NYT: Big Drop in October for Detroit

[DeepModem Mom]

Big Drop in October for Detroit
By MICHELINE MAYNARD
Published: November 2, 2005


DETROIT, Nov. 1 - October, which is the start of the new model year, used to be a month for the auto industry to celebrate. This year, it was a month for Detroit to forget.

General Motors, Ford and Chrysler held their lowest shares of the American market ever last month. Sales fell in the wake of high gasoline prices, fears about the economy and consumer resistance to buying cars without the big discounts the companies offered this summer.

General Motors and Ford were hurt the most, with G.M. sales dropping 25.6 percent compared with October 2004 and Ford sales down 26.1 percent.

Big sport utility vehicles, on which Detroit based much of its resurgence in the 1990's, did even worse, with sales of some of the largest S.U.V.'s, the Ford Expedition and the Cadillac Escalade XLT among them, falling by half or more.

But Asian auto companies performed much better, recording their biggest share of the American market ever....


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/02/business/02auto.html

[Sal Minella]

1. Wouldn't you think Detroit would get the message eventually........

I remember when we went through this same thing with the little VW beetle -- beetles were all over the place before Detroit got the idea it might possibly could somehow maybe make a smaller model of some kind???

[JNelson6563]

2. I know! How 'bout bigger SUVs??

Idiots.

[sweepster]

3. Get rid of the MBA's

Most of the ones I have read about have screwed up major corporations more often than not. Carli Fioni of Hewlet Packard for instance. Took the company from $80 per share to $7.00 was fired and then received a 23 million dollar dollar parachute.

We need some people with common sense.

[kysrsoze]

8. Yeah, get rid of people who are edumacated and know how to run a business

It's not about MBA's running the companies. There are MBA's running plenty of high-performing companies. The problem is with Detroit's continued refusal to provide customers with the kinds of cars they want. Save Chrysler, they simply do not follow trends in cars. Aside from a few select models, GM and Ford build absolute junkmobiles and massive trucks because the profit margin was at one point high.

[info being]

11. There are MBA's on this thread

I'm one.

[Itchinjim]

4. This happened in the early '70s too.

During that energy crisis, Detroit kept churning out giant land whales while Japan was putting out smaller more energy efficient autos. Detroit, caught with their pants down, responded by putting out such engineering marvels as the Vega, Maverick, Pinto and my personal favorite, the Pacer. History is repeating itself, once again Detroit is about ten years behind. I really don't have any sympathy for them, but I hate to see auto workers lose their jobs because of the Big Three's chronic short sightedness. The only good thing to come out of this is that maybe we are seeing the long over due death of the SUV.

[trogdor]

5. The smallest domestic-made Chevy only gets 31 city MPG.

Pathetic. Every Honda Accord or Toyota Camry beats that, and they're in the midsize class.

[dubyaD40web]

6. No shit!

I saw the commercial for their new Impala with "an impressive 26 miles per gallon". HAHAHA

[tabasco]

7. Consumers are to blame as well.

My Toyota Echo gets 50 mpg. Sales were so bad 2000-2004 that Toyota decided to stop selling it in the US in 2005. I think they may be reconsidering since the rise of gas prices. It's a great little car. Known in Europe as the Yaris. My first Toyota and I don't think I'll ever get anything else.

I laugh at assholes tooling around in 15 mpg behemoths, especially at the gas pump!!

But I place the onus on the American automakers. All of their problems are due to stupidity and short-sighted focus on immediate profits.

[kysrsoze]

10. Actually Yaris is coming to the US. Styling reportedly doomed the echo

At least that's what Toyota says. The Yaris looks weird to me, but I'm 36 and Scions are selling like mad, so what do I know? Actually, the Tc is one bad looking little ride.

[tabasco]

14. I guess I don't care about styling as much as the average person.

50 mpg, a big trunk, and it always starts is what I was looking for. :)

I figured they would reconsider selling their best mpg conventional car after Bush got the gas prices up (all according to plans).

[meganmonkey]

18. Heh - I was thinking about getting one 2 years ago, but then

I came across a 'used' Hyundai Accent with only 8,000 miles on it which was waaaay too good a deal to pass up.

I get about 35 mpg on average, including both Hwy and City driving...

[saigon68]

15. such engineering marvels as the Vega, Maverick, Pinto

LOL I remember those crappy cars

[sendero]

19. Don't forget the Chevette..

... back seat optional!

As a friend of mine once said - Detroit says "you want a small car, well Chove It" :)

[saigon68]

20. THAT WAS THE FIRST DISPOSABLE AMERICAN CAR

IT WAS LIKE A "FULL" DIRTY DIAPER

[hatrack]

9. Were economists "surprised"?

I'm just sayin . . . :evilgrin:

[koopie57]

12. the new cars use too much gas

and are just plain ugly too boot. Driving one of them is like driving a big fat turd around town and proclaiming you are an idiot. IMHO.

[bmbmd]

13. I parked next to a Chevrolet HHT

(or whatever initials it is ) last night. It is one ugly piece of junk. Rented an Aveo on my last out of town junket-felt like I was riding in a washing machine. POS.

[rfkrfk]

16. why is almost everything, a four door?

I hate foor-door cars.

I especially hate, what I refer to as 'stealth' foor-doors,
that have blacked-out center-pillars, and the rear
door-handles are essentially over the center of the rear wheel,
Extra heinous points, for a rear wing.

dishonorable mention, for that mini-schoolbus

[sweepster]

21. I hate foor-door cars. Yeah especially

when they take the beloved 2 door Charger and turn it into a 4 door.

[AlCzervik]

17. They aren't doing those big incentives anymore and thats killing them

as well.