http://media.gm.com/servlet/GatewayS...=2&docid=44734

Ouch, I wish this was an April Fools joke.

 

Well... considering how ugly it is combined with the fuel scare right now I can see why...

 

i hardly think this has anything to do with the styling of the Chevy trucks.. the fuel scare though, yeah

 

Trucks are no longer "the future."

These are the important numbers:

 

might have something to do with the fact that a base silverado with a few options is easily in the 30-35K region

 

Matter of opinion. I think the new Silverados and Tahoes are gorgeous. I'm just saving up for a new Camaro.

 

all truck sales are down.

Ford trucks are down 16.4% with the F-150 down 24%, Silverado was down 23.5%

Toyota trucks were down 8.8%, with Tundra sales leveling off at around 14,000 a month, Dodge Ram sales are down about 31%, and the Nissan Titan was down about 50%

March 2008#'s
Ford F-series = 54,465
Chevy Silverado = 42,561
Dodge Ram = 26,318
GMC Sierra = 15,919
Toyota Tundra = 14,311
Nissan Titan = 3,869
Chevy Avalanche = 3,502

Good to see GM still leading in total fullsize truck sales this month

 

I agree that large truck sales are headed over a cliff except for those people who actually need one.

Also worth noting is that Buick seems to be in a car freefall. Although I've gotten used to seeing Lacrosse barely outselling a Corvette, the Lucern sales tumble (38%!!) is downright frightening. At least Buick's only down 14% for the year so far.

Another surprise is Chevy's Cobalt sales. Down 23% for the month. Not what you'd expect with record high gas prices. Good news: Cobalt's sales are up 14% for the year so far.

The G8's first month's sales figures are in. Total of 777 sold in March, which is actually very good being that very few of the general public people knew about the car till the just concluded March Madness games. GM still managed to sell 3 GTOs.

In cars, Pontiac sales are down 12.7% for the month (7.3% for the year).
Saturn's sales are down nearly 29% for the month (nearly 30% for the year!).



For those who are curious: Pontiac sold 79 GTOs it's 1st month available (December 2003). In March 1994 (GTO's 4th month on the market), GM sold 719 GTOs.

Just my opinion, but I think the G8 will settle in between 3-4K sales per month (36K-48K per year). Not nearly as high in numbers as the Charger, but considering that next to the Charger the G8 is a relatively free car (just pay for shipping & marketing), GM can probally make bigger than Charger profits on a fraction of Charger sales.

 

Saturn's downturn appears linked to decreased (stopped?) production of the ION and lack of available Astras. Any idea when the Astras will be readily available?

Also Malibu only sold 15k units, even if more of them were retail that's still low. Is this ramping up production? In the Malibu profit thread I think it said there is a quick turn around time on them.

 

I wonder how the news media's "recession" proclamations are affecting sales? I know none of them really just come out and say it (Obama did though) but they still ALL BUT say it and have everyone thinking we are in one. I dont think we have had one since Clinton..

 

Sad to see: I see people driving new Toyota Tundra trucks all the time. I guess people are leaning more towards Toyota then GM. My Neighbour loves domestic cars and trucks, he will be buying a new Toyota Tundra soon.

 

GM sold GTOs in 1994!?

I wonder how Aveo sales faired, see how badly that car needs a new powertrain that gets a lot better mileage.

 

That makes no sense whatsoever even *gasp* consumer reports picked the silverado as this years top pick, not the tundra. Tell him 13mpg is standard, good friend of mine has one.

 

My understanding is that Tundra is barely outselling the old midsized model. Given the huge decline in the truck market as a whole, people switching to Tundra are a drop in the bucket.

(And boy does Toyota look stupid investing in a new truck factory in times like these)

 

Plus a new Dodge and Ford are coming out the fall for 2009.