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Midsize Sedans 2.0

18200 messages,  Last post on May 21, 2013 at 8:30 PM

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What is this discussion about? Hyundai Sonata, Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, Volkswagen Passat, Mazda MAZDA6, Ford Fusion, Chevrolet Malibu, Kia Optima, Car Comparisons, Sedan

Messages Page 979 of 1821

#9777 of 18200 May 2008 Sales up Despite... by bwia

Jun 04, 2008 (6:35 am)

Despite the soft economy new mid-size car sales were up for May and for the year-to-date. The table below from the Wall Street Journal is from the Top 20 vehicles current month's sales.
 
Make/May 08 Sales/% Change from May 07/YTD 2008 Sales/% Change from 2007 YTD
Toyota Camry/…51,291/…2.3%/…198,309/…2.3%
Honda Accord/…43,728/…37%/…166,158/…8.3%
Chevy Impala/…23,803/…(33.3%)/…122,281/…(15.4%)
Ford Fusion/…18,088/…26.7%/…73,197/…10.5%
Chevy Malibu/…15,634/…51.3%/…73,760/…40%
 
From the above it is clear that the Camry and Accord sales more than 3 times that of the Malibu. With such low volume sales it does not appear that GM’s $100 million advertising campaign for Malibu is working effectively.
 
The figures above include Hybrid sales for the Accord and Camry. By the way, neither the Sonata nor the Altima made it in the top 20.

#9778 of 18200 Re: May 2008 Sales up Despite... [bwia] by aviboy97

Jun 04, 2008 (7:03 am)

Replying to: bwia (Jun 04, 2008 6:35 am)
How can you say that GM's advertising on the Malibu is not working? They have increased sales by 40% over last year, while Toyota is up only 2.3% and Honda is up 8.3%. Even Ford has a higher increase in YTD sales then Honda and Toyota, and Honda has a new Accord!! Thats bad for Honda!
 
The purpose of advertising is to increase sales. GM has done what with the Malibu. BTW, The Accord is only selling little more then 2 times more then Malibu.

#9779 of 18200 Re: May 2008 Sales up Despite... [bwia] by backy

Jun 04, 2008 (7:47 am)

Replying to: bwia (Jun 04, 2008 6:35 am)
FYI, the Altima was #7 in May, selling just below the Ford and Chevy pickups. And Sonata sales were up about 12% and Elantra (mid-sized by volume) up 46%. Elantra fell just out of the top 20, with nearly 14,000 sales.

#9780 of 18200 Re: May 2008 Sales up Despite... [bwia] by moocow1

Jun 04, 2008 (10:07 am)

Replying to: bwia (Jun 04, 2008 6:35 am)
There's no way a mostly overlooked car such as the Malibu will suddenly rise to Camry/Accord sales after a year of finally having a competitive model. At best, the Malibu could hit sales parity in 5 or so years assuming a lot of changeover from japanese to american... somehow I doubt it'll happen. At best I think GM is looking to hit half the sales of a Camry/Accord, that would be a huge boost imho.

#9781 of 18200 Re: May 2008 Sales up Despite... [moocow1] by akirby

Jun 04, 2008 (10:59 am)

Replying to: moocow1 (Jun 04, 2008 10:07 am)
Exactly. Accord and Camry didn't sell 400K/year the first few years either. It takes 4-5 generations of steady improvements to build up a recurring buyer base large enough to sustain those types of sales numbers. The Fusion, e.g., is just now eligible for repeat buyers since it's been out for just over 2.5 years now. And that's only for those with 2 yr leases. We'll have to wait another year or so for the 3 yr lease rollovers and probably another year after that for repeat purchasers.
 
And Accord/Camry won't lose all of those customers overnight, just like the others won't gain them that quickly.

#9782 of 18200 Re: May 2008 Sales up Despite... [akirby] by elroy5

Jun 04, 2008 (2:18 pm)

Replying to: akirby (Jun 04, 2008 10:59 am)
It seems to me that all the consumers not buying F-150s and Silverados would be buying Fusions and Malibus. Some of them are, but many are not. Ford and GM would not make as much profit on the cars, but at least they would be selling something. From the numbers I've seen, most of the fuel conscious buyers are choosing the Civic, Corolla, Camry, or Accord. Bad news for Detroit.

#9783 of 18200 JD Power IQS by moocow1

Jun 04, 2008 (2:36 pm)

Well I'm sure this will be discussed, but for mid-size cars...here's that initial love!
 
1. Chevy Malibu
2. Mitsubishi Galant (WHOA SURPRISE!)
3. Ford Fusion
 
Interesting that the top 3 has no Honda or Toyota, instead we have the two big american makers and a surprise japanese brand with a terrible rep. Discuss!

#9784 of 18200 Re: JD Power IQS [moocow1] by thegraduate

Jun 04, 2008 (2:40 pm)

Replying to: moocow1 (Jun 04, 2008 2:36 pm)
JD Power has never had results favoring CRs favorites.
 
I remember the old Sonata winning this award a time or two, myself.

#9785 of 18200 Re: May 2008 Sales up Despite... [bwia] by busiris

Jun 04, 2008 (3:30 pm)

Replying to: bwia (Jun 04, 2008 6:35 am)
Why do you feel it necessary to post the same exact information in multiple forums?
 
Just curious...

#9786 of 18200 Re: May 2008 Sales up Despite... [elroy5] by akirby

Jun 04, 2008 (3:32 pm)

Replying to: elroy5 (Jun 04, 2008 2:18 pm)
It seems to me that all the consumers not buying F-150s and Silverados would be buying Fusions and Malibus. Some of them are, but many are not. ...... From the numbers I've seen, most of the fuel conscious buyers are choosing the Civic, Corolla, Camry, or Accord.
 
There is NO way for you to know that. You're just making wild, biased guesses that can't be proven or dis proven. No pickup driver who uses their truck would trade it for a car. Neither will most SUV drivers. Large pickups might be replaced by smaller pickups (ranger sales were up recently) and SUVs might be replaced by CUVs (I just traded a V8 Aviator for a V6 Edge). Large/midsized cars might be replaced by smaller cars.
 
Incidentally, focus retail sales are DOUBLE (103%) what they were last year and had it's best sales month ever in May. Convenient that you left it out of the list.

Messages Page 979 of 1821

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