GM Reports 345,404 Deliveries in April, Down 7%

[stormwatcher]

I don't see the good news in this article. GM continues to lose market share and that is a very bad thing. Sure, fleet sales are down (-10%) but they are still very high.

Market share must stabilize and so far there is no sign of that happening.

[MNdudeswitz]

Ok I see how the big trucks are kicking toyota and nissan ass..............especially since they are about to be redisigned; but the colorado and canyon are getting clobered!!!!!!!

[paul3230]

Originally Posted by MNdudeswitz

Ok I see how the big trucks are kicking toyota and nissan ass..............especially since they are about to be redisigned; but the colorado and canyon are getting clobered!!!!!!!

All GM needs to do is drop in a V-8 and spice up the cabin. The exterior is actually the best out there.

[kool_zx3]

Originally Posted by paul3230

All GM needs to do is drop in a V-8 and spice up the cabin. The exterior is actually the best out there.

The Tacoma has the best looking exterior.... By far the best truck out there. Followed by the Ranger even though it's OLD.

The canyon/colorado are "half way" products...... they were short changed and sales show it.

[TiburonJT]

Originally Posted by MNdudeswitz

Ok I see how the big trucks are kicking toyota and nissan ass..............especially since they are about to be redisigned; but the colorado and canyon are getting clobered!!!!!!!

It's sad, isn't it? The Ranger is still outselling the Colorado! Of course, the ranger probably has higher fleet sales that help. GM needs to work on the cheap Colorado interior.

[cincygoblue]

APRIL 2006:
Silverado - 57,709
F-Series - 64,749

Only a 7,000 difference this month! Last year it was a difference of more than 16,000. Imagine if the new Silverado came out earlier than planned, like July or August . . . they might have had a chance to catch the F-series this year! Oh well, next year!!!

And Trailblazer sales (though down a lot) less than 1000 behind Explorer (down a lot more) for the month, and only 3,000 behind for the year, and that's with the Explorer just being refreshed last year.
.

[ponchoman49]

Now if GM would concentrate a little harder on it's car lineup like it does it's trucks I would be willing to bet the number would be shown as a gain instead of an 18% drop.

[sigma]

The LaCrosse and Malibu sales are in the toliet. If you want to know where the drop in fleet sales hurt, look there. Good news on the trucks. A competitive Malibu can't get here fast enough. It wouldn't be that to do it either. Just put the new HVAC in it, break up the gray on the dash with a two tone treatment and give it some new metal up front.

[mobyss]

Originally Posted by 93typhoon

To bad the Lacrosse is struggling - needs the Lucern front end and the enclave interior. It would be nice if it could get a better engine etc. But i think a quickie refresh of the front and interior could really help.

I think Buick just needs the Lucerne and the Enclave - and GM needs to sell the dopey Lacrosse as is to rental car companies only - badged as a "GM" without any Buick or Lacrosse badging anywhere on it. Put the top-end Lacrosse 3.6 V6 into the base Lucerne and watch sales climb even more.

I think Buick can get by with two good vehicles - since they are sold alongside the full Pontiac and GMC lineups anyway.

[63cat]

If the LaCrosse Super has already been shown to people, why can't they get it out?

Also, is it too late to change the grill for 2007?

[Havasavana]

It would be SO interesting to know a lot more about the decision making process of people who bought the 900-based SUVs and whether they were conquest sales from Toyota or at least people went with GM after considering Toyota's products. Highlander -13.7% from last year, Land Cruiser -37.7%, Sequoia -28.8%, and whether the drop in Tundra sales of 16.1% means people have finally figured out they're very expensive for the small size and poor mileage and safety they deliver. It's very early, but I'm surprised how logical the public seems to be; Toyota and Honda cars are better than the GM/Ford offerings and their large SUVs and trucks are the opposite. If GM can focus on cars, maybe they can turn this thing around. The Yaris is looking very good at 6,393 vs. 4,745 for the Aveo. The Fit is going to make it much worse for the Aveo. GM needs to get with it on the Cobalt and Aveo. Might not be enough money there though to make it worthwhile.

[uujjj]

Originally Posted by MNdudeswitz

sweeet!!!!!!! Good news to hear!

Uh, you need to read the thing again. Either that or you are some sort of import fan.

[dindak]

I dunno, I don't see much good news aside from trucks. I don't think GM should be cutting back so hard on fleets as there is still money to be made there (though less I know).

More profits I hope, but GM needs more hot vehicles ASAP. With gas going through $3 it's only a matter of time till truck sales drop off again.

[rsbaker]

The Yaris is looking very good at 6,393 vs. 4,745 for the Aveo. The Fit is going to make it much worse for the Aveo.



I think the New Aveo can overtake those Yaris sales when the 2007 model is finally in the Show room. It a much better looking car than Yaris. 2007 Aveo looks more up-scale than Yaris or Fit. GM will have to do some smart marketing though.

[Geotpf]

Originally Posted by Havasavana

It would be SO interesting to know a lot more about the decision making process of people who bought the 900-based SUVs and whether they were conquest sales from Toyota or at least people went with GM after considering Toyota's products. Highlander -13.7% from last year, Land Cruiser -37.7%, Sequoia -28.8%, and whether the drop in Tundra sales of 16.1% means people have finally figured out they're very expensive for the small size and poor mileage and safety they deliver. It's very early, but I'm surprised how logical the public seems to be; Toyota and Honda cars are better than the GM/Ford offerings and their large SUVs and trucks are the opposite. If GM can focus on cars, maybe they can turn this thing around. The Yaris is looking very good at 6,393 vs. 4,745 for the Aveo. The Fit is going to make it much worse for the Aveo. GM needs to get with it on the Cobalt and Aveo. Might not be enough money there though to make it worthwhile.

That's certain the rep of Ford/GM vs. Honda/Toyota-People think Ford and GM are good for large SUVs and trucks, and Honda and Toyota are good at cars. Of course, the market for bigger SUVs and trucks is shrinking, while the market for cars is growing-but the large SUVs provide more profit per unit.

Couple other things:

1. The Tundra is down because it's being replaced in six months or so.

2. Ford is starting to break out of the "domestic=huge SUVs/trucks"
mold-thier best sales hit recently is the Fusion/Milan/Zephyr triplets, and sales of thier trucks and large SUVs are plummeting, especially the Explorer. GM, is, well, not-other than the Solstice/Sky twins and the Lucerne, thier only hit is the GMT-900s. At least there's plenty of money to be made there.

3. Toyota is adding one thing to thier dominance-that being SMALL SUVs and pickups. The new RAV4 is still doing double the sales of last year's previous model, the FJ Cruiser is selling nicely, 4Runner sales are up, and the Tacoma is selling more than 50% better than either the Colorado/Canyon combined or the Ranger. Soon, they may sell more Tacomas than all three of the domestic small trucks combined. Now, all of thier larger SUVs are selling poorly, though.

4. Toyota now has five hybrid models for sale. They sure don't seem to think it's a flash in the pan.