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.

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.

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.

DETROIT (Reuters) - DaimlerChrysler’s Chrysler division said Thursday it was raising its consumer incentives in a bid to offset slowing U.S. vehicle sales.

The move follows sweeter incentive offers announced earlier this week by General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. as Detroit’s price war heats up again as part of a traditional year-end sales push.

Chrysler spokesman Kevin McCormick said that starting next Monday the automaker would offer U.S. car buyers a debit card with $2,367 in credit to use toward the purchase of gasoline.

He said Chrysler would also begin offering car buyers free scheduled maintenance and an extended five-year, or 60,000-mile warranty. The new incentives will remain on offer through Jan. 3, McCormick said.

As for Ford, its program — Keep It Simple — started Wednesday and is set to conclude Jan. 3, according to Bloomberg. The plan covers most 2005 and 2006 models. This is the first time the automaker is offering incentives on its gas-electric hybrids.

For instance, thanks to Ford’s plan, vehicles such as the 2006 Escape, which has a $20,685 MSRP, will be offered for $19,794, along with a rebate of $2,500. The final price is $17,294.

Meanwhile, Chrysler Group announced its Miles of Freedom Plan, which is an incentive program offering discounts on select 2005 and 2006 models.

From Nov. 21 to Jan 3, the Miles of Freedom Plan offers customers who purchase select models two years of free gas, two years of free scheduled maintenance and a 5-year/60,000 mile full-mechanical warranty.

“Owning a Chrysler, Jeep or Dodge vehicle should be a worry free experience for customers,” explained Joe Eberhardt, Chrysler Group executive vice president of global sales, marketing and service. “Therefore, our goal with the Miles of Freedom Plan is to provide our customers with ownership benefits unequaled in the industry. The combination of free gasoline, free scheduled maintenance and a full-warranty puts our customer’s mind at ease and allows them to fully experience the joy of driving one of our vehicles.”

Chrysler’s new incentive program will be supported by TV commercials during NFL telecasts. The commercials feature testimonials about the benefits of the Miles of Freedom Plan. Additionally, the automaker will run supporting print, electronic and Internet ads.

Finally, Chrysler executives said that customers will have a choice as to which incentives they would like to utilize at the time of purchase. Executives said all cash-back incentive offers, including November bonus cash, are still applicable on 2005 and selected 2006 units. The Miles of Freedom Plan is an alternative incentive offering the customer may opt to take advantage of instead of utilizing the November cash-back incentive offer. However, executives noted the cash-back incentive offers end Nov. 30.

In related news, Ford is also make a big push for its hybrid offerings, making a commitment to increase hybrid production ten-fold, reaching 250,000 units annually by the end of the decade.

The Mariner joins Ford’s Escape Hybrid as two of five hybrid models the automaker plans to have on the road in the next three years.

“Our goal is to build hybrid and conventional models on the same line and to offer hybrids with the same style and same functionality as convention vehicles,” explained Nancy Gioia, director of Ford’s Sustainability Mobility Technologies and Hybrid programs.

“We didn’t have to invent an entirely new vehicle to house our hybrids,” she continued. “We’re putting hybrid into mainstream products that are popular today. The Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner Hybrids were born and built in the USA, and they are the only hybrid SUVs made in America. We are very proud of this accomplishment.”

Ford announced the plan Wednesday. It’s a move back toward the one-price selling that appealed to car buyers during last summer’s employee-pricing blowout.

The automaker will print new window stickers for most of its Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brand vehicles. The stickers will show the MSRP, the Simple Plan price, cash incentives and the bottom-line price.

Ford wouldn’t say whether its new prices are comparable to GM’s new Red Tag Sale discount. GM’s price is slightly higher than the price someone getting the supplier discount would pay.

Keep It Simple “represents a very good deal, but I’m not going to get into discussing plan pricing levels,” Ford spokesman Jim Cain said.

Ford did provide some examples, though. A 2006 Ford Escape that stickers at $20,685 would cost $17,294 under the program. A 2006 Lincoln Navigator with a sticker price of $53,175 would have a new bottom-line price, including $2,500 in cash rebates, of $46,747.

Ford’s new program runs from Wednesday through Jan. 3, 2006. All 2005 and 2006 models are included except for the Ford Fusion, Lincoln Zephyr, Mercury Milan, Ford Mustang and Ford GT.

The program, called GM Red Tag Event, starts Monday, Nov. 14, auto dealers say.

A GM spokeswoman declined to comment on Friday, Nov. 11.

Under the program customers can get any 2005 or 2006 Buick, Pontiac, GMC or Chevrolet car or light truck at the supplier price plus $100, several dealers say. The exceptions to the sale are the Pontiac Solstice, Chevrolet Corvette and new Buick Lucerne, they say. The supplier price is the price offered to employees of GM suppliers.

For example, a 2006 Buick LaCrosse has a sticker price of $23,595, says a Buick dealer who asked not to be named. The supplier price is $21,996, he says. Customers also can use any applicable incentives. GM offers a $1,500 rebate on the LaCrosse. Therefore, the vehicle would cost $20,596, the dealer said.

GM told dealers that it will start a national advertising campaign on Sunday, Nov.13, using the slogan, “See some red. Save some green.”

GM will send red tags to dealers to hang in the vehicles’ windows with the revived advertising phrase, “The price you see is the price you pay, not a penny more.”

“It’s not nearly as good as GM’s employee pricing sale,” says Ken Fichtner, owner of Fichtner Chevrolet in Laurel, Mont. “It’s 2 percent higher for the customer than GM employee pricing was.”

Fichtner says GM will give dealers $400 gross profit per vehicle under the promotion. He says the $400 will be less than the profit per vehicle he received with employee pricing, which was 5 percent of the sticker minus the destination charge.

But Buick dealer John Rogin says his sales staff broke into applause and cheers when GM said the salespeople’s bonuses would be $150 for each vehicle sold in November and $100 for December.

GM ran a Red Tag sale at this time last year. Under it, dealers set a vehicle’s price by combining previously announced incentives with a cash bonus between $500 and $2,000 when buyers financed through General Motors Acceptance Corp.

Many dealers were lukewarm about that program, and GM’s December sales in 2004 fell 3.2 percent despite the program.

GM will end any other existing incentives on many of the 2005 vehicles with the new Red Tag Event.

Keywords: GM, Red Tag Event

The six-cylinder 9-7X 4.2i and the 9-7X 5.3i V8 are priced at $39,240 and $41,240, respectively. Both prices include a $720 destination charge. Linear and Arc model designations have been eliminated on the 9-7X for 2006.

For 2006, Saab’s first-ever SUV adds 15 horsepower to its 4.2-liter inline 6-cylinder engine for a total of 290 horsepower. Displacement on Demand is added to the 300 horsepower 5.3i V8, making it the first and only entry in the midsize luxury SUV segment to offer this fuel-saving technology.

StabiliTrak stability control system, a power moonroof (available now with the rear seat DVD system) and an auto-dimming inside rearview mirror are standard equipment on both Saab 9-7X models for 2006. Three new colors are also available - Winter White, Graphite Grey Metallic and Lingonberry Red Metallic.

As in 2005, the well-equipped 6-cylinder 9-7X features standard all-wheel drive, Saab-tuned sport suspension, leather-appointed heated front seats, 18-inch alloy wheels, front and rear side-curtain airbags with rollover sensor, OnStar, XM Satellite Radio, 6-CD Bose audio system, integrated roof rails and dual-zone automatic climate control. The 2006 5.3i V8 adds standard xenon headlamps, headlamp washers and adjustable pedals, as it did in 2005. These features are also available in the optional “Prestige Package” on the 4.2i.

Saab loyalists will feel right at home in the 9-7X, which has the familiar cockpit-inspired instrument panel, signature sliding-plate HVAC vents, 9-5-style in-dash cupholder and center console-mounted ignition.

The 9-7X is just one part of the most aggressive product development offensive in Saab’s 58-year history. It joins the 9-3 Sport Sedan and Convertible and the all-wheel drive 9-2X, as well as the upcoming Saab 9-3 SportCombi and a freshened 9-5 Sedan and SportCombi. A new 250-hp 2.8-liter Turbo V6 will be standard in all three 9-3 Aero models in 2006.

“The 9-7X is a very important vehicle for Saab,” said Jay Spenchian, general manager of Saab USA. “About forty percent of current Saab owners already have an SUV of another make in their garage, while nearly 30 percent of Saab owners have left the brand for an SUV in the past. With the 9-7X, Saab will be able to take advantage of the continued growth in this segment.”

On top of that, the Saab 9-7X SUV represents outstanding value for the money, especially when compared with the Volvo XC90. Not only has the 9-7X more headroom, legroom, towing capability and engine torque, it is also priced at over $8,000.00 less than a comparably equipped XC90 V8.

Saab is a division of General Motors Corp. Saab USA is the importer and/or distributor of Saab 9-2X, 9-3, 9-5 and 9-7X automobiles for Saab Automobile AB, Sweden. For more information, please visit www.saabusa.com.

The new 2007 Chevy Tahoe takes over at the top of the segment in sales, quality and comfort – Tahoe has been the best-selling full-size SUV since 2001. The outgoing model (along with its longer sibling, Suburban) has ranked first in the J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Survey for five years, topping all import and luxury models. Engineers built on Tahoe’s established credentials with a “no compromises” mantra that realized improvements in many areas of performance, quality and comfort.

Contributors to the 2007 Chevy Tahoe’s segment-leading capability include:

* Superior ride, handling and quietness
* Improved efficiency
* Refined interior with thoughtful convenience built in
* Distinctive, sporty exterior design
* Enhanced safety and security

“Tahoe is known for delivering whatever its customers want, whenever they want to do it – a hard-earned reputation reflected in countless independent quality studies, buying guide recommendations and customers who have returned to buy another vehicle,” said Ed Peper, Chevrolet general manager. “The ’07 model enhances the attributes that have made Tahoe the industry’s best-selling full-size SUV and improves them with dramatically increased attention to detail in smoothness, quietness and refinement. We believe it is simply the best Tahoe yet.”

Superior ride, handling and quietness

The 2007 Tahoe is built on GM’s new full-size SUV platform, which incorporates features such as a new, fully boxed frame, coil-over-shock front suspension, rack-and-pinion steering and an all-new, premium interior system that bolster the vehicle’s comfort, quality and capability. Wider front and rear tracks enhance handling and lower the center of gravity for a more confident road feel.

Extensive attention to detail was paid by Tahoe’s engineers to ensure a quiet driving experience. It starts with a new, stiffer frame, which reduces vibrations transmitted to the passenger cabin. The strength and accuracy of the full-boxed frame also enables more precise mounting and tuning of chassis and suspension components, which also helps reduce vibration. Even the tires on the large, 17-inch standard and 20-inch available wheels, were designed to reduce noise.

Noise-reducing components and materials are used throughout the body structure, including the headliner material, door seals and front-of-dash area. The engine also features a quiet-tuned alternator and an acoustically tuned engine cover that dramatically reduces engine noise heard inside the vehicle. New door seals help reduce seal “pull away” at highway speeds, which can cause wind noise. Also, Chevy Tahoe’s more slippery shape, thanks to improved aerodynamics, streamlined exterior mirrors and roof rack, and tighter body gap tolerances, makes Tahoe quieter as it slices through the air.

Tahoe also features details such as spray-in expanding foam, which helps reduce noise by filling in space to eliminate sound paths. The foam, located mostly in the A-pillars, expands to fill the void of a space. Tahoe’s quietness and smoothness is complemented by the Autoride suspension system, which is standard on LTZ. This segment-exclusive bi-state, real-time damping system provides an extremely refined ride with greatly reduced body motion. The system consists of a semi-active, two-position damping control system that responds in real time to road and driving conditions, based on body and wheel motion sensors.

Tahoe’s quietness and smoothness are complemented by capabilities full-size SUV customers depend on. Tahoe offers up to 7,700-pounds (3,492 kg) towing capability (4WD models).

Improved efficiency

A new Gen IV small-block V-8 family – the newest chapter in the small-block’s 50-year history – offers more power than comparable powertrains in previous models. Fuel-saving Displacement On Demand technology also enables better fuel economy. When combined with other vehicle-wide features, including improved aerodynamics, the small-block V-8 helps give the Tahoe the segment’s best fuel economy. Preliminary testing with 5.3L-equipped models shows unadjusted combined fuel economy ratings of 20.5 mpg with 2WD models and 20.1 mpg with 4WD models. That’s better fuel economy than any other full-size SUV.

New engine choices allow consumers to choose the performance level that meets their needs. A Vortec 5.3L V-8 with 320 horsepower (238 kw)* and 335 lb.-ft. of torque (463 Nm)* offers fuel-saving Displacement On Demand technology is standard at start of production. A Vortec 4.8L V-8 becomes available later and will be standard on the 2007 Tahoe 2WD models.

A more steeply raked windshield and smoother roofline improve the aerodynamics of the 2007 Tahoe, resulting in a best-in-class 0.363 cd, which enhances fuel economy on the highway. Additional contributors to efficiency include a lower, wider front air dam, tighter tolerances and gaps between the fascias, lamps and grille openings, and improved front-end sealing that nearly eliminates air leak paths. These features all contribute to enhanced fuel economy and improved driving quietness, compared with previous models.

“The economy of the new 2007 Tahoe is tremendous,” said Gary White, General Motors North America Vice President and vehicle line executive for full-size trucks. “It not only delivers better fuel economy than some smaller vehicles, it does so with the full capability expected of a full-size SUV. That means you can tow a boat out to your favorite lake on the weekend and take the kids to school during the week without worry – it’s another trait of Tahoe’s do-anything personality.”

Refined interior and thoughtful convenience built in

The 2007 Tahoe is available in three trim levels: LS, LT and LTZ, with the high-volume LT trim level offered with LT-1, LT-2 and LT-3 equipment groups. Two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive models are available. All models come well equipped with enhanced safety, comfort and convenience features. New and substantially revised features include:

* Power-release fold-and-tumble second-row seat
* Remote vehicle starting system
* First- and second-row heated seats
* Ultrasonic Rear Parking Assist
* Rearview camera system
* Touch-screen navigation system
* Power-articulating running boards (mid-year availability)
* DVD rear-seat entertainment system with larger, 8-inch screen and enhanced features

Refinements throughout Chevy Tahoe’s spacious interior create an environment that exudes quality and precision, as well as comfort. A two-tone color scheme is executed with new, softer and low-gloss materials for the instrument panel and other trim pieces. Additional details include LED backlighting for the instruments and chrome accents on instruments and vents. Flush-mounted accessories and controls, such as the climate control/radio center stack create a seamless, “single unit” appearance. Also, there are almost no exposed metal hardware or latches, as all models feature enclosing “close outs” around the seat bottoms and door sill trim plates.

Read full press release.

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