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Camaros are dirt cheap now...


silvrsvt

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This doesn't surprise me at all. The Camaro is a good (but overpriced) performance car, but that's about it. The interior package and sight lines are awful. AWFUL. I've driven it and spent some time in it and couldn't wait to get out of it. Typical GM - they spend a fortune to beat the Mustang on the track but instead build a direct competitor to the Corvette. Looks like crap, too, IMO.

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Based on "Ford's declining sales YTD", as mentioned in post #2. That's not evidence of Ford being more disciplined than GM or FCA.

 

So, if GM or FCA could sell 1 Million cars at $1 profit each, that would be better than Ford selling 100k cars at $10k profit each? It's all about the sales numbers, is it? Ford would not be more disciplined there?

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Based on "Ford's declining sales YTD", as mentioned in post #2. That's not evidence of Ford being more disciplined than GM or FCA.

 

I don't think you understand what disciplined means.

 

Continuing to produce and sell vehicles and being forced to put bigger and bigger incentives on them in a declining market is undisciplined. It erodes profits and long term hurts resale and keeps overhead unnecessarily high.

 

Reducing production to match actual demand and keeping incentives in check retains profitability even in a retracting market. Also not expanding production capacity in anticipation of a downturn - remember when Ford canceled Flat Rock fusion production? Looks like a wise move now.

 

The real test will be profits over the next few quarters. I expect Ford to drop a little but GM to drop a lot more.

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According to some, Ford needs all new cars every 4 years and that will solve "everything"!. Since car magazines say so and "we need to brag about newness" to get sales.

I agree with this. With technology advancing so fast these days, you can be pretty outdated in just a couple of years.

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The real test will be profits over the next few quarters.

 

The question asked in the second post, paraphrased: "Is Ford's declining sales YTD evidence that Ford is being more disciplined than GM or FCA?"

 

Answer is no. Ford's YTD sales decline is not sufficient information to conclude Ford is being more disciplined than GM or FCA.

 

I agree the real test will be profits for the rest of the year. Ford earnings in the second quarter fell short of analyst estimates. GM and FCA both beat their respective estimates for that quarter. I don't expect things to get any better for Ford in third and fourth quarters.

Edited by rperez817
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Yeah, my guess is that GM is probably handling their incentives a bit better and with more discipline at the moment, only because they have some very competitive new offerings that are commanding pricing, and they’re selling a gazillion Escalades and Tahoes. .... which will of course bode well for their 3Q / 4Q earnings. And of course they’ll brag and brag and brag about how much better they are at everything than the "domestic competition".

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The question asked in the second post, paraphrased: "Is Ford's declining sales YTD evidence that Ford is being more disciplined than GM or FCA?"

 

Answer is no. Ford's YTD sales decline is not sufficient information to conclude Ford is being more disciplined than GM or FCA.

 

I agree the real test will be profits for the rest of the year. Ford earnings in the second quarter fell short of analyst estimates. GM and FCA both beat their respective estimates for that quarter. I don't expect things to get any better for Ford in third and fourth quarters.

 

Who gives a crap about "analyst's estimates"? It's all nothing but sheer speculation and made up numbers that don't actually affect Ford's bottom line.

 

I'll agree that the sales decline alone doesn't prove discipline, but you can see it in almost every facet of how Ford and GM operate.

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Who gives a crap about "analyst's estimates"? It's all nothing but sheer speculation and made up numbers that don't actually affect Ford's bottom line.

 

I'll agree that the sales decline alone doesn't prove discipline, but you can see it in almost every facet of how Ford and GM operate.

 

I'm sure executives at those companies care at least a little about analyst estimates. Even if we ignore them, Ford's 2Q earnings this year represented a decline over last year, while GM and FCA both increased their earnings in the same period. As you mentioned earlier, results for the next few quarters will be interesting to see.

 

Taking sales declines out of the picture: In terms of operations, GM is the most "disciplined" of the three (GM, Ford, FCA). GM has the broadest vehicle lineup, the most award winning products, the lowest dependence on fleet sales, the most extensive presence in the major markets for cars, trucks, and related services globally, and is the best positioned for upcoming developments in alternate fuel and electric cars.

Edited by rperez817
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I'm sure executives at those companies care at least a little about analyst estimates. Even if we ignore them, Ford's 2Q earnings this year represented a decline over last year, while GM and FCA both increased their earnings in the same period. As you mentioned earlier, results for the next few quarters will be interesting to see.

 

Taking sales declines out of the picture: In terms of operations, GM is the most "disciplined" of the three (GM, Ford, FCA). GM has the broadest vehicle lineup, the most award winning products, the lowest dependence on fleet sales, the most extensive presence in the major markets for cars, trucks, and related services globally, and is the best positioned for upcoming developments in alternate fuel and electric cars.

 

Please check out FCA's NET numbers and get back to me about how well they're doing.

 

As far as GM being 'more disciplined' due to their 'broader lineup', please explain to me why it is that Ford has outearned GM in absolute numbers and per unit profit on a regular basis over the last twenty-five years? Why is it that GM hasn't turned a full year profit in Europe in fifteen years? Why does Ford have a significantly higher margin in China? Why did GM go bankrupt in 2009, when even then they had 'the most extensive presence in the major markets....'?

 

In hindsight, we may see the second half of this year as GM and Chrysler's attempts to extend the peak of this business cycle as being an expensive way of pulling ahead sales.

 

Ford learned more by not going bankrupt than GM and FCA learned by going bankrupt.

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Disciplined - you keep using that word but it doesn't mean what you think it means.

 

Yes they have more products and in some cases they've been very successful. In other cases they have not.

 

I'll let Richard explain the financial reports issues. Let's just say it's not apples to apples.

 

As for fleet sales - that's a key profit generator for Ford and GM would love to have that type of fleet business. They're not fleet dumping.

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