On today’s show…Chrysler offers plug-in buyers a peace offering…Qoros unveils a wild looking EV in China…and why Wall Street only seems to pick on General Motors. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the show for enthusiasts of the automotive industry.
CHRYSLER PACIFIES PACIFICA OWNERS
Last year Chrysler announced its Pacifica plug-in hybrid with a lot of fanfare and a heavy emphasis on its 80 mile per gallon equivalent rating. But anyone who ordered the van has been highly frustrated because the company still hasn’t delivered any of them. That’s about to change, and to compensate owners for their patience Chrysler is offering them a free Level 2 EVSE charging station, or a $500 gift card. Owners seem pleased with the peace offering, and we thank viewer Tony D’Angelo for alerting us to this development.
U.S. BIG TRUCK SALES PLUMMET
Big truck sales in the U.S. fell again for the 12th consecutive month in March. Medium and heavy-duty trucks were down 13% according to WardsAuto. The big Class 8 trucks dragged down the entire segment, with sales plummeting 26% last month. But buyers are flocking to Class 6. That class was up 10%. Through the first three months of the year, big truck sales are down 15% in the U.S. Big truck sales are a leading indicator of car sales, and as you know, car sales are starting to drop.
APPLE STILL IN THE AUTONOMY GAME
Even though Apple laid off a bunch of automotive engineers last year, apparently it is still developing autonomous technology. The California DMV just awarded the company a permit to test self-driving cars on public roads. The tech giant will test its autonomous technology in 2015 Lexus RX450h’s. Lexus must make cars that are easy to modify. That’s what Google started out with, too.
Still to come, Qoros shows off a wild looking EV in China.
QOROS GOES FULL ELECTRIC
You may remember a little while back we reported that Chinese-Israeli automaker Qoros will start using supercar maker Koenigsegg’s cam-free engine technology. And now Qoros is leveraging technology from Koenigsegg’s Regera for a wild new concept. The Model K-EV will make its debut at the Shanghai auto show with the same high-performance electric all-wheel drive system technology as the plug-in hybrid supercar. It also features a carbon fiber cabin, asymmetric door design and two distinct cabin spaces in the front and rear. We’d love to show you all that, but unfortunately we only have this one picture. Qoros does say it’s planning on bringing a production version of the Model K-EV out in 2019.
SHELBY GT350 MUSTANG RETURNS FOR 2018
Mustang fans rejoice. Ford announced it’s bringing the Shelby GT350 and GT350R Mustang back for 2018. They will be available in showrooms this fall and will be unchanged from 2017 models, except for three new exterior colors. Now go out and celebrate National Mustang Day because, who knew that was actually a thing?
Coming up next, John has something to say about why Wall Street only picks on General Motors. We’ll be back right after this.
WHY IS WALL STREET PICKING ON GM?
Why is Wall Street picking on GM? Two years ago a hedge fund manager named Harry Wilson pressured GM to spend billions buying back its own shares to drive up the price. It hasn’t worked. Despite spending $9 billion so far buying back shares, GM stock is the same price it was before it started buying back shares. Now another hedge fund manager, David Einhorn, wants GM to split its stock into two different classes of shares. He says that will unlock $38 billion in shareholder value. So far, GM has rejected that idea.
These hedge fund managers are going after GM because they can’t go after Ford. The Ford family owns a special class of stock that essentially gives it control of the company. They can’t pick on the Japanese or Korean car companies because their governments would never let it happen. And that’s pretty much the same story In Europe. Remember: Volkswagen, Peugeot and Renault are partly government owned. So what about Fiat-Chrysler? As one Wall Street analyst told me, “Nobody wants it.” Even Sergio Marchionne has finally admitted defeat on finding a buyer. So that only leaves one car company to pick on, and that’s why Wall Street is picking on General Motors.
That’s how I see it and as always we welcome your feedback, too. And with that we wrap up today’s show. Thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.
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Comments (14)
April 17th, 2017 at 12:12 pm
While the nominal purpose of a corporation is to create shareholder value, General Motors is in the business of producing and selling vehicles for profit. All the Wall Street crap is a pointless sideshow.
How much farther ahead would GM be in the marketplace if they’d dropped $9 billion on product development and dividends?
Wall Street (in it’s current configuration) is a plague on society.
April 17th, 2017 at 12:23 pm
GM’s Bolt has attracted excellent reviews…is it selling? At a Van Nuys California I see the dealer stock getting bigger over the past two months;21,then 53 followed by 66, then last week 129 on their storage lot. John, tell me what’s happening with the Bolt.
April 17th, 2017 at 1:23 pm
#2. Bob, I think you just told me.
April 17th, 2017 at 2:13 pm
A mustang will be built next year. Big deal, this isn’t news.
April 17th, 2017 at 2:16 pm
So,if Einhorn and his ilk get his way,and GM takes a header,do they not share in the financial responsibility? The ‘too big to fail’ doesn’t cut it anymore.It never did for me in the first place.
April 17th, 2017 at 2:31 pm
#2, 3
They need to take some of those Bolts to Florida and Indiana. I know a few prospects both places, but the cars are not available in those states.
April 17th, 2017 at 2:58 pm
The real purpose of a “corporation” is to create an entity to pool resources and accomplish something that an individual person could not accomplish. GM is not a holding corporation; GM is not a real estate corporation or any device to hold or grow wealth. GM builds autos, trucks, locomotives and things for a profit to the company and share holders.
The market price of a share of GM in reality has little to do with GM’s accounting book value, dividends, market share or profits. Tesla’s stock price proves this as everything (value, dividend, market share, profits) are in the tank yet the price of Tesla stock is in a price orbit on Wall Street for no sound business reason.
April 17th, 2017 at 3:38 pm
#6 – I might be interested in a Bolt if I could check one out.
#7 – Precisely.
April 17th, 2017 at 3:46 pm
I’ve heard Apple compared to Tesla, in regard to highly overvalued stock, but there is a big difference. Apple makes a lot of money. Even though Samsung has, by far, the biggest global smart phone market share, Apple makes a lot more money in that market. That may not go on forever, but for now, Apple is tripling their money on every iPhone they sell. Car companies are doing well to turn a 5% profit.
As far as Samsung, they sell fewer “premium” phones, where the big profit lies, than Apple sells iPhones.
April 17th, 2017 at 5:23 pm
#2, GM dealers in Florida are buying excess stock from CA. I am waiting for 2 months now for my local dealer’s 1 Bolt before summer. It’s all about the distribution of the car. I don’t think we will get a ‘correct’ sales figure for the Bolt before the fall.
I agree with the comments about Wall Street. They have become beyond greedy. I think the GM board needs to get tough and support the company. They don’t need the capital markets right now, so tell them …
April 18th, 2017 at 2:58 am
Just drove past a GM small pick up that was about 6 years old with the sill plates all rusted out with it spreading to the bottom of the door. After the GM failure they are still making garbage vehicles and I guess they will never learn.
April 18th, 2017 at 8:11 am
Wall Street of full of BS. All I know is GM building great cars and I will continue buying them.
April 18th, 2017 at 6:25 pm
#7,GM got out of the locomotive business awhile ago when they sold the Electro Motive division. I think Caterpillar owns it now, through a holding company.
April 19th, 2017 at 8:00 am
Wall Street guys are focused primarily on short term; the system favors them (read just about any Michael Lewis book) over people who might actually INVEST in a company.