Anyone notice G6 is up 273.8% ? GP is up 94.4%. Colorado is down over 50%.

 

I believe the Colorado needs a new interior, and an optional engine with a little more grunt.

 

Bizarre that GM plan to reduce production of G6 by as much as 10%. Something is not right if GM are reducing G6 production.

 

Yeah, that's what I was thinking.

 

What I think it DESPERATELY needs is a new front fascia.

 

I think the exterior looks great but I have to agree that the interior is just too plain and a more powerful engine is needed badly.

 

Oh man, I just think the front end is so ugly, it makes me cringe when I look at it. That's just me though.

You know what would be cool for the Colorado (after it's new nose, that is)? If you could build one with factory accessories, at a low cost, like you could a Scion. Wheels, shifters, suspensions, exhaust, etc. Build something on the Scion website, you can see why they're so popular.

 

I kinda like the front end, especially with the monochromatic paint. I think it looks modern, not like the past 25 years or so. The standard chrome bumper models don't look as good tho.

 

I did read an article (which I can not currently find, but I originally found it on quote.yahoo.com) that the increase in GM sales was due mostly to one-time fleet purchases and that showroom sales were actually down slightly. I'll keep looking for it.

On the flip side, it looks like the Lutz'ed Buick has a good chance to sell 200,000 cars this year. When the Enclave comes online the division should be making some money for the General.

It is a small win, but a win none-the-less. Looks like Saturn is next on the list.

 

I think fleet sales might be why the G6 is up so much. I think this is also why GM is thinking of cutting production on it too.

 

I thought the reason why GM is cutting G-6 production was due to too many sitting on dealers lots right now...

 

The G6 also seemed to have a got big price reduction . I was looking at Pontiacs a couple weeks after the sticker reduction . Fully loaded G6 GT's with 17's and sunroof were $21,xxx . Leather and Panormaic roof GT models were less than $25k . I know for a fact a fully loaded GT with pano roof and leather used to sticker for over $28K , because I almost bought one before my SS . That seems quite a bit less than they used to be .

 

Btw - the article I spoke about earlier...

DETROIT (Reuters) - Detroit's Big Three automakers on Wednesday reported surprising increases in January U.S. vehicle sales, breaking losing streaks that began in the fall of last year as their aggressive discounting lost steam.


Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. (Tokyo:7203.T - News) and Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (Tokyo:7267.T - News), meanwhile, posted double-digit sales gains and seized more market share from their U.S. rivals.

Both General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM - News) and Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F - News) cautioned that their outsize monthly gains came from a one-off surge in fleet sales, while their showroom sales actually declined in the traditionally slow month.

Sales to rental-car companies and other large-scale purchasers such as government agencies are generally less profitable than sales to individual buyers.

Strong fleet sales from U.S. automakers boosted the overall industry sales rate for January, Dave Healy, analyst with Burnham Securities, said.

Industrywide sales rose 7.6 percent to 1.14 million cars and trucks in January, according to industry tracking firm Autodata. Sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 17.6 million units, far higher than analysts had expected, making the month the strongest January in recent years.

"It is due entirely to the Big Three's unusual level of sales to daily rental fleets," Healy said.

Even so, the stronger sales tallies were welcome relief for both GM and Ford, which are struggling to turn around their unprofitable North American vehicle operations.

The two largest U.S. automakers, hit by issues ranging from changing consumer tastes to rising costs for raw materials, have announced plant closings and layoffs.

GM, which last week reported a quarterly loss of $4.8 billion, said U.S. sales rose 6 percent in January, powered by a 30 percent jump in fleet sales.

"I would describe the month as pretty good, solid ... and where we expected it to be," said Paul Ballew, GM's executive director of market and industry analysis.

Ford's sales rose 2.7 percent, while sales for the Chrysler side of DaimlerChrysler AG (NYSECX - News; XETRACXGN.DE - News) were up 5 percent in January.

Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (Tokyo:7201.T - News), however, saw U.S. sales dip 1 percent, its fourth straight month of decline.

Asian brands won a 37.5 percent share of the U.S. market last year, a 1.2 percentage point increase compared with the same period a year ago. U.S. automakers, on the other hand, collectively lost 1.6 points of share at 55.7 percent, according to Autodata.

Toyota beat Chrysler in January with a U.S. market share of 14.1 percent. Chrysler's share for January was 13.6 percent, Autodata said.

MORE FLEET SALES

GM said its retail sales were down 7 percent. Ballew said GM was targeting a 10 percent decline in sales to rental companies over the course of 2006, calling the January tally of 85,000 rental sales "a one-month aberration."

One important pocket of strength for GM in January was its new Chevy Tahoe SUV, part of the automaker's new GMT-900 series. GM sold more than 3,000 of the new vehicles, exceeding the automaker's expectations, Ballew said.

GM is banking on a series of redesigned SUVs and pick-up trucks, many of which have yet to be launched, to stem its sales slide.

Cross-town rival Ford said its fleet sales rose 21 percent.

Ford's new mid-size sedans -- the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, and Lincoln Zephyr -- continued to gain momentum.

The sales results for the new mid-size sedans translated to an annual sales rate of 220,000 units, well above Ford's original estimate of 190,000, the company's chief sales analyst George Pipas said. "I think these cars have yet to reach their full potential even at (that) level," Pipas said.

Overall, Ford's car sales increased 18 percent.

In keeping with a continuing trend, sales of Ford's large Expedition SUV declined 30 percent, while its mid-size Explorer was down nearly 23 percent.

Both GM and Ford have relied on mid- and full-sized SUVs as profit engines since the late 1990s. But those vehicles, especially from the aging lineups offered by GM and Ford, have become less attractive as gas prices hover near record highs.

U.S. automakers track economic indicators, including job creation and income growth closely in forecasting sales and production. Their results are watched in turn as an indicator of current economic performance.

The sales declines for the traditional Big Three corresponded roughly to the slower growth in the fourth-quarter posted by the U.S. economy. Gross domestic product slowed to just 1.1 percent annual growth in the fourth quarter, little more than a third of the third quarters 4.1 percent growth.

http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/060201/autos_sales.html?.v=4

 

At least the companies are buying domestic cars ....and for once , some of the new domestic cars in the rental fleets might actually make believers out of some critics who wouldnt ever consider a domestic . The new Impala and the new Fusion come to mind , amongst a few others .

 

I've been thinking the same thing, only for small passanger cars like Cobalt, Ion, G6, maybe a few others.

Its sad that GM forgot that they can sell more cars by, you know, giving people what they want.

GM, are you listening?