Episode 939 – Automakers Release 2Q Figures, Ford to End Aussie Production?, Most Viral Auto Ads
July 31st, 2012 at 11:56am
Runtime: 8:23
Chrysler, Honda and Mazda released their figures for the second quarter. All sold more cars than a year ago but Mazda was the only one to lose money! Ford’s days down under may be numbered. The company recently cut production and slashed jobs at the plant building the Falcon. A survey of the 20 most popular commercials on YouTube found that six of the 20 are car related! All that and more, plus a look at a new trend in paint.
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Welcome to Autoline Daily. I’m John McElroy and here’s the news.
CHRYSLER 2Q PERFORMANCE
More car companies are reporting how they performed financially in the last quarter and Chrysler posted an impressive improvement. Sales were up 20% to 582,000 vehicles. And yet revenue went up even more. It jumped by 23% to nearly $17 billion, which means Chrysler was selling a richer mix of products and probably cut back on incentives as well. The company posted a net profit of $436 million, putting it on track to hits its goal of earning $1.5 billion for the full year.
HONDA 2Q PERFORMANCE
Meanwhile, Honda reported that its car sales hit 999,000 units, up nearly 60% in the last quarter compared to a year ago. Sales of motorcycles and power products also posted good gains. The company’s revenue did not go up as much, though it did increase 42% to about $30 billion. And net income shot up 314% to $1.6 billion. Yet, despite such a dramatic increase, Bloomberg reports that analysts are disappointed because they thought those earnings would be even higher. They say Honda’s marketing costs hurt its profitability.
MAZDA LOSES MONEY
Mazda reported that its global vehicle sales shot up nearly 33% to 246,000 units. Its revenue increased 24% to over $6 billion. And yet it lost about $83 million. Even so, that’s better than analysts expected and is much better than last year when the loss was nearly four times higher.
FORD TO END AUSSIE PRODUCTION?
Is Ford going to stop making cars in Australia? A few weeks back Ford started slashing production and laying off workers. Now WardsAuto reports that many analysts are wondering if this is the beginning of the end of Ford making cars in Australia. Its iconic Falcon sedan is scheduled to end production in 2016. Suppliers say they should be working with the company on a new model for 2016 but nothing is happening. Last year Ford sold less than 19,000 Falcon’s in Australia and sales are already down 25% in the first six-months of this year.
PATHFINDER LAUNCHES ON FB
Yesterday Nissan revealed the production version of the 2013 Pathfinder on Facebook. The completely new SUV moves from body-on-frame to unit-body construction, which shaves several hundred pounds off its weight. It will be powered by a V6 mated to a next-generation CVT, which is expected to boost fuel economy by 25% compared to the outgoing model with a V6. Nissan also says the Pathfinder will feature four-wheel-drive and have a 5,000 pound towing capacity.
PEUGEOT 807
In Europe Peugeot just introduced redesigned MPV, the 807. Featuring such refinements as a new grille emblem and improved interior, PSA is looking to improve its hold on the segment. Mechanically the 807 offers six-speed automatic and manual transmissions and a trio of 2.0 liter engines producing between 136 and 163 horsepower that keep CO-2 emissions below 189 grams per kilometer.
AUTO ADS AMONG MOST VIRAL
The auto industry spends billions on advertising every year, so it should be no surprise that some of the most watched commercials on YouTube were car commercials. According to Adweek, six of the top 20 most watched commercials were for cars. Among the ads were an Autoline favorite, the Kia dancing hampsters, and Chrysler’s iconic “Imported from Detroit” super bowl ad.
We started seeing concept cars with a satin finish start showing up at auto shows a couple of years ago. Now, it’s starting to show up in production. And wouldn’t you know it, Hyundai is the first to offer a satin paint job on a car for the masses.
SATIN PAINT CATCHING ON
Most automakers call them matte finishes. But they’re not matte, they’re really satin. I’m talking about satin paint jobs, paint with no almost no gloss and absolutely no reflection. Typically, they’re only available on expensive sports cars, but now Hyundai is making them available on the Veloster Turbo.
(This feature is only available in the video version of today’s show.)
You’re also not supposed to rub too hard when you wash those paint jobs by hand. That could actually polish up the paint and make it shine. Recently I test drove an AMG Mercedes S-class with a satin finish. It was part of a package, but the cost was nearly $4,000.
Be sure to join us Thursday night for a very special Autoline After Hours. This marks the 85th year of GM Design, and as part of the celebration Peter De Lorenzo and I will be given a very special insider tour of GM Design by none other than Ed Welburn, the head of GM Design. Supposedly we’re going to be shown parts of the design center that have never been shown to the outside world, so be sure to join us this Thursday starting at 6 pm eastern time.
And that wraps up today’s report. Thanks for watching, we’ll see you tomorrow.
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Comments (19)
July 31st, 2012 at 12:14 pm
I like a satin finish (on my kitchen wall).
And why such a premium, I think the only difference is satin top clear coat.
July 31st, 2012 at 12:25 pm
Gee, whatever happened to buying a shiny new car?
July 31st, 2012 at 12:29 pm
John,
That Matt (satin) paint looks like colored primer to me. When I was a kid, we’d make fun of those “primer/putty mobiles. Now people are paying extra for this? Oh the humanity!
July 31st, 2012 at 1:01 pm
Ya’ know, they might be on to something with those matte paint jobs…I’ve spend many hours over the years polishing my cars, and just think of the time I would have had to do productive things if I had had one of these “paint” jobs!! I see all the kids around with their old Honda Civics, Mazdas, and Acura little “rockets” going around in primer…I just thought they needed time to work and save money for a paint job, but they just were saving time by not polishing to do video games, walk the mall, and text friends…
Seriously, it will be interesting to see how it goes over with buyers…Personally, I still like a nice, shiny car; however, it does give another look to someone who wants it, and that is probably a good thing…Kinda’ different, though!!
July 31st, 2012 at 1:46 pm
Saw a Maybach with a black satin paint job, it made me laugh. On the Velosater in the video, the satin paint seemed to highlight a mis-matched body seam. Good luck with selling it.
Less than 19,000 Falcons? Is it the car or the economy down under?
The new Pathfinder looks more mainstream and less rugged. I wonder if it will lose some buyers.
July 31st, 2012 at 1:48 pm
I heard Eaton Corp. is going to incorporate in Ireland to avoid U.S. taxes. Can your crack staff confirm John?
July 31st, 2012 at 1:49 pm
I think an interesting stat would be how much the car companies are spending on marking per car sold in the US. My guess is that VW is spending the most, it seams like every other commercial is for a VW.
July 31st, 2012 at 2:04 pm
Metalflake, Kandy colors and Pearlescents made to mass market vehicles so why not Matte/Satin?
Besides, they are invisible to laser and radar doncha know??
July 31st, 2012 at 2:13 pm
A few years ago at the NY autoshow I asked a Merc product specialist how things were with the satin finish on a show car. She said there were no problems taking car of it and that it was very durable. “Really?” at which point I think she became cross with me, so I thanked her for talking and walked away. (if you want to have a real laugh, check out Drive Clean on Youtube, where they go to BMW to learn about their satin finish, or whatever they’re calling it. Really, you’re going to laugh.)
July 31st, 2012 at 3:52 pm
lengthy explanation of Aussie car woes.
http://theconversation.edu.au/australias-choice-pay-for-a-car-industry-or-live-with-the-consequences-8305
July 31st, 2012 at 4:20 pm
Matt/Satin paint finishes that is less durable than a normal paint job at a premium price is in my opinion for the birds! The Kids spray there cars with flat black paint from a can to cover the color mismatched replacement panels they use to fix up there cars with.
I bet Ford in Australia can not compete with all the Asian Automakers flooding the Land Down Under with cheaper product.
Peugeot 807 looks like the right size minivan / MPV for the American Market. I wonder if another OEM will offer a similar vehicle in the American Market?
The new Nissan Pathfinder looks great! It will give the Honda Pilot and Toyota Highlander a run for the money. I like the 5000lb towing capacity.
Mazda needs to partner with another OEM in a hurry or “Zoom Zoom” with turn to “Doom Doom”!
July 31st, 2012 at 5:11 pm
The pearlescent paint we’ve been seeing would be easy to repair compared to satin paint. Also, you can wash and wax the pearl stuff if so inclined. I think I’ll stick with shiny paint on cars.
The new Pathfinder should sell a lot better than the old one. The old one was getting way too “trucky” for the mass market.
July 31st, 2012 at 5:17 pm
Regarding the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder – “new SUV moves from body-on-frame to unit-body construction” that will lose Nissan some customers, but changing to a CVT transmission will eliminate EVERYONE who likes to take this beast off-road.
Sounds like the 2013 will only be bought by posers to go grocery shopping.
Too bad.
July 31st, 2012 at 5:35 pm
Good luck if you damage that matte paint. It is all but impossible to match from what I’ve been told. Which means a complete repaint is in order if you have panel damage. It looks nice ,but I think is way too much work for most people. Yeah I want to see you hand wash that car in the northern states during winter.
Oh Ford you don’t want to end production in Oz. John are they talking about just the Falcon or all production? I know they build the Territory SUV there as well along with a couple other models as well. 14K Falcons built well that is a hard sell . It’s a great car very expensive by our standards. I think they should bring it over here as maybe a Lincoln sport sedan . That way the price premium would be easier to sell.
July 31st, 2012 at 7:47 pm
The trouble with the Oz Falcon is that they just don’t sell enough of them. I’m sure they could sell a few here like GM did with the G8, but it would take a huge investment just to make a left hand drive version. It would be nice, but I don’t see it happening.
July 31st, 2012 at 9:55 pm
Satin Finish Paint: the answer to a question that absolutely nobody asked.
If the Ford Fusion/Mondeo is supposed to be a “World Car”, I would imagine that it would replace the Falcon, no? Heck, they can build them in the UK and ship ‘em there if they don’t want to bother with running a factory in OZ. Steering wheel in the proper location and all that already.
August 1st, 2012 at 8:24 am
Apparently the Australian police don’t have it intrenched in their minds that they need rear-drive police cars. That might account for the Falcon selling in lower volume than Crown Vic did, even though the Falcon is a much better car.
August 1st, 2012 at 11:21 pm
Let’s hope Welburn escapes becoming the latest victim of the AAH curse!
August 3rd, 2012 at 7:13 am
That Peugeot 807 looks an awful lot like the Kia Sedona minivan, interior and exterior. Are they sharing like the VW Caravan?