April vehicle sales seen down, GM SUVs strong, Detroit Fleet Sales 1 in 3

[mucker15]

Originally Posted by mbukukanyau

with high gas prices and GM SUV's being the most economical on the freeway.. Why do I get the feeling that SUV buyers will go for the Tahoe and Avoid other automakers products?
Eh?

Because it makes sense, the 900s get good mpg for a truck thier size. Better than the competition. The 900 sales will be fine, people with big familys need the room of an SUV plus the Outlook/Enclave/Acadia will be a big help for GM, car like MPG and Truck like room. I think they are perfect for these times. My only frustration is getting the new products here. Where is the great looking stunning new malibu we have heard about ? The cross overs should be in show rooms by now.

I dont get the Gas prices will kill GM argument. The Sequoia is a pig w/gas and its more expensive than the Tahoe, and GM has many cars in the line up that get great MPG. My point is the price of gas will hurt everyone not just GM But you rarely hear that Toyota is going to get killed in Sequioa sales, due to prices.

[mucker15]

Originally Posted by Hemidakota

Sad to note that most media jorunalist do not do any real homework in bias attacking the three. If someone takes the time to read the Friday thru Sunday Auto sales in any given newspaper, you will find even the Asians are doing the same with aggressive sales tactics.

glad you pointed that out

[Havasavana]

It would be interesting to see total transportation cost (vehicle purchase, maintenance, insurance, fuel) as a percentage of total income broken out by income level along with other expense catagories such as housing, food, etc. by decade. Assuming that, for people who own their properties, some of the housing cost is returned vs. VERY little of the transportation cost is returned directly (at trade in). But having private transportation is virtually essential in this society where public transport is poor or non-existent in most areas. The recent runup in fuel prices gets a lot of attention, but I doubt the percentage of total transport cost has increased substantially given that people trade their cars quite often and many people seem to never get anything paid for. That thing sitting in the driveway has a huge cost each day even if it doesn't move, just with depreciation and insurance.

[dindak]

Just around U$4 a gallon here in Ontario. It's killer. Well over U$50 to fill up the Montana now. Any thought of a Tralblazer is disappearing from my mind and I can't be alone. The longer these prices presisit, the smaller the big SUV market is going to be as people migrate to VUEs, vans and cars.

Grim times for big SUVs.

[PeterPuck]

Originally Posted by mucker15

My point is the price of gas will hurt everyone not just GM But you rarely hear that Toyota is going to get killed in Sequioa sales, due to prices.

the reasons should be pretty obvious.

Toyota can do just fine without Sequioa sales.

[asim]

Originally Posted by Perian

I paid $ 3.59 a gallon to fill my Yukon 2500 on Saturday.

The bill was more than $ 120!!

It's amazing the GMT900's are selling so well.

Can this continue?

Man...it costs us about $80 to fill up our Trailblazer EXT...

[toronado10]

Originally Posted by mucker15

I dont get the Gas prices will kill GM argument.

GM depends on their GMT-900's to sell for full price, which will not sell as well with higher gas prices. When they sell for full price they make a huge profit on every single truck while they lose money on many cars due to the huge rebates on them (not as much anymore though). Toyota makes money on cars and trucks, not just trucks.

[mucker15]

Originally Posted by PeterPuck

the reasons should be pretty obvious.

Toyota can do just fine without Sequioa sales.

maybe they would but I did say Sequioa sales not overall sales. Gm has gotten rid of a large percentage of the discounts, So I think car sales are headed in the right direction. In my opinion you rarely hear of any damage to any other car maker due to gas prices. It will not only effect GM.

[SobeSVT]

Originally Posted by expyfan

$3.59 a gallon, holy crap, is that premium gas. Here is at about $2.90 a gallon and I spend about $60 weekly on my 04 Expedition. Dawn, $120 a week is crazy.

I feel so happy for my Duractec 3.0 in my Mariner. 21 mpg city and I spend about $ 50 a week (give or take a tank and a half). Not too bad . . .

[mucker15]

Originally Posted by toronado10

GM depends on their GMT-900's to sell for full price, which will not sell as well with higher gas prices. When they sell for full price they make a huge profit on every single truck while they lose money on many cars due to the huge rebates on them (not as much anymore though). Toyota makes money on cars and trucks, not just trucks.

I understand that about Toyota, Its a very good point. I hear a lot of critics bash the Tahoe as a gas guzzler but I dont hear it as much about import trucks which get poor MPG.

[cdp326]

Originally Posted by 377Z

...followed shortly by moneys flying out of my bu tt.

At least then you'll have more money to pay for gas!

[Geotpf]

Originally Posted by mucker15

Because it makes sense, the 900s get good mpg for a truck thier size. Better than the competition. The 900 sales will be fine, people with big familys need the room of an SUV plus the Outlook/Enclave/Acadia will be a big help for GM, car like MPG and Truck like room. I think they are perfect for these times. My only frustration is getting the new products here. Where is the great looking stunning new malibu we have heard about ? The cross overs should be in show rooms by now.

I dont get the Gas prices will kill GM argument. The Sequoia is a pig w/gas and its more expensive than the Tahoe, and GM has many cars in the line up that get great MPG. My point is the price of gas will hurt everyone not just GM But you rarely hear that Toyota is going to get killed in Sequioa sales, due to prices.

I think Toyota has basically given up on the Sequioa. They don't need the big SUVs to make money; they make most of thier money on Camrys and Corollas. If they are going to redo it, basing it on the new Tundra makes sense, so a new version may be coming down the line.

The main competition to a GMT-900 when gas prices are high is a minivan. If you have four kids and don't need to tow a large trailer or go offroad, a minivan is a perfect substitute. A lot of people buy large SUVs because they have a lot of kids, but don't want to be seen driving a minivan. Expensive gas may cause them to reconsider this decision. Oh, and GM's minivans suck ass-even the fanboys here agree with that.

[mucker15]

Originally Posted by Geotpf

I think Toyota has basically given up on the Sequioa. They don't need the big SUVs to make money; they make most of thier money on Camrys and Corollas. If they are going to redo it, basing it on the new Tundra makes sense, so a new version may be coming down the line.

The main competition to a GMT-900 when gas prices are high is a minivan. If you have four kids and don't need to tow a large trailer or go offroad, a minivan is a perfect substitute. A lot of people buy large SUVs because they have a lot of kids, but don't want to be seen driving a minivan. Expensive gas may cause them to reconsider this decision. Oh, and
GM's minivans suck ass-even the fanboys here agree with that.

GM mini vans suck pretty bad and they have for years. Mini vans will be an attractive alternative but so will the new cross over vehicles coming from GM. I think the cross over is a perfect minivan substitute. It gives you the room of a large suv and the fuel economy of a car without the soccer mom looks, should be a big hit.

[Hotspur]

Originally Posted by importedtuna

During the first quarter, U.S. automakers fleet sales, as a percentage of total sales, were the highest in a decade at over 33 percent, Murphy said. "Ford and Chrysler fleet sales exceeded one in three vehicles sold and GM wasn't far behind," he said.

One of of every three cars is sold to a fleet! Tahoe sales are irrelevent with that kind of bad news.

[VivienM]

Originally Posted by mucker15

I understand that about Toyota, Its a very good point. I hear a lot of critics bash the Tahoe as a gas guzzler but I dont hear it as much about import trucks which get poor MPG.

It's all about perception.

Toyota makes econoboxes (Corolla) with significantly better MPG than the non-Honda competition. (Compare Corolla vs Cobalt, for instance) That market segment is where fuel economy myths build up... (and the hybrids, of course, don't help)

So then you end up with the idea that Toyota makes fuel efficient vehicles and GM is Guzzler Motors.

As I've said before, Wagoner and co. should do SOMETHING to make a Cobalt match the Corolla MPG... and find SOMETHING they can throw at the Prius (Hybrid SUVs miss the point... it's not about fuel savings, it's about PR, and a very miserly little hybrid like the Prius gets better PR than a 30MPG full-sized hybrid Tahoe would)