Hey Guys,
This time we have a beautiful classic 1966 Ford Mustang inline 6! To make this car a lot more comfortable the customer wanted an air conditioning kit installed. This car did not come with an a/c from the factory so a retro kit will be installed. We opted for the Old Air Products air conditioning kit. This comes with everything needed for the install including an new heater box. This kit will keep them cool during those hot summer days! Check out all these parts to be installed!
I’m finally back to getting on the blog. I’m gonna start out strong, so here it goes.
Now, I’ve always been akeen to looking at classic cars, whether it be domestics, JDM, or EDM. I’ve always had a slight fascination with how people buy some of the oldest cars around (and I mean OLD), and restore them to look brand new and fully functioning and today’s society. I’ve been attending so many shows, car meets, drifting competitions, etc. that sometimes it just gets tedious when the same cars come out to play. I recognize a lot of them, know/heard of a lot of them and after seeing them 2 or 3 times before, I’d rather see something fresh.
Now then, my friend Robert (RoJa) went to Santa Paula to attend a “Import vs. Domestic” car show. I was looking through his pictures and found this:
Every time I see one on the road or parked somewhere, I stare at it in awe. This is what started it all. Classics should always be respected, in my opinion.
Until then, check out the rest of RoJa’s pictures here
Spend the last part of today taking the dash out of the Mustang. It went very smoothly.
I was originally worried about rust up near the windshield. But a quick check showed nothing major. I’ll be giving it a good look tomorrow.
I still have to go through the videos and pics, so I’ll post them up late this evening or tomorrow.
Stay tuned.
Thanks for reading.
Tim
Image by adhistory.wikispaces.com
Ever since Pepsi opted to not advertise in this year’s smorgasbord of Super Bowl commercials, I’ve been thinking about its strategy. Not to mention, in hopes of giving up my Diet Coke addiction, I gave up pop for Lent so I’ve had it on the brain. So far I’m still craving it…
Anyways, I got to thinking about monster brands. Pepsi, Coke, Budweiser, Kleenex, McDonald’s. To me, these brands are indestructible. Unless Mr. Pepsi murders Mr. Coke or someone finds a human leg in a Filet-O-Fish, I don’t think these brands are going anywhere. Even if someone does find a leg, chances are McDonald’s will bounce back. After all, Wendy’s is still thriving after that finger incident. You know when it’s real.
These brands are second nature to us. If you go to a restaurant and order a soft drink, chances are your server will say “Coke or Pepsi?” And 98 percent of the population will order one or the other without caring what brand it is. Those other two percent are the weirdos that actually think there’s a big difference and have a preference.
On a roadtrip? Chances are when it’s time for a bathroom break you are going to pull over and about 85 percent are likely to stop at a McDonald’s to use the restroom. Even if you don’t necessarily eat there that time, you’re going to be there at some point for a cup of coffee or McNuggets. By the way, I am pulling these percentages out of the air but they seem right…right?
And then there’s the Kleenex effect. Enough said.
My point is, if Coke (or one of the other untouchable brands) decides to stop all advertising tomorrow, would its sales decline? My guess is no. My guess is there would be a lot of buzz created in the social space, and Ad Age and the New York Times would call the move brilliant, thus boosting sales. Once the buzz wore off, I’m fairly certain sales would sustain due to the fact that Coke isn’t going anywhere and it’s second nature to us.
Other mega-brands like Ford and Wal-Mart, though are in a different category. Not too long ago Ford was in a bad place but ever since Toyotas started going all apeshit and Scott Monty took over, Ford is unstoppable. But we don’t know what could happen tomorrow. Kris Allen could be driving his Ford Escape and it could drive off a cliff. Same thing goes for Wal-Mart. This mega-brand makes boatloads, but it could all fall under tomorrow. I don’t believe sales have declined yet because of People of Walmart, but one of these days people who shop there are going to find out about how bad that brand is. But that’s a different story.
Some brands aren’t so lucky to have the Kleenex effect. But the ones that are, I want them to do something truly different. Now this isn’t a post knocking advertising. I may be on “Team PR” but I think if you are a mega untouchable brand, you should spend those dollars in creating better ad campaigns such as the Pepsi Refresh Project and other charitable projects. Which by the way, most of them do. Mad props. But what else CAN they do? I challenge them.
My Top 20 Best Cars, and it actually wasn’t as easy as I’d hoped to put together. Many things needed to be considered: price, performance, design, historical importance, exclusivity and overall desirability. Here are numbers 20 to 11.
20. 2010 Ford Focus RS
I’ve always had a thing for fast Fords, and this one is, without any shadow of a doubt, in that category. And yes, I will have it in green please. This hot hatch has been hailed by most automotive journalists as the best handling front wheel drive car ever made. The turbocharged 2.5l straight five puts out 305hp and 325 lb/ft of torque, which used to be considered a ludicrous amount of grunt for the front wheels to handle. But Ford’s limited slip differential keeps the torque steer under control while the suspension keeps the grip coming. I know, it’s anything but subtle, but RS Fords aren’t supposed to be. Unfortunately, North America doesn’t get to see this amazing car. None the less, move to Europe and it’s yours for around $55 000.
19. VW Golf GTi Mk.VI
Volkswagen introduced the Golf in 1974, unknowingly having created what would become the benchmark of the hot hatch market. Over the years, the shape got rounder and the car gained a lot of weight. Stronger engines were being put under the bonnet, but the car lost some of it’s magic, it’s personality. Six generations down the line, it’s back and better than ever! The looks have been reviewed and it looks amazingly aggressive now, it’s 2.0l, turbocharged inline 4 moving it along under the supervision of 200hp and 207 lb/ft of torque. Starting at $28 675, it might just be the best bang for your buck and, once again, the epitome of hot-hatch culture.
18. 1996 Lotus Esprit V8
Lotus is a relatively small sports car manufacturer founded in 1952 and based in Norfolk, UK. It’s founder, engineer Colin Chapman, went by the motto “Simplify and add lightness”, and the company has a reputation for being the best in the business when it comes to chassis development and handling abilities. The Esprit has a long history, it’s pinnacle being the ‘96 V8 version. Weighing only 1380 kg, it’s 350hp twin-turbocharged V8 gets it moving very quickly. Not only is it fast, it gives an incomparable driving experience. The simplistic styling definitely has a certain charm to it, and it manages to appear so big, even though it’s only 4.3m long, 1.8m wide and 1.15m tall. One of these in mint condition will go for around $70 000.
17. BMW M3 E30
The E30 was the first generation of M3’s BMW produced. They’ve become more refined and powerful over the years, but none remain as desirable as this one. From it’s looks to the sound it makes to the way it drives, this car will go down in the history book as one of the best drivers cars ever built. Production started in 1983 based on the current 3 series. BMW’s M Division is the in house tuning shop that develops cars for those whose sole interest is performance. Arguably, the best version of the E30 is the Sport Evolution, at 235hp to the rear wheels, originally designed for the World Rally Championship. It lasted 9 years before it was replaced by the more modern looking E36 generation. Depending on condition and rarity, an E30 M3 can easily fetch $20 000.
16. Ford Escort RS Cosworth
In my opinion, the best of all the fast Fords ever made. Being the predecessor of the Focus, the RS stands for Rally Sport, having been introduced as Ford’s venture into the World Rally Championship. It was produced between 1992 and 1996 in very small numbers, some 7000 or so. The Cosworth YBT engine, a highly tunable turbocharged 2.0l power plant, which had an output of 224hp, was unquestionably the car’s best feature. It’s history and racing pedigree is what makes it such a sought after car, picking up 10 WRC titles for different teams in it’s career. It was discontinued when the European Union passed new laws on noise regulation, so yes, it was loud. They’re not available in North America, but across the ocean they’ll get $25 000 in good condition, maybe more.
15. Lamborghini Miura P400SV
This is one of the most revolutionary cars ever built. It is the foundation on which today’s supercars are designed, being the first production car to feature a mid-engined layout, meaning the engine sits in the middle, behind the driver, for better weight distribution. Not only is it a milestone in the automotive industry, it’s unbelievably gorgeous. It was released in 1966 and was updated a handful of times until 1972. The most popular generation was the P400SV, the third rendition of the Miura. The 3.9l V12 produced a whopping 385hp, all very big numbers in it’s day. But then again, so was the price. It cost $25 000, which is $120 000 in today’s currency. If you want one in good condition, and there were only 150 built, you can cough up more than $600 000 given it’s classic status.
14. Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera
Gallardo is the spanish word for striking, which is definitely a fitting name for a car that looks like this. It is the most recent incarnation, announced March 2010, of the Gallardo, Lamborghini’s smallest model. In 1999, Audi took ownership of the Italian supercar maker established in 1963 by Ferruccio Lamborghini. This was the first car they produced, and it was a perfect blend of german engineering and italian panache. Superleggera means super-light, which Lamborghini took very seriously. On this latest version, they have cut an incredible 230 kg off the original Gallardo, bringing it down to a mere 1340kg. Combined with a mid-mounted, howling V10 producing 570hp shredding the road through all four tires, it’s needless to say that it is ridiculously fast and handles better than just about anything. The use of carbon-fiber was very liberal and anything that could be removed or lightened was. Prices have not yet been released, but put aside a good $250 000 if you want one.
13. 1968 Shelby Cobra GT500 KR
The infamous GT500, one of the most legendary muscle cars ever. Carroll Shelby was a race car driver turned tuner who worked closely with Ford. He particularly liked the Mustang, producing several special editions of just about every version of it, including today’s models. The KR meant “King of the Road”, and this version may have been the best. Under the hood is an enormous 7.0l Cobra-Jet V8 which was rated, for insurance reasons, at a mere 350hp, but actually produced closer to 450hp. Yes, the suspension may have been medieval, but it doesn’t matter. The looks, the sound, the speed; this is what true American Muscle is all about. This car now having been deemed a classic, the few remaining original GT500 KR’s can go for up to $300 000.
12. Nissan GT-R
Arguably the most influential car of the last decade, the GT-R changed the way we look at cars. This is more than just a fast car, it is one of the most technologically advanced machines on four wheels the world has ever seen. It continues the legendary Nissan Skyline series, which has often been considered the best mass produced car to come out of Japan. They are built in hermetically sealed rooms by hand, which is why horsepower levels vary from one engine to another. Nissan puts it at around 470hp, but some have over 500hp. The onboard computer controls virtually every aspect of the car, but what’s amazing is that this doesn’t interfere with the driving experience. Power is delivered through all four wheels with variable torque distribution, giving it unmatched handling abilities. At $81 900, it’s hard to call it a bargain. But when you look at the near $175 000 you’ll pay for its competitors, its hard not to… it even has rear seats and a trunk!
11. Ferrari 250 GTO
Touted as the Ferrari that most successfully embodies the traits of the marque, only thirty-six 250 GTO’s were built. In the US, they were sold for $18 000 dollars, which is around $110 000 today, and you had to be personally approved by Enzo Ferrari himself to buy one. It is one of the most handsome cars to ever grace our retinas, and the 300hp, 3.0l V12 graced our eardrums with a sensationally hearty bellow that turns into an unbelievably invigorating high-pitched scream at higher revs. The handling was revolutionary in its time, coming second in the 1962 12 hours of Sebring to the Testa Rossa, a full-race designed Ferrari. Today, it is one of the most sought after cars by collectors. In fact, it holds the record for the most expensive car in the world. At an auction in 2008, an anonymous british buyer paid an eye watering £24.7 million! Thats $38 270 000 canadian!
My Top 10 Best Cars will be revealed this weekend.I was recently directed by a posting on crownvic.net to an article, “It’s a New Town Car,” by Reilly Brennan on AOL Autos about the 2010 Lincoln MKT. http://autos.aol.com/gallery/2010-lincoln-mkt?photo=4
This article declaring that the Lincoln MKT should have been named as a Town Car is absurd. It is certainly not a Town Car replacement either. The Lincoln MKT is not going to revive Lincoln as a luxury car leader. For the past 30 years, Lincoln has been a real dud in the luxury car division. Every car they have made has been built off a Ford chassis and adapted for use as a Lincoln. Ford Thunderbirds being disguised as Mark VII and VIII’s. Even my Mark V was heavily based on the LTD II. The dashboard was the same as the LTD II, as well as the door panel arm rests and other bits. Ford expects near luxury car retail pricing, but then is not willing to deliver a true luxury car eperience. All you do is have to look at Lincoln’s resale value to see they have long been missing the mark.
Why doesn’t Ford design a Lincoln specific chassis and engine? Give the Lincoln owner a Lincoln experience not shared with anyone. Charge plenty for the experience, but give the owner true luxury and a warranty that blows the competition out of the water. Put your money where your mouth is and prove you make a better car. Give the vehicle owner a long “free maintenance” program. It pains me to see a once majestic manufacturer fall into mediocrity. If Ford would let the creative juices flow at Lincoln, they could rise to the top again.
Stagecoach – 1939
Director – John Ford
Starring – John Wayne, Claire Trevor, John Carradine, and Thomas Mitchell
I’ve talked quite a bit about how I came to the western genre with a negative pre-disposition, and about how that impression was generally wrong. Well, it turns out, when I was thinking of bad or poor quality westerns, I was thinking of westerns like Stagecoach, John Ford’s epic old west road movie featuring the Duke himself, John Wayne.
It isn’t that I disliked Stagecoach, far from it. It was a completely passable, formulaic western. The problem may be that I am coming to it a little over 70 years after it was made. I’m sure that in its day, it was fresh, exciting, and brand new. However, from my position here in 2010, it seemed like a story that could have easily been a TV serial, and probably was in any number of forms, but the one thing it doesn’t feel like is new.
The characters, though conventionally acted, seemed paper-thin and sparse, lacking any real conflict or emotion. John Wayne’s character, the Ringo Kid, is supposedly freshly broken out of jail and on his way to even the score with the thugs who done him wrong. But instead of being driven and angry, he seemed rather cheerful, and nonplussed about everything that happens throughout the entire film. The character arc of Thomas Mitchell as the drunkard doctor, is limited to becoming slightly less of a drunk so that he can barely help the rest of the passengers in the coach when there’s trouble. Immediately after the crisis, he bellies back up to the bar and has, you guessed it, more to drink.
The gruff sheriff, the smarmy gambler, and the prostitute with a heart of gold are all equally superficial and un-changing. None of the characters seem to learn anything or grow even the slightest bit. In fact ***SPOILERS*** the closest anyone comes to growing or changing is when the gambler dies, and then he only changes because he’s dead, and isn’t in the story anymore ***END SPOILERS***.
Another beef I had with the film, was all the hullabaloo that was made about it being the first of John Ford’s westerns to be filmed in Monument Valley. I’m surprised it was such a selling point to the film that it was shot there, especially seeing as how it is so very rarely seen on-screen. The trivia on IMDb sheds a little light on the reasons for filming it there, and they are mostly so Ford could keep the studio out of his hair, which makes a certain amount of sense. Ford’s desire for solitude, however, doesn’t make the film beautiful to look at.
It is to be expected that films that set the bar initially, today, will seem a bit dated and a tad un-impressive based simply on the fact that so much has come after it. Unfortunately for Stagecoach, most all of its flash and innovation has long since worn off, and been replaced by other films that were able to make more of a lasting impression on me through strong characterization (Ox-Bow Incident), fantastic visuals (Once Upon A Time In The West), and iconic performances (The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, 3:10 to Yuma, and The Proposal). Stagecoach left me more than a little disappointed.
NEW DELHI, 12 Maret 2010 - Setelah melakukan penelitian selama berbulan-bulan akhirnya Ford Motor Compnay meluncurkan mobil kecil berharga murah. Untuk sementara, mobil hatchback berkuran panjang 3,8 meter dan lebar 1,7 meter itu masih menyasar pasar India .
Menurut Ford, dari berbagai kajian yang dilakukannya mobil yang dibanderol US$ 7.690 atau sekitar Rp 73 juta itu diperuntukkan bagi konsumen usia 26- 27 tahun. “Mereka adalah para profesional muda yang memiliki ambisi dan obsesi untuk terus mengembangkan status sosial dan profesional mereka,” tutur Michael Boneham, President and Managing Director Ford India seperti dikutip newcarschannel dan detroit news.
Kendati berharga miring namun Ford menegaskan fitur yang ada di mobil itu tak kalah canggih. Perangkat audio, keselamatan dan kenyamanan dipastikan telah ada di mobil ini. “Sehingga mereka (pengemudi) bisa menikmati musik sepanjang perjalanan, membawa istri mereka di tengah malam, atau bersantai dengan teman di saat sore hari dengan aman dan nyaman,” tutur sumber Ford seperti dikutip autoevolution.
Sumber Ford ini menambahkan, pasar otomotif India dalam beberapa tahun terakhir mengalami perkembangan yang sangat besar. “Karenanya, saat konsumen potensial melihat Figo, kami berharap mereka kagum dengan mobil itu. Terlebih dengan Figo, mereka akan mendapatkan sebuah produk premium dengan harga terjangkau,” tandas dia.
Lantas akankah mobil kecil besutan Ford itu diboyong ke Indonesia ? “Mungkin saja. Namun, kami juga harus melihat dulu bagaimana perkembangannya di India . Mobil ini kan untuk segmen kelas B, nah kami juga akan mempelajari bagaimana peta pasar segmen ini, bila nantinya feasible ya kenapa enggak,” tutur Davy Tuilan, Direktur Pemasaran PT Ford Motor Indonesia (PT FMI) kepada Tempo di Jakarta, Jumat (12/3).
Bagi PT FMI, sebut Davy, dengan memberikan banyak pilihan varian produk ke konsumen akan semakin bagus dalam menjaga loyalitas pelanggan kepada Ford. Hanya, pihaknya akan mempelajari secara seksama di segmen mana yang menunjukkan pertumbuhan paling tinggi dan ceruk pasarnya masih terbuka lebar.
“Kalau melihat harganya tentu kami tak bisa menampik Figo cukup bersaing, hanya saja kami juga harus melihat demand atau keinginan pasar. Seperti apa yang mereka inginkan, kalau sesuai kami pasti pasarkan,” terang Davy.
Sumber foto
KILT’s “Built Ford Tough Studio” has moved!
-and we are much easier to find. If you take the bus or rail (and most do) once you pass through the gates, just look to the left!
That is where you will see our bright red Tuff Shed and your favorite KILT personalities. Look for me, weekdays from 2-7, and KILT’s Hudson and Harrigan this Saturday from 2 to 5.
It’ll be easy to see us coming or going, as you walk right by us on your way on or out. Grab a KILT goodie bag and be a part of our broadcast every day.
Our route
I live at A.
My old car – a 1997 model Ford (Trevor) is broken down with a flat battery a 35 min drive north at B.
My 8 month old car – a 2009 Subaru (Howie), is broken down in Geraldton a 6 hour drive north at C.
This week, we will undertake a mission to attempt to return a newly fixed Howie back home.
When he will be fixed, we do not know – but the hot tip is this afternoon.
Who will undertake this mission. Either Cuban or the amazing Pink/Paramore stalker.
Let the fun begin.
I’ve said over and over again in this blog that I’m a nerd. Well, this is certified proof of that fact:
I’ve been working on this model of a 1969 Ford Torino Talladega on and off for about 3 months. It is about the nerdiest thing I have ever done in my adult life. But you know what? It’s fun. I enjoyed it. It help me take my mind off things. Plus, look at the detail (sorry the photo isn’t that great):
Yep, that’s a 428 under that hood, broseph!
That said, I made quite a few mistakes which I assume is normal for anyone putting together their first model. I’ve already picked out my next project and I will apply the mistakes I made with this one to that vehicle. Notable lessons:
1. Clean the car before spraying clear coat. There’s a bunch of dust/lint/specs of something all over the car. Also, I need to let the clear coat dry before I handle it. There are finger prints everywhere. I plan to have more layers of the color coat in the future so I can color sand them to subdue the orange peel effect.
2. Be careful with the glue. Mostly because it removes paint. And it smears bad. I have glue all over the windshield and parts of the rear glass.
3. Spend twice as much time on the decals. By far the most annoying part of the build, and I should have spent a lot more time making sure that I had a greater level of adhesion to the car. Case in point, I accidentally knocked off the tail markers and had to paint them instead.
4. Don’t wash parts in hot water. You have to wash parts before you paint them because it helps the paint stick to the part. However, I learned the hard way that the bigger pieces will warp if you wash them in hot water. Because of this the chassis doesn’t fit flush with the rest of the car.
5. Most important: Follow the directions, stupid. Too many dumb mistakes to name.
It’s a learning experience and hopefully the next one will look much better. OK, I’m done. I’ve hit my nerd overload level for the day. Don’t judge me.
You can’t be Serious Sirius!
The 2008 Mustang I bought was my first exposure to the notion of Satellite radio. Back then XM radio and Sirius Radio were 2 different entities. I believe it was a FREE 3 or 6 Month trial period as part of the package of buying my Ford. I loved the music selection, the fact that it was commercial free (even though the DJs on Shade45 talk too damn much…I’d almost rather listen to commercials), and for the most part it was uncensored. I feel if you are going to pay for it, why cut out little chunks for me at your discretion? At the time I was traveling a little more while I was working with, or should I say FOR a carshow promoter. Having the Sirius radio was a benefit and I enjoyed it, except for when going under an underpass at which it cuts out. Apparently the satellite can’t shoot its music beams at your car through the concrete road over your head. I believe there’s a buffer because you have to be out of “line of sight” for a bit before it cuts out. I was so happy with Sirius that I opted to pay the ridiculous monthly fees for radio (at least I felt it to be ridiculous).
A few life changes later, namely becoming a dad, I decided to cancel my subscription. It also didn’t help that XM and Sirius united, in the process phasing out a couple stations that I liked and changing the format of a few others. The biggest complaint I had was why should I pay anywhere from $6.99-19.99 a month to have music in my car!? You see if the radio in the Mustang had a Sirius component that could be removed and taken into the home, like many 3rd party satellite radios, I could maybe get my money’s worth listening at home too. However, paying to only be able to listen for the short whiles in my car was just a luxury that fell to the bottom of my priorities list.
I received calls and offers to renew but I stuck to my guns.
Fast forward to today. The Mustang is gone and in its place is a 2010 Ford Escape. Also prepackaged with a satellite ready radio. Also with 3 or 6 months free (I can never remember which). Also with a non-removable radio that means your Sirius music subscription can ONLY BE ENJOYED WHILE DRIVING!! I guess if I wanted to get my money’s worth of Sirius, I’d have to do alot more driving. Even if I added a portable satellite radio to the account, like a mobile phone, there is an additional fee per additional device on your Sirius account.
So again, come expiration time, Sirius will NOT be renewed. My wife has discovered satellite radio too and likes the 80s and 90s stations but agrees that the fees for radio are just not a necessity for us. She spends so many hours of her time playing the Grocery Game to save us bundles of money on food and groceries that it would feel like a guilty pleasure to have. Also now that I discovered Pandora FREE Streaming Radio, I am putting my existing expense of unlimited data on my cellular plan, as opposed to adding an additional payment of satellite radio to my stack of bills.
Until Ford starts putting removable Satellite Radio pods in their vehicles or Sirius doesn’t cost in the ways of up to 19.99 per month, we wont be listening to any Satellite radio. Well ok, maybe the data on my cellular at some point utilizes a satellite somewhere, but you get the idea.
Average Joe Driver
B**ST**D !!!
Yes you, who thought it was ok to drive past my car, and smash my passenger mirror
B*ST**D !!
Could have stopped ! nah too much trouble for you eh !!
Don’t get me wrong I do not drive a Porsche or anything fancy ( 2001 Ford Fiesta ) But hey It’s MY 2001 Ford Fiesta, and something that I own out right, and I’m proud of it DAMN IT !!!! the body work is really good. for a 9 yr Fiesta !! no rust or nothing !! ( well apart from a little on the inner door, which needs sorting, but to look at you’ll never know…. right ????? unless you read this… ) HEY stop trying to divert my anger !!
I just don’t get where some people get off doing that and driving off !
It’s wrong man, and I’m angry about it !
( Thank god for scotch tape )
Yes, that’s right, Ken Block has released yet another mind bending video. Don’t go thinking it will be exactly the same as his previous videos. Why not? Well for starters he’s driving a Ford Fiesta! So what are we looking at for this new video? This time, Ken Block and his co driver Alex Gelsomino go back to the 100 Acre Wood Rally this weekend in an attempt to take the race for the fifth consecutive year.
Essentially, the purpose of Block and Gelsomino driving the Ford Fiesta is to prove that a car like that can take anything the rally setting can dish out. Of course, the question is, can it? Find out!
According to The Washington Post over two million jobs have been created due to the Stimulus Bill. The White House says over the course of this year another 1.5 million jobs will be added. The increase in jobs will be due to the economy getting back on its feet by slowly recovering. The Congressional Budget Office, CBO, reported that from the $862 billion Stimulus Bill there was an increase in the economy of 1.5 to 3.5 percent.
Since December 2007, when the recession first began, 8.4 million jobs were lost. In 2009 the state to get hit the hardest with job loss was Michigan. Classesandcareers.com reported Michigan lost 175, 368 jobs. The auto industry in Michigan was very affected. Three big car dealers: General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford had to “beg” Congress for financial help. According to The Michigan Review, these companies “needed” $25 billion right away or they would face losing $156 billion down the road.
The second state in the country to get hit with job loss was Connecticut. Classesandcareers.com reported Connecticut lost 56,882 jobs in 2009. NBC Connecticut reported that the biggest job loss was at United Technologies Corporation in Hartford. The company dropped 18,000 employees in March 2009.
Here’s a state that’s not talked about often–Hawaii. Hawaii ranks third in the top ten list of states that have been negatively effected by the economy. Hawaii is a state that relies heavily on receiving money through tourists. However, due to the economy, many people have been holding back from traveling which has put this state in some hot lava. Classesandcareers.com reported 21, 228 jobs were lost in the state of Hawaii in 2009.
With the economy starting to progress, these numbers should be being to drop in job loss.
Video is from CNN.
more about “job loss decline“, posted with vodpod
Why Stage 2?
Compared to other aFe systems, the Magnum FORCE Stage 2 intake system replaces the entire stock air induction system to the throttle body or turbo housing. Remembering our motto Stock Sucks, we eliminate the stock air box, the stock air filter and the stock intake tract. The only thing retained is the stock electronics. We make sure that our Stage 2 system, like all our intake systems, will work with stock electronics.
In designing out the stock air box, we design in the largest air box that we can for each vehicle application. Even though we make it as large as possible, we are careful to use the stock mounting points. There is no need to cut or drill anything when you install our kits. We make the air box as large as possible so that we can get the largest air filter.
Element: Open element: Air filter element is exposed or partially covered
Horsepower: Maximum HP gains from massive open element air filters
Torque: Huge low-end towing power and torque increases
Cost: The highest power per dollar increase
Sound: Throaty sound: Open element provides a mean growl
Style: One-piece steel heat shield/air box, with massive air filter
Installation: 45 – 90 minutes: Requires removal of stock air box and intake tract
Features:
Benefits:
ONE-PIECE HEAT SHIELD:
Welded, one-piece heat shields that use no additional brackets for the easiest installation possible.
RUBBER TRIM SEAL:
aFe uses top-quality flexible rubber trim seal between the heat shield and vehicle hood to block hot air from the filter.
3-ANGLE ADAPTER:
aFe intakes uses 3-angle adapters or velocity stacks to minimize aerodynamic loss. (Select applications)
QUALITY HARDWARE:
aFe uses only top-quality hardware like stainless steel button head bolts and brass inserts.
System Replacement Filter:
72-90049
Pre-Filters:
28-10231 Yellow
28-10232 Red
28-10233 Black
28-10234 Blue
Restore Kit:
90-50000 Aerosol
90-50500 Squeeze
90-50520 32 oz
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* All-new C-car unveiled at 11.00 on Ford stand
* Production ready, two-model C-MAX range debuts
* Ford Kuga combines more performance with reduced CO2 emissions
* Ford Mondeo gains new high-efficiency powertrains
BRENTWOOD,Essex,18 February, 2010 – Ford’s all-new C-car makes its European debut at next month’s Geneva show, alongside final versions of C-MAX and Grand C-MAX which go on sale this year. There are also further product enhancements for the Ford Kuga and Mondeo and more options revealed for the new S-MAX and Galaxy.
All-new Ford C-MAX range
The all-new Ford C-MAX family provides two of the star attractions presented by Ford Motor Company at the 2010 Geneva International Motor Show. The C-MAX family brings new levels of style and desirability to the compact Multi-Activity Vehicle (MAV) market.
Ford’s C-segment MAV customers now have the choice of a new five-seat C-MAX or a distinctive new seven-seat Grand C-MAX, which features twin sliding doors and innovative seat design to provide outstanding space and flexibility. AtGeneva, the interior of the five-seat C-MAX is revealed for the first time. It features a coupe-like, sweeping roofline which falls off to the rear, but without compromising the comfort and practicality of the vehicle. The seven-seat model features a higher roofline and thinner pillars which emphasise the generous room and visibility on offer within the cabin.
The all-new C-MAX cockpit will represent the next generation of Ford’s human machine interface (HMI) system. The key elements of this technology are two five-way toggle switches on the steering wheel, which control two main vehicle displays: one in the instrument cluster and the second mounted in a high position in the centre console. This simple, intuitive control system enables the driver to operate the key vehicle features while keeping both hands on the wheel, and with a minimum of distraction.
Fuel-efficient, low-CO2 powertrains for the C-MAX range include the new 1.6-litre Ford EcoBoost petrol engine and updated 1.6- and 2.0-litre Duratorq TDCi diesel engines.
“The launch of the new C-MAX range is highly significant, and shows customers worldwide that they can expect some truly exciting designs as we roll out our new global range of medium cars,” said John Fleming. “The new C-MAX is just the start – with the next-generation Focus coming quickly after, we look forward to revealing more of the story in the very near future.”
All-new Ford Kuga powertrain and transmission enhancements
The stylish Ford Kuga crossover strengthens its reputation as the leading vehicle in its class with exciting new powertrain and transmission options designed to boost performance and improve fuel economy and CO2 performance.
The updated Kuga now offers a powerful new 163PS version of the 2.0-litre Ford Duratorq TDCi diesel engine achieving a CO2 output of just 159g/km in the All-Wheel-Drive (AWD) models with manual transmission (six per cent reduction compared to the previous 136PS engine). The new efficiency advantages delivered by the Ford Powershift gearbox lower CO2 emissions for the 140 and 163PS AWD diesel automatics to a class-leading 179g/km.
With 20 per cent more peak power, the new 163PS engine improves the performance of the Kuga, increasing the top speed from 112 to 121mph and cutting the 0-62mph time from 10.7 to 9.6sec, as well as meeting the latest European Stage V emissions standards.
All-new Ford Mondeo powertrain and transmission enhancements
The versatile Ford Mondeo now benefits from improved fuel economy and lower emissions combined with stronger performance thanks to new high efficiency Ford EcoBoost petrol-injection turbo and upgraded Ford Duratorq TDCi diesel engines.
The Mondeo gains the all-new, high efficiency, turbocharged, 203PS 2.0-litre Ford EcoBoost SCTi petrol engine and significantly improved Stage V, 2.0-litre Duratorq TDCi diesels with 115PS and 140PS power outputs, plus an impressive new 163PS version.
In addition, the smooth and effortless Ford Powershift six-speed twin-clutch automatic transmission system comes to the Mondeo range, fitted as standard with the 2.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine and optionally available for the 140PS and 163PS Duratorq TDCi diesel engines.
The newly introduced 2.0-litre 163PS Ford Duratorq TDCi allows the Mondeo to achieve impressive fuel economy with a combined fuel consumption as low as 53.2mpg*, as well as complying with stage V emissions regulations. Together with the new Ford Powershift, the Mondeo delivers a combined fuel economy of just 50.4mpg.
*Note: Fuel economy figures quoted are based on the European Fuel Economy Directive
EU 80/1268/EEC and will differ from fuel economy drive cycle results in other regions of the world.
So here are my cars’ values as calculated by my formula. The formula was the Purchase price (P) plus the Restoration and or Modification costs (R) plus or minus the condition (mean calculation of the differences between the various conditions) (C) plus sentimental value (Z)
P + R (+/-) C + Z = values.
The Mustang
Purchased it for $6,000
Restoration/Modification costs: $20,000
According to the Old Car Price Guide the average difference between the various conditions was $4320. So I start at 0 for the middle range which would be a Condition 4. I think it’s a 3 so I added $4320. So………..
Condition: $4320
Sentimental: $1000
Plug the numbers into the formula: $6,000.00 + $20,000 + $4,320 + $1000 = $31320
Using the NADA book prices the forumla looks like this: $6,000.00 + $20,000 + $4,683 + $1000 = $31683
For the Corvette the formulas look like this: note…I only traded the for the corvette, so I’m estimating the value of the Celica as $4,000
Old Car Price Guide: $4,000.00 + $10,000 + $5184 + $2000 = $21,184
NADA: $4,000.00 + $10,000 + $4,423 + $2,000 = $20,423
OK…again, this isn’t or might not be what the market will hold but it a great solid place to start.
Let me now if you tried and if you’d change the forumla.
Thanks for reading.
Tim
Well…
I havent written anything in a while, but I finally have something on my mind. FORD! That’s right an American car manufacturer. In fact the only one who didn’t take any money on the Gov’t bailouts. I have never been into American cars as much as imports, but I recently made the decision to purchase a 2009 Ford Mustang Bullitt edition. If you don’t know the Bullitt is different from the regular GT in a few ways in which make it extremely better over the GT in my opinion. It comes with 3.73 gears, Cold Air Intake from Ford Racing division, more aggressive tune, different exhaust, and a few other nice items that make it both handle and appear better. It definitely was good enough to get my attention away from a few other top choices at the time. I also lucked out and got a decent deal of $4k off the MSRP and 0% interest for 72 months. So I picked up the nice 330hp RWD muscle car. I definitely enjoy it. Which brings me back to other good things Ford is doing right now. They have finally decided to go back to putting a revised 5.0 engine into the GT which is awesome the car definitely deserves to carry the 5.0 badge. This also means horsepower will be increased to just over 400. Which isn’t bad considering it’s lighter than both the Camaro SS and the Challenger R/T. So with this new found power we might have a new king of decently priced muscle cars… On an even more powerful note the 2011 GT500 will also be receiving an upgrade. Ford has decided to drop the cast iron block of the 5.4 liter beast in lieu of Aluminium, this translates into a 102 pound weight loss for the notoriously nose heavy GT500. That is one hell of a diet. They have also mixed things up a bit and managed to now pull 550hp out of the supercharged motor. This Mustang is quickly moving up the monster Hp ladder. There will also be an SVT Performance package that will add a new limited slip differential, lighter wheels, stiffer springs, and a higher rear axle ratio. Personally I cannot wait to see both 1/4 mile and track lap times of this new Stang! I might even be willing to trade in the Bullitt for it…
First Read This: DO NOT RUN YOUR RC IN SALTWATER!
For anyone else, who don’t want to listen to the words of wisdom, be prepared to take apart your model afterward and throw away the engine (and potentially some more parts which are not made from plastic).
I wanted to do some beach-side video shooting with the F150, but could not avoid wet sand coming into the model. Even with flood-like washing, after few days the engine, screws started to collect a dramatic amount of rust. I decided to do a overhaul (aka spring-cleaning) and tune some parts (Sport Tuned 540, pinion gear with 20T, waterproof electronics and complete ball-bearing).
Remark on the ball-bearing: The standard kit comes with the usual plastic ones. Crap ! If you want to run outside your vitrine, go for metal (real) ball-bearings. The Tamiya are rather expensive, if you have chance to source for 3rd party, you get them cheap. The plastic types I removed from the trashed F150 were completely dry and turning the wheels created a scratchy noise.
(Almost) waterproof the electronics: Take a tupperware plastic-box from the kitchen that suits the size and work with some hot glue. Takle of overheating while driving !
F150 Overhaul
Trashed Standard Engine
After 4 hours work, oil and ceramic grease, and spending 50$ on the new parts, the F150 is ready to run again.
The video will be aired shortly, stay tuned !
That amazing Ford Fusion commercial staring Kris Allen and his song, “Alright With Me” that shows during every American Idol episode so far this year, well guess what, there are more where that came from, they have been holding out on us. Well…no longer, Ford just uploaded them.
Saves Money
Mobile Link
EcoGuide – Like a Video Game
Sync System
Hay guys, Today I got some more cc so I thought Id share what I got with you. First, and Second I got new Eyes and a Winter Coat:
And 3rd I got a new hair-do but I like my old one better.
Comment what you would do with 20cc,
~Ford Ingy
Ford has issued a Technical Service Bulletin for the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid and 2010 Mercury Milan Hybrid due to a software issue with the brakes, similar to the recent Toyota Prius and Lexus HS recall.
The regenerative braking system reportedly doesn’t work properly at times. The car will switch from regenerative braking to conventional hydraulic brakes at the wrong time, leaving you with very little braking power. After simply turning the car off and restarting it, the braking should be fine. There have already been some cases of this happening, although none have resulted in injury or death.
Dealers will be upgrading the software to fix this problem. Ford says it should reduce the chance of this happening, which is a bit worrying, as they clearly stated “reduce” and not “remove”. Ford will be sending out letters to vehicle owners soon.
If you own one of the affected cars, contact your local dealership and arrange for the fix. I wouldn’t recommend driving the car until it’s fixed.
Source: Inside Line
So here’s a look at the new 2011 GT500 track pack which comes with the stiffer suspension and alloy wheels.
Unfortunately it appears it also comes with two very skinny stripes over the top…. not feeling the stripes… but anyway here are the pics.
The U.S. auto market in January continued its recent strengthening trend, with overall sales just shy of 700,000 vehicles (698,456 vehicles) for the month rising by nearly 7 percent compared with 654,757 vehicles in a very weak January 2009. The seasonally adjusted light-vehicle sales rate ticked up to about 10.76 million units versus last year’s 9.59 million - and roughly in line with the firming picture of recent months.
Toyota was clearly the biggest loser in January due to its recalls and stop-sales order on eight of its bestsellers. Yet, January’s results varied widely for its top competitors that may have tried to take advantage of Toyota’s problems with special incentives meant to lure disaffected Toyota customers in particular.
Toyota’s January sales “were 23 percent below our internal target,” Robert Carter, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A.’s group vice president and general manager of the Toyota division, said in a conference call Tuesday. That number insinuated that more than 20,000 lost sales were attributable to the recall and sales stoppage in just the last few days of January.
Toyota only escaped greater damage in January because it didn’t halt sales until January 26, when only four sales days were left in the month. And the toll on the Toyota brand, especially, has been heavy nonetheless: Sales were down more than 47 percent compared with December, and January sales ranked as the worst month for Toyota since January 1999.
“Toyota was clearly the biggest loser of the month,” said Jessica Caldwell, director of U.S. sales analysis for Edmunds.com. As long as the sales suspension continues, predicted Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Ray Zhou, Toyota-brand sales will drop by about 75 percent overall as long as the stop-selling order remains in affect.
As for Toyota’s competitors, results were mixed.
Ford continued its surge of recent months by reporting a 24-percent sales increase for January. The company credited its increasingly robust product portfolio, but Ford also dangled $1,000 rebates to current owners of Toyota models and of products by Honda, which is facing its own significant safety recall.
Hyundai, which launched a similar incentive program, saw its January sales rise by 24 percent over last year as well. Recently, Ford and Hyundai clearly have been the two hottest companies of the Big Seven of U.S. auto sales.
Meanwhile, General Motors – which first introduced a Toyota-targeting incentive – reported a 14-percent sales increase in January compared with a year earlier.
“What we responded to last week was feedback from our dealers who were hearing from Toyota owners who wanted to get into a new vehicle,” explained Susan Docherty, GM’s North American vice president of sales and marketing. “Our January go-to-market plan had been to focus on our loyal owners. So we needed to adjust our incentives” after Toyota’s troubles deepened, opening an opportunity for rivals.
Honda’s January sales, however, dropped 5 percent. It did nothing special to target Toyota owners. Meantime, Honda also had to cope with the fallout from its own announcement of a recall of 646,000 Fit/Jazz and City models, including 140,000 in the United States, because of a faulty window switch.
Overall, Edmunds.com’s Caldwell said, January was a rather tepid month. Strong incentive campaigns in December had “pulled forward quite a few” retail sales from January, she said. And the return of a relatively normal market for fleet sales in January helped comparisons of this year versus January 2009, when overall fleet sales were abysmal.
“The next big shopping weekend,” Caldwell said, “will be Presidents’ Day” in mid-February. “We should see month-to-month sales growth” for February from January, she said.
GM: Regaining Its Footing
Robust fleet business helped GM post a 14-percent overall sales increase in January compared with a year ago, to 146,316 units. Such is GM’s rising confidence that the company firmed up its official forecast of total U.S. light-vehicle sales for 2010, to a range of 11.2 million to 11.7 million units from the previous range of 10.7 million to 11.7 million units.
“The economic news continues to be mixed in the U.S., but there are increasingly positive signs of recovery,” said Michael DiGiovanni, GM’s executive director of global industry and market analysis.
But GM’s retail sales fell by 10 percent during the month as the company continued to cope with the nearly complete disappearance, by now, of its Pontiac, Hummer, Saturn and Saab brands from the marketplace.
“We were only selling four brands” in January versus eight a year ago, Docherty noted. The abandoned brands represented less than 2 percent of January sales and now account for less than 1 percent of dealer vehicle inventories. “We’re 10 months ahead of schedule on the wind-down of Pontiac and Saturn brands,” she said.
Meanwhile, fleet sales burgeoned in January. A year ago, GM sold only 13,000 vehicles to fleets; in part that was because the nation’s economy was in crisis, in part it was because the company had chosen to pull ahead about 25,000 fleet sales to December 2008 that had been scheduled for completion in January.
This January, fleet sales rebounded to about 42,000 units, comprising about 29 percent of GM’s overall sales for the month. That was above the 26 percent of sales that has been the average for the company over the last three years.
Still, the GM executives touted the relative progress they’ve been making in retail sales over the last several months, in large part due to strong consumer response to all-new or completely revamped models including the Chevrolet Equinox, Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon, Cadillac SRX and GMC Terrain.
“Our conquest rates are up” overall, Docherty said, “particularly in large products.” Moreover, she said, GM’s average incentive spending continues to decline while the industry’s continues to rise.
Ford: Sales Jump – Thanks To Fleets
January’s overall sales hike of 24.1 percent for Ford Motor Co. looks sensational, but an outsized increase in fleet sales ran interference for stunted retail sales, which dipped about 5 percent, Ford officials said.
Nonetheless, sales were up for all Ford brands (including a hefty 41-percent spike at Volvo) – and every Ford model posted a sales gain in January. The Lincoln division hiked sales by 16 percent and even the Mercury unit improved sales by 6 percent.
And Ford sales officials crowed that market share improved to 16 percent for the month, perhaps as much as 2.5 points better than January 2009’s figure.
But one has to look no further down the sales sheet than to the pre-Cambrian Ford Crown Victoria’s 91-percent sales jump, or the Ranger’s 47.3-percent climb, to know fleet buyers are back in the game after delaying purchases throughout a shaky 2009.
Fleet sales accounted for a hefty 37 percent of Ford’s 116,277 total sales in January – a figure double last year’s 18 percent but a ratio more closely aligning to what chief of U.S. industry analysis George Pipas says will be a “pretty normal” industry-wide fleet-mix average of around 22 to 24 percent in 2010.
Ford’s fleet-heavy sales mix did not go unacknowledged by Ken Czubay, vice president, U.S. marketing, sales and service, underscoring the industry’s relatively meek month that seems to have palpably deflated hopes of putting together a consumer-rallying streak.
“January retail sales to (individual) customers were below our expectations,” Czubay said flatly. The current consumer mindset is all about the perception of there being good deals in the market, he added. In an unexpectedly strong December, Czubay said, buyers responded to what they believed were showrooms rich with attractive deals.
But January’s incentives were lower – at Ford and across the industry – so perhaps consumer perception about dissipating deals was “fueled a little bit by reality,” Pipas conceded. According to Edmunds.com’s proprietary True Cost of Incentives metric, Ford’s average incentive of $3,095 in January was up $55 compared with December, but the industry’s January TCI of $2,382 was notably lower than December’s $2,542, meaning an average of almost $200 less going to consumers.
In addition to the Crown Victoria and the Ranger, Ford’s top performers in January included the Fusion, gaining 49.3 percent, the Mustang, with a 61.2-percent improvement (possibly also fleet-driven) and the Focus, which climbed 33.7 percent.
Ford’s crossovers and trucks all gained, too, led by the Escape’s 28.6-percent increase, a 25.5-percent hike for the Edge and a 9.5-percent gain for the F-Series pickup. The old-school Explorer and Expedition even generated increases, 15.2 percent and 9.3 percent, respectively.
Although the Lincoln unit’s overall sales improved compared with January, 2009, the MKS and MKZ sedans were off by a troubling 16.6 percent and 14.2 percent, with the flagship MKS finding just 1,280 buyers. The MKX crossover rose 26.7 percent, though, and the Navigator somehow improved by 9.7 percent to 726 sales.
Mercury’s gain was driven by the 111.9-percent boost for the Grand Marquis (yes, grandma Mable, they still make it), a 12.1-percent improvement from the Milan sedan and 0.3-percent increase for the Mariner compact crossover. The rest of Mercury’s lineup consists of the Sable (nine units sold in Jan.) and the Mountaineer (-44.3 percent)
Toyota’s Not-So-Excellent January Adventure
Everyone knows the bad news for Toyota. The good news: it probably could have been worse.
Thanks, perhaps, to how late in the month the company’s recall of eight high-volume models came, Toyota’s January sales decline of 15.8 percent seems practically tolerable. Still, it was the company’s single worst sales month in 11 years.
Robert Carter, Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc.’s group vice president and general manager, Toyota division, said the final tally of 98,796 sales was about “23 percent below our internal target.”
Since he also added that sales of the other 11 Toyota-badged model lines not affected by the recall tracked roughly as the company projected, almost all of the decline from last January’s 117,287 sales total seemingly can be attributed to customers turning away from the Camry, Corolla, RAV4, Tundra, Matrix, Avalon, Highlander and Sequoia.
The recall didn’t stop the RAV4 from posting a 6.4-percent increase for the month, but it was the only recalled model to break for positive ground. The Camry, 2009’s best-selling model, dropped 17.7 percent, the Corolla, along with RAV4 also in the U.S.’s top-10 best-selling models, declined 3.6 percent; the Matrix, based on the Corolla, already is out of production. Avalon plunged 51.7 percent to a mere 944 sales.
Of the recalled truck models, the usually consistent Highlander slid 15.7 percent in January, Sequoia dove 56.2 percent and the Tundra was off 40.2 percent.
Other trouble spots included the Scion unit, with each of the brand’s three models dropping by double digits, and the small-car swoon was augmented by a 10.3-percent decline for the Yaris.
Toyota’s bright spot for the month was the Lexus premium division: sales were up 14.2 percent, bucking a lengthy slide for the luxury unit. The improvement was fueled by the addition of the HS hybrid, which contributed an incremental 1,247 units to the Lexus’ 15,517 January sales. The ES midsize sedan (+6.6 percent) and the LS flagship’s 30.9-percent turnaround performance made the two the only Lexus passenger cars to post a gain, however.
On the truck side, Lexus’ GX stepped out with an enormous 163.8-percent increase, countered by a 5.5-percent drop from the always-strong RX crossover.
It all added to a market share of 14.1 percent, according to analysts at Edmunds.com, Toyota’s lowest share inat least four years.
Carter insisted that, for now, Toyota’s not concerned with the sales charts. Fixing the 2.3 million recalled vehicles is the company’s first and only concern at the moment, he said.
First, Toyota’s taking care of the customers who own the affected vehicles, “then we’ll get back in the sales business,” Carter said. “We have the best dealers in the country, and they’re going to prove it,” by doing the best job possible to attend to the recall, he added.
Honda Hangs In
Regardless of economic conditions, Honda Motor Co. Ltd. rarely has had to struggle to connect with customers, but the market seems to be insistent on making Honda work harder to monetize its historically enviable brand image.
January was another month that left Honda essentially treading water. Not that many automakers wouldn’t happily take Honda’s 67,479 sales, but the total left Honda down 5 percent compared with last January. And with a few exceptions, performance from individual models was underwhelming.
Sure, the Accord broke out to a fine 35.6-percent gain that amounted to 20,759 units sold. The Civic held its ground with a 12.1-percent improvement, too.
But Honda has to be wondering what’s going on with the once-hot Fit subcompact, sales of which have waned in recent months and dipped a fearsome 38.4 percent in January. The month is not known as one of the industry’s strongest, but even in that context, the Fit’s decline must be causing furrowed brows from Ohio to California to Tokyo.
The same can be inferred for the Insight hybrid; in January Honda moved just 1,307 of a vehicle initially projected to easily sell in the 7,500-per-month range. Unless gasoline prices balloon again sometime this year, the unloved Insight may have trouble hitting a quarter of the sales volume Honda envisioned.
The truck side of the business did not begin the year auspiciously, either. Every Honda-brand light truck was down for the month, led by the 33.4-percent slide for the Ridgeline, to a barely-breathing 738 units. The hoary Element trailed Ridgeline by two sales in January, a 30.8-percent slide. And even the dependable CR-V dropped a meddlesome 20.3 percent, while the blocky Pilot dropped 21.1 percent to sales of 4,865.
At the Acura upscale division, each of the brand’s three cars declined in January, led by the RL’s drop of 42.7 percent to an infinitesimal 110 units. Worryingly, perhaps, the midsize TL’s 1,986 sales outpaced Acura’s usual best-seller, the entry-level TSX, with just 1,806 sold in January, a drop of 18.7 percent compared with last year.
Acura’s MDX crossover was January’s saving grace, pushing to a 20.3-percent gain, while the RDX also had one of its better recent months, declining just 5.3 percent. Meanwhile, the all-new ZDX cross-whatever’s contribution of 172 sales can’t have too many Honda executives wondering what they’ll do with all the bonus money tied to Acura volume increases.
Nissan: Nose to the Grindstone
Nissan posted a 16-percent increase in sales in January, to 62,572 units compared with 53,884 units a year earlier. The results continued recent monthly gains for Nissan and moved the company at least temporarily into sixth place in overall U.S. auto sales, ahead of fast-dropping Chrysler 
.
At the same time, Nissan’s spending on incentives in January rose by an average of 14 percent per vehicle, according to Edmunds.com’s proprietary True Cost of Incentives formula. It rose about $200 to $2,455 from December 2009 to January, meaning that the company was still trying hard to “buy” sales in an overall January market that saw incentive spending ease.
“Nissan had a true sales increase,” noted Edmunds.com’s Caldwell, “but they had high incentive spending.”
The company’s gains were led by a 19-percent increase in sales of its Nissan brand. Sales of the Versa subcompact, for example, rose by 18 percent compared with a year earlier, to 5,914 units – setting a record for the month of January.
Other Nissan vehicles recording double-digit sales increases in January compared with a year ago were Armada, Maxima, Sentra, Altima and Frontier.
The Infiniti luxury marque struggled, however, with overall sales for January down by about 6 percent compared with a year ago in a U.S. luxury market that remains depressed. Sales of Infiniti’s M, EX and FX models plunged by high double-digit percentages compared with a year earlier.
Chrysler: Searching for a Platform
Chrysler is going to advertise its poor-selling Dodge Charger during the Super Bowl telecast on Sunday, the first time in several years that any of the company’s products or brands have made an appearance. But the modest buzz around Chrysler’s re-entry into the Big Game is about the only thing the company is doing these days that could be construed as good news.
January sales brought more dismal results. Chrysler Group reported total U.S. sales for the month of 57,143 units, a decline of 8 percent compared with a year earlier. For a month in which other major competitors posted sales increases, Chrysler’s poor showing plunged it to sixth place overall among the U.S. auto market’s Big Seven – now, behind Nissan and ahead of only Hyundai.
What’s more, Chrysler only tread water with the help of a big boost in fleet sales in January. “Chrysler is not getting a lot of retail interest in its vehicles right now, period,” said Edmunds.com’s Caldwell. “So until they get their new products out, or something to talk about, we can’t expect to see any positive results coming out of Chrysler – even with heavy incentives on their vehicles.”
The best highlight that Chrysler was able to muster was that its Dodge Journey crossover posted year-over-year sales gains in January for the third consecutive month. Also, the Jeep brand saw half of its lineup improve sales year-over-year, Chrysler said. And the Town & Country minivan saw sales jump by 6 percent while its Dodge Caravan counterpart saw sales rise 34 percent.
Meanwhile, sales of Chrysler’s once-stalwart 300 sedan plunged by 26 percent from a weak January 2009, and sales of its Charger and Dodge Challenger muscle cars declined by 47 percent and 39 percent, respectively.
“The company continues to make positive strides each month and that trend continued in January,” said Fred Diaz, president and chief executive officer of the Ram brand and lead executive for Chrysler’s overall sales organization. Diaz also pointed to Chrysler’s plans for “refreshed products and all-new models hitting the marketplace this year.”
Obviously, for Chrysler, they can’t come fast enough.
Hyundai: Bolts For The Front
With January sales of 52,626, the Hyundai Group (the Hyundai and Kia brands combined) is putting together a run that soon may take it past sputtering Chrysler Group LLC and bring it within sight of Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.
Chrysler – the nation’s No. 6 seller – sold less than 5,000 units more than Hyundai in January. Nissan, despite its own 16.1-percent sales increase, sold less than 10,000 units more than Hyundai last month. Hyundai, with a string of new models in the pipeline, could give both traditionally larger rivals a genuine run this year.
After all, Hyundai has rarely been shy about incentives, but in January, its incentive levels, measured by Emdunds.com’s True Cost of Incentives index, averaged $2,096 per vehicle - almost $1,000 less than Chrysler’s ($3,061) and even markedly less than Nissan’s $2,455.
Hyundai’s potential surge is highlighted by the solid January breakout of the all-new 2010 Tucson, which bolted to 2,216 sales in an early-launch month. The number was a 128-percent increase over the old Tucson’s sales last January, Hyundai said.
Meanwhile, the Elantra compact car more than doubled sales, from 3,307 last January to 7,690 this year. The Accent subcompact also gained by a healthy 62 percent. The Genesis flagship improved by 58 percent. On the passenger-car side, only the building-out, current-generation Sonata lost ground, losing 62 percent.
Hyundai’s Santa Fe crossover gained by 43 percent, although the fullsize Veracruz dropped 66 percent to a paltry 401 sales.
In all, Hyundai sold 30,503 vehicles in January, while Kia kicked in with 22,123 sales.
Kia was led by a blistering performance from the new ‘11 Sorento crossover, which found 7,398 buyers in January, more than Toyota’s Highlander (4,478), double Nissan’s Murano (3,648), and more than Ford’s Edge (6,243).
Incremental gains for Kia in January’s flat performance include 3,732 sales of the compact Forte and 2,145 units of the Soul hatchback.
VW/Audi: Running a Strong, But Distant No. 8
As the Big 7 automakers jockey for position, Volkswagen-Audi ranks as the No. 8 manufacturer selling vehicles in the U.S., albeit a distant No. 8. Combined, the brands sold 24,529 vehicles in January, up 40 percent from 17,466 in January a year ago. That gives them 3.5 percent market share.
Volkswagen contributed the bulk of those sales: 18,019 vehicles for a 41-percent increase. January 2010 marked Volkswagen’s seventh consecutive sales month of growth.
“We are pleased by the strong start to 2010,” said Mark Barnes, Volkswagen of America chief operating officer. “It’s encouraging to see so many of Volkswagen’s newest models continuing to gain momentum in the marketplace — namely the CC, Tiguan, Golf and GTI.”
Of Volkswagen’s total, Jetta stood as the sales leader with 8,893 vehicles sold. CC sales soared 76 percent to 1,891 units. Tiguan sales skyrocketed 87 percent to 1,424 vehicles. The Routan minivan, made by Chrysler, had a 6 percent increase. Even the old New Beetle had a shopping 173 percent increase in sales that totaled 2,167 vehicles. The new Golf and GTI are just hitting the market. Passat sales, however dropped by a third. Volkswagen sold 2,447 diesels in the month.
Audi sold 6,510 vehicles for a 38-percent increase over a year ago, giving the Germany luxury brand added momentum after a strong December.
“Having ended 2009 on such a high note, it was important to ensure that our success was substantive and enduring,” said Audi of America President Johan de Nysschen. “January sales figures reinforce the notion that our momentum is the byproduct of relentless innovation years in the making.”
Audi A3 sales jumped 106 percent, largely due to the availability of the A3 TDI clean diesel model. Audi had a strong month for diesels: half of A3 sales were diesels, 48 percent of Q7 sales were TDI. Audi said that level of demand far exceeds original expectations for TDI sales when Audi introduced the two models last year.
Sales of the Audi A4 sedan, the brand’s bestseller, rose 60 percent. Other A4 variants rose 34 percent. Audi A5 sales were up 74 percent to 1,051 vehicles; Q5 sales rose from last year’s 31, when it was just introduced, to 1,050 vehicles.
Audi still has its laggards. It sold a scant 52 units of the soon-to-be-replaced A8 for a 45-percent drop, only 43 R8s for a 60-percent decline, and 103 TTs for a 34-percent drop. A6 sales declined 35 percent to 507 units.
Mazda Holds Its Ground
Mazda North American Operations posted an essentially flat January, with sales up 1.8 percent to 15,694 vehicles. Mazda held 2.2 percent market share
The brand’s Mazda3 compact car was the volume seller at 7,368 units, but the number represented a 3.7-percent drop compared with January 2009.
Mazda’s top gainer in January was the CX-7 crossover, which increased 39.3 percent to 1,622 sales. The Mazda5 mini-minivan rose 21.4 percent and the Mazda6 sedan rounded out the brand’s improving sellers with a 14-percent gain.
Sales dropped a heavy 41 percent for the RX-8 sportscar to a demoralizing 92 total units, while winter was slightly kinder to the evergreen MX-5 roadster, which declined 15 percent. The Tribute compact crossover slid 42.1 percent and the fullsize CX-9 crossover dropped 12.8 percent.
Subaru: Records Shattered – Again
After a gravity-defying performance in 2009, Subaru continued to shatter its own records and sped past other makes by reporting a 28-percent sales increase over January 2009. Subaru sold 15,611 vehicles in January 2010, compared with 12,194 units sold in January 2009. That pushed Subaru’s market share to 2.2 percent, up from last January’s 1.9 percent.
January’s surge also allowed Subaru to clinch the No. 9 sales spot in the U.S., speeding past Daimler brands’ Mercedes and smart as well as BMW and Mini combined. In 2009, Subaru handily whipped Mercedes-Benz in sales but the BMW brand still sold more vehicles than Subaru. In 2010, Subaru outpaced both BMW Group and Daimler.
Leading the charge were Subaru’s newly redesigned Outback and Legacy, which posted their best January sales ever. At 5,467 sold in January, the Outbacked doubled sales from 2009. Likewise, Subaru sold 2,448 Legacy models, also double what it sold a year ago.
Forester sales retreated slightly – 4 percent – from its 2009 blistering pace. Impreza sales were off 15 percent; Tribeca sales fell 38 percent to a mere 256 units sold.
Daimler: Mercedes Gets No Help from Smart
Daimler AG eked out a narrow lead over rival BMW with Mercedes-Benz and smart sales totaling 15,436 vehicles, a 26-percent climb from a year ago that gave the company 2.2 percent of the U.S. market.
But smart was no help. The relative newcomer to the U.S. sold a scant 278 fortwo vehicles in January, an 84-percent plummet from the 1,776 sold in the year-ago January.
In contrast, Mercedes-Benz saw sales soar 45 percent to 15,158 vehicles. The C-Class returned as Mercedes’ volume seller – 4,028 sold for a 33 percent rise from a year ago. The new E-Class wasn’t far behind, knocking in 3,824 units for a 166-percent hike.
Also posting beefy double-digit increases were: S-Class; SL-Class; M-Class; G-Class; GL-Class; and GLK-Class. And Mercedes sold 436 Sprinter cargo vans, which previously was sold by Dodge but is no longer due to the split of Daimler and Chrysler.
Posting equally hefty double-digit declines were the CL-Class, CLK-Class, SLK-Class, CLS-Class and R-Class.
BMW Group: BMW, Mini Off to Good Start
The BMW Group, including the BMW and Mini brands, sold 15,410 vehicles in January, a nearly 8-percent increase from a year ago. That gave the BMW group a 2.2 percent market share.
In contrast to Daimler’s smart, Mini, which had its own struggles in 2009, came out of the doldrums, posting sales of 2,247 vehicles, up 8 percent from a year ago.
BMW sales rose nearly 8 percent to 13,163 vehicles. BMW car sales rose 15 percent. The new 7-Series chipped in 1,300 sales. Still, car sales were offset by 12-percent decline in SUV sales.
“Traffic in our showrooms was a bit sporadic this month, but combined with a strong December we are delighted to see a positive January gain,” said President of BMW North America Jim O’Donnell.
Mitsubishi Slides
Mitsubishi sold 4,170 vehicles in January, a slight decrease fro last year’s 4,730 vehicles. It’s market stood at 0.6 percent.
Mitsubishi said Galant sales rose 22 percent from a year ago, Endeavor sales were up 128 percent from then and Outlander sales were about even with a year ago.
Jaguar/Land Rover Sales Dip
Jaguar Land Rover North America was one of the few manufacturers to report lower sales this January than last. The company sold 2,589 vehicles, down 3 percent last January. The brands combined hold 0.4 percent market share.
The drop was caused by lower Jaguar sales. The automaker sold only 631 Jaguars, down 19 percent from 781 sold in January 2009. The Jaguar XK bucked the marque’s trend with sales up 41 percent to 138 units. Still the XF and XJ, which is being wound down, dropped.
Land Rover sold 1,958 vehicles, up 4 percent from a year ago. Ranger Rover Sport, for the second consecutive month, had a sales increase – 46 percent to 823 units. LR4 sales were up 12 percent. Range Rover and LR2 sales were down double digits.
Suzuki Plunges 44 Percent
Despite gains of 5 percent for the Grand Vitara crossover, 12 percent for the SX4 lineup and even a 97-percent jump for the Equator pickup, American Suzuki Motor Corp.’s total sales still dropped 44 percent compared with last January. Suzuki sold a total of 2,040 units last month for a 0.3 percent market share.
The tiny brand couldn’t overcome the 978 sales lost from the discontinuation of the Forenza/Reno line or the 1,000 units-plus gone with the XL-7 crossover.
Those losses could not be made up by the meager 197 sales for the all-new, recently launched Kizashi sedan, a performance that cannot be encouraging for Suzuki or its enthusiasts. The Kizashi went on sale in early December last year and sold 71 units in its first month on the market, so January’s 197 sales did represent a 270-percent month-over-month gain.
Panamera Sales Move Porsche Forward
After a rough 2009, Porsche sales edged higher in January compared with a year ago.
The sports car maker sold 1,768 vehicles in the U.S. for an 8-percent increase and a 0.3 percent market share.
The rise came on the strength of the new Panamera. Porsche sold 534 of them. Sales of the rest of Porsche’s models were down significantly.
“In this environment, we are very pleased with the sales performance of our new Panamera, which continues to build up market share,” said Detlev von Platen, Porsche Cars North America’s president and CEO. “Even though we see a small ray of sunshine in consumer confidence, the luxury car segment remains challenging, especially for sports cars.”
