Episode 309 – Auto Production Set to Soar, Mustang Pricing Leaked, Dillinger’s Model A Up for Sale
January 19th, 2010 at 12:59pm
Runtime 8:27
North American auto production could soar by 70 percent in the first-quarter of this year. Spy shots of the redesigned Kia Sportage and the new Chevy Orlando hit the web. GM is asking the UAW for more concessions at several Delphi plants. All that and more, plus gangster John Dillinger’s Ford Model A getaway car goes up for auction.
Transcript and Story Links after the jump . . .
Here are today’s top headlines. Automotive production soars in North America. Spy shots of the next-generation Kia Sportage and Chevy Orlando surface. Plus, an up-close look at the new Hyundai Tucson.
Up next, we’ll be back with the news behind the headlines.
This is Autoline Daily for Tuesday, January 19, 2010. And now, the news.
More signs the auto industry is starting to turn the corner. According to the Detroit Free Press, production in the first quarter in North America is expected to increase 70 percent compared to a year ago. The industry plans to build 2.9-million vehicles this quarter compared to 1.7 million last year. The average supply of inventory for automakers was 52 days at the end of 2009, and typically 60 days is preferred.
GM is asking for more concessions from UAW workers who used to work at Delphi. GM bought back several Delphi plants, and now the Freep reports that it wants those workers to accept pay freezes and a $3 an hour pay cut for skilled trades. That would bring them in line with GM’s other workers, and make it easier for GM to sell those plants, because it doesn’t want to keep them.
Autoblog’s posted spy shots of the upcoming 2011 Sportage – the sister vehicle to the redesigned Hyundai Tucson. Based on the photos, Kia’s crossover looks like it’s taking a big step up market – at least from a design perspective. Similarly, Autoblog has scooped the upcoming Chevy Orlando. The family-hauler finally shows its face in these shots. Rumor has it the Orlando could seat seven and feature GM’s Voltec electric drivetrain.
GM traditionally has done a lot of its advertising during sporting events and other high-profile events, like the Oscars. But the company is moving away from that strategy. According to the Detroit News, the company will start to target specific demographics with product placements in TV shows. The company has already started this with GMC, known as a more masculine brand, to help broaden its appeal with women. GM also says spending this year will return to 2008 levels, even though it has four fewer brands.
For 2010 Ford heavily updated the Mustang, giving it a brand-new interior and a restyled body. As we’ve reported, even bigger changes are on the way for 2011. The ponycar’s getting two brand-new engines, both of which deliver almost 100 more horsepower plus six-speed transmissions. Pricing hasn’t been officially announced yet, but the website The Mustang Source has some numbers. A base coupe should sticker for right around 23 grand including destination, while the V-8-powered GT will just crack the $30,000 barrier. If this pricing is accurate, the entry-level 2011 Mustang undercuts the Camaro by at least $500.
In related news, Autoblog reports that Shelby unveiled its new GT350 Mustang at the Barrett-Jackson Auction in Scottsdale, Arizona. Presented as a concept, Ford’s filly features a five-liter forced-induction V-8 with 500 horsepower. It gets new bodywork, plus a laundry list of go-fast goodies from Ford Racing and other aftermarket suppliers. The package is expected to cost about $34,000 – ABOVE AND BEYOND THE CAR – making for one very expensive Mustang.
If you’ve ever watched the PBS television program “Antiques Road Show” you know that the value of an item can increase dramatically if you have the provenance, or the historical record of it. And Autoblog reports the Barret-Jackson auction is putting a historical Ford Model A up for bid, with some spectacular provenance. It was used by gangster John Dillinger to escape from the police, with him reportedly smashing out the back window to fire his Tommy gun as they pursued him. He got away. The bullet-ridden and blood-stained car was later fully restored and used in the movie Public Enemies with Johnny Depp. Like I say, talk about provenance!
Coming up next, a look at the redesigned 2010 Hyundai Tucson, we’ll be back right after this.
Last month the clear winner of the LA Auto show was Hyundai. The South Korean OEM unwrapped products that put the big boys like Toyota and Honda on notice that this year — more than ever — it has the cars to compete. And that competition starts in the compact crossover segment.
Scott Margason enjoys comparing his all-new Tucson to the competition. From the fluidic sculpture which is Hyundai’s new design language on this longer but lighter crossover, to the standard safety features and an interior that offers everything from heated leather seats to a panoramic moonroof, the South Koreans don’t mind one bit measuring Tucson’s value against the segment leaders, especially when this year’s model comes equipped with an all-new 176-horsepower, 2.4-liter four-cylinder from its Theta line.
Paired with a new six-speed automatic transmission that’s 24 percent more fuel efficient, the Tucson’s front-wheel-drive model gets 23 around town, 31 highway, a little less — 22 and 30 — in a rare-for-this-segment manual version, while the all-wheel model checks in at 21 city MPGs and 28 highway.
The base model Tucson with that rare manual we mentioned is bargain-priced at just under 19-thousand. However, if you move up in class and add some of those pricier options, before you know it, you’re pushing the high twenties.
Mark your calendar for January 26 when we’ll be webcasting live from the Washington DC auto show. We’ll be specifically talking to automakers, lawmakers and regulators about the prospects for clean diesels in the American market. That’s January 26 from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
And on Thursday night, Jason Vines makes a return performance on Autoline After Hours. Many of you know that Jason, PR impresario extraordinaire, helped us launch After Hours and it will be great to have him back, if only for one show.
And that’s it for today’s top news in the global automotive industry. Thanks for watching, we’ll see you tomorrow.
Thanks to our Partners for embedding Autoline Daily on their websites: Autoblog, The Auto Channel, Car Chat, WardsAuto.com and WWJ Newsradio 950
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Comments (30)
January 19th, 2010 at 1:13 pm
I hope GM is right and is able to sell more cars. Re-opening if GM reopens Janesville and the Tennessee plant it will help the economy. I was wondering what happened to Jason Vines, nice to see him back.
January 19th, 2010 at 1:18 pm
Jason Vines!!!…Can’t wait. Perhaps he’ll be ripe for another Terri Schiavo reference!!
January 19th, 2010 at 1:18 pm
“The average supply of inventory for automakers was 52 days at the end of 2009, and typically 60 days is preferred.”
John,
as I am sure you know, the “60 day inventory” rule is an old wive’s tale that is not based on any science, or any success financially. 60 days today is way too much inventory, for an industry in crisis, but even in good times, lexus and toyota and BMW and mercedes were always able to satisfy the customers with inventories HALF that, or less, ie, 20-40 days instead. The difference, if you do the math, is savings of BILLIONS of $!
And while the 70% increase in production seems impressive, 2.9 mill a quarter for all of North America (US, canada AND mexico) only translates to less than 12 million a year, when only three years ago the US alone had over 16 million in sales!
In addition, we don;t know if these people are finally getting it right, or if the increased production will result once more in full lots of inwanted vehicles that can move only with deep $5,000-$8,000 discounts on the hoods, and, what’s worse, these will be, for GM and Chrysler, TAXPAYER $ used to bribe the buyers!
January 19th, 2010 at 1:25 pm
I used to ignore that “Antiques Roadshow” but recently I watched a few. I am very skeptical about it. It tends to show a selected portion of the buyers that got an extreme bargain for some ludicrous amount of $10 or $100 and now it is worth $10,000 or so. These prices are “At auction”, assuming buyers will be interested in the junk. BUT they never quote the “TRADE IN” price, which is really what matters if you need to sell that POS NOW, and go to an a ntique dealer. I’d bet these pieces would fetch from ZERO (not interested) to one tenth of the quoted prices.
I also wish the show would show a few of the many people who actually paid MORE than the stupid antiques are worth… but that would ruin the ratings, wouldn’t it?
January 19th, 2010 at 1:29 pm
Hey John, with the MKX being refreshed and recently shown at the Detroit Auto Show, I was wondering when the Ford variant will show its new face?
I thought for sure the “new” Edge would be at the show to coincide with the MKX, but I haven’t heard or seen anything apart from some camo shots.
January 19th, 2010 at 1:37 pm
I’m not a Ford fan, but I do like Model A’s and I would dearly love to own that particular Model A.
I wouldn’t change a thing on it, but I would drive it every now and then.
Maybe do little errands with it.
Maybe not to the bank though…
January 19th, 2010 at 1:47 pm
Oh PULEEEZE; not Jason Vines again! I know there’s nothing I can say to convince you to abandon this folly John. Suffice it to say, I will skip this week’s show. I’m just not that into megalomania!
January 19th, 2010 at 2:07 pm
I can’t believe the model A’ was the Mustang of its day.
January 19th, 2010 at 2:12 pm
I guess in order to sell them you have to make them. So let’s see if they make them will they be able to sell them. I’m cautiously optomistic.
A difference of $500 between a ‘like’ Mustang to a Camaro doesn’t mean a thing. Most ‘Pony’ guys are extremely loyal and wouldn’t switch for even more.
January 19th, 2010 at 2:22 pm
Since I’m in the market to replace my 04 325Ci, I have been shopping around a tad. While I am happy that GM and Ford are able to get a few more bucks per car than previously, unfortunately that is NOW coming at my expense.
Mustang GTs exceeding 30K, Camaro SS models at sticker or higher and ever increasing prices for Caddy CTS’s has me seriously considering returning to BMW for a CPO 335i Coupe. I thought for sure I’d be going to American Iron this time, but……
January 19th, 2010 at 3:34 pm
“Chuck Grenci Says:
January 19th, 2010 at 2:12 pm
I guess in order to sell them you have to make them.”
as the detroit 3 found out many times, to their horror, just making them, and even spending 100s of millions of $ to fool the consumer into buying them, is no guarantee that the POS will move. That’s why they always had to put $5,000-$8,000 on the hood to move the POS the consumer did not want. In the past, it was a bit better, because they bribed the buyers to buy only at the e nd of the model year, a month or so before the new models came out. But recently the production was so out of touch with the sales, they had to discount the BRAND NEW models in October!
NO, the idea is, build a superior product, and the buyers will WANT IT and be willing to pay at least list price for it, if not more for some models!!!
January 19th, 2010 at 3:47 pm
“Since I’m in the market to replace my 04 325Ci, ”
I like the styling of that 3 series far better than its Bangle-d successor sold today, and especially the coupe. How many miles do you have, what options and how much are you asking? If I had one of these, I’d hold on to it for decades, it is quite practical around town and on the highway as well, and should get excellent MPG too.
January 19th, 2010 at 5:22 pm
I like that model A, but I dont know if I want THAT model A restored. It may be worth more all shot up…
January 19th, 2010 at 5:26 pm
Wouldn’t that Dillenger Model A have lost a lot of its collector value when they fixed the bullet holes and cleaned up the blood?
January 19th, 2010 at 5:32 pm
I’m looking forward to the new Mustang. It will be great to have a nice convertible V6 just to cruise around in. I hope America embraces them in addition to the “tuners”. I wish Dodge produced a version of Challenger as a convertible.
January 19th, 2010 at 5:57 pm
most buyers now are impulse buyers so you need stock on the lot to sell a car. if the customer walks away because he can’t find what he wants on the lot he ain’t coming back. this is why you need a 60 day supply
January 19th, 2010 at 7:12 pm
To Motorman’s point, a lot of buyers have done the research and know what they are looking for. They are willing to buy from the dealer who has what they want, so dealers need to have “it” in stock. Hey John, has any manufacturer’s consider offering more “dealer installed” options (like changing dash or door panels or inserts) which will allow more customer variety without costing an arm and a leg?
January 19th, 2010 at 7:16 pm
Look’s like increasing production 70% may be a big gamble. Without any real job growth you will be seeing a lot of layoff’s and incentives in the near future. A 30 – 45 day supply may be a good thing in this crappy economy. Still to many brands and to much capacity out there.
January 19th, 2010 at 7:38 pm
Something I haven’t been able to understand, is why car companies can’t build factory order cars and ship them in a few days. In 1966, my father ordered a Dodge Coronet, and received the car in about 5 weeks. At them time there were about 6-8 engines from a slant six to a 426 hemi. You had choices of transmissions and axle ratios with all of them. There were dozens, or hundreds of interior trim combinations when you take into account the multiple trim levels and many color choices. There were two and four door sedans, two and four door pillerless hard tops, wagons, and convertibles. It they could build cars to order in a few weeks then, when they didn’t even have computers to help keep track of parts, why can’t they do it in a few days now, given the technology that should make it easier, and the fact that you don’t even have any significant choice of interior or power train in most cars?
January 19th, 2010 at 7:50 pm
Kit: I’m old enough to remember when your ORDERED a car to your specific tastes and just waited a few weeks to get it, but something happened that made people want to take their car home as soon as they bought it, instant credit, dealers could get it from surrounding dealers if they didn’t have it and get it to you the same day or the day after. Everyone I know who has purchased a car as far back as 20 – 25 years, has taken it home the same day. I guess that don’t want to give you the cahnce to go home and ponder your decision.
January 19th, 2010 at 7:54 pm
I have ordered a lot of cars, and would probably still order if buying a new car of a brand that does factory orders. There is so little choice, though, that with most cars, you can find what you want with a dealer search. About the only choice in “mainstream” cars is paint color, and maybe a choice of shades of grey or tan for the interior.
January 19th, 2010 at 9:50 pm
i still order my new corvettes but the daily driver we just tell the dealer what we want and they try and come as close as possible from their lot or the computer search of other dealers. most people only care about color and what interior package is avaiable since most other options also come in packages so you have to take it all even if you order the car
January 20th, 2010 at 1:11 am
The Sportage will be a more basic product as Hyundai’s product planner eluded to in the segment. It might even have some of those Propylene Plastics. Sportage I hear will be about 3K cheaper than Tuscon.
John, I tested a Tuscon the other day at the dealer. They say base MSRP $21K and the commercial does as well. Its not a big deal as that $21K version looks like it should be $25K at least.
It feels like a VW Product, and looks Acrua-ish inside, more like a 5-10 year old Acura, which is a great start for these guys. I think these guys will eventually pull this upmarket thing off. Its like they took Honda and Acura wth this truck and met them in between.
January 20th, 2010 at 1:15 am
The Sportage will be a more basic product as Hyundai’s product planner eluded to in the segment. It might even have some of those Propylene Plastics you didnt like in the Soul. Sportage I hear will be significantly cheaper than Tuscon as well.
John, I tested a Tuscon the other day at the dealer. They say base MSRP $21K and the commercial does as well. Its not a big deal as that $21K version looks like it should be $25K at least.
It feels like a VW Product, and looks Acrua-ish inside, more like a 5-10 year old Acura, which is a great start for these guys. I think these guys will eventually pull this upmarket thing off.
Its like they took Honda and Acura with this truck and met them in between
January 20th, 2010 at 6:30 am
Another thing about Hyundai is that when hey develop a car, the concept will look like its from Lexus or Cadillac, then when they test a car in pre-production form the materials and everything looks like a Hyundai Product from 5 years ago.
When they actually build the thing, they meet the 2 half way, which is a pretty good synergistic combination of where the company has been, where it is, and where its going in the future.
January 20th, 2010 at 8:29 am
Official CAAM list of the 10 largest passenger vehicle manufacturers in China, and their units sold in 2009:
1. Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive Co: 708,100 units
2. FAW-VW Automobile Co Ltd: 669,200 units
3. Shanghai General Motors Co Ltd: 668,200 units
4. Beijing Hyundai Motor Co: 521,000 units
5. Dongfeng Nissan Ltd: 459,300 units
6. BYD Co Ltd: 448,400 units
7. Chery Automobile Co Ltd: 409,300 units
8. Guangqi Honda Automobile Co Ltd: 337,200 units
9. Tianjin FAW Toyota Motor Co Ltd: 334,700 units
10. Geely Holding Group Co Ltd: 329,100 units
Taken into account that VW makes their Chinese cars with two joint ventures, SVW and FAW-VW, Volkswagen’s combined total rises to 1,377,300. The imported VWs bring the number well above 1.4m .
(From Bertel Schmitt, China Expert in TTAC)
January 20th, 2010 at 8:31 am
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/old-gm-stock-rallies-again-good-news-for-gm-ipo/
Old GM stock toilet paper anyone?
January 20th, 2010 at 8:33 am
Ford Model “T’s” and the “A” models are pretty cool, I’ve always wanted one. I rented a Kia Forte last weekend, it had a great interior and a nice ride. Honda and Toyota are going to see sales of the Corolla and Civic drop.
January 20th, 2010 at 12:40 pm
motorman Says:
January 19th, 2010 at 9:50 pm
“most people only care about color and what interior package is avaiable since most other options also come in packages so you have to take it all even if you order the car”
This is something that really annoys me about today’s car biz, compared to how it was in the 60′s. You don’t have any choice about anything. You have to get a $2000 package to get a $200 item you want. You have essentially no choice of interior color in most cars, and you have no choice of power train in most cars. To me, it would be a real treat to car shop in Europe where have about 6 engines to choose from in almost everything sold.
January 20th, 2010 at 8:23 pm
Kit, dont wory in 10 years it will be like that here.