J.D. Power Says 2011 U.S. New Car Sales to Reach 12.7 Million, 2012 to be Even Better

The economy may not be at its best, but new car sales in the States keep on rising. J.D. Power and Associates and LMC Automotive said on Thursday that U.S. auto sales in December are expected to top 13 million on an annual rate for the fourth consecutive month.

"For the third straight time, light-vehicle sales are posting strong selling rates at the close of the year", said LMC Senior Vice President Jeff Schuster.

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CR Poll Finds that 40% of U.S. Car Owners Delay Maintenance Due to Financial Reasons

The state of the economy is affecting every aspect of our everyday lives – including cars. And it’s not just the gas prices that affect motorists: a new poll from Consumer Reports shows that almost one in two car owners delay their car’s servicing or repairs.

Lower-income households are more likely to delay necessary work, and younger drivers (18-34 years of age) tend to postpone work on wear items like tires or brake pads – with 21 percent of them admitting that they don’t even pay attention to these items.

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Surprise: Canada's Most Stolen Vehicle is the 2009 Toyota Venza, Pontiac Aztec Makes Top 10

Who would have ever guessed that car thieves in Canada have a thing for the Toyota Venza? Yet, the 2009 model year version of Toyota's crossover topped the Insurance Bureau of Canada’s [IBC] top 10 most frequently stolen vehicles this year. 
The 2009 Venza takes the crown from the 2000 Honda Civic SiR Coupe that was last year’s number one stolen vehicle but dropped to third place in 2011, just below the 1999 Honda Civic SiR Coupe.
The Japanese carmaker's models prove to be very popular among Canadian thieves as the 1998 and 1999 Acura Integra Coupe also made the list taking the 9th and 10th spot respectively.
In between, you will find the 2006 and 2007 Ford F350 trucks, the 2002 Cadillac Escalade, the 2006 Chevy Traillblazer and –wait for it- the 2001 Pontiac Aztec…
IBC said that many of the stolen vehicles are showing up in the local market and are not necessarily being exported out of Canada.
“Consumers need to be aware when they’re in the market for used vehicles or parts,” said Rick Dubin, Vice-President, Investigative Services, IBC.
"We’re doing a good job of stopping stolen vehicles at the ports. Our data indicate that we are not seeing many of these vehicles there. We have to conclude that stolen vehicles are being re-sold locally. But because the stolen vehicles are in these local markets, buyers need to be careful,” Dubin added.


The top 10 most frequently stolen vehicles in Canada are:

1. 2009 Toyota Venza 4-door
2. 1999 Honda Civic SiR 2-door
3. 2000 Honda Civic SiR 2-door
4. 2006 Ford F350 Pickup Truck 4WD
5. 2002 Cadillac Escalade EXT 4-door AWD
6. 2006 Chevrolet TrailBlazer SS 4-door 4WD
7. 2007 Ford F350 Pickup Truck 4WD
8. 2001 Pontiac Aztek 4-door AWD
9. 1998 Acura Integra 2-door
10. 1999 Acura Integra 2-door

PHOTO GALLERY

Surprise, Surprise: Canada's Most Stolen Vehicle is the 2009 Toyota Venza, Pontiac Aztec Makes Top 10

Who would have ever guessed that car thieves in Canada have a thing for the Toyota Venza? Yet, the 2009 model year version of Toyota's crossover topped the Insurance Bureau of Canada’s [IBC] top 10 most frequently stolen vehicles this year.

The 2009 Venza takes the crown from the 2000 Honda Civic SiR Coupe that was last year’s number one stolen vehicle but dropped to third place in 2011, just below the 1999 Honda Civic SiR Coupe.

The Japanese carmaker's models prove to be very popular among Canadian thieves as the 1998 and 1999 Acura Integra Coupe also made the list taking the 9th and 10th spot respectively.

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Shocker: Crash Tests Reveal that Most Cars Sold in Latin America are Deathtraps on Wheels

Shocker: Crash Tests Reveal that Most Cars Sold in Latin America are Deathtraps on Wheels

The FIA Foundation announced the results of the first ever crash tests carried out by the Latin New Car Assessment Program (Latin NCAP), and the news isn’t good for consumers and automakers alike. Actually, the crash test results reveal a terrifying reality: most of the best selling cars in Latin America’s emerging markets offer minimal or no protection at all to their adult occupants let alone children...
Max Mosley, president of Global NCAP, said: “The latest results of the Latin NCAP reveal that South America’s most popular cars are still about 20 years behind the levels of safety enjoyed in Europe and North America. This cannot be acceptable.”
"We want to see the UN’s global crash test standards applied to all new cars across the world. And we want consumers to be aware of the life and death choices they make when buying a new car," Mosley added.
The 64 km/h (40 mph) frontal impact crash tests revealed that most of the cars that were tested suffered from poor structural rigidity which, along with the absence of airbags in most of them, “awarded” them an unheard-of, in the 21st century, one-star rating!
This kind of performance is indeed scary, especially when compared to models sold to the European and North American markets, where the top five-star rating for every new model, save for ultra compacts which usually score four stars, is the norm.
Whereas in North America and Europe safety agencies constantly upgrade their requirements, in most Latin American countries safety regulations are virtually non-existent.
A measure of the work that needs to be done is the fact that Argentina and Brazil will make airbags mandatory by 2014 – and that, sadly, is hailed as a sign of progress.

Published By: Carscoop

PHOTO GALLERY

Shocker: Crash Tests Reveal that Most Cars Sold in Latin America are Deathtraps on Wheels

The FIA Foundation announced the results of the first ever crash tests carried out by the Latin New Car Assessment Program (Latin NCAP), and the news isn’t good for consumers and automakers alike.

Actually, the crash test results reveal a terrifying reality: most of the best selling cars in Latin America’s emerging markets offer minimal or no protection at all to their adult occupants let alone children...

Max Mosley, president of Global NCAP, said: “The latest results of the Latin NCAP reveal that South America’s most popular cars are still about 20 years behind the levels of safety enjoyed in Europe and North America. This cannot be acceptable.”

"We want to see the UN’s global crash test standards applied to all new cars across the world. And we want consumers to be aware of the life and death choices they make when buying a new car," Mosley added.

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Report: Senior U.S. Car Buyers Try to Cling on to their Youth by Choosing Good Ol' American Iron

Oscar Wilde famously said that “to get back to my youth I would do anything in the world except take exercise, get up early, or be respectable”.

Sadly, the 19-century novelist and poet is no longer among us to reveal if buying a car to remind him of his youth, no matter how far behind the competition it is, would be one of the sacrifices he would or wouldn’t be willing to make.

A survey by TrueCar.com reveals that cars bought by people aged 65 and above in the States belong mostly to domestic brands they remember from their youth, such as Cadillac, Lincoln and Buick.

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Report: U.S. Highway Fatalities Drop to their Lowest Number Since 1949

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that the number of overall road fatalities in the States dropped by 2.9% to 32,885 in 2010 compared to 2009. The fatality rate, that is the number of people killed per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, fell to 1.1 last year from 1.15 in 2009.

This is the fifth year in a row that fatalities decreased. On the other hand, deaths of motorcyclists, pedestrians and large-truck occupants increased and the number of traffic accident-related injuries rose by 0.9% to 2.24 million.

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Peugeot Study Reveals that Half of British Men Find it Easier to Maintain Their Car than their Girlfriend

A new research study from Peugeot, which polled over 2,000 people in the United Kingdom, reveals that a significant number of British drivers are often more concerned about their car than their other half.

According to the "RCZ Study" commissioned by the French carmaker, 50 percent of men in Britain confess that they find their partner more difficult to maintain than their vehicle and 1 in 10 guys admit to being more fascinated with their cars’ curves than their partners.

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Mid-Size Cars Sales Fall as U.S. Buyers Downsize to Smaller Cars

For decades, mid-size sedans like the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and Ford Taurus have been best-sellers and the most common sight on American roads.

But the trend is starting to change. According to J.D Power and associates, an increasingly large number of buyers are downsizing and choose small cars such as the Chevrolet Cruze or even the Honda Fit.

In fact, J.D. Power forecasts that, for the first time in two decades, compact cars will outsell mid-size models by the end of the year. Moreover, it projects that by 2015, compact and sub-compact cars will have a 20% share in the U.S. market, while mid-size models’ share will shrink down to 14%.

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Cars Pictures: New Study Reveals the Most Profitable Vehicles in the USA

Cars Pictures: New Study Reveals the Most Profitable Vehicles in the USA

All carmakers want their vehicles to sell in big numbers. And they make a big fuss out of it when they succeed, especially when they top the sales charts in their respective segments. However, high sale numbers don’t necessarily translate to high profits, especially with the discounts that have become a common practice to draw customers to dealerships. A recent study conducted by Max Warburton of Bernstein Research, a market trends and analysis firm, reveals which models sold in the U.S. are the most profitable for automakers.
Despite being blamed for almost anything, from the greenhouse effect to the costly bailout a couple of years ago, the study shows that Detroit’s Big Three light-truck models lead the list of the most profitable vehicles in the U.S.
The number one spot goes to the Ford F-Series, with GM's Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks coming in second and Chrysler's Ram completing the top three.
Admittedly, the survey includes data since 1990, so the current economic and environmental factors are downplayed compared to what is actually happening today. Still, during this period, the three top trucks netted a combined $108 billion pre-tax profit.
According to Warburton, the reason why trucks are so profitable is a combination of high prices, high volumes and long tenure in the market. Moreover, unlike passenger cars, trucks employ simpler and cheaper technology, further increasing the profit margin, and even when they are upgraded they often use carry-over parts from the models they replace.
Trucks are not the only high-profit vehicles in the list: the Mercedes-Benz S-Class ranks in fourth place followed by the BMW 5- and 3-Series, and the E-Class.
Big SUVs, like the Lexus RX and the Jeep Grand Cherokee, are next while U.S. market best-sellers, such as the Honda Accord and the Toyota Camry, are also included in the list, mainly due to their high volumes.
The Porsche 911, on the other hand, which takes a place between the Accord and the Camry, may not be as common, but it practically owns its segment and certainly commands a much higher price tag.
Story Sources: Bernstein Research via New York Times

Bernstein Research's list of the most profitable vehicles in the USA since 1990:
1. Ford F-Series
2. General Motors pickups
3. Chrysler Ram
4. Mercedes S-Class
5. BMW 5 Series
6. BMW 3 Series
7. Mercedes E-Class
8. Lexus RX
9. Jeep Grand Cherokee
10. Honda Accord
11. Porsche 911
12. Toyota Camry

New Study Reveals the Most Profitable Vehicles in the USA

All carmakers want their vehicles to sell in big numbers. And they make a big fuss out of it when they succeed, especially when they top the sales charts in their respective segments. However, high sale numbers don’t necessarily translate to high profits, especially with the discounts that have become a common practice to draw customers to dealerships.

A recent study conducted by Max Warburton of Bernstein Research, a market trends and analysis firm, reveals which models sold in the U.S. are the most profitable for automakers.

Despite being blamed for almost anything, from the greenhouse effect to the costly bailout a couple of years ago, the study shows that Detroit’s Big Three light-truck models lead the list of the most profitable vehicles in the U.S.

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Ford’s Reliability Suffers in Consumer Reports Survey, Japanese Brands Rule and Europeans are a Mixed Bag

Consumer Reports has published its 2011 annual auto survey in which the main point of interest, as the report states, is a sharp decline in Ford’s so far “solid reliability record”: the Detroit carmaker dropped 10 places in the overall reliability ranks.

According to CR's survey, which is based on responses from 1.3 million vehicles owners, Ford’s drop from 10th to 20th place among 28 carmakers can be attributed to two main factors. The first is that all three of Ford’s new models, i.e. the Explorer, Fiesta and Focus, scored below average in reliability in their first year on the market.

“We have often found that new or revamped models have more problems in their first year than in subsequent model years”, commented the senior director of Consumer Reports’ Automotive Test Center, David Champion. “Ford’s problems illustrate why we recommend to our subscribers to hold off buying a first-year model.”

The second factor that contributed to Ford’s decline is problems with new technologies, such as the MyfFord Touch infotainment system and the new PowerShift semi-automatic gearbox used in the Focus and Fiesta. The similar MyLincoln Touch system’s problems even affected Lincoln’s MKX, even though the brand was ranked above Ford. On the positive side, the Fusion Hybrid scored very well, and its other versions were above average.

Contrary to Ford, Chrysler has seen its reliability record improve significantly: Jeep is now the most reliable domestic brand in the U.S., having risen from 20th to 13th place. Dodge and Chrysler did not do badly either, moving up 12 and 3 places respectively.

Predictably, it is the Japanese that continue to dominate the reliability survey, securing the top nine positions of the scoreboard since of the 91 models that CR had sufficient data, 87 ranked average or better and 24 cars earned top marks. Scion (with two models ranked) led the pack, followed by Lexus, Acura, Mazda, Honda and Toyota.

Despite Chrysler’s improvement, the Detroit Big Three still haven’t caught up with their rivals, ranking not only below the Japanese but also the two Korean brands, Hyundai and Kia. GM’s Buick and Cadillac did worse than in 2010, with the LaCrosse, Enclave AWD and SRX scoring lower than last year and losing the “recommended” tag.

General Motors' best result was the Chevrolet Volt that was the group’s most reliable car, even though the sample was barely larger than the 100-unit minimum required by the survey and the cars were owned for only a few months.

European carmakers were, as always, a mixed lot: the highest-ranking brand was Volvo, at 10th spot, while VW retained its 16th place, and both BMW and Mercedes-Benz improved, though their line-up reliability was inconsistent.

The biggest loser was Porsche: in 2010 it was second best but this year it is second worst, due to only two models being ranked one of which, the second-generation Cayenne SUV, suffered many reliability problems.

Not surprisingly, given its record of accomplishment and decades-old bad reputation, Jaguar finished dead last as its XF and XJ luxury sedans were the two least reliable models in the entire survey. 

Published By: Car Scoop 

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