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GM sales fall 26 percent: SUVs to blame?

07/03/2006, 3:04 PM

By admin

GM’s overall sales for the month of June fell 25.9 percent compared to June 2005. The drop is due mostly to a 37 percent fall in truck sales. GM’s passenger car sales were relatively flat — up nearly 1 percent. Driven by the hot-selling Solstice, Pontiac sales were up 12.1 percent. Similarly, the Sky helped Saturn boost sales by 0.7 percent. The rest of GM, however, was in the red. Buick was down 36.6 percent, Cadillac down 21 percent, Chevrolet down 25.5 percent, GMC down 46.5 percent, Hummer down 16.2 percent, and Saab down 50.2 percent. [data sheet]

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07/03, 3:08 PM

posted by:

gsh

hahaha suck it!! even cadillac cant hang on to dear life…

07/03, 3:11 PM

posted by:

Polecat

Oh my, that’s bad. But I’m sure that GM planned for a truck and SUV slowdown, right? Surely they were investing the heavy profits from these p.o.s into building better, cleaner, and more efficient cars, right? RIGHT!!!!???

07/03, 3:31 PM

posted by:

Clueless

The sales are down compared to “June 2005″ where they had “Employee pricing for everyone”. Of cousre the sales are going to be less. There not doing incentives like last year. Compare the sales to June 2004 and see what you come up with. Suv’s are still selling no matter how much you guys hate GM.

07/03, 3:42 PM

posted by:

Ed

Comparing monthly sales this year to a month when they priced their cars at a level where they should have been priced to begin with in order to be competitive (or in GM-speak “employee prices”) is really an exaggerated and distorted picture of the decline they’ve experienced in the marketplace.

07/03, 3:47 PM

posted by:

W1ck3d / Dirk

http://www.businessweek.com and search for ‘Audi sales june 2006′and check their total sales.

Quote: “Audi reported an uptick in June US autosales on the strenght of it’s new sport-utility vehicle, the Q7. Audi posted a 11.3 percent increase in total monthly sales to 8.039 vehicles versus 7.209 a year ago.”

SUVs are selling. Audi buyers don’t need incentives to choose for the Q7 as they know they are buying the better SUV on the market. Unlike GM buyers who probably buy cars of lesser quality because of the smaller price tag. Seems to me American cars are becoming more and more a white product of the automobile industry. You pay less, you get less.

Agree to disagree, just my opinion.

07/03, 3:49 PM

posted by:

W1ck3d / Dirk

LeftLanenews also posted about the Audi sales here: http://www.leftlanenews.com/2006/07/03/volkswagen-audi-post-sales-increases/

07/03, 4:13 PM

posted by:

Pruce

Jon, you hit the nail on the head haha. :)

07/03, 4:16 PM

posted by:

Anonymous (not the real one)

This report is from the liberal media and doesn’t show the true numbers. Buy GM because everything else is teh sucks!!1!!uno!!! Toyota and Honda will be out of business by this time next year thanks to the Buick Lacrosse, Pontiac G6 convertible, Chevrolet Cobalt and the Cadillac CTS. They are teh best!

07/03, 4:21 PM

posted by:

mike

You have to bear in mind that last june was the best GM month in something like 10 years. You’re all a bunch of idiots, you take the numbers without thinking about them.

07/03, 4:25 PM

posted by:

Anonymous

………and the guy above (#10) thinks they’ll still find WMD. Then George can tell us 20,000 dead/wounded families it was ‘really’ worth it.

Do I hear a toilet flushing? …..but NO! WAIT! Lutz will announce a 500hp Camaro to save the company from the French.

j i m

07/03, 4:46 PM

posted by:

Jon'O

GM is not doing very well. It’s a shame. I hope they can pull off a turn around…

07/03, 5:00 PM

posted by:

Jon

Mike,

If GM is doing so well why is their credit rating so low? Dude, seriously, take an economics class, then at least you can see that it is you who is the idiot.

Jon.

07/03, 5:16 PM

posted by:

Phil Menuts

hey W1ck3d, Audi sold 1,300 Q7s in June.
GM farts 1,300 full size SUVs a month. (Tahoe + Suburban + Yukon + Escalade = 40,000 sales in June)

Not really a comparable situation. Also, GM has been selling Tahoe’s, et al, for, what, 20 years? What demand there is for the Q7 includes an element of pent-up demand from Audi fans who’ve been unserved in the SUV arena until now.

07/03, 5:19 PM

posted by:

PAUL D.

Time to cut some dead weight guys… Starting with Saab and Hummer, then work on ousting the Buick then Pontiac lineups. I’d even go so far has to ****can Saturn if this renaissance doesn’t do jack squat (Which based on how cheap the Aura is from concept form and how redundant the rest of the lineup is, there is no need for them..)

GM should consist of Chevrolet, GMC (trucks) and Caddy. Sounds harsh? Yes, but they can’t keep operating like this…

07/03, 5:33 PM

posted by:

Anonymous

Will ’someone’ at GM flush the frickin’ toilet!? Get over the fact you were once [a long time ago in the real World] #1. Right now you’ve got bowel cancer and you better start surgery before it is not reversable.

….can you see it now: FOX News announces; “France to save GM.”

j i m

07/03, 5:36 PM

posted by:

V V

Hey Guys,
GM problems is not only how much vehicles they sell, its also the amount of profit they get per vehicle. The margins are so low because of all the freaking discounts. They are trying to move their vehicles by dropping the prices which cut on profits and money that could be used to build better vehicles. What they have to do, is screw profits for 10 years and prove to public their cars can compete with the best and then they will make money. You have to make buyers believe that your item is worth what you want for it, and GM cant do that. All they advertice is price points, which hints consumers that GM makes cheap cars. GM look at Audi, BMW, Toyota, they dont advertice price as much, they sell you a belief, passion, and image. DO THAT.

07/03, 5:47 PM

posted by:

gm

gm should split into chevy, gmc, buick and so on and stop sharing **** and go their own ways and come up with some unique ideas, each one of them. while they are under the same roof, some of those divisions are gonna go oldsmobile way so …
you know what i mean, each one of them would build their own, hopefully positive reputations and break the “gm = crap” curse.

thats the only way

07/03, 5:50 PM

posted by:

PAUL D.

Where’s Anonymous in all this? I am wiating to here more about the “Wave of Success…”

07/03, 6:26 PM

posted by:

V V

Hey Volvo-S60 driver,
I agree that these suck, LINCOLN, MERCURY, ther are ok VOLVO, JAGUAR, and LAND ROVER, and Mazda rocks. Mazda’s new line of cars has been a big hit. The Mazda 3, 6, MX-5, and I also think the new CX-7 will be a big hit. Yes pure ford cars suck but leave mazda out of it.

07/03, 6:30 PM

posted by:

youthDriver24

GM is actually doing better outside of the US in general, in Canada last year their total car sales increased by 8.2%. A lot of this has to do with more of a stigma attached to the company than actual vehicles.
I just like how the Big 3 auto makers employ so many Americans and these same people are wishing for their collapse. You are witnessing the down fall of the American empire. Keep buying foreign cars, America needs to export its wealth.

07/03, 7:02 PM

posted by:

SwedeRacer

I highly suggest many of you read more on business not just the liberal media headlines. GMs rating is less to do with the cars it builds and more to do with its legacy costs and liquidity. It is slowly improving and so will their ratings. Do they build the best, not all the time. Are them getting more competitive, yes slowly but surely. It will take a few years for them to turn around. Right now they are not out to sell more vehicles…Right now they have to be have higher margins per vehicle and this involves cutting legacy costs, utilizing economies of scale and reorganizing the company. It does not happen over night. However, what they have done in a short time is mind blowing and maybe you all should take a few classes so you can anaylyze the business beyond the course work on Reading **** Headlines 101.

As for Ford having higher sales, DUH they did not have the cut throat employee pricing last June. So their numbers were not inflated like GMs. Also, if your ignorant self could read numbers you would see GM sold over 400k vehicles in June…Ford sold over 200k HUGE difference…OH and Audi…Not too hard to show big increases when you introduce a new model to a line with LIMITED sales volume in the US. DUHHHHHH

Get a clue people, either you like them or you do not but they are not going anywhere and they are slowly getting stronger..UNLIKE FORD who is drowning still.

07/03, 7:43 PM

posted by:

VDub

all i have been seeing in the last few months are Big three sales numbers down and jap/euro car sales up. Sure i agree american companies do sell more cars but if this trend keeps up then it wont be for long. btw how are these articles considered “liberal media”? if you click on the data sheet it takes you straight to the GM website. numbers have no ideology they are facts.

07/03, 7:48 PM

posted by:

Bryan Detty

LMAO with people talking about profit margins look how low Crystler’s is. LOLLOWMARGIN

GM isn’t going to do Employee pricing like they did last year. Last year was inflated because of them. This year GM cut over 30,000 to not have to give them away to keep them working.

Oh yeah with Audi selling 1,300 Q7’s in June. You know at the Moraine Assembly plant GM produces over 1,300 mid size SUV’s in 1 day lol

Also I doubt the GM will allow the Nissan/Renault alliance. GM will not get anything out of it, Very little if anything. Nissan/Renault will get a crap load out of it.

GM will be fine… GM Will Succeed!!!

07/03, 10:07 PM

posted by:

David

I could run GM better than GM can.

07/04, 3:34 AM

posted by:

R.

While the other motor houses were buying up brands people want to drive, GM was resting on historical tailfins and missed all chances for global credibility. Saturn is the N. American Opel? Now? There shouldn’t be a Saturn. The past 35 years have lead up to their current predicament. GM’s only strength in Europe is due to Opel demanding independence in engineering to hopefully compete. 35 years ago. Now Boss-man says that German [Opel] engineers know what they are doing; there is no reason to critique their program in regards to Saturn. It really is sad. Disgusting rather. Why does GM & the US government seem the same? Elementary. Both refused to recognize vulnerability and adapt to a rapidly changing world. And what it will accept. And what it won’t.

07/04, 4:21 AM

posted by:

Anonymous

More doom and gloom news for GM. GM must be desperate enough to consider partnering with Nissan/Renault to save its biggest carmaker crown. I agree with #28 just like GM refuses to acknowledge that its ancient OHV’s are near the end of the road while majority of the carmakers around the globe has moved on and shifted to more modern engine architecture.

07/04, 9:47 AM

posted by:

rich

- General Motors’ dealers in the United States sold 413,473 new cars and trucks in June, the company’s best sales performance year-to-date, up 15.2 percent, or about 68,000 units, compared with May.

07/04, 10:21 AM

posted by:

mike

I never said GM was doing well, I was just giving a reason for the big drop in sales compared to last year. It makes perfect sense, unlike most of the idiots on here, who say things like “suck it, woo hoo, etc.” Neither viewpoint is entirely correct, and I understand that, but you have to keep things in perspective. And despite the drop in sales, they still sell more cars than anyone else. funny how that never shows up in any news story, unless it involves saying toyota is closing the gap.

07/04, 10:30 AM

posted by:

Don

OHV engines are not necessarily an obsolete engine architecture. I don’t think too many people would call the state-of-the-art OHV V8 in the Corvette obsolete. Or the Chrysler “Hemi”. Sure you could argue that the OHV V6’s that GM pushes are a bit outdated. But even they are beginning to be fitted with rather modern technology like VVT and cylinder deactivation. Heck, most OHC V6’s don’t offer cylinder deactivation, outside of some Hondas. OHV engines are usually simpler in construction, more compact, and offer good fuel economy. Comparatively speaking, the GM OHC and OHV V6’s of similar power get the same fuel economy. Sure, OHC engines are usually a bit smoother and tend to rev higher, but the smoothness could be changed with better VVT control and the higher revs usually bring more noise. Most people could care less if their engine is OHC or OHV as long as it delivers the power and fuel economy they want.

07/04, 1:22 PM

posted by:

R.

Engine architecture is seeing the tip of an iceberg from land. The consumer in 2006 cares much more than power delivery and, yes, fuel economy. Design, materials, integrity, and corporate strength matter most in the long run. These things are only recently recognized by GM. Why? Rehashing a Camero cannot save lost integrity. Since when does a Chevy Tahoe deserve FAKE burled walnut. The Impala isn’t deemed worthy. Isn’t wood trim GMC’s domain. Oh, but we have Cadillac to really produce a “luxury SUV.” With all the choices in luxury: Tahoe, Yukon, Escalade; no wonder the ship is sunk. They’re confused at the office as well. A Chevy dealer wouldn’t be caught dead in a Cobalt. However, many Mazda dealers welcome driving a 3. Using Mazda as example only, most other car manufacturers aim for strength in entire range of offerings. GM produces comfortable farm implements, first. Everything else is obviously secondary.

07/04, 5:07 PM

posted by:

Anonymous

GM knows the rental fleets very well. It’s the average consumer that they have no clue about.

Keep on relying on the blind diehards and you’ll survive a few years more I guess.

07/04, 6:15 PM

posted by:

anonymous

GM needs to get the camaro into production with a trans am/gto with the same platform. Dodge already gave the green light to production on the challenger. GM needs a car to compete. A Camaro/Trans Am/GTO would be perfect.

07/04, 7:23 PM

posted by:

Billy Bob

So, if Renault takes over GM, does that make GM employees wine-swilling, cheese-eating surrender monkeys?

Tell me, why would anyone enter into an agreement with GM? Look what they did to Isuzu, Suzuki, Saab, Opel,etc, etc, etc. The morons didn’t exploit Subaru for its 4WD tech for GM cars. Nope, GM knew better. To its credit, Ford is now using Mazda and Volvo tech very extensively, else their car business would also be in the toilet.

07/05, 2:24 AM

posted by:

Dave M.

All this nonsense of “OMG! Saab fell 50%!!!”. I’d be a lot more worried with Chevy dropping 100k+ vehicles than Saab dropping 2500.

Personally, there ae maybe 2 ‘American’ cars I would consider buying: The Mercury Montego and Malibu Maxx. Even the other semi-bland ones (Impala V-8, Zephyr) are foreign-made……

07/05, 6:38 AM

posted by:

Carnut4ever

#32 I got your point but that doesn’t answer the question on why GM still pushes OHVs in their engines while the rest of the world moves on in to OHCs. If you really want outstanding fuel economy, the best way is to have a smaller displacement engine with high horsepower per liter rather than cram as many cubic inches to the engine and hope that lower revs will always save the day. As for the cost figure, can you tell me why even Hyundai manages a high feature DOHC v-6 inside the Sonata which is in the same competitive price range as GM does with a Malibu still fitted with an OHV? I still stand by my point that GM is still too proud to accept changes to make vehicles that will sell in the domestic market(Where gasoline is still one of the lowest in the world) and the rest of the world(Wherein gasoline is sold by the liter and not gallons). Maybe this will change after Ghosn is done fixing GM.

07/05, 6:08 PM

posted by:

Allen

“can you tell me why even Hyundai manages a high feature DOHC v-6 inside the Sonata which is in the same competitive price range as GM does with a Malibu still fitted with an OHV?”

Ummm, I don’t know… Maybe it has something to do with Korean working for peanuts and Hyundai doesn’t have 1000s of lagacy cost per car?

07/05, 7:10 PM

posted by:

chi dell

I CANT WAIT TILL TOYOTA OWNS THEM..TOYOTA SIVERADO!!!!

07/12, 5:24 PM

posted by:

Darren

the only last word I said to GM owns to many repeat brands products. Pontiac as chevy as GMC to HUMMER & Buick as Cadillac & saturn/opel good & SAAB. They decide to keep these 8 brands then not concentrating like Ford/lincoln simple & chrysler now chrysler/benz.

 
 
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