Toyota says record profit expected, keeps Outlook

Toyota Motor Corp. raised the operating result, the forecast for the fiscal year to 9 percent to a record 2.4 trillion yen ($23.7 billion) as the yen fell against the dollar to around 9 percent of this fiscal year, buoys profits from the export-oriented automakers.

The world's top-selling automaker, said on Tuesday that it expects now to 2.4 trillion yen in the operating profit of its previous forecast of 2.2 trillion yen and higher than the pre-Lehman crisis record turnover of 2.27 trillion yen from six years ago to the top.

The revision was almost in line with the 2.44 trillion yen by 23 analysts estimated.

Written 600,5 billion yen in operating profit, above the average estimate of 575,9 billion yen for the October-December third quarter Toyota and almost five times what it posted a year ago.

Toyota kept its Crown as the world's best-selling car manufacturer for two years in a row in the year 2013, looked General Motors and Volkswagen rivals 9, 98 million vehicles together with subsidiaries Daihatsu motor and Hino Motors have sold. 2014 Planned to sell 10.32 million vehicles worldwide.

Shares in Toyota jumped 20 percent are since early April 2013, if the fiscal year, in line with the benchmark Nikkei started is average. The camp closed on Tuesday about 5.5 per cent.

Toyota kept its global consolidated sales Outlook for the fiscal year ending in March at 9.1 million vehicles. It is expected to be 50,000 more vehicles in Japan in comparison to an earlier forecast, while it expected North American sales of 30,000 vehicles for sale and deletes in some other areas.

Four of the top five U.S. Auto seller on Monday accused extreme winter weather to worse than expected sales in January, analysts and executives a recovery in February and March predicted.

U.S. automakers Ford Motor and General Motors and Toyota as well as Honda Motor saw US car sales plummet in January is missing analysts estimates for the month.

Sales in the largest market where it the third largest car manufacturer Ford and General Motors, rose by 7 per cent in the year 2013 to around 2.24 million vehicles, supports United States, Toyotas by the strong sales of the Avalon and the Lexus RX is. Toyota's U.S. market share was unchanged at 14.4 percent.

While some economists and analysts 2014 expect sales to rise between 16 million and 16.5 million vehicles - industry sales at 15.6 million vehicles in 2013 - what is growing concern, which will increase competition, higher incentives and lower profits for companies.

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Corvette owner record that drives can be shared

The 2015 Chevrolet Corvette have a new system, with the owners take their drives and share the video with friends.

The system uses a windshield-mounted camera, a microphone and a recorder, to track data. Drivers can edit the videos, their speed, location, lap times and other statistics.

The video is viewable on the Corvette eight inch color touchscreen, if the car is parked, or downloaded onto a computer. Driver can record up to 13 hours of driving time.

General motor developed the system with Cosworth, a British company that the Corvette racing team electronics system provides.

GM introduced Sunday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It didn't say how much the option.

Corvette on sale enters the next fall of 2015.

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Toyota, nearing the record profit, slowed down in Southeast Asia

Toyota engine slower than expected growth in Southeast Asia, the regional market is third largest headache as the world's top-selling carmaker closes on the six year-old winning successes.

In ASEAN - who Toyota's largest market after North America and Japan, overwhelming Europe or China – the company by Government policy swings in Thailand and Indonesia and underperformed industry-wide growth been injured.

Toyota sold Southeast Asia's largest auto market Thailand around 237,000 vehicles in January-June, minus 2 per cent compared with the same period a year ago. That compared with an industry-wide growth of 22 percent, as it was taken end of a government subsidy, as well as weakness in more fuel efficient small cars.

In Indonesia, Toyota's are likely to deliveries to customers 2013, have in the first half of last year but significantly slower than the market as customers increased to keep purchases prior to an expected launch of a new small car.

Toyota's ASEAN exposure is higher than its competitors Honda Motor and Nissan Motor. ASEAN represents Toyota's a little more than 10 percent of the total.

Worldwide Toyota posted a 5.4 percent increase in its North America's largest regional market in January-June, as the United States is the strongest pace of annual sales see in more than five years.

In Japan, which is second largest market was sales 12 percent higher than previous year by green car subsidies ended last year, but it is profitable to see strong sales of luxury models.

Toyota, may this year the first automotive manufacturer to more than 10 million vehicles in a year had become, produce was on the right track to beat or to get close to its annual operating profit of this financial year.

But its Southeast Asian markets could get in the way.

"In the short term, sales are lower than expected in these countries and that could weigh on Toyota's business development,", said Issei Takahashi, analyst at Credit Suisse in Tokyo.

At the same time prepare export-dependent Southeast Asian countries after years of easy, brisk demand and strong domestic investment of a slowdown. The Fed is expected to soon pointed to his stimulus program that fueled the wave of credit in the region.

Weak yen helps Toyota

A weaker yen, the exports profitable and allows to convert money from abroad, at a price set to increase Toyota well to his performance.

On Friday, it will post an operating profit of April is expected to until June 649 billion yen, or $6.6 billion, up 84 percent on last year, according to the average estimate of four analysts survey by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

That would be the biggest quarterly operating profit in six years and just shy of its record in April-June 2007, $6.9 billion or 675,4 billion yen and group is stronger than Volkswagen AG April-June operating profit of $4.5 billion and General Motors $1.8 billion.

For the fiscal year to March 2014 Toyota should an annual operating profit of $23.1 billion or 2.27 trillion yen according to average 26 analyst predictions, post, shortly before the record profit of 2.27 trillion yen, that which in March 2008 to the end of the year posted it.

Toyota, whose Thai 2012, last month deleted cut market share to 32 percent in January-June from about 36 percent in the year its 2013 sales forecast for the market by 10 percent to 450,000 vehicles, despite its forecast for industry-wide sales by 8 percent to 1.3 million vehicles have raised.

Toyota has lagged rivals in the small, fuel-saving cars, which are increasingly popular in Thailand. Rival Honda has seen strong sales of Brio surprise in Thailand. Toyota said that it wants to sell a new model this year.

In Indonesia, where Toyota has a 35 percent market share, there is a delay in the implementation of Government low cost green car programme for the promotion of small cars hit which was signed into law recently, but is still on hold pending the review. The Government also has fuel subsidies in June.

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Fangio of Mercedes-Benz W196R sells for record $29,619,826

Bonhams
Mind-blowing: 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196R sold for almost 30 million $.
Update: We have watching video of the hammer falling on the Fangio W196 get. Check it out below. Looks like the car was not really on the block, but that apparently does not deter anyone... or maybe English auctioneers really can sell anything.

Mercedes-Benz W196R housing 00006/54 roared to victory in the 1954, German and Swiss Grand Prix with none other than Juan Manuel Fangio behind the steering wheel.

We do not imagine, it roared Bonhams auction block at the today's Goodwood Festival of speed (a lot at the same time reach to cover his ears would perspective cause a lot of confusion from an auctioneer), but the results were incredibly anyway: bidding reached $29,619,826 before the Hammer came down.

Yes, nearly $30,000,000. That is not quite double in the current record price paid for a car at an auction-a $16,390,000-1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa at the Pebble Beach sold in 2011.

14 Mercedes-Benz W196s produced there are 10 today-- a survival rate much better than that of the men who drove cars. But Fangio association with chassis 00006/54 makes it, well, especially. One-of-a-kind, in fact. That it is a bit of a surprise given a still privately owned.

Mercedes retained possession after it from racing, retired, but at some point the car-first was sold to a British collector then to a French collector, then to a German collector and then was bought and resold, which brings us to where we are today.

We are not sure who will now take the car home, but your wallet is considerably lighter. The fuel injected, tube-framed, open wheel legend would quite nicely in the Mercedes-Benz Museum existing quivers of the silver arrows perched. It is hard to imagine that the automakers a chance, this automotive artifact again pass; Earlier this year, when the news that the car would be auctioned broke, we have a couple Benz officials they had no interest in acquiring it. They seemed surprised that the car had reappeared, but something about a hasty would give not us (if tempting) "no comment."

So we'll see.

00006/54 Crossed the block prior to housing a few other bits of the W196 Automobilia, some accessible even for those without GDP Tuvalu at their command. A child size mobile model of the car sold for a not too shabby $8.688, although its 50cc engine can hold no candle to the 2, 5-liter version in the real deal (not that you own nothing this kind of makes her little Fangio would entrust).

A one eighth scale version of the famous car costs $5.288 and for lovers with a tough budget, a Fangio-signed photo of the driver in a W196 Grand Prix of Monaco in 1955 would sell for a mere $1,133.

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Fuel hits all-time record: 23.8 mpg

Paul A. Eisenstein, the Detroit Bureau
American motorists are more and more from their new cars as the average fuel consumption of new cars and trucks sold rose by 6 percent and set an all-time high in the year 2012 as consumers of higher gas prices and the increasing availability of attractive products of high-mileage, said according to a study.

University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute-eco-driving-index indicating the average fuel consumption of new vehicles in 2012 on a record 23.8 mpg, 1.3 mpg from 2011 and 2.9 mpg from 2008 bought.

But whether this trend will continue, especially with the economy recovering and fuel prices fall - at least for the moment – remains to be seen. Study that found University of the fuel consumption of vehicles in December bought 23.9 mpg below 0.2 mpg from November, probably due to the last reduction in the price of gasoline.

General Motors is the first U.S. automaker in its home market in a year to sell more than 1 million vehicles, which get mpg or better on the highway of cycle 30 an EPA-estimated.

Industry observers note that a variety of factors were restructuring of the U.S. auto market. While consumers to smaller vehicles have started is the greater tendency to smaller and more economical drives, change including turbocharged and hybrid alternatives.

"Our investment in advanced powertrains clearly pay off and be our smaller vehicles with customers, resonance", said Mark Reuss, President of GM North America. "In the year 2013, we introduce new diesel eAssist and plug ins to expand the availability of the turbocharged four-cylinder engines and vehicles in the United States." This will give the technologically diverse economical cars and crossovers in the industry us."

Thirteen GM vehicles at least a comprehensive model that achieved with at least 30 mpg highway, and the manufacturers have known, it was the first to sell more than 30 mpg at least 1 million vehicles in a single year of 2012.

Small cars were selling Ford 29% in 2012, with 316.006 vehicles sold. Focus sales gained 40% in the course of the year, and the new C-MAX next its strong selling rate. Were in the first four months of sales 13.309 C-MAX vehicles sold and thus fastest selling beginning each hybrid vehicle in the industry.

The shift, however, is about the steady growth of the smaller vehicles, which is driven by pricing. Automakers have withdrawn many of their older, full-size vehicles and replaced them with newer models that are significantly more fuel efficient. The completely newly designed Toyota Avalon 2013 gets 31 miles per gallon on the highway.

Even Chrysler, which remains, his RAM pick-up truck that is most fuel efficient full-size pickup on the market adds today getting 25 mpg, often behind their rivals in the fuel economy has improved during total fuel economy of all pick-up trucks in the last years.

The pickup segment provides a good example as the U.S. market shifted. All three are the Detroit makers with new mileage reduced emphasis on drive trains. Ford, in particular has seen from half of the F-series buyers shift to the V-6 offers in the last year, including the V-6 EcoBoost, nor the towing and payload capacity of the Ford truck classic V 8s can match.

Nevertheless Americans were expected a record sum on petrol in the year 2012, after spending $490 billion in 2011 - which is approximately 100 billion $ to spend in 2010 more than figure. Last year count is expected to be in about 500 billion $ come.

While nationwide fuel prices approached to record levels in the spring – and indeed the all-time high in California this year due to supply problems exceeded - gasoline prices have fallen heavily in recent weeks.

They are currently $3.30 per gallon average according to the energy information agency, down from $3.45 a month ago. Now, gas prices are the same as they were a year ago.

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Sticker shock: New car prices hit record high

By Paul A. Eisenstein, The Detroit BureauRemember “sticker shock”?  After several years of heavily discounting their products in a desperate bid to keep assembly lines rolling, automakers are finding themselves back in the driver’s seat again – pushing prices to record levels.

And it’s “not a blip,” warns one senior analyst, who expects the trend to continue for several years. The good news for shoppers is that trade-ins are also yielding better prices – and while that new car, truck or crossover may command more money than ever before it’s also likely to include significantly more features and markedly better fuel economy than the vehicle it replaces.

How much do you expect to spend on your next new car?

The average new vehicle sold in the U.S. in March cost $30,748, according to data tracking service TrueCar.com.  That was up 6.9 percent from $28,771 a year earlier and marks an all-time record.

“It’s not a blip. It’s a trend we’ve been seeing for months,” said Jesse Toprak, TrueCar’s chief automotive analyst.  That’s despite the fact, he says, that “this might seem counterintuitive at a time you might expect to see people buying cheaper cars because fuel costs are rising so fast.”

But there have been a number of counterintuitive trends in the industry in recent months. One is the surge in overall car sales, which have been rebounding faster than the U.S. economy – despite the fuel price spike that, in decades past, might have been expected to result in a sharp downturn in demand.

There are a number of reasons why new car prices are spiking.  A key reason is “There’s a better equilibrium between supply and demand,” noted Toprak, “which means discounting isn’t needed as much.”

Dodge Dart Gets First Factory Wireless Charging System

While March saw vehicle sales surge to an annualized rate of around 14.5 million, that’s a long way from the decade-old industry peak of around 17.1 million.  In years past, makers would’ve been tacking on massive rebates and other incentives to boost sales. But in a significant move during the recent recession, many makers slashed production capacity, especially Detroit’s Big Three.

And so, with the remaining plants operating at, near and sometimes above their rated capacity, carmakers don’t need to be so generous. March incentives, according to TrueCar, slipped 1.8 percent, year-over-year, to an average $2,440 per vehicle.

There’s another reason why the run-up in pricing might seem unlikely. There’s been a significant upturn in the small car market with motorists trading big SUVs for compact crossovers and full-size sedans for subcompacts.  Nearly one in four vehicles sold in March fell into the small car category, up from barely one in six as recently as December, according to industry data.

Ford, Nissan Abandon Key Hybrid Programs

But don’t think of them as the classic “econoboxes” that proved so popular – briefly – in the wake of the twin oil shocks of the 1970s. Products like the 2012 Ford Focus and the latest-generation Hyundai Accent are far more stylish and well-equipped.

Consumers, meanwhile, “are upgrading the vehicles they’re buying,” no matter what class they fall into, noted Art Spinella, lead researcher at CNW Marketing.

In the decades that CNW has tracked automotive buying patterns, the typical vehicle will fall into the 50th percentile — almost exactly halfway between the base price of a specific nameplate and the most heavily loaded version. In other words, if the entry model was $20,000 and a fully loaded version was $40,000, the typical buyer would spend $30,000.

But now, said Spinella, the average vehicle is falling into the 82nd percentile.  Using the same example, the typical shopper now drives off in a vehicle costing $36,400.

U.S. Fuel Economy Tops 24 MPG for 1st Time

“People are trying to stuff all the bells and whistles they can in a car” in part, Spinella explained, because “they plan to keep it longer.”  Prior to the Great Recession, buyers told CNW they plan to hold onto a new vehicle, on average, about 42 months. That’s now up to 57 months.

The good news is that buyers aren’t necessarily spending a lot more out-of-pocket. That’s because used car prices have also surged over the last several years.  During the first quarter of 2012, the price of the average previously owned vehicle sold through a franchised new car dealer rose 12.5 percent, or about $1,400.  For the consumer, that meant a bigger trade-in allowance to apply to a new vehicle.

The upward trend in pricing is almost certain to continue, at least barring a sharp setback to the economy, industry analysts agree.

“The long-term trend is gradual price increases continuing for several more years as sales recover to 15 million and even 16 million,” forecast TrueCar’s Toprak.  “But the pace (of the increase) we’ve seen over the last several years isn’t sustainable.”

He anticipates prices will start to level off as they reach an average $31,000.

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Auto sales record best quarter since 2008

David Zalubowski / AP

A line of 2012 Focus sedans at a Ford dealership in the south Denver suburb of Littleton, Colo.

By msnbc.com staff and wire reports

Updated at 2:04 p.m. ET: The auto industry looks set to ride the appeal of smaller cars to its best quarterly performance in almost four years.

Auto sales rose sharply in March, boosted by consumers with more confidence in a recovering U.S. economy who want to buy fuel-efficient cars and trucks in the face of rising gasoline prices.

Strong sales in March are the most convincing evidence yet this year of a sustained recovery in the U.S. auto sector. Analysts said unseasonably warm weather last month drew out American car shoppers. The rise in gas prices to near $4 a gallon coupled with high used car prices also prompted some consumers to buy new vehicles earlier than planned.

Ford's U.S. sales rose 5 percent from a year earlier. Ford, No. 2 in the U.S. market, reported its best March for new auto sales in five years on strong sales of small cars such as its Focus sedan and its F-Series pickup trucks.

Chrysler, No. 4 in U.S. sales, reported a 34 percent increase, led by its Chrysler brand, which had a sales increase of 70 percent.

It was the 24th consecutive month that Chrysler showed a year-on-year sales gain.

Don Johnson, GM VP of U.S. sales operations, offers insight on GM's March automobile sales, with CNBC's Phil LeBeau.

General Motors, the No. 1 automaker in U.S. and global sales, said its U.S. sales rose 12 percent in March on solid demand for cars and small crossovers that achieve 30 miles per gallon or better on the highway.

Nissan said its sales in March rose 12.5 percent, and Volkswagen said its March sales soared 35 percent -- its best U.S. March sales since 1973.

Toyota, No. 3 in U.S. sales, saw a 15 percent rise in March sales.

South Korea's Hyundai, which has the best fleet-wide fuel economy ratings in the market, said it expected to have record monthly sales.

"The current level of gas prices will further accelerate the release of pent-up demand as consumers lean towards significantly more fuel-efficient new vehicles while used prices are still strong," Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said.

Consumer confidence rose in March to its highest level since February 2011, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan reading of consumer sentiment showed.

Consumers who held off purchases during the economic downturn -- which led to the worst U.S. auto sales since World War II adjusted for population -- are returning to the market, said Edmunds.com analyst Jessica Caldwell.

In February, auto sales rose to their highest level in four years.

"Vehicle trade-in rates have achieved sustained highs in recent months, which suggests that consumers have decided that they've held on to their cars for too long," Caldwell said. "And with the average credit score for new car buyers at its lowest level since the first half of 2008, the market is clearly becoming a friendlier place for all buyers."

Toyota released its March sales numbers at an increase of 15.4 percent, below the estimated 21 percent increase. CNBC's Phil LeBeau and Jim Lentz, Toyota's U.S. president/CEO, discuss Toyota increasing U.S. RAV4 production and March sales.

As sales rise, automakers are also getting more profit per vehicle. Incentives continued to trend downward in March while the average transaction prices per new vehicle rose, autos consultant TrueCar.com said on Tuesday.

Auto analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect an annualized sales rate for March of 14.74 million vehicles, which would be a rise from last March's 13.1 million sales rate. Analysts say pent-up demand, easier credit, more fuel-efficient product offerings and mild weather helped boost March sales.

Mike Jackson, chief executive of the nation's largest auto retailer, AutoNation Inc., told CNBC on Monday that the company raised its 2012 sales forecast to about 14.5 million from 14 million, based on the strongest quarter for auto sales since before the sales downturn that began in late 2008.

Incentive spending in March fell about 2 percent industry-wide, rising only for Chrysler, Nissan and Volkswagen, TrueCar.com said. Major automakers are expected to show gains on year-ago sales, led by Chrysler Group LLC, GM and Toyota Motor Corp.

"Automakers have hit the sweet spot this month with lowered incentives and double-digit sales increases, which signifies underlying strength in consumer demand," said analyst Kristen Andersson of TrueCar.com.

Truck sales continue to improve, but the improvements in car sales are relatively stronger, reflecting increased appetite for smaller, more fuel-efficient models, analysts said.

Is this a sign that the recovery is here to stay? Share your thoughts on Facebook.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

CNBC's Phil LeBeau reports March auto sales saying, "while they are strong, they are not as strong as many were hoping, in part because they're being driven by strong fleet/rental orders."

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General Motors might report a record profit

GM employees of Maurice Vauss checks the fit and eco finish one Chevy Malibu 2013.

By msnbc.com staff

Only three years after the automaker is in the bankruptcy driving government-run, require a massive bailout by the taxpayer-funded to keep in business, General Motors his sights on more than $10 billion per year, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper reported that GM is already on the way to achieve this goal, citing company sources the magazine said seen have, that the company in the fourth quarter 2011 results, which will be reported next week. GM is net profit of around $8 billion, the highest ever, and almost twice the previous year's $ 4.7 billion figure, the newspaper said.

Growth in China and strong profits in North America, where GM has to shed billions of dollars in costs and was capable of higher prices, command is the improved quarterly profit, reported the magazine.

On top of the quarterly gain, GM also to his Gewinnspanne--the part of revenue left after the payment of Aufwendungen--currently 6 percent to 10 percent in the next few years, Daniel Ammann, chief financial officer, said the magazine. It would be the highest profit margin in the automotive industry.

In the year 2009 billion of dollars to lose before dying out, GM had to take a rescue by the Government of about $50 billion and go through a Government run bankruptcy.

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Ferrari sold for record $16.4 million

A 1957 Ferrari Testa Rossa took a $16.4 million in an auction of California the record for the highest price ever paid for a car sold at auction.

The car was the first Testa Rossa built, and served as a prototype for Testa Rossa race car. It has a 300-hp 3.0 litre V-12 engine and a four speed manual transmission. The Hammer came Saturday at the annual Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in Monterey car week in California, where hundreds of other expensive classic cars were sold.

The buyer was not recognized.

"The super rich super-rich remain," said Swiss Ferrari historian Marcel Massini Sydney Morning Herald. "The very, very best sold easily, and incredibly high."

The bright red Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, which won 24 hours of race Le Mans, won the first place in the 2006 Concours d'Elegance, where vintage cars are judged see due to their State.

The previous record for a car was auctioned the $12 million sale of another in 1957 Testa Rossa in Maranello, Italy in 2009. The price includes a 10-percent fee for auctioneers Gooding & company, in accordance with CNNMoney on Saturday.

Go to the auction Rolls-Royce was sold 1925 new Phantom, which had been expected to fetch $1 million. Sammy Davis, Jr. was also not sold Rolls-Royce Silver cloud III convertible a 1963 possession.

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