richardmayo

I've heard the same about the Nissans, via some anecdotal posts online. Supposedly they are sitting on 9 months worth of truck/SUV inventory. There's evidently a manufacture to dealer incentive, that some dealers are passing onto buyers, on top of the published cash back to buyers. The additional dealer incentive is for the likely suspects (SUVs, trucks and minivans), and is sliding scale (Frontier is $2500, Titan is $5000 etc.) One example I've seen: 2008 Nissan Quest 26,500 MSRP, sold for 15,900 (before TTL), after dealer price reduction, manufacturer to dealer incentive, and published rebate)

Looking very forward to Thursday, to see what Mulally et al have to say during the Q2 conference call. Media Advisory: Details of Ford Motor Company's July 24 Briefing for Second Quarter 2008 Financial Results DEARBORN, Mich., July 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) will release its second quarter financial results at 7:00 a.m. EDT, Thursday, July 24. The following briefings will be held after the announcement: At 9:00 a.m. EDT, Alan Mulally, president and chief executive officer, Don Leclair, executive vice president and chief financial officer, and Mark Fields, executive vice president and president, The Americas, will host a call for the investment community and news media to discuss second quarter results and provide more details on changes to Ford's overall plan. <snip> press release

In addition to the tooling in the plant, what kind of engineering changes (if any) would be needed to the Kuga, Mondeo, Euro Focus to make these pass US safety and emissions tests? And how long would you think they would take? Are we talking MY2010 as a reasonable timeframe?

Wow, "interesting" interior.... (but I'm not a Camaro guy, so maybe I'm missing some sort of homage to Camaro's past) What's the lock/unlock button for that's under the hazard button in the center stack?

Looks a lot like the FCX Clarity body.

So why was the Beat introduced at the NY Auto Show if it was never designed to meet US safety regs? Nice work, geniuses.

Thanks for posting the order guide. Does anyone have the '09 Sable order guide as well?

Interesting point, noub. I'd prefer a wagon the size of a Fusion, but would settle for a Focus sized wagon. Hopefully NA will once again get a Focus wagon in a couple of years when we get the C2s. I just hope we don't get the Kuga instead of a Focus wagon (I know we'll likely get the Kuga, which is fine by me, I just don't want it to replace the Focus wagon in the lineup (or will the Kuga replace the Escape?)). Anyway, I know I'm in the minority in the US, but for my needs, I just cant beat the drivability and practicality of a mid sized wagon, and I don't want the added expense of the current mid sized wagons from Volvo, BMW and Mercedes. I should probably just bite the bullet, and get a Mazda5.

Any chatter about a Fusion wagon in the next few years? I have no need for an CUV or SUV, but would like the added ability to haul gear for the family in a plain old station wagon.

Some more pics, and the official press release via Autotblog here

Autoblog Article

Link to Article

There's a good fuel economy tool at http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/sbs.htm

Of course, I agree with that on a macro level. But if a specific product is largely out pacing sales estimates, why would you need to incent its purchase?

Well, I'm the first to admit I think they're terrible looking, and had absolutely no idea they'd sell so well, so that tells you what I know. That being said, if they're moving quickly, why is there $1500 customer cash being offered?

Autoblog says: "US fans probably shouldn't get too attached to the 3-door hatchback shown above, though, as it's all but certain that we'll be getting a four-door sedan instead." Is that right, or misinformation on their part? I thought we'd get both the sedan and the hatch. AB

A couple more Priddy pics via AB

More from Autoblog link

Link DETROIT -- Chrysler LLC is laying out plans to nearly halve the number of models in its product line and significantly reduce the number of dealers selling its cars, company officials told dealers in meetings recently.

Why is this posted in the FoMoCo forum by a Moderator???

Any chance there would be a trim level offered to compete against the Mazda5 or the Kia Rondo, or would this be more of a delivery / fleet vehicle exclusively?

The Pilot is on our current "to test drive" list. Wow, the 2009 will not be. Maybe we'll get a good deal on a close out '08 model. Anyone else see Chevy Uplander in it? This is embarrassingly bad.

Well done, what a great job of modernizing a recognizable design!!!! This concept just changed the way I feel about the future of the company. Of course, bringing the product to market in a similar form (obviously without the futuristic interior) is the hard part.

At CES and the 2008 Detroit Auto Show, Ford will show off its next generation navigation system, initially to be made available on the all-new Lincoln MKS. The system's 40GB hard drive will include the Gracenote database, which will automatically tag any CDs ripped to the drive, something Gracenote already does in the Cadillac CTS and Lexus LS 600h. But Gracenote goes an extra mile with Ford, providing cover art for music playing in the system. Users will be treated to a scan of the album cover art while tracks from the album play. Further, the system incorporates Gracenote's Media Voice Operated Control System (MediaVOCS), which uses the existing voice command engine to enhance recognition of artist names. Although it is similar to the existing Sync system's ability to recognize spoken artist names, MediaVOCS offers further refinement, not only recognizing difficult names, but also accepting multiple names for a single artist, such as understanding that "The Stones" means The Rolling Stones or that "Dylan" means Bob Dylan. We haven't found out yet if you can tell it to "Get the Led out" to play Led Zeppelin. info from http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9839857-1.html

Numbers for the year 2007: Biggest Winner of the Year Mazda 9.8% at 296,110 (2006: 268,786) Biggest Loser of the Year Jaguar –24.4% at 15,683 (2006: 20,683) BRANDS Acura–10.8% at 180,104 (2006: 201,223) Audi 3.4% at 93,506 (2006: 90,116) BMW 6.7% at 293,795 (2006: 274,432) Buick –23% at 185,791 (2006: 240,657) Cadillac –5.7% at 214,726 (2006: 227,014) Chevrolet –6.5% at 2,265,641 (2006: 2,415,428) Chrysler –10.5% at 543,011 (2006: 604,874) Dodge –2.1% at 1,058,402 (2006: 1,077,579) Ford –13.9% at 2,101,244 (2006: 2,433,086) GMC 4.8% at 505,746 (12/06: 481,222) Honda 4.5% at 1,371,438 (2006: 1,308,135) HUMMER –22% at 55,986 (2006: 71,524) Hyundai 2.2% at 467,009 (2006: 455,520) Infiniti 4.5% at 127,038 (2006: 121,146) Jaguar –24.4% at 15,683 (2006: 20,683) Jeep 3.0% at 475,237 (2006: 460,052) Kia 3.5% at 305,473 (2006: 294,302) Land Rover 3.4% at 49,550 (2006: 47,774) Lexus 1.8% at 329,177 (2006: 322,434) Lincoln 8.8% at 131,487 (2006: 120,476) Mazda 9.8% at 296,110 (2006: 268,786) Mercedes 1.8% at 253,433 (2006: 248,080) Mercury –7.2% at 168,422 (2006: 180,848) MINI 7.0% at 42,045 (2006: 39,171) Nissan 4.5% at 941,200 (2006: 898,103) Pontiac –13% at 358,022 (2006: 410,229) Porsche 1.0% at 34,693 (2006: 34,227) Saab –10.3% at 32,711 (2006: 36,349) Saturn 5.7% at 240,091 (2006: 226,375) Subaru –7.0% at 187,208 (2006: 200,703) Suzuki 0.6% at 101,884 (2006: 100,990) Toyota 2.9% at 2,291,648 (2006: 2,220,090) Volkswagen –2.3 at 230,572 (2006: 235,140) Volvo –8.6% at 106,213 (2006: 115,807) NA: Mitsubishi COMPANIES BMW Group 6.7% at 335,840 (2006: 313,603) Chrysler Group –3.4% at 2,076,650 (2006: 2,142,505) Ford Motor Co –12.1% at 2,572,599 (2006: 2,918,674) General Motors –6.5% at 3,866,620 (2006: 4,124,645) Honda America 2.5% at 1,551,542 (2006: 1,509,358) Nissan North America 4.5% at 1,068,238 (2006: 1,019,249) Toyota Motor Co. 2.7% at 2,620,825 (2006: 2,542,524) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Numbers for December 2007: Biggest Winner MINI 44% at 3,562 (12/06: 2,472) Biggest Loser Mitsubishi –40.4% at 5,904 (12/06: 9,910) BRANDS Acura –7.7% at 17,582 (12/06: 19,056) Audi -29% at 8,502 (12/06: 11,897) BMW –2.4% at 30,199 (12/06: 30,945) Buick –9.9% at 14,400 (12/06: 15,986) Cadillac –5.6% at 21,436 (12/06: 22,715) Chevrolet –4.5% at 185,626 (12/06: 194,369) Chrysler –13% at 48,384 (12/06: 55,839) Dodge 11% at 92,235 (12/06: 88,489) Ford –9.0% at 173,648 (12/06: 190,914) GMC 8.9% at 45,503 (12/06: 41,770) Honda 1.3% at 114,210 (12/06: 112,722) HUMMER –23% at 5,333 (12/06: 6,928) Hyundai 24.2% at 46,487 (12/06: 37,365) Infiniti –3.5% at 12,655 (12/06: 13,112) Jaguar –2.0% at 1,522 (12/06: 1,553) Jeep –3.0% at 44,804 (12/06: 46,087) Kia –19.8% at 24,068 (12/06: 30,004) Land Rover –18.7% at 4,887 (12/06: 6,014) Lexus –7.2% at 34,555 (12/06: 37,235) Lincoln –21.4% at 10,065 (12/06: 12,806) Mazda 25% at 24,933 (12/06: 19,912) Mercedes –2.9% at 27,301 (12/06: 28,115) Mercury –8.5% at 12,631 (12/06: 13,809) MINI 44% at 3,562 (12/06: 2,472) Mitsubishi –40.4% at 5,904 (12/06: 9,910) Nissan –2.2% at 76,900 (12/06: 78,663) Pontiac –7.8% at 30,211 (12/06: 32,772) Porsche –2.0% at 2,891 (12/06: 2,947) Saab –22.3% at 2,748 (12/06: 3,535) Saturn –12% at 18,196 (12/06: 20,686) Subaru–9.1% at 18,739 (12/06: 20,613) Suzuki 0.6% at 7,361 (12/06: 7,317) Toyota –0.7% at 189,844 (12/06: 191,087) Volkswagen 3.0% at 20,543 (12/06: 19,942) Volvo 9.6% at 9,341 (12/06: 8,525) COMPANIES BMW Group 1.0% at 33,761 (12/06: 33,417) Chrysler Group 1.0% at 191,423 (12/06: 190,415) Ford Motor Co –9.2% at 212,094 (12/06: 233,621) General Motors –5.2% at 323,453 (12/06: 341,327) Honda America 0.0% at 131,792 (12/06: 131,778) Nissan North America –2.4% at 89,555 (12/06: 91,775) Toyota Motor Co. –1.7% at 224,399 (12/06: 228,322) from Autoblog.com