RichardJensen Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 Chinese Taurus will provide plenty of platform volume. To do what? Amortize stamping? No. Body shop costs? No. The big dollar first unit costs are assembly site specific and capitalized. The time engineers spend doing R&D work is not. Building the Taurus in China barely moves the meter when it comes to making a US built Continental a paying proposition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grbeck Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 And what makes you think a new one would change that? Impala is relatively new and it's also down. Are Impala's sales down because of a drop in popularity of the "old" one or the "new" one? GM isn't providing a breakdown of sales for each version, from what I've seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 Are Impala's sales down because of a drop in popularity of the "old" one or the "new" one? GM isn't providing a breakdown of sales for each version, from what I've seen.GM doesn't report them separately, true. But either way they aren't selling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 Hard to say but others are also down so I suspect it's not just the old ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sullynd Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 You milk whatever sales and profits you can get out of the D3 model (the platform was paid for long ago) and then you kill it or replace it with something different. Yep. Flex outsold C-Max again this month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 Kinda makes me wonder if Continental is replacing both the MKS and MKZ and stays midsize. What? How does that make sense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 What? How does that make sense? Because the full size car market is shrinking so much, you could hypothetically consolidate Lincoln's car lineup. Think of it as addition by subtraction. You can always reexpand the lineup later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 Because the full size car market is shrinking so much, you could hypothetically consolidate Lincoln's car lineup. Think of it as addition by subtraction. You can always reexpand the lineup later Eh, I don't see that happening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 Eh, I don't see that happening. I don't either, it's just a different spin on it that I thought was worth s discussion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 Luxury full size segment seems to be a bit more resilient than entry-level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 Luxury full size segment seems to be a bit more resilient than entry-level. Unless you're Lincoln or Cadillac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 They're trying to rebrand and rebuild Lincoln, maybe taking a step back to move forward is the way to do it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
630land Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 (edited) Reality is 'big cars' are old school and fading away in the US. Those that want 'size and room' will get a truck/SUV. And if they have the bucks, they will get a lux make 'flagship'. Just as Station Wagons, compact trucks, and big coupes are going/gone, so will base line Yank Tanks. Can complain, write endless posts, and claim that "if only they would advertise them!", but times change and buyers want different products than last Century. Why "force" something that only a few want "to see for sale" and not paying customers? Edited May 1, 2015 by 630land Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdegrand Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 To back up your point, Impala is down 21%, 300 is down 21% and charger is up 12% (I'm guessing a decent chunk of that is cop cars). It's a shrinking segment and it wouldn't surprise me if Ford abandoned it for the more profitable Fusion. mid-size is the new full-size. Kinda makes me wonder if Continental is replacing both the MKS and MKZ and stays midsize. I'm also curious to se Toyota's numbers for Avalon for further comparison. Toyota Avalon sold 4590 units in April/2015 compared to 5807 units in April/2014. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdegrand Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 (edited) GM doesn't report them separately, true. But either way they aren't selling General Motors does not break out separate sales figures for the Impala and the Impala Limited in its monthly sales releases, but according to data provided by Chevrolet, rental sales account for 23 percent of new Impala volume and 80 percent of Impala Limited volume. Wow! Edited May 1, 2015 by bdegrand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 Unless you're Lincoln or Cadillac There's no incentive to buy a full size Lincoln or Cadillac. I'm curious to see Ford try to do the "Rolls Royce at half the price" approach with the Continental. By redefining the terms of the competition into luxury over performance, Ford can, perhaps, get traction with the Conti. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 General Motors does not break out separate sales figures for the Impala and the Impala Limited in its monthly sales releases, but according to data provided by Chevrolet, rental/fleet sales account for 23 percent of new Impala volume and 80 percent of Impala Limited volume. Wow! What? Rental/fleet should be 100% of the Impala limited! What dealer has these things on the showroom floor/lot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
630land Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 Focus only down 5%. Cheap gas, go figure. BTW: Maybe a Fusion PI in the future for light duty patrols? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 General Motors does not break out separate sales figures for the Impala and the Impala Limited in its monthly sales releases, but according to data provided by Chevrolet, rental/fleet sales account for 23 percent of new Impala volume and 80 percent of Impala Limited volume. Wow! They're still selling Impala Limited (really that's what they call it?) to retail customers? SMH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 There's no incentive to buy a full size Lincoln or Cadillac. I'm curious to see Ford try to do the "Rolls Royce at half the price" approach with the Continental. By redefining the terms of the competition into luxury over performance, Ford can, perhaps, get traction with the Conti. How many people who buy a Rolls really buy it for the performance or luxury as opposed to the name? Not saying Lincoln is anywhere near that level (or ever really will be) of being bought just because it's a Lincoln ever again (I'm too young to remember it but I'm pretty sure there was a time when that was the case) but I am curious to see where they take the brand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 Focus only down 5%. Cheap gas, go figure. BTW: Maybe a Fusion PI in the future for light duty patrols? And even year to date. Yet I'm about to get laid off. This whole cutting a shift thing sounds more and more fishy by the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdegrand Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 (edited) What? Rental/fleet should be 100% of the Impala limited! What dealer has these things on the showroom floor/lot? http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/10/14/upshot/you-can-rent-whatever-you-want-as-long-as-its-an-impala.html?referrer= I assume the 'other than non-rental/20%' is fleet. You are right, none of the older model is retail. It's probably too embarrassing for Chevy to break out the actual retail sales of the New Consumer Reports' Favorite Child Impala. Edited May 1, 2015 by bdegrand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bzcat Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 Focus only down 5%. Cheap gas, go figure. BTW: Maybe a Fusion PI in the future for light duty patrols? Ford sells FWD 2.0Ecoboost non-pursuit rated PI call SSP http://www.fleet.ford.com/resources/ford/general/pdf/brochures/2015/2015_SSP_Hero_Card.pdf Or if place large enough order, Ford can deliver custom Fusion hybrid with police prep package Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
630land Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 I forgot about those Fusions in NYC. The Flex sales makes me eat my words, so I take back posts suggesting it should go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bzcat Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 (edited) Ford F-Series retail sales up 8 percent; EcoBoost™ V6 engines represent record 63 percent of 2015 F-150 retail sales, while premium Lariat, King Ranch and Platinum models are 60 percent of retail sales Imagine the profit margin on those Platinum models Edited May 1, 2015 by bzcat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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