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Ford beats Toyota in April!

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R

Ripclawe

Banned
Sales are still crappy but its a victory. How is the Fusion?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090501/ap_on_bi_ge/us_auto_sales

DETROIT – Detroit's Big Three is becoming Ford and the other two.

While its rivals stay afloat with billions in government aid, Ford grabbed a bigger slice of the American car market in April with record sales of its fuel-efficient Fusion. Those results pushed it past Toyota to retake its post as the nation's No. 2 car seller.

Even though Ford's monthly sales tumbled 32 percent from a year earlier, it captured 16 percent of the total market. Most of those gains came at the expense of General Motors and Chrysler, which unlike Ford are dependent on federal help.

Overall U.S. auto sales reported Friday fell 34 percent from a year earlier. Automakers sold about 820,000 light vehicles in April, about 38,000 fewer than in March but still a big improvement over January's 27-year low.

"It seems we're bouncing on the bottom of the bathtub, but it's somewhat stabilized," Chrysler Vice Chairman Jim Press said in a conference call with journalists. "Maybe we've figured out where the bottom is."

Chrysler, which filed for a government-engineered bankruptcy Thursday, reported the sharpest decline among major automakers, falling 48 percent.

GM, the largest American automaker with 21 percent of the market, posted its smallest decline in four months at 34 percent.

Ford sold a record number of Fusions — 18,321 — with the unveiling of its 2010 gas and hybrid versions of the car.

"Fusion appears to have broken the hold on the midsize sedan segment," said Ken Czubay, Ford's vice president of sales and marketing. Ford began selling the Fusion in 2005 with its 2006 model.

Toyota Motor Corp., which had overtaken Ford as No. 2 in U.S. sales, fell behind its rival in monthly sales for the first time in months. Ford got a lift from its line of midsize cars that burn less gasoline.

Ford Motor Co. sold 133,979 light vehicles in April, compared with 195,665 for the same month of 2008. The figures exclude sales of heavy and low cab forward trucks. Sales rose from March to April, with Ford selling 2,878 more cars.

"Based on dealer commentary, we believe this was at least partially due to customers shifting to Ford based on concerns about a potential bankruptcy filing at General Motors and Chrysler," said Brett Hoselton, auto analyst for KeyBanc Capital Markets.

April marked the sixth time in seven months that Ford gained retail market share.

Chrysler lawyers made their first appearance in federal bankruptcy court Friday. GM has a June 1 deadline to restructure or face bankruptcy.

Press attributed the automaker's April decline to a steep drop in sales to fleet customers. Retail sales fell at a much smaller 39 percent, he said.

He dismissed the notion that fears about the company going into bankruptcy kept consumers away from dealerships.

"Maybe some people have some worries about the longevity of the company," he said. "Well, heck, now the president of the United States, the U.S. government, is not only going to back our warranties, they're going to be an investor in forming our new company."

Still, Chrysler is clinging to just a 9 percent share of the U.S. market, down from about 12 percent a year ago.

Meanwhile, Toyota reported a 42 percent drop in April sales. Toyota, the world's biggest automaker, was weighed down by declining sales across the board and a 62 percent slide in sales of its Prius hybrid.

The Japanese automaker is phasing out the existing Prius to make way for its 2010 model, which goes on sale in the U.S. in the coming weeks.

Ford's midsize Fusion model is a viable competitor against Toyota's popular Camry, with the 2010 models getting praise for quality, safety and fuel economy. More than 40 percent of the 2010 Fusions sold are hybrids that get 41 miles per gallon.

Meanwhile, GM's car sales fell more sharply than its trucks, a trend that goes against the federal government's goal to boost sales of smaller, cleaner cars.

Japanese automaker Honda Motor Co. posted a more modest 25 percent drop in sales.

Nissan Motor Co., reported a 38 percent drop in its sales. The No. 3 Japanese automaker saw double-digit sales declines across both its car and truck segments.

Subaru broke a streak of sales increases, reporting a 6.7 percent decline in volumes for April, hurt by a drop in volumes of its Outback wagon and Impreza sedan.

The Japanese automaker had been bucking brutal trends in the auto market. It was the only major automaker to report a sales increase in 2008.
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R

Relix

he's Virgin Tight™
Full Recovery said:
You drive a PT cruiser? what are you 50 :lol
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I drive a Taurus 03. I just need four tires, a motor, an a AC. I am set. Don't care about how it looks.

But hey... I might just buy one of the newer Fusions =O
 
T

Tarazet

Member
Wow, I knew consumer perception of Ford was improving but not that much! It warms my heart to see the Fusion doing so well. Consumer Reports rated it as more reliable than the Camry, so maybe people are starting to take notice. I know I did.
 
S

sprsk

force push the doodoo rock
sonarrat said:
Wow, I knew consumer perception of Ford was improving but not that much! It warms my heart to see the Fusion doing so well. Consumer Reports rated it as more reliable than the Camry, so maybe people are starting to take notice. I know I did.
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Let's just hope they don't sit on it.

It'd be awesome to one day buy a new American made car and not have to make up some excuse.
 
M

Monroeski

Unconfirmed Member
sprsk said:
Let's just hope they don't sit on it.

It'd be awesome to one day buy a new American made car and not have to make up some excuse.
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If you just mean American made and not American brand, there are probably a lot more cars made in the US than you think. Toyota makes a lot of their cars in the US, for instance.
 
A

andycapps

Member
Monroeski said:
If you just mean American made and not American brand, there are probably a lot more cars made in the US than you think. Toyota makes a lot of their cars in the US, for instance.
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True, I think they're talking about American designed when they say American made. Same way as how Honda is considered Japanese made when quite a few of them are made about an hour from me in Marysville, OH. Know an engineer that works there and designs a lot of the programs for the robots that are on the lines and for robots that are in development. He'd tell me some fascinating stories about those things and about how much they cost and how much work goes into the software or maintenance. Been there before too as I worked there for a few days years ago (job just wasn't my cup of tea) and it's pretty crazy.
 
P

Patriots7

Member
Next Fusion is going to be based on the Mondeo or so I hear.

Congrats Ford, of the domestics, they've always been my favorite. However, it'll be interesting to see May sales and see whether or not Toyota's deep discounts that begin to match Ford's turn the tables again.
 
J

Jason's Ultimatum

Member
Patriots7 said:
Next Fusion is going to be based on the Mondeo or so I hear.

Congrats Ford, of the domestics, they've always been my favorite. However, it'll be interesting to see May sales and see whether or not Toyota's deep discounts that begin to match Ford's turn the tables again.
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WHAT? SOLD!
 
M

Mattlikewhoa

Member
I can imagine why. At the dealership down the street from my work I noticed a HUGE banner with the following...

Zero down, zero security, zero at delivery, you pay nada your first month, AND zero percent financing?!

Well good for them, even though they are giving them away...
 
C

ConsumerSquare

Member
Sorry to hear that. I'm currently being screwed by Ford, so I've got my fingers crossed that the whole industry collapses just so I can see the jerks that I've been dealing with lose their jobs.

Improving just their products isn't going to cut it. They need to improve the dealership/service experience.
 
K

Kung Fu Jedi

Member
Ford has been repositioning themselves and rebuilding the brand for several years, well before the economy went to shit, which is why they are now in a better position than any of the other American car companies to get back to profitability faster. They've also committed themselves to improving the quality of their vehicles and it really shows.
 
V

Vox-Pop

Contains Sucralose
daegan said:
Not gonna lie - I'd really like one of the new Fusion Hybrids (I drive a 07 PT right now.)
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I drove a PT Cruiser last week and thought it was the worst car ever. My 97 jeep drives better than an 08 Cruiser. WTF! The pedal was the worst part, no man should have to drive with a pedal so small.
 
Z

ZealousD

Makes world leading predictions like "The sun will rise tomorrow"
MickeyKnox said:
Have you never seen an episode of Top Gear before??
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No! Not only am I not very interested in cars, but I live in the US.
 
D

DarienA

The black man everyone at Activision can agree on
ConsumerSquare said:
Sorry to hear that. I'm currently being screwed by Ford, so I've got my fingers crossed that the whole industry collapses just so I can see the jerks that I've been dealing with lose their jobs.

Improving just their products isn't going to cut it. They need to improve the dealership/service experience.
Click to expand...

I'm wondering how much direct control Ford has over the dealership/service experience... if you're saying you are having problems with a specific dealership...

ZealousD said:
No! Not only am I not very interested in cars, but I live in the US.
Click to expand...

Oh you can still live in the US and see full episodes of top gear.... www.finalgear.com
 
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