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GM dealers want more cars

Michael Fowlkes — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Forecasts, Good news, Products and Services, Management, Competitive Strategy, Marketing and Advertising, Recession, Financial Crisis

The past couple of months there has been a lot of news over the government's recent "cash for clunkers" program, which was wildly more successful than anyone could have imagined, but left dealer lots short on inventory. General Motors dealers are still dealing with low inventory and have requested more cars to meet recent demand.

According to the Detroit News, General Motors dealers have requested that the company ship as much as four times as many cars as the company had planned to build in October.

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GM dealers want more cars originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Closing Bell: Good things really can go wrong ... (AIG, F, MOS, RIMM, WMT)

Jon Ogg — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Wal-Mart (WMT), Ford Motor (F), Research in Motion (RIMM), Amer Intl Group (AIG)

So you finally get to see some growth figures from the ISM and then the market sells off again. We have enjoyed a heck of a run-up and now trading desks are lightening up to boot as we get closer to the 3-day weekend. Today was such a poor result on the market internals that even all the defensive stocks were dropping. Even inverse-leverage ETF's were getting traction again. Bill Gross's bleak outlook probably only added insult to injury today.

Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 9,310.60 -185.68 (-1.96%)
S&P 500 998.04 -22.58 (-2.21%)
Nasdaq 1,968.89 -40.17 (-2.00%)

Top Analyst Upgrades
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Continue reading Closing Bell: Good things really can go wrong ... (AIG, F, MOS, RIMM, WMT)

Closing Bell: Good things really can go wrong ... (AIG, F, MOS, RIMM, WMT) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No surprise, Ford sees sales boost in August

Michael Fowlkes — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 16:20:00 EST

Filed under: Forecasts, Good news, Products and Services, Consumer Experience, Ford Motor (F)

It should not come as any surprise, but Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) announced today that August saw an industry wide increase in auto sales.

Of course, the increase in sales can be attributed to the highly popular "cash for clunkers" program that brought auto buyers out in huge numbers. The August increase is the first time auto sales have moved higher in over 2 years.

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No surprise, Ford sees sales boost in August originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Auto sales show signs of stability

Michael Fowlkes — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Industry, Consumer Experience, Competitive Strategy, Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), Recession

Auto sales continued to drop in June, but we are starting to see signs that sales may be beginning to stabilize a bit.

The auto industry is still in deep trouble. It is going to take a while before things get back to normal, but before things can even start to improve, they have to stop worsening, and that's what may be happening.

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Auto sales show signs of stability originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford sees big drop in May sales, but does pick up market share

Michael Fowlkes — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Good news, Products and Services, Management, Industry, Consumer Experience, Competitive Strategy, Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), Marketing and Advertising, Market Matters, Recession, Financial Crisis

If you compare last month to May 2008, then Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) looks pretty shaky: the American auto maker posted a 24% dip in sales year over year. However, the picture starts to look a lot better once you compare April and May of this year.

All in all, Ford sold 161,197 vehicles last month in the U.S.. Yes, this was 24% off the pace it set last year at this time, but it does mark a pretty impressive 20% jump over its numbers during the previous month, as the company was able to take slight advantage of its competitors' financial woes.

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Detroit dealer cuts: Not deep enough to get Japanese parity

Alex Salkever — Fri, 15 May 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM)

There's a great post on the lean manufacturing blog Evolving Excellence about the auto industry and what it might really take to fix it. Bottom line -- Evolving Excellence says more dealer cuts needed so General Motors Corporation (NYS: GM) and Ford Motor Company (NYS: F) will have to take more inventory write downs and buyout more dealers. Even with these reduced dealer levels, the U.S. automakers still only sell roughly one-half as many cars per dealer as their Japanese counterparts.

Continue reading Detroit dealer cuts: Not deep enough to get Japanese parity

Detroit dealer cuts: Not deep enough to get Japanese parity originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 15 May 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Auto sales continue to weaken

Michael Fowlkes — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:20:00 EST

Filed under: Forecasts, Bad News, Products and Services, Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), Employees, Market Matters, Japan, Economic Data, Recession, Financial Crisis

We all know that the auto industry has been in crisis over the past year, and February was yet another tough month for auto sales, with hefty declines in sales for the major companies.

Analysts have been hoping that the auto industry is going to turn the corner during the second half of this year, but we are still waiting for any sign that things are getting back to normal as General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM), Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) and Toyota Motor company (NYSE: TM) all reported major drops in sales last month.

Continue reading Auto sales continue to weaken

Auto sales continue to weaken originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford Motor Co. has 'no substantial doubt' about its viability

Elizabeth Harrow — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 14:35:00 EST

Filed under: SEC Filings, Forecasts, Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM)

While rival automaker General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM) was monopolizing headlines this morning with its quarterly earnings report, Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) quietly slashed its forecast for 2009 auto sales. However, unlike GM, Ford says it has "no substantial doubt" about its ability to continue as a going concern.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ford predicted that total U.S. car and truck sales could tumble to 10.5 million in 2009. The new figure represents a drop of 1 million vehicles from Ford's previous estimate. On the plus side, the automaker thinks sales could arrive as high as 12.5 million vehicles if demand begins to recover in the second half of the year.

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Ford Motor Co. has 'no substantial doubt' about its viability originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 26 Feb 2009 14:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Honda Motor president bowing out

Beth Gaston Moon — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 14:19:00 EST

Filed under: Management, Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), Japan

In yet another bit of news from the automotive industry, Honda Motor Company (NYSE: HMC) president Takeo Fukui announced today that he will be stepping down from his post in June after six years with the second-largest Japanese automaker.

Fukui is passing the torch to Takanobu Ito, who currently serves as chief of automobile operations. The 64-year-old Fukui said, about passing the job to his 55-year-old successor, "It is very important to have a generational change in management every few years." It will be a challenging post for Ito, who assumes the reins as Honda and the overall auto industry face falling sales. The company is expecting an earnings loss of nearly 90% this year to $860 million (but at least they are still hoping to turn a profit).

Putting it mildly, it has been a turbulent time in the auto industry. Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) replaced its president in January. Mazda announced changes in management in November. And Nissan president has delegated some of his responsibilities of late. Meanwhile, on American soil ... well, we all know the saga the Big-Three is facing.

Beth Gaston Moon works for WeSeed.com, "The stock market for the rest of us." The above comments are not intended as trading or investment advice.

Honda Motor president bowing out originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 23 Feb 2009 14:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nissan (NSANY) job cuts run deep

Michael Fowlkes — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 10:15:00 EST

Filed under: International Markets, Bad News, Products and Services, Management, Competitive Strategy, Employees, Thailand, Japan, Recession, Nissan Motors (NSANY), Financial Crisis

For employees of Japan's third largest automaker, Nissan Motor Co. (NASDAQ: NSANY), the news today was grim. Nissan announced it will be eliminating a hefty 8.5% of its workforce, or roughly 20,000 jobs.

The news comes at a time when all automakers are struggling to deal with the global recession that continues to keep car buyers off the showroom floors. Nissan said it expects to report its first annual loss in the past nine years.

For the company's most recent quarter, October through December, Nissan reported a $904 million quarterly loss.

Continue reading Nissan (NSANY) job cuts run deep

Nissan (NSANY) job cuts run deep originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Feb 2009 10:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford drives home weak January sales

Michael Fowlkes — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Bad News, Products and Services, Industry, Ford Motor (F), Recession, Financial Crisis

Struggling auto maker Ford Motor (NYSE: F) announced its January sales figures today, and as you may have guessed, they weren't pretty.

During the month, the Dearborn, MI. auto maker says it sold 93,060 vehicles in the U.S. Compared with the 155,832 vehicles sold during January of 2008, we are talking about a massive 40% year over year decline. Definitely not the way the company would have liked to kick off the new year.

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Ford drives home weak January sales originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Can't make your car payments? Just give it back

Connie Madon — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:15:00 EST

Filed under: Deals, Products and Services, Industry, Consumer Experience, Competitive Strategy, Economic Data, Personal Finance

As everyone knows, the auto industry is on the skids. In December sales of cars and light trucks fell by 36% to 896,124 vehicles, with Chrysler down 53%, GM down 31% and Ford down 32%. Toyota, with sales also down, is suspending production in Japan for 11 days.

The auto industry is facing two major problems: The first is whether to produce SUVs or cars. George Pipas at Ford seems to believe that customers will tend toward buying more cars in the coming year. The second major problem facing the auto industry is how to get customers into the showrooms.

The usual promotions to the consumer are "cash back" offers. But Hyundai has come up with the most creative and unique promotional program yet. Hyundai will let customers return their cars for up to a year if they lose their jobs or can't make the payments.

You can bet that as times get tough manufacturers and retailers will come up with a variety of "far out" deals. Whether or not they will work is anyone's guess.

Would you buy a Hyundai?

Can't make your car payments? Just give it back originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota (TM) to shut down production for 11 days

Michael Fowlkes — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:21:00 EST

Filed under: Forecasts, Bad News, Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), Japan, Recession

Today we got another clear cut sign of just how tough things have gotten for the auto industry. Japanese automaker Toyota (NYSE: TM) stated it is going to shut down factories for 11 days in February and March.

The news comes on the heels of yesterday's announcement that the company had a dismal month of December, with sales dropping by 37% in America, worse than Ford (NYSE: F) and General Motors (NYSE: GM), which saw sales drop by 32%, and 31% respectively.

The lack of sales resulted in one big problem for the automaker -- excess inventories -- leaving the company with no choice but to shut down production to reduce output in the face of continued slowing auto sales. The shutdown is going to affect all 12 of its Japanese plants, and is in addition to an already announced three day shutdown in the same plants this month.

Continue reading Toyota (TM) to shut down production for 11 days

Toyota (TM) to shut down production for 11 days originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford struggles to see light at end of the tunnel

Michael Fowlkes — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 15:40:00 EST

Filed under: Forecasts, Bad News, Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), Economic Data, Oil, Israel, Recession, Financial Crisis

I realize it goes without saying, but times are tough for American auto makers, really tough in fact, and for Ford (NYSE: F), the company does not see things changing any time soon, and is predicting another disastrous month for December sales for the ailing auto industry.

The company announced today that it believes when final December sales figures are released, we are going to see a horrible month, with Ford estimating that industry-wide, December sales will probably be around 35% lower than the same period last year.

When you consider the estimated December numbers you can start to get a feel for just how bad 2008 has been. Consider this: in 2007, industry-wide sales of light vehicles in America totaled 16.2 million. In 2008, that number is expected to drop dramatically down to around 13.2 million light vehicles in reaction to lower consumer spending and tightened credit lending.

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Ford struggles to see light at end of the tunnel originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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November a tough month for Toyota (TM)

Michael Fowlkes — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: International Markets, Bad News, Products and Services, Competitive Strategy, Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), Recession, Nissan Motors (NSANY), Financial Crisis

There is no question about the troubles that the American auto makers have been dealing with, and things are not looking too bright for their overseas competitors as well. Toyota (NYSE: TM) announced today that November was another tough month for the Japanese auto maker, as the company witnessed the largest monthly decline in sales for the past 8 years.

During the month, Toyota saw its global sales dip by a massive 21.8%, and highlights the bad news that the company shared with the market earlier this week that 2008 would mark the first time in the past 70 years that the company would be reporting an operating loss for the year.

Earlier this year, the Japanese auto makers had appeared to be somewhat insulated from the slowdown that American makers General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Ford (NYSE: F) were dealing with. The main reason why the Japanese makers were able to weather the storm a bit better was their strong reputation for producing better, more fuel efficient vehicles. While this perception kept the Japanese auto makers stronger for the first part of the year, the overall economic slowdown and credit crunch have been taking their toll recently on all auto makers, the Japanese included.

Continue reading November a tough month for Toyota (TM)

November a tough month for Toyota (TM) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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General Motors must prove it's viable ... sort of

Zac Bissonnette — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 10:29:00 EST

Filed under: Management, General Motors (GM)

As part of the deal to receive taxpayer funding, General Motors (NYSE: GM) must present a restructuring plan by February 17th that demonstrates viability.

But what does viability mean? Fortune's Colin Barr reports that the requirement that the company demonstrate a positive net present value -- the present value of the future cash flows minus operating and financing expenses -- is subject to tremendous latitude of judgment: "If GM execs make optimistic forecasts about their market share, profit margins and other factors, they should be able to present the Treasury Department with a plan showing they'll hit the positive NPV milestone within a reasonable amount of time."

And the people charged with making these projections don't exactly have Nostradamus' track record either. As Barr points out, GM predicted in 2002 that it would earn $10 per share in 2005. It ended up losing $18.78 per share. Oops. But now GM tells us that it can return to profitability and this time, they tell us, they're for real.

Yeah, and I have a fuel-efficient Hummer to sell you.

Ultimately, voters are likely to find out that whatever safeguards are supposedly put in place to prevent this money from being wasted will prove to be inadequate. You can set supposedly rigid terms on plans to lend money to an insolvent company, but pig is still a pig no matter how much lipstick.

General Motors must prove it's viable ... sort of originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 22 Dec 2008 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota to lose $1.7 billion in 2008, first time in 70 years

Peter Cohan — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 09:44:00 EST

Filed under: General Motors (GM), Toyota Motor Corp. (TM)

Toyota Motor Corp.'s (NYSE: TM) is going to lose money this year on its auto operations -- but as a group it will still make a profit. Does Toyota's loss mean that the U.S. automakers are off the hook? Only if you think that General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) was making money all the years that Toyota was. And that is most certainly not true.

GM has lost $74 billion since 2004 and its stock price has collapsed 95% since its CEO Rick Wagoner took over in 2000. Toyota made $28 billion in operating income in 2007. Meanwhile, Toyota will lose $1.7 billion in its automobile operations in 2008 but will earn a corporate profit of $560 million thanks to offsetting profits from its Daihatsu and Hino product lines. Moreover, Toyota has $18.5 billion in cash, and relatively little debt so it should weather the storm relatively well.

But this is not to say that Toyota does not recognize that there's a problem. It is slashing production to reflect a grim forecast for 2009 demand. Toyota also lowered its worldwide vehicle sales forecast for the current fiscal year to 7.54 million vehicles -- 15% below the 8.9 million vehicles it sold in 2007. And overall, the Japanese auto industry cut production by 2.2 million vehicles in 2008, laid off non-staff workers and delayed capital investment.

So far no evidence that the Japanese companies are looking to their government for a handout.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in the securities mentioned.

Toyota to lose $1.7 billion in 2008, first time in 70 years originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 22 Dec 2008 09:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Survey says: People would still buy from a bankrupt General Motors

Zac Bissonnette — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:06:00 EST

Filed under: Other Issues, General Motors (GM), Financial Crisis

One of the main arguments behind General Motors (NYSE: GM) CEO Richard Wagoner's argument that bankruptcy is not an option for the industry is the belief that consumers would be unwilling to buy a car from a bankruptcy company.

But a USA Today survey says that isn't the case. The newspaper surveyed 1,008 adults last week and found that 82% would at least consider a Detroit-brand vehicle. Of those, 67% would do so even if the company were in bankruptcy court.

Of course, that's a drop in demand, but not nearly one as dire as industry executives would like you to think. And it's possible that an aggressive marketing/consumer education campaign accompanying a Chapter 11 filing could win over some of that 15% gap.

If a bankrupt GM could still have a chance of enticing car buyers, that's the route that should be taken. The company is currently insolvent and, as any banker will tell you, lending billions of dollars to an insolvent company is stupid. The government will get much more bang for its buck if it can use the bankruptcy process to let the company discharge some of its obligations.

That might seem unfair to the affected parties but the reality is that, without government help, the company will end up in bankruptcy anyway. The interests of taxpayers should come first.

Survey says: People would still buy from a bankrupt General Motors originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Memo to Congress: Let 'Big Two' survive

Peter Cohan — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 08:43:00 EST

Filed under: Competitive Strategy, Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), Economic Data, Financial Crisis

If executives from General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), Ford (NYSE: F) and Chrysler can make it from Detroit to Washington in their hybrid vehicles by tomorrow, they'll plead for $34 billion -- up $9 billion from two weeks ago. You should not give them what they want. Instead, I recommend you let GM and Chrysler merge -- if you can convince Nissan CEO, Carlos Ghosn, to run the combined company. Ford will be fine on its own -- you should grant it the line of credit it requests.

A few weeks ago, I proposed a six step restructuring plan that would save $16 billion and help a combined GM and Chrysler to survive. To put that plan into effect, there is no question that the managers of GM and Chrysler must be replaced by an auto executive with a track record for turning around an ailing competitor. That's what Ghosn did when he took over Nissan after it merged with Renault in 1999, where he was a VP. Ghosn won many small victories against an entrenched Nissan bureaucracy to revive the Japanese automaker. Ghosn is just what GM/Chrysler needs.

Make no mistake, this is not an industry to which it makes economic sense to lend money. Bankers need to get repaid from the cash flow that a business generates either from operations or by selling assets. With sales plunging -- GM's fell 41.3%, Ford's tumbled 30.5%, and Chrysler's crashed 47.1% -- there is no operating profit likely here. And demand for purchasing their assets -- such as GM's Saab or Ford's Volvo -- appears to be weak.

Continue reading Memo to Congress: Let 'Big Two' survive

Memo to Congress: Let 'Big Two' survive originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 08:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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November auto sales down on economy and bankruptcy concerns: J.D. Power

Brian White — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 10:55:00 EST

Filed under: Bad News, Industry, Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM)

Tom Libby with J.D. Power and Associates indicated Monday that November automobile sales in the U.S. will probably fall sharply due to the sagging economy and the state of all three U.S. automakers (possible bankruptcies or other maladies). In fact, the CEOs of the big three are on Capitol Hill today to try again for a $25 billion aid package lest they fail and fall hard.

But the November sales hit won't just be affecting the three U.S.-based automakers. The Japanese automakers are also set to see a sales shortfall due to tighter credit standards and lower consumer confidence in the economy. Libby indicated that sales at all the major automakers would fall at least 10% in November. During December and the end of the model year, expect to see the best bargains yet if you're planning an auto purchase.

Bloomberg News' survey of 26 analysts and economists also indicated that a seasonally adjusted sales rate of just 11 million automobiles were sold in November, down a full 32% from the same month in November when gas prices were much higher but the perception of the U.S. economy was not in the toilet yet. Have you bought a car -- any car -- recently? What kind of deal or incentive did the exasperated dealer give you to move anything out of inventory? Let me know in comments below.

November auto sales down on economy and bankruptcy concerns: J.D. Power originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 02 Dec 2008 10:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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