Bob Lutz showed up in LA recently for an impromptu breakfast with the Motor Press Guild, aka MPG. Bob is always good for a few juicy quotes so I hustled up the 405 in typical OC-LA rush day traffic to grab an earful.
Bob didn’t disappoint. He started with a comment about GM needing to make headway in the Smile States and then proceeded to elaborate on some recent successes in California:
GM’s retail share of market in California for Q4 2009 was 9.3%, up 0.8 percentage points (PP) from Q4 ’08.
Compact Crossover and large car sales were up 4.7 PP and 2.8 PP, respectively for the same period.
In a recent design clinic of an upcoming new Cadillac versus its European and Asian competition, the clinic attendees liked the Cadillac more after they found out it was a Cadillac than when they didn’t know it was a Cadillac. Lutz says this is the first time this has happened. (more…)
Hyundai has been selling cars in the US since 1986. And after a bit of a sputtering start, the last decade has seen years of steady growth for Hyundai in this market. Starting at a mere 0.6 percent market share in 1998, Hyundai reached 3.0 percent penetration in 2008 and in 2009, a year in which world-wide recession and plummeting auto sales affected virtually every auto maker in this market, Hyundai sales rocketed to a 4.2 percent share of market.
So what has Hyundai been doing right? Seems like just about everything: Quality products competitively priced. J.D. Power quality and North American Car of the Year Awards. Attention grabbing warranty programs. A job-loss vehicle return program. Depreciation lower than Toyota and Ford. High-tech powertrains. Industry-leading fuel economy. More standard features than the competition. Leadership in active and passive safety technologies. Oh, and did I mention styling? Say hello to the eye-stopping 2011 Hyundai Sonata.
It’s gonna come up at some point anyway so let’s deal with the hyperbole surrounding the 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid right now. Here’s what Chevy says: “First example of GM’s two-mode hybrid system; results in 50 percent improvement in city fuel economy (2WD), giving it the same city fuel economy as a 2008 Toyota Camry midsize car, but still providing all the utility customers expect in a full-size SUV. (more…)
Nobody asked me but . . .
