U.S. auto sales predicted to plummet to 13.4 million in 2009
Filed under: Car Buying, Earnings/Financials
Light-vehicle sales in the U.S. are expected to continue their decline in 2009. Global Insight, a firm that has been forecasting sales since the 1960s, is predicting sales of 13.4 million units next year. That figure is slightly down from the 13.8 million units automakers are expected to sell in 2008. (For comparison to recent years, 16.1 million vehicles sold in 2007 and 16.5 million units sold in 2006.) Global Insight makes note of the current U.S. credit crisis and the worsening global economy, citing the worldwide financial situation is more detrimental to auto sales than oil at $200-a-barrel. When oil is high, at least the countries benefiting from the oil profits continue to purchase cars - unlike today. While analysts differ on when we may see a turnaround, the firm feels it could take until 2013 for sales to recover to levels seen just a few years ago.
[Source: Automotive News, subs. req'd]
Permalink�|�Email this�|�Comments2010 Camaro ordering book leaked online
Filed under: Car Buying, Sports/GTs, Chevrolet
In just a week's time, anyone so willing will be able to walk into a Chevrolet dealership and order a new 2010 Chevy Camaro. We now have the ordering information that will greet buyers on that blessed day. Thanks to CamaroZ28.com, we have the complete order book that shows standard and optional equipment for LS, LT and SS versions of the car with codes 1LS, 1LT, 2LT, 1SS and 2SS. Basically, the LT won't get the fog lamps of its racier brethren, and only the SS versions get the 6.2L V8, the 20-inch wheel/tire combo, the 4-piston Brembos, and unique instrumentation and fascias. The rear spoiler is standard on the SS but optional on the LT. If you opt for either the 2LT or 2SS you also get a package of amenities that includes leather, an upgraded stereo with redundant steering wheel controls, Bluetooth, a USB port, PDIM, a cargo net, and an upgrade to the mirrors and gauges, but buyers of the 1LT and 1SS can get some of these as options. The complete book is laid out in the gallery below.While LS buyers can only select black or gray for their interiors, LT and SS buyers can opt for beige or Inferno Orange as well, with or without gray or white striping. The sunroof and RS appearance package are available on all but the base LS, as is a special Red Jewel Tintcoat. That RS package also includes special 20-inch aluminum wheels, HIDs, body-color "ditch" molding, unique taillamps and badging, and the rear spoiler. Check out the pages below for more specifics, but make sure to check out the pages about the accessories as well: a Hurst shifter, 21-inch wheels, high wing spoiler, ground effects, special striping and engine covers, and a performance section that includes a catback exhaust, air intake and "shorty" headers. We'll take an Inferno/black 1SS with the performance accessories, RS package, ground effects, high wing, the Hurst shifter and white stripes. Or maybe a 2LT in black with the Inferno interior and white accents. On third thought, what about...aww, this could go on forever. How are you going to order yours?
[Source: CamaroZ28.com]Read�|�Permalink�|�Email this�|�Comments
Sorry, Dodge isn't doing a Challenger Convertible
Filed under: Convertibles, Coupes, Sports/GTs, Etc., Dodge, Rumormill
In a recent post about the 2009 Dodge Challenger SE, KickingTires quotes director of Dodge brand marketing, Mike Accavitti, saying that there will be no convertible version of the reborn muscle car in Dodge showrooms. Apparently the platform would require too much additional hardware to handle the extra flex from cutting the roof off, and the added weight would push the car too far into the Sumo class. And that would be with just a simple manual soft-top, not one of them there new-fangled retractable hardtops that are the top du jour for convertible buyers. There's also the issue of cost and the fact that Dodge's market analysis seems to indicate there isn't a huge market for them. We understand the reasoning and know that even the coupes are going to be low-volume, but we would humbly like to suggest a limited run of SRT-8 convertibles at double the coupe's asking price. Say 20 or so. Buyers will pay twice the sticker price at least and mothball them immediately so they can be exhumed in 2050 and be the '71 Hemi 'Cuda convertible equivalents of their day.
[Source: KickingTires]Read�|�Permalink�|�Email this�|�Comments
0 comments:
Post a Comment