The News Room
How many Fords does it take to outsell 8 Chryslers? Just 1, as Chrysler sales still slump
By: TOM KRISHER
Associated Press
07/02/09 4:10 PM EDT
Associated Press
07/02/09 4:10 PM EDT
DETROIT — The latest numbers on auto sales show that Chrysler needs to quickly figure out how to navigate the car market as deftly as it did bankruptcy court.
Ford's Fusion midsize car outsold all eight Chrysler brand models combined in June. Chrysler's two minivans, which for years dominated their market segment, were outsold by the Honda Odyssey. Only one Chrysler Group LLC model showed a sales increase over June of last year, the Dodge Challenger muscle car.
quote:
For the third month in a row, Ford Motor Co. outsold the Japanese in the United States, still a crucial and rich market amid this nagging recession. In June alone, the Dearborn automaker reported an 11 percent year-over-year decline in monthly sales to 148,153 cars and trucks, compared to Toyota's 34.6 percent slide to 131,654 vehicles.
And this: General Motors Corp. -- beleaguered and bankrupt, its dealer body jittery and brand image suspect, its only willing lender the Treasury -- so far this year has outsold Toyota 947,518 to 770,449, according to Autodata Corp. Partly evidence of Toyota's strong presence in, and dependence on, the imploding California market?
Yes, but what else?
For the first three months of the year, Toyota lost more money than Ford and even GM. Since then, the Japanese automaker has replaced its president with a scion of the founding family, 53-year-old Akio Toyoda, who promises a "back to basics" push for the industry's richest automaker even as more troubles emerged in the first weeks of his new assignment.
And this: General Motors Corp. -- beleaguered and bankrupt, its dealer body jittery and brand image suspect, its only willing lender the Treasury -- so far this year has outsold Toyota 947,518 to 770,449, according to Autodata Corp. Partly evidence of Toyota's strong presence in, and dependence on, the imploding California market?
Yes, but what else?
For the first three months of the year, Toyota lost more money than Ford and even GM. Since then, the Japanese automaker has replaced its president with a scion of the founding family, 53-year-old Akio Toyoda, who promises a "back to basics" push for the industry's richest automaker even as more troubles emerged in the first weeks of his new assignment.
quote:
The 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid is officially America’s most fuel efficient mid-size, with an EPA rating of 41/36 MPG city/highway, beating the Toyota Camry hybrid by 8 MPG in city, 2 MPG in highway driving.
In what'll certainly shock Congress and naysayers across the nation, and as we found out in our first drive, the 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid is now officially America's most fuel efficient mid-size sedan with a rating of 41 MPG in the city and 36 MPG on the highway. That bests the Toyota Camry hybrid by 8 MPG in the city and 2 MPG on the highway. We can almost hear the Ford folks in Dearborn chanting from here — it sounds like — is that — yes, "USA! USA! USA!"
In what'll certainly shock Congress and naysayers across the nation, and as we found out in our first drive, the 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid is now officially America's most fuel efficient mid-size sedan with a rating of 41 MPG in the city and 36 MPG on the highway. That bests the Toyota Camry hybrid by 8 MPG in the city and 2 MPG on the highway. We can almost hear the Ford folks in Dearborn chanting from here — it sounds like — is that — yes, "USA! USA! USA!"
