Truckin' even in this economy is staying America '

Paul A. Eisenstein, NBC News contribution
TRUCK buyers could this year for a gift from General Motors in be. The manufacturer offers incentives for less than $9,000 on some of its full-sized pickups in this month in the hope to clear a massive backlog of Chevrolet Silverados and GMC Sierra on many traders.

"The oldest trucks out there, we have" which means that they need to remain competitive the biggest Givebacks acknowledged Mark Reuss, President of GM North American operations.

But GM is not alone. Ford, Chrysler, Nissan and Toyota have all ramped up Givebacks on their pickups in the last few months - and made the deals even sweeter when you consider that today in the vicinity of record-low finance rates.

The heavy discounting may not much of a surprise when you consider what has happened in the last half decade on the truck market. But in fact, after taking a big hit in the recession, sales, full-sized pickups in fact grow this fast last year - and it was even a "bump" demand as Superstorm Sandy devastated the East Coast, said Analyst Jim Hall of 2953 Analytics, in Detroit, Michigan.

The good news for Ford, 2012 once again the top-selling vehicle in the United States is ending its big F-series, and Chrysler brand RAM is good with the 2013 remake of its full-size pickup 1500 scored.

General Motors hopes for a recovery when it is expected mid-2013 launches all new versions of the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra.

"There is nothing more for our business as a truck, core" provided Reuss with well-attended preview of two trucks on a film soundstage in a suburb of Detroit. "And we think that we are counting this very well."

Since Henry Ford a bed on the back of a station wagon, a century before screwed, pickups were an important factor in the American automobile market. During its peak, a decade back, they made more than 17 percent of total sales in the United States new vehicle or 2.46 million during the record year 2004.

But demand began even before the nation into a recession and only 1.5 million for 2011 appeared to reduce. Part of the problem was that truck were likely to consider their cool at a time as the hippest buyers, a fuel sipping Prius more had lost guzzling as a pickup truck.

"The recreational pickup market is now quite low," and probably not again so analyst Hall on the legs.

But the commercial market is quite another thing. As the economy has slowly recovered, so has the demand for trucks. Traditionally is a close connection between the housing industry and the demand for pickups, GM's Reuss said. And the latest figures for housing starts, he said, suggests that the sales will receive probably even more in the coming months.

Already partially due to the need for Sandy Superstorm destroyed vehicles replace an increase in sales on the East Coast, dealer reports. And "entrepreneur, a car before may have now two take over extra work required could have" worked repairing the damage from the storm.

For the industry, which is the good news. "The market is getting stronger," beamed Reuss while the Silverado and Sierra preview, but "It is very, very competitive."

Clearly, GM had to cut incentives to 140 days supply with two trucks to the double of the normal industry dealers was to increase. But Chrysler has seen strong demand 1500 after the new RAM, has discounts and other incentives add up to approximately $4,700 were forks per truck in the last few months.

"Any discounting was,", analyst Hall said. "Trucks are always has some discount on them, taking into account the market is so competitive."

In an unusual twist, Asian manufacturers complement this pressure. Despite fat pronouncements don't have Tundra Toyota and Nissan largely with their models and titanium to make progress and keep more aggressively only to their own meager shares had to.

Manufacturers hope that they can of course keep deals with more than just the cashback. Significant redesigns for 2014 have undergone the new GM pickups, which calls main source River "evolutionary" on the outside, while he describes the inner update as "great."

Gone are the days, meant as a truck driving the hard life. This old fashioned metal or dashboards have been gilt leather and aluminum accents. Even the most basic material can be ordered now seats with seat heaters. And many high-tech infotainment and safety features found more often in upscale mid-size sedans or crossovers the Silverado and Sierra updates.

They can be ordered also with WiFi, easily an owner shops on the street - the center console hide a sinus cavernous storage area, large to provide enough for hanging folders and a large laptop computer.

The pick-up market is likely never reach the peaks set in the first years of the new millennium. But even without the urban Cowboys, who drove it to record levels, sales are clearly recovering. Pickups are back on almost 12 percent of the US market and if the housing market that another point or two in the next few years his own revival trucks continue to gain, most analysts predict.

The good news is that competition stays probably intense, forcing the manufacturers continue to update their products during the strong incentives.

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Auto industry the silver lining in gloomy economy

General Motors is clearly the leader in June auto sales. Overall, sales were slightly better than expected, reports CNBC's Phil LeBeau.

By Paul A. Eisenstein, msnbc.com contributor
There may be plenty of reasons to worry about the U.S. economy: Weak jobs numbers, poor housing starts and a European economic crisis that threatens to spill across the Atlantic. But based on June sales numbers, the American auto industry is not one of them.

Car sales outpaced even the more optimistic forecasts, with several manufacturers setting all-time records. A number of others, notably General Motors, saw demand surge to levels not seen since before the start of the lingering U.S. recession.

Significantly, while the industry was clearly pushing hard to sell, sell, sell, industry data suggest automakers didn’t fall into the past trap of buying sales with hefty rebates and other incentives.

“The combination of new products, available credit, lower fuel prices and modest economic growth was a stronger influence on consumer behavior than economic and political uncertainty,” said Kurt McNeil, General Motors’ vice president of U.S. sales.

GM posted a solid, 16 percent year-over-year gain, June bringing the maker’s best monthly unit sales since September of 2008.

Chrysler, meanwhile, delivered its 27th consecutive monthly year-over-year increase — an increase of 20 percent — making it Chrysler’s best June in five years.

Honda had to look back to 2008 for the last time it did so well in June, a month normally buoyed by the so-called Spring buying season. Overall, the Japanese maker gained 48.8 percent, but its struggling luxury division, Acura, gained 76.5 percent — helped by the addition of some critical new products like the entry-luxury ILX. The mainstream Honda division did well, with a 45.6 percent increase despite the fact that its Accord sedan is months away from being replaced by an all-new model.

The Japanese did well across the board, Nissan reporting a 28.2 percent jump — its own luxury arm, Infiniti, gaining 66.1 percent for the month.

But the real winner was industry giant Toyota. Like its Japanese rivals it suffered severely in spring 2011 as it was forced to close or sharply cut back production at many of its key assembly plants due to the March earthquake and tsunami that devastated Northeast Japan. For June 2012, it saw sales rocket upwards by 60.3 percent — and forecast still better days to come.

“June and first-half sales were driven by consumer interest in our new models including the Prius C … and the Camry,” which was redesigned for the 2012 model-year, noted Toyota division group vice president Bob Carter. “We expect to see continued stability in the automotive market during the second half of 2012,” added Carter, thanks to pent-up demand, low interest rates and a continued influx of new products.”

Toyota recently increased its forecast for the full year to 14.5 million vehicles, a figure more and more analysts now agree with. In fact, June’s Seasonally Adjusted Annual Sales Rate, or SAAR, came in at more than 14 million, up from 13.7 million in May.

And it did that even though the industry cut back on incentives by 1.6 percent from May to June, to an average $2,187 per vehicle, according to a preliminary estimate by tracking firm Edmunds.com. That was also down 0.8 percent from June 2011.

Nonetheless, there are some skeptics who worry that a weak economic recovery and the threat of a worsening crisis in Europe could cause the car market to stutter — or force makers to ramp up spending on givebacks.

"There was great pressure from automakers to close June strong, especially after the unexpectedly weak Memorial Day holiday weekend in May,” noted Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds’ chief analyst. “It is the end of a quarter so undoubtedly they wanted to finish big. Two weak months in a quarter would make for unfavorable reporting."

If anything, the industry may be suffering from too quick a recovery. Ford Motor Co. sales rose by a relatively modest 7 percent, but the maker has repeatedly warned that the cuts it made during the recession now leave it with a shortage of capacity. Hyundai has issued a similar warning and said it is struggling to break bottlenecks both at its U.S. plant and on assembly plants in Korea.

There were a few weak players in June, notably Jaguar which has been struggling to build demand for its flagship XJ resulting from reports of early quality problems (the big sedan getting a clean bill of health in the latest J.D. Power Initial Quality Survey released last month).

Luckily for the Indian-owned carmaker its British sibling Land Rover has scored a big hit with its first-ever crossover vehicle, the Range Rover Evoque. Overall Jaguar Land Rover sales were up a combined 2 percent.

A surprisingly weak performance came from BMW, up only 0.4 percent for the month, though its Mini subsidiary gained 14.7 percent — the combined brands collectively picking up 3.2 percent for June.

Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz not only set a June sales record but had its highest-ever U.S. sales for the first half of the year. Porsche picked up 17.9 percent, the brand scoring with new versions of the flagship 911 sedan and smaller Boxster roadster.

Volkswagen gained 34.5 percent, steadily gaining momentum with its midsize Passat which was designed specifically for the U.S. market and which is being built at the German maker’s new assembly plant in Chattanooga.

VW sales are running at their highest levels since the golden days of the original Beetle. But the maker is targeting a goal of 600,000 vehicles annually before decade’s end, which would require it to double again its current sales.

So, like the rest of the industry, the maker is keeping corporate fingers crossed that June’s sales surge wasn’t just a short-term phenomenon.

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U.S. fuel economy tops 24 mpg for first time

By Paul A. Eisenstein, The Detroit BureauThe fuel economy of the average new vehicle sold in the United States has topped 24 miles per gallon for the first time ever, according to researchers at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.

Using the numbers shown in the “Monroney” window sticker, the average fuel economy of the cars, light trucks, minivans and SUVs purchased in March rose to 24.1 mpg, up from 23.9 in February and 23.6 in January. 

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The typical vehicle sold in March 2012 was 20 percent, or four miles per gallon, higher than the industry average in October 2007, the first month UMTRI researchers Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle began tracking vehicle mileage.

The surge in fuel economy should be no surprise to those who have been tracking recent sales trends.  Small cars have enjoyed a major surge as gas prices have begun their latest push towards record levels.  Compact and smaller models now account for nearly a quarter of the market, up from less than 18 percent as recently as last December.

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Meanwhile, hybrid-electric vehicles have also enjoyed a big burst of interest, the Toyota Prius achieving record sales in March.

In addition to reporting on the average fuel economy numbers, researchers Sivak and Schoettle issued their monthly update of their national Eco-Driving Index, which estimates the average monthly emissions generated by an individual U.S. driver. The EDI takes into account both vehicle fuel economy and distance driven—the latter relying on data that are published with a two-month lag.

During January, the EDI stood at 0.83, an improvement from 0.86 in December (the lower the value, the better). The index currently shows that emissions of greenhouse gases per driver of newly purchased vehicles are down 17 percent, overall, since October 2007.

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In addition, Sivak and Schoettle reported the unadjusted Corporate Average Fuel Economy performance for the first time. That figure is not the same as the number consumers see because it is based on a different set of EPA ratings.  Nonetheless, it also showed a substantial improvement For March.  The unadjusted CAFE figure rose to 29.6 mpg, an increase of 20 percent, or 4.9 mpg, since October 2007.

What remains to be seen is whether the surge in fuel economy will continue once fuel prices level off. Most analysts believe the trend will continue, however, if for no other reason than the tough new fuel economy standards automakers are facing. That has led the industry to make major shifts in powertrain technology that will continue to have an impact for years to come.

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Lies, damned lies and fuel economy numbers

DetroitBureau

Heather Peters with her 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid.

By Paul A. Eisenstein , TheDetroitBureau.com

Heather Peters was mad as hell and wasn’t going to take it anymore.  So she decided to take Honda to court, alleging that the Japanese maker sold her a car it knew wasn’t likely to get anywhere near the mileage she had been promised.

In a case commanding national attention, former corporate attorney Peters is now waiting for a decision from a small claims court in suburban Los Angeles that could award her as much as $10,000 – though she claims Honda actually defrauded her to the tune of $122,112 by convincing her to buy a 2006 Civic Hybrid.

“The sales force said 50 miles per gallon, but they didn’t say if you run your air conditioning and you remain in stop-and-go traffic, you’re going to get 29 to 30 miles per gallon,” said the 46-year-old Peters prior to the trial. “If they did, I would have gotten the regular Civic.”

Peters isn’t alone. A number of manufacturers have been hit with criticism and, in some cases, with class action lawsuits, contending that the numbers they promote in window stickers and in advertisements are far more optimistic than buyers should expect.

And the situation only seems to be getting worse as fuel economy has become one of the single biggest factors Americans consider when shopping for a new car.  When it comes to compact and subcompact models, 40 has become the new norm, the minimum number needed in terms of highway mileage to ensure shoppers consider a particular product.

Hyundai recently announced plans to add a fourth model to its line-up rated at 40 mpg or higher.  But, in the process, it is taking fire from the Washington-based Consumer Watchdog which claims the figure quoted for the compact Hyundai Elantra is “deceptive.” The organization is asking the maker to stop using it in ads – while also demanding the Environmental Protection Agency re-test the vehicle’s fuel economy.

In a letter to Hyundai, the group said that, “With this mileage issue in the public arena, Consumer Watchdog believes you should acknowledge the real-world gap to potential buyers, or risk losing their trust.”

For its part, a statement by the Korean maker says that, Hyundai stands behind the EPA fuel economy ratings of the Elantra and we have no intention of removing our fuel economy numbers from our advertising. Simply put, the charges being made by Consumer Watchdog don’t hold up.”

The maker actually acknowledges that the testing done by a variety different magazines and consumer groups has resulted in lower fuel economy than the EPA has gotten when testing the same vehicles – but Hyundai stresses that is true across the board, not just limited to its own products.

“Enthusiast magazine fuel economy reporting (Car & Driver, Motor Trend, etc.) and even USA Today, testing typically results in lower-than-EPA results for almost all vehicles, as was found with Elantra,” said the Hyundai statement.

Part of the problem, said an industry source asking not to be identified by name, “is that manufacturers typically tune their cars to maximize their performance in the EPA test cycle.  In some cases they might actually do better in real world conditions, but in many cases they’ll get lower mileage in consumers’ hands.”

The EPA has been well aware of such discrepancies and has periodically tweaked its testing procedures to try to generate numbers that are more in-line with real-world results.  The most recent changes, made in 2008, were aimed primarily at correcting what were admittedly overstated numbers for most hybrids – such as Heather Peters’ Civic.

In some instances, the EPA has had to tweak its formula to be more generous.  Ford's Derrick Kuzak has noted that the automaker is reluctant to start offering costly start-stop technology on its vehicles because the current EPA methodology doesn’t reflect its benefits.  Start-stop systems briefly shut off a vehicle’s engine rather than idling, say, at a stoplight.  The engine automatically re-starts when the driver’s foot lifts off the brake pedal.  The EPA is considering ways to reflect the use of start-stop when determining the final rating of a vehicle.

But, more often than not, fuel economy numbers have tended to be overstated, something manufacturers are well aware of.  But, at the hearing on Peters’ complaint in a small claims courtroom in Torrance, California a Honda representative insisted, “We have no choice” but to use the EPA figures.  “We have to put these numbers on the label,” argued technical specialist Neil Schmidt.

Not so, countered an EPA spokesman, who said that federal mileage testing provides only the maximum number a maker may quote.  If a vehicle is more likely to deliver 35 in real-world conditions an automaker has the right to go with that figure, though sticking with an EPA-sanctioned 40 MPG is more likely to catch a consumer’s eye.

But the push for a high EPA rating can occasionally backfire.  When J.D. Power and Associates downgraded Ford in its Initial Quality Survey last year, one of the reasons was a balky transmission in the new Ford Focus that had been specifically tweaked to maximize mileage.  The maker has since revised the software used to balance fuel economy and ride comfort but it remains to be seen if that will drop Focus below the sought-after 40 mpg figure.

That number is, it should be pointed out, based on the highway portion of the EPA testing process.  The government actually provides three numbers: City, Highway and Combined, the latter being “the one we think is most likely to reflect what a consumer will really get in real world conditions,” noted Nissan’s chief U.S. spokesman Dave Reuter.

Unfortunately, that’s seldom a number that you’ll see quoted in advertising.

“The convention in the industry has been to promote the highway number…to represent the best competitive position,” noted Doug Scott, Ford’s Truck Group Marketing Manager.

Nonetheless, the story isn’t entirely bad.  With automakers putting more and more emphasis on fuel economy, many of the latest products are achieving 5, 10, even 15% overall – real world — gains compared to the products they replace.

Credit new technologies like direct injection, turbocharging, six-, seven- and even eight-speed gearboxes and, yes, start-stop.

Yet, a new study by MIT economist Christopher Knittel suggests that the industry could do even better if it weren’t for the fact that today’s cars are both bigger and heavier than ever.  Take the Honda Civic.  It’s now nearly big enough to be considered a midsize but debuted as a subcompact.

According to Knittel, the average gas mileage of vehicles sold in the U.S. increased by just over 15%.  Over the same period their average curb weight rose 16% — while their horsepower soared by an average 107%.

Had the typical car maintained its weight and power the typical U.S. automobile would today be getting about 37 mpg, rather than 27, Knittel noted in a new research paper, “Automobiles on Steroids,” published in the American Economic Review.

“Most of (the recent) technological program has gone into (compensating for) weight and horsepower,” he wrote.

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Tough economy gives boost to auto ‘aftermarket’

Handout / Reuters

A Camaro concept car was among the new models introduced at last week's trade show for the automotive "aftermarket."

By Paul A. Eisenstein

Car manufacturers might still be struggling to emerge from the depths of the industry’s worst downturn since the Great Depression, but the so-called “aftermarket” is firing on all cylinders — perhaps in part because of the weak economy.

Forced to hang on to their cars longer than normal, American motorists are spending more on maintenance, and that’s a big portion of the estimated $30 billion in annual revenues generated by some 6,700 car parts manufacturers, distributors and retailers who make up the Specialty Equipment Market Association.

Car owners can shake off their boredom by dressing up their old car with some new features, perhaps some new alloy wheels, a custom grille, sports seats or even an entirely new, high-performance crate motor, like the one introduced by Chevrolet at this year’s SEMA trade show.

The annual event is a showcase of just about everything automotive — everything from air fresheners to wild (and sometimes wacky) concept vehicles.

Nearly 2,000 different exhibitors crammed into the sprawling Las Vegas Convention Center last week to pitch their wares to more than 135,000 wide-eyed attendees from over 100 countries.

“It certainly demonstrates there’s a reason to be optimistic about the future of the auto industry,” said Peter McGillivray, the trade group’s vice president of marketing, as he stared out at one of the convention center’s crowded halls.

With one of the largest stands at the million-square-foot show, Chevrolet created a life-size “Hot Wheels” track to show off a custom Camaro painted in an eye-popping metallic green. Dubbed the “Chevy Hot Wheels Camaro Concept,” it’s currently a one-off for the annual automotive extravaganza, though executives of the carmaker hinted they could find a place for it in the growing Camaro line-up.

The Chevrolet display also featured a dozen different concepts based on its new Sonic subcompact — from the Sonic All Activity Vehicle, designed by racing great Ricky Carmichael, to the Sonic Boom, a prototype featuring two large subwoofers and 10 six-inch midrange speakers mounted in the rear hatch in a pair of turbine engine-like clusters.

The annual SEMA show was originally designed as a showcase for automotive suppliers and vendors, and sure enough there were plenty of exhibitors who’ve come up with a great idea, cobbled together a prototype in their garage and showed up hoping to sell some of their new widgets.

But automakers like Chevrolet have also ramped up their presence in recent years.

Chris Perry, Chevy’s vice president of marketing, suggests the show provides “a great canvas” to pitch its products to those who influence market trends. Indeed, SEMA’s McGillivray contends that the show and other organization events “can influence as (many) as one million vehicle purchases a year.”

That’s why the roll call for automakers has steadily expanded over the years, with 11 manufacturers attending this year’s event, including Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota.

The Japanese automaker’s luxury brand, Lexus, used the 2011 SEMA Show to reveal its all-new GS F Sport. In years past, that introduction would likely have been staged at a more traditional event, like the upcoming Los Angeles auto show.

Hyundai, meanwhile, unveiled a half-dozen concept vehicles, including the ARK Performance Veloster, a prototype of the turbocharged hatchback that it will bring to market next year.

“SEMA is a place where two worlds collide,” said John Krafcik, chief executive of Hyundai Motor America. “And when they do some amazing things happen.”

Officials at Kia, the Korean carmaker’s sibling brand, agree, suggesting that appearing at SEMA has helped transform the maker’s image, putting an emphasis on styling and performance, rather than just rock-bottom pricing.

The SEMA Show has evolved in other ways.

While performance parts — like fast-shifting gearboxes and supercharged motors — were the show’s original focus, there has also been what McGillivray calls a “mind-boggling” growth in the number of vendors showing off their mobile electronics gear.

That’s no surprise. With roads more crowded than ever, fuel prices hovering just below record levels and tough new mileage standards going into effect, motorists are looking for other ways to improve the performance of their cars.

Like completely updating a car’s interior.

“We’ll manufacture the interior in a day” and install it a day later, suggested Brooks Mayberry, the CEO of Katzkin — a SEMA member that produces customized replacement leather seats and finishes for more than 2,000 different vehicles.

The firm recently signed a deal with national dealer chain CarMax to offer both used and new car buyers the chance to upgrade their vehicles. And the company was at SEMA hoping to drum up even more business.

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European car show upbeat, despite economy

FRANKFURT — Stock markets around the globe are plunging, consumers are retrenching and the threat of another recession seems to be on everyone’s mind these days.

Well, almost everyone. Optimism is the mood of the moment as the biennial Frankfurt Motor Show gets under way this week in Germany.

Never mind that Ford warned recently about sales missing estimates. No matter that automotive executives are watching the economic problems that are threatening to tear the European Union apart. Ford “comes to Europe with optimism,” insisted Stephen Odell, CEO of Ford of Europe, in a speech previewing the carmaker’s new line-up at the German car show.

In fact, Ford may have more reason for optimism than other automakers. The automaker has regained significant sales momentum this year after years of sales and market share declines that only complicated the problems it had in its home market. It has been sitting in the number two spot in Europe, this year, just behind Volkswagen AG — which is itself likely to be the second-largest automaker in the world when the numbers are added up for 2011, thanks to Toyota’s crushing production problems following the March earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

It’s not surprising, of course, to hear manufacturers speak of their hopes and aspirations — it’s what economists suggest consumers want to hear. And nothing spurs optimism more in the auto industry than new sheet metal. This year, there’s plenty of it on show in Frankfurt.

After delaying the introduction of many new models during the worst of the global economic downturn, manufacturers have opened the spigot on their product pipelines. Some 100 new vehicles were launched during the two media that came ahead of the show’s official opening to the public, according to estimates.

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Perhaps the only ones visibly worried about the increase in car introductions were the 10,000-odd reporters gathered in the German financial capital to try to cover the event. Organizers have this year had to double up many of the news conference slots. Most of them were also cut short to just 15 minutes. That was complicated by the fact that it’s nearly a kilometer from one end of the sprawling Frankfurt Messe exhibition center to the other.

In hopes of standing out from the crowd, carmakers have been forced to stage advance “backgrounders,” hoping to get journalists to write more about their products than those of their competitors. The Internet is filled with more than a few “leaked” images that appeared to be stage-managed by the manufacturers themselves.

On the night before the first official media day, there were long lines of limousines and buses outside most of Frankfurt’s major hotels escorting reporters to parties where they could take a look at products they might not get to see during the frenzied media previews.

Volkswagen, for example, provided a look at all its dozen brands’ offerings, including the new production version of the VW Up! microcar, as well as a pair of battery-powered vehicles from its upscale Audi brand.

There are no formal plans to put the A2 show car and Audi Urban Concept vehicles into production — yet. But it’s clear that the various Volkswagen subsidiaries, from pedestrian Seat to luxurious Audi, are convinced that European buyers will continue to look for smaller and greener products that can help them navigate crowded urban roads and survive record fuel prices that, in some national markets, have topped $10 a gallon.

Small and fuel-efficient models are everywhere to be found at the various Frankfurt halls, and even luxury automakers are acknowledging the trend. Lexus has a new version of its GS450h hybrid. And Jaguar’s concept offering, the C-X16, would be, if it went into production, the smallest model the British marque has turned out in over half a century.

Mercedes-Benz, meanwhile, has a striking liquid silver-painted concept dubbed the F125! (exclamation points are in high demand this year). The F125! can run on clean, light hydrogen gas, while BMW stages the formal launch of its new “i” brand with the debut of the i8 and i3 battery-powered cars.

In typical form, the German marques dominate Frankfurt, much as the French brands show off every even year when the event moves to Paris. But with 50 different brands on display in Frankfurt, Teutonic carmakers are getting plenty of competition this year.

The Koreans are proving particularly aggressive, with Kia revealing a coupe-like sport sedan dubbed the GT and Hyundai revealing the i30, which will also be sold in the U.S. as a wagon version of the wildly popular Elantra.

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The move by Hyundai underscores one of the significant changes that has reshaped both the auto show circuit and the industry as a whole in recent years: In decades past, a sizable majority of the products shown in Europe would never cross the Atlantic. But these days carmakers are pushing for ever-improved economies of scale, and that means more global products.

The smallest offerings, such as the Mercedes A- and B-Class models, still aren’t coming to the U.S., although that might change if fuel prices at home keep rising, company officials suggest.

Ford’s pre-show preview brought the unveiling of the Evos, a stunning coupe-like sedan with four gullwing-style doors.

“This is the new face of Ford,” said the carmaker’s global design chief J Mays. Although the car’s gullwing doors are “just showbiz,” according to Mays, Ford sources confirmed that many of the Evos’ design details will reappear on the stage at the Detroit Auto Show next January in the form of replacement versions of the U.S. Fusion sedan and European Mondeo.

Once completely separate vehicles, the two cars are now distinct only in their nameplates. By developing common vehicles that can be sold around the world Ford can afford to develop more niche vehicles to target selective groups of consumers.

That’s a strategy that most makers are now adopting, which is why there are 100 or more products all vying for attention in Frankfurt.

The Frankfurt Motor Show, the world’s biggest auto show, runs until Sept. 25.

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Positive sign for economy: Solid car sales

AppId is over the quota AppId is over the quota DETROIT — Car buyers shrugged off bad economic news and a major East Coast hurricane last month, lifting U.S. sales for most automakers.

General Motors, Chrysler, Ford and Nissan all reported surprisingly strong sales results for the month Thursday. Toyota and Honda, however, continued to be hurt by model shortages from the March earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Both reported large sales drops.

Industry analysts had expected a weaker August because of consumers' anxiety about the economy and Hurricane Irene, which forced many dealers to close during the key final weekend of the month.

But Don Johnson, GM's U.S. sales chief, said other factors are making cars more attractive to buyers, including new products, low interest rates and stronger household budgets.

"Consumers are being cautious, yes, and appropriately so, but they are not retrenching," he said. "All indications to us are that the industry is going to continue to slowly grow through the rest of the year."

Chrysler sales led the way in August with a 31 percent increase from a year earlier, and significantly the automaker outsold Toyota for the third time in four months last month. GM's sales rose 18 percent, Nissan was up 19 percent and Ford reported an 11 percent increase. Toyota sales were off almost 13 percent, while Honda sales were down 24 percent.

"The 'new GM' is making the strides it promised. About the only negative signs on GM's spreadsheet of August sales were for models being discontinued or soon to be replaced," said car research site Edmunds.com's Senior Analyst Michelle Krebs.

Honda and Toyota lost sales because of parts shortages caused by the earthquake. Dealers ran short of many top-selling models. Sales of the Toyota Corolla compact were down 19 percent, while Honda Civic sales were off 47 percent. Both companies expect better sales in September because their factories are returning to normal production.

Chrysler reported its strongest August since 2007 with sales led by Jeeps and minivans, while Ford said sales of its redesigned Explorer sport utility vehicle quadrupled over last year. Nissan's sales were fueled by subcompact and midsize cars such as the new four-door Versa and Altima sedan.

GM's big increase was sparked by the Chevrolet Cruze compact, which accounted for one in every 10 GM vehicles sold. The Cruze, introduced last year, has been a top seller for the company since the start of the year, giving the company its first strong product in a growing market. Cruze sales topped 20,000 for the fifth straight month. Buyers also went for the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain small crossovers.

Auto sales had been a bright spot for the U.S. economy through May, but began sputtering in the summer as consumer confidence waned and a March earthquake in Japan caused shortages of Honda and Toyota models. Then came the hurricane, which forced many East Coast dealers to close in the month's final weekend. Normally buyers come out on the last weekend, lured by deals and advertising.

Even before the storm, J.D. Power was forecasting total sales of 1.07 million for the month. While that forecast is 4 percent higher than August last year, it's still a much slower pace than at the start of 2011.

Sales could improve this fall when automakers offer sweeter deals and a wider selection of models.

Cash-back offers, low-interest loans and other deals have been scarce this summer because of the model shortages. But they're expected to return as Honda and Toyota replenish their dealer lots in September and October and try to win back market share lost during the earthquake shortfalls.

Toyota will also begin selling its new Camry sedan in October, which could lift sales.

The industry remains cautious. The unemployment rate is stuck at 9 percent, food and clothing costs are going up and consumer confidence dropped to its lowest level in more than two years in August.

To boost next month's sales and help people whose cars were damaged by the hurricane, GM is offering to defer payments for 90 days. It's also giving $500 toward the purchase or lease of a new vehicle. The offer is for areas designated major disaster areas by the federal government.

Sales of GM's full-size pickup — the GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado — rose 10 percent after being slow for much of the year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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European car show upbeat, despite economy

AppId is over the quota AppId is over the quota FRANKFURT — Stock markets around the globe are plunging, consumers are retrenching and the threat of another recession seems to be on everyone’s mind these days.

Well, almost everyone. Optimism is the mood of the moment as the biennial Frankfurt Motor Show gets under way this week in Germany.

Never mind that Ford warned recently about sales missing estimates. No matter that automotive executives are watching the economic problems that are threatening to tear the European Union apart. Ford “comes to Europe with optimism,” insisted Stephen Odell, CEO of Ford of Europe, in a speech previewing the carmaker’s new line-up at the German car show.

In fact, Ford may have more reason for optimism than other automakers. The automaker has regained significant sales momentum this year after years of sales and market share declines that only complicated the problems it had in its home market. It has been sitting in the number two spot in Europe, this year, just behind Volkswagen AG — which is itself likely to be the second-largest automaker in the world when the numbers are added up for 2011, thanks to Toyota’s crushing production problems following the March earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

It’s not surprising, of course, to hear manufacturers speak of their hopes and aspirations — it’s what economists suggest consumers want to hear. And nothing spurs optimism more in the auto industry than new sheet metal. This year, there’s plenty of it on show in Frankfurt.

After delaying the introduction of many new models during the worst of the global economic downturn, manufacturers have opened the spigot on their product pipelines. Some 100 new vehicles were launched during the two media that came ahead of the show’s official opening to the public, according to estimates.

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Perhaps the only ones visibly worried about the increase in car introductions were the 10,000-odd reporters gathered in the German financial capital to try to cover the event. Organizers have this year had to double up many of the news conference slots. Most of them were also cut short to just 15 minutes. That was complicated by the fact that it’s nearly a kilometer from one end of the sprawling Frankfurt Messe exhibition center to the other.

In hopes of standing out from the crowd, carmakers have been forced to stage advance “backgrounders,” hoping to get journalists to write more about their products than those of their competitors. The Internet is filled with more than a few “leaked” images that appeared to be stage-managed by the manufacturers themselves.

On the night before the first official media day, there were long lines of limousines and buses outside most of Frankfurt’s major hotels escorting reporters to parties where they could take a look at products they might not get to see during the frenzied media previews.

Volkswagen, for example, provided a look at all its dozen brands’ offerings, including the new production version of the VW Up! microcar, as well as a pair of battery-powered vehicles from its upscale Audi brand.

There are no formal plans to put the A2 show car and Audi Urban Concept vehicles into production — yet. But it’s clear that the various Volkswagen subsidiaries, from pedestrian Seat to luxurious Audi, are convinced that European buyers will continue to look for smaller and greener products that can help them navigate crowded urban roads and survive record fuel prices that, in some national markets, have topped $10 a gallon.

Small and fuel-efficient models are everywhere to be found at the various Frankfurt halls, and even luxury automakers are acknowledging the trend. Lexus has a new version of its GS450h hybrid. And Jaguar’s concept offering, the C-X16, would be, if it went into production, the smallest model the British marque has turned out in over half a century.

Mercedes-Benz, meanwhile, has a striking liquid silver-painted concept dubbed the F125! (exclamation points are in high demand this year). The F125! can run on clean, light hydrogen gas, while BMW stages the formal launch of its new “i” brand with the debut of the i8 and i3 battery-powered cars.

In typical form, the German marques dominate Frankfurt, much as the French brands show off every even year when the event moves to Paris. But with 50 different brands on display in Frankfurt, Teutonic carmakers are getting plenty of competition this year.

The Koreans are proving particularly aggressive, with Kia revealing a coupe-like sport sedan dubbed the GT and Hyundai revealing the i30, which will also be sold in the U.S. as a wagon version of the wildly popular Elantra.

The move by Hyundai underscores one of the significant changes that has reshaped both the auto show circuit and the industry as a whole in recent years: In decades past, a sizable majority of the products shown in Europe would never cross the Atlantic. But these days carmakers are pushing for ever-improved economies of scale, and that means more global products.

The smallest offerings, such as the Mercedes A- and B-Class models, still aren’t coming to the U.S., although that might change if fuel prices at home keep rising, company officials suggest.

Ford’s pre-show preview brought the unveiling of the Evos, a stunning coupe-like sedan with four gullwing-style doors.

“This is the new face of Ford,” said the carmaker’s global design chief J Mays. Although the car’s gullwing doors are “just showbiz,” according to Mays, Ford sources confirmed that many of the Evos’ design details will reappear on the stage at the Detroit Auto Show next January in the form of replacement versions of the U.S. Fusion sedan and European Mondeo.

Once completely separate vehicles, the two cars are now distinct only in their nameplates. By developing common vehicles that can be sold around the world Ford can afford to develop more niche vehicles to target selective groups of consumers.

That’s a strategy that most makers are now adopting, which is why there are 100 or more products all vying for attention in Frankfurt.

The Frankfurt Motor Show, the world’s biggest auto show, runs until Sept. 25.

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New rules require to much higher fuel pump economy

President Barack Obama, announced with the support of the major auto manufacturers a plan Friday to increase average fuel economy of new cars and trucks on 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025, nearly double currents.

"This agreement on fuel standards is the most important single step we ever as the nation took, to reduce our dependence on foreign oil" Obama said at a Washington event with top automaker executives and labor leaders.

The new standards are the result of a compromise with the industry, after the White House would have originally proposed even higher requirements, the corporate average fuel economy, or Cafe, standard to 62 mpg.

The plan announced Friday calls for a fleet-wide average 54.5 mpg-- for cars higher or lower for "light trucks," a category that includes pickups and sport utility vehicles.

The fleet standard put on 27.5 two decades it under the Obama administration raised the increase, set model of 30.2 this year to 35.5 mpg in 2016. An additional annual improvement from 5 percent in the fuel consumption the new rules would require car from 2017 through 2025. For light commercial vehicles of the standard would increase 3.5 percent a year 2021 from 2017 and 5 per cent per year from 2021 to 2025.

The White House said that the new rules sold have won the support of the automaker 90 percent of the vehicles in the United States.

The compromise was a bit surprised and looked unlikely that even a few days, according to the TheDetroitBureau.com. According to David Strickland, head of the national highway traffic safety initial administration, not important parties the last language until almost midnight Thursday.

Some automakers and analysts have warned that the technology, the new standards required thousands of dollars costs for a typical new car Add. But the White House says, the savings at the pump, balanced by it is said that $8,000 up to 2025 would average during the lifetime of a vehicle.

The White House figures based rising gas prices a modest 13% from 2015 to 2025 and is powered vehicles, average 15,000 a year.

"We share the management aim of the great advances in vehicles the clean, fuel-efficient," said Toyota's Jim Lentz. "Obviously, there is still much uncertain, as the market is reacting and what vehicle technologies will include consumers, which is why we roll out and test a number of alternative fuel options."

An environmental group welcomed the new standards, but said that she could have even more.

The group, the American Council for an energy efficient economy, it pointed out that actual miles achieved by cars and light commercial vehicles in the 2020s are much lower than the published CAFE standards, which are based on laboratory tests instead of real street performance.

"This is an important step in reducing our dependence on oil and consumer sensitivity to high gasoline costs," said Therese Langer, transportation program director for the ACEEE. "By the year 2030, this could import stored currently combined round standards more oil than we Saudi Arabia and Iraq,."

But she added that the announced standards "could be undermined Rulemaking it", before they are completed. A notice of the proposed Rulemaking be published by end of September, opening a public comment period, federal officials said.

"The next few months to ensure that the benefits, which promises this program implemented are crucial," said Langer.

© 2011 msnbc.com reprints

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Battle brewing on fuel economy standards

The White House is looking for a way to compromise, on future fuel economy increases, but it remains to be seen whether proposed new regulation of miles on both sides of the debate shall be fulfilled.

The Obama administration is hinting, that it requires automakers produce fleets of cars and trucks to get average 56.2 miles per gallon by the year 2025. One would represent almost a 60 percent increase over the 35.5 mpg mandate in place for 2016. But the bottom line, what a year, still much lower than he environmental protection agency originally pulls the 62 mpg number, which, considering an increase of 5%.

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An even greater increase in the standards advocates say fuel consumption that the compromise figure would not do enough to reduce global warming or reduce America's dependence on foreign oil.

But some industry representatives and others say that costs might cause even the 56.2 mpg standard, in which more than carry the public leading to declines in new car sales and the loss of thousands of jobs can, auto sharp. You have proposed 47 mpg, a standard perhaps, which would be an annual increase of 3% more than a decade.

"Overly ambitious benchmarks set 14 years in the future risk serious economic damage, if consumers want and needs not met," Bailey said wood, a spokesman for the National Automobile Dealers Association.

The corporate average fuel economy, or CAFE standards were controversial, since they were made law in 1975 after the first Middle East oil. Opponents of the standards by the rules for two decades, with only the most modest increases to the Obama management starting a boost able, effectively freezing 2012 model year 2016 negotiated.

Sporadic certain run up in oil prices over the past two years and growing concern about global warming, fuel the supporters of the Government mandated standards now they feel have to achieve momentum the largest mileage increases, because rules have been passed the original more than three decades ago.

Sure, would like to, that consumers improved fuel economy. Translation is reflected in the market smaller cars and smaller drives. But growing frustration with the Government and the public debate about global warming have more difficult to sell the original 62 mpg target, as some had initially expected.

Also complicated questions: Americans are worried about jobs and a study issued this month by the center of automotive research serious questions about the costs and benefits of pressure fuel consumption too far, too quickly raised.

The risk "is Ernst,", says the car study, which said that the higher standards the price of a typical car sold in the United States of about $9,000 and boost could at the same time new car sales of up to 5.5 million units per year, removing potentially more than 265,000 us jobs.

Advocates CAFE standards complains issued by the Boston Consulting Group pointing the car report as "Propaganda", instead to another study, on the same day as the auto report.

The Boston Consulting Group is far less negative about the projected sharp increase in the mileage. It would be "much cheaper than expected," said Boston Consulting Group analyst Xavier Mosquet, estimated the average cost at $2,000 per vehicle. Which, he claimed, would be paid easily by fuel savings, especially if gas prices continue, expect as many.

Why such a discrepancy between the two projections? There are many assumptions that are going forecasts more than a decade--as well as the types of technology, to adapt that may be available to meet those needs in which consumer demand.

Industry leaders will shrink as global head of product development Derrick Kuzak, Ford say that drivers be forced not only clearly such, but they will get probably also no longer today popular that capable of the kind of drives. The industry is probably forced to replace V8, V6s and even smaller 4-cylinder engines with battery-based technologies, which could affect performance, range and payload.

On the other hand, proponents of the substantial number of conventional vehicles, which already provide show CAFE 40 mpg on the highway without use of hybrid technologies that could bring even more savings. The Boston Consulting study, on the one hand sees tremendous opportunities with direct injection, turbocharging and advanced transmission systems.

The Administration backed down on the previous 62 mpg standard inserted, was the new Republican-majority House in January. But the question of the fuel economy is less partisan than some may think.

Liberal Senator Carl Levin, D Michigan, such a page by the industry, saying that even the reduced 56 mpg target is too high. On the other hand, a group of 15 prominent Republicans, including former Governors, members of Congress and EPA administrators, the White House last week at the full wrote back 62 mpg target.

With consumers so worried about fuel prices there are only a few, who expect that the CAFE debate is put back on the back burner. It is unclear whether the new proposal is the point at which the White House expects to start collective bargaining with the automotive industry, or if it looks 56 mpg than the compromise it is prepared to settle as.

Administration representatives have officials from the automotive industry, Capitol Hill leaders allegedly and others meet in the last few days with has been hoping to take the political temperature.

White House "has made no decision, but our goal remains, [a revised mileage] to propose rule this September," said spokesman Matt teaching I.

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