SUVs. The Ridgeline’s bed can swallow sheets of plywood and the four-door cab has seating for five. But it’s the little touches that have grabbed the most attention, such as the covered storage well built into the truck bed. But for all the attention, Ridgeline sales haven’t met Honda’s initial expectations. Honda sold 42,593 Ridgelines in 2005. Power comes from a 247-hp, 3.5-liter V-6 engine.
The three finalists in each category were the top vote getters from a field of 14 cars and 14 trucks that were all-new or significantly redesigned and launched in 2005. Votes were cast by a panel of 49 full-time automotive journalists. The jury panel includes Automotive News Executive Editor Edward Lapham and Senior Writer Dale Jewett.
Each juror has 25 points to divide among the car of the year candidates, and 25 points for the truck of the year candidates. In each category, only one vehicle can get the maximum award of 10 points.
One year ago, the Chrysler 300 was named North American Car of the Year, and the Ford Escape Hybrid was named North American Truck of the Year.
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January 4, 2006
As General Motors looks in the rear-view mirror and sees Toyota rapidly closing in on their worldwide market share, Chevrolet announced today that they have dethroned Ford from the #1 position in US reatil automotive sales:
DETROIT — Chevrolet beat the Ford Division in U.S. sales by 17,084 units in 2005, dislodging Ford from the top of the sales chart for the first time since 1986.
On Dec. 1, Chevy led Ford by 9,318 units. In 2004, Ford beat Chevrolet by 18,801 units.
Sales at both automakers fell in 2005. Chevrolet outsold Ford in cars. Chevy sold 899,116 cars in 2005, compared with 742,423 cars sold by Ford. That was a difference of 156,693 units.
But Ford, while it sold more trucks than Chevrolet in 2005, saw a bigger drop in truck sales from 2004. Ford sold 1,891,618 trucks in 2005, 189,932 units less than it sold in 2004. Chevrolet sold 1,752,009 trucks in 2005, 87,120 units less than 2004. In 2005, Ford sold 139,609 more trucks than Chevrolet.
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