Vehicle Sales in the United States Still Slow;

The U.S. auto market for the month of June is down. With worries about unemployment, experts have said that consumer buying is now down. Foreign automakers such as Volkswagen and Nissan have also been affected in terms of their North American sales. Volkswagen models can be purchased at a VW dealer and Nissan models can be test driven at a Hartford Nissan dealer. Toyota prices have also been changing in order to accommodate the recent U.S. sales slump.

Ford and other domestic car makers have said that the markets are down since the third quarter of 2009. Mark Fields, Ford's President of the Americas said that U.S. automobile sales have "flat lined" since this time period. “Despite all the talk about things getting better, it doesn't seem that way in many people's homes or in their bottom line,” said Jessica Caldwell, an industry analyst at Edmunds.com

There is a 9.7 percent jobless rate in the nation and the real estate market continues to be in a slump. Consumer confidence is not high at the moment which has kept them outside of dealerships. Other industries such as the retail and travel industries are also down in the United States.

The number of anticipated purchases for 2010 is 9.5 million. The amount is the lowest in over 10 years, with 2000-2007 having approximately 17 million auto deliveries average in those years. Ford ranked second in U.S. sales for the first half of 2010 and overtook Toyota in this spot. Ford has been doing well since they did not accept the government assistance that was offered to both Chrysler and GM.

Ford anticipates more sales for 2010 throughout the year and might have a 16 percent increase in sales for June in spite of the slower buying market. Toyota sales have done well with anticipated increases of 9 percent for June. Other manufacturers like Honda and GM anticipate increased sales for June.

GM Announces Massive Model Expansion

The new GM is holding its first IPO this fall, and the company has recently announced that they will be introducing 70 new or revamped models to the market over the next four years. Ford whose vehicles are sold at East Petersburg Ford, did not declare bankruptcy last year. Foreign automakers such as Nissan and Volkswagen have not been hit as badly as domestic automakers from the recession. Nissan models can be purchased at a Washington Nissan dealer, and Volkswagen models can be tested at a Volkswagen Peoria Dealer.

GM hopes that the announcement will increase investor interest in the company which declared bankruptcy last summer and is hoping to raise money at its IPO. An interesting fact is that GM has done better in foreign markets rather than the domestic markets. The combined markets of China, Russia, India, and Brazil accounted for 74 percent of GM's sales in 2009. GM is emerging from bankruptcy as truly a world brand.

In North America, GM has also improved its sales and is selling more than they did in 2009. GM's average transaction has increased a huge $3,000 per transaction. GM's changes have included reducing the number of dealership vehicles throughout the nation, and discontinuing four models.

GM hopes to raise a substantial amount of revenue at the IPO this fall. At the moment, the U.S. government owns a substantial stake in the company, but the IPO will reduce the ownership of the government to a smaller amount. It current owns 60.8 percent of the company after the company received a $50 billion bailout in 2009.

The U.S. government will sell approximately 20 percent of its own holdings at the stock sale to reduce its ownership of the company. GM has broken even in North American car sales and intends to break even in Europe by 2011.

Chevy Faces Long Road in Image Overhaul;

GM has major work to do to overhaul Chevrolet's image the United States and world as being one of the leading and high quality auto brands. GM hopes that better image perceptions will lead to more sales for its major brands such as Buick and Cadillac. Cadillac models can be test driven at a Jersey City Cadillac Service. Birmingham Jaguar sells competing luxury foreign Jaguar models. Ford has been doing much better than Chevrolet in recent sales, and the trend will likely continue as Ford is releasing several new and popular models in 2010. A Peoria Volkswagen Dealer sells competing VW models as well.

Chevy made a major switch last month from their historic advertising agency which they had a multi-decade relationship with. They also hired Jim Campbell who is now the leader of Chevy's marketing team. Chevy made headlines a few weeks ago when a memo leaked that supposedly detailed Chevy management telling employees to try to use the name "Chevrolet" more often as a possible method to phase out the Chevy name. The blogs and news websites quickly responded and Chevy nearly immediately issued a statement saying that they were not going to get rid of the Chevy name or discourage its use.

Chevrolet is GM's premier brand which sold 72% of its annual revenue through May for 2010. It does well among its more loyal customers, but GM is looking to expand into new markets such as the green car market with the Chevy Volt - a vehicle that is capable of up to 40 miles on just the electric battery.

GM is also releasing the Chevy Cruze which is an updated version of the Cobalt and is GM's first attempt in a long time to make some noise in the subcompact car market. It can be expected that GM will continue to fight to gain market shares with clever advertising and the latest technology features in their new models.

2011 Ford F-Series Super Duty Customer Testing Extended

The 2011 Ford F-Series Super Duty's testing program is being extended for its commercial customers. Customers are testing the maximum capabilities of the F-Series Super Duty. Ford models are available for purchase through special auto finance deals. GM, who sells models like the Chevy Malibu and Silverado Hybrid will continue to battle with Ford forthe domestic truck market.

Reynolds Asphalt & Construction and TexOp Construction, two Texas construction companies, are heavily testing the model during summer construction and the testing will continue into the winter. Customers have reported up to 25 percent more fuel economy over previous versions.

The F-Series Super Duty is being tested in some of the roughest work environments such as Florida's Everglades swamp just to be sure that the vehicle is capable of handing every type of workload and environment. The reaction from customers has been positive as they have requested to use the F-Series Super Duty for a longer period of time.

Chris Brewer, chief engineer of the 2011 Super Duty said, “We tested the 2011 Super Duty in every situation imaginable throughout the development process, but nothing can replace these real-world scenarios.”

Florida Power & Light Company is using the vehicles to travel through the everglades, and some vehicles have traveled up to 600 miles per day during long treks through swamps and various other types of terrain. The company is testing the 2011 Ford F-250 Super Duty XL Super Cab 4x4 and the F-250 XLT Crew Cab 4x2.

These models feature a 6.7-liter V-8 turbocharged diesel engine. The engine is much quieter than previous models. The new powertrain and vehicle features improved fuel economy while still maintaining impressive power.

The off road performance of the model was also reported as impressive by the customers. The Super Duty also has a new biodiesel capacity. It has a B20 compatibility which allows for a 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent petroleum mixture to be used as fuel. Florida Power & Light has used this feature, and other companies that are looking to be "greener" will find the biodiesel capacity useful.

GM Attempting to Increase Auto Financing Availability?

In a move to bolster sales in a rough economy, GM is in talks with JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo Bank to offer more auto loans to various customers at United States dealerships. Rival automakers like Ford and Chrysler who sell Used Dodges and Ford Incentives also hope to increase their sales with more consumer financing options.

With the current state of the economy and tight regulations on consumer financing, dealerships have been complaining to GM about the problems encountered when trying to get sub-prime customers financing for car loans.

The major problem with GM's financing is that they sold off their finance division, Ally Financial Inc., also formerly known as GMAC. The move left GM's financing options limited as GM is now the only major automaker in the United States without its own finance company. Both Ford and Chrysler have their own captive auto financing companies

GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson said. "Access to financing is an important part of the vehicle sales process. We believe the auto financing business will continue to evolve and we'll continue to assess our overall needs." Recently, GM has been looking at any available options for another captive auto financing company as well.

GM is continuing to attempt to increase its domestic market share which was at 48 percent in 1960 and is now around 19 percent. A consumer financing option for sub-prime loans could help GM compete with other automakers in the domestic market. Both J.P. Morgan and Wells Fargo were two of the top auto financing companies in the nation for the first quarter of 2010.

GM hopes that either Wells Fargo or J.P. Morgan will allow them some more sub-prime financing or leasing loan options. GM is also offering an IPO of the "New GM" which was created in 2009 after GM filed for bankruptcy.

Big Three Drop Spending For 2009.

GM along with the other Big Three greatly reduced their advertising spending for 2009 in the United States. Also, for 2009, the top 100 advertisers in the U.S. reduced their spending overall by 10 percent. GM's major brands include Chevrolet, GMC, Buick and Cadillac which can be purchased at a Jersey City Chevy service. Ford models such as the Focus, Fiesta, Explorer, and Fusion can be purchased at any High Point used cars dealer.

One of the reasons for this drop in spending was that consumers as a whole were buying fewer automobiles. The condition of the economy has greatly reduced consumer spending across every industry. Auto sales as a whole dropped 21 percent, and the incentive for massive advertising spending for GM, Chrysler, and Ford was not there.

Automobile advertising is the second largest advertising category in United States after retail advertising. Proctor and Gamble, a producer of numerous retail products, was number one on the spending list at $4.2 billion.

Last year, both GM and Chrysler went bankrupt, however Ford was able to avoid bankruptcy. The Big Three spent $8.58 billion total on advertising in 2009 which was a 23 percent decrease.

GM spent $2.21 billion on advertising in 2009 and was the fourth highest spender on the list. This amount was a 22 percent drop in spending from 2008.

Nine automakers total made the list: Ford, GM, Chrysler, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Nissan, Toyota, Honda, and Daimler.

It is likely that the domestic automakers have been devoting more of their resources to research and development for 2009 and onward. The latest models by Ford and GM look like they will include some of the best hybrid and electric motor technology available on the market. In a year in which practically every industry across the board took a hit in sales, it makes perfect sense to spend money in other places where it will be used better.

Cadillac Offering Free Maintenance on 2011 Models

In a move to stay competitive and increase their customer service satisfaction, Cadillac, a division of GM, is offering all buyers of any 2011 car model a free maintenance program. Other GM brands such as GMC, which can be bought at a Jersey city GMC dealership, have not adopted this program yet. GM hopes to continue to up the ante for their customer service to get a larger share of the domestic and foreign car markets that other domestic automakers such as Ford and Chrysler are competing in. Ford models can be purchased at a local Ford dealer.

The program was announced on June 21, 2010 and Cadillac has just recently begun to produce their 2011 car models which will be shipped to dealers toward the end of the 2010 summer. Cadillac's 2011 models feature several improvements over its 2010 models. The program will be another incentive for customers to purchase the newest Cadillac models. Cadillac also includes a 5 year/100,000 mile powertrain warranty with their new models with 24/7 roadside assistance as well.

The program is a 4-year/50,000 mile car service that will include free oil changes, vehicle inspections, tire rotation, and replacement of air filters. Ford has also announced that they would be offering a similar service on 2010 and 2011 vehicles but the deadline for the service is September 7 and the Lincoln program is has a 3-year/45,000 mile limit.

Other brands like BMW and Lincoln also offer free wear and tear car part replacement for items like windshield wipers and brakes, but the Cadillac program does not offer this service. Cadillac has said this is because of the variable nature of car repairs with some models have different repair requirements.

Cadillac hopes to continue to boost their sales in the domestic market. Cadillac's sales are up 32 percent for 2010 up until May as opposed to last year's sales.

Cadillac Flagship Model More Likely Now.

Cadillac is coming out with a new real wheel drive flagship model that is based on the upcoming XTS. The V-16 concept car that is pictured above was demonstrated at the 2003 Detroit Auto Show and since then there has been on and off buzz about a flagship model. Cadillac's addition of a flagship model would help it compete with overseas manufacturers and the model itself could help brand Cadillac with more visual recognition in the world.

GM's luxury Cadillac line, which can be purchased at a Staten Island Chevrolet dealer, has several new or revamped luxury models being released in 2010 and 2011. Previous year Cadillac models can be browsed at a Missouri used cars dealer. Several of the new models are highly anticipated and will likely make Ford a strong competitor to GM for the domestic luxury vehicle market.

The release of a low volume flagship model could help to define Cadillac's brand and offer a high end model for a select market. GM's problems with bankruptcy are starting to be overcome although there is still a long way to go. GM has paid off some of its initial loans from the federal government but still owes on a $52 billion loan that was offered by the government in exchange for 60.8 percent of the company, rendering GM a mostly public owned company theoretically.

However, with the Chevy Volt anticipated to increase future sales, and new models such as the 2010 and 2011 Camaro doing well in sales, Chevy has more time and resources to spend on higher end models such as a flagship model.

Several major luxury automakers have flagship models such as the Lexus LS, Mercedes S-Class, BMW 7-Series, and Audi A8. However, Cadillac has historically relied on higher volume luxury models such as the Escalade, DTS, and CTS for their luxury market sales.