Monthly Archives: January 2008
2007 European Sales Are a Tale of Two Continents
Or perhaps, a tale of two distinct parts of one continent.By Chris Haak01.31.2008According to ACEA, the European automakers' association, in 2007, auto sales in Europe were more...
Hyundai Sales Goals: If You Don’t Succeed Several Times, Try Again
By Chris Haak01.31.2008Hyundai's South Korean executives have had some ambitious sales goals in the US for several years. However, it has become apparent that either the bump in...
Ford Transit Connect Now Will Come to the US
According to today's Wall Street Journal, "people familiar with the company's plans" have confirmed that Ford will, in fact, bring the Transit Connect European commercial van to...
Why Chrysler’s New Consumer Advisory Board Won’t Work
By Chris Haak01.25.2008Deborah Meyer, Chrysler's head of marketing (whom the automaker recruited from Lexus last year) announced yesterday several product-related...
Toyota May Have Actually Beaten GM in 2007 Sales
Basically every media outlet first reported on Wednesday that Toyota and GM had sold almost an identical number of new vehicles in 2007. That number was 9.37 million (for GM, it...
Lifan 3-Series is a Chinese Mini Cooper Knockoff
Earlier this week, Chinese automaker Lifan showed its 3-Series sedan to assembled media. While the name would make one think that the vehicle is a clone of the BMW 3-Series, in...
Wal-Mart May Sell Hybrids for “Major Companies” – Chinese Ones?
By Chris Haak01.24.2008According to Bloomberg this morning, Wal-Mart Chief Executive Lee Scott gave a speech in Kansas City to store managers yesterday in which he has discussed...
Volkswagen’s US Production Plans Take Shape
Volkswagen has some ambitious US sales goals and wants to surpass both GM and Toyota as the world's largest automaker by 2018. However, the dollar's weakness relative to the Euro...
Nissan Cube Coming to US
By Chris Haak01.23.2008The Nissan Cube, a small, boxy car similar to the original Scion xB in shape and concept, will be coming to the US market according to Nissan Motor Co. Ltd....
2007 Was a Brutal Year for Big Truck Sales
By Chris Haak01.23.2008New government emission standards in effect for diesel engines beginning in 2007 made 2006 a decent year for medium- and heavy-duty (class 4-8) truck sales...