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^ CLICK ABOVE FOR THE VOLT PAGE ^
A 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine will power a generator to create electricity for the motor that propels the Chevrolet Volt, above, and will drive the Chevy Cruze.
(Credit: Automotive News)GM is scheduled to launch the Cruze next spring. Production of the Volt, a plug-in hybrid sedan, is scheduled to start in November 2010.
The Flint engine plant will produce 40 engines per day when production starts late next year. Output will rise to 800 engines a day by fall 2011, GM officials said.
The engine for the Cruze will be turbocharged. The Volt's engine, which will power a generator to create electricity for the motor that propels the car, will not be turbocharged.
The initial batch of engines for the Chevy Volt will be imported from a GM plant in Aspern, Austria, until the revamped Flint plant begins production.
The other GM plants that will be updated and retooled are the Flint Metal Center, Flint Tool and Die and Grand Blanc Weld Tool Center.
GM says the key functions at the plants will include development of automated equipment and tooling for the Cruze and Volt assembly plants. The Cruze will be assembled at Lordstown, Ohio, and the Volt at the Detroit-Hamtramck plant.
The operations will develop dies and stamp body panels and components for Lordstown and Detroit-Hamtramck.
GM is spending about $30 million on the Grand Blanc plant to build robotic weld tool cells that will assemble the Volt body at Detroit-Hamtramck.

DETROIT (AdAge.com) -- Consider the state of affairs when viewers tuned
into the Super Bowl in February: Banks had failed, a stimulus package
still hadn't been announced, and unemployment was surging toward 8%, up
from 4.8% the year before. Escapism was the order of the day, and most
advertisers played right along, with brands like Coke and Pepsi
offering saccharine happy-happy joy-joy visions that jarred with the
bleak reality.
There was one advertiser, however, that didn't. In the third quarter, in an otherwise standard-issue cars-rolling-through-landscape spot, a voice-over brought into the light of day something that ranks up there with death and erectile dysfunction as something people don't want to talk about. "Now finance or lease any new Hyundai, and if you lose your income in the next year, you can return it with no impact on your credit."
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40%
of readers selected the carmarker as the top marketer
in 2009 in a vote on AdAge.com.
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Engaging with both the broken dreams and the intact ones through high-profile ad buys that garnered plenty of positive press was in sharp contrast to the tail-between-the-legs mode of Hyundai's rivals, many of whom had slashed budgets and retreated into retail-focused advertising. An example of the opportunism: Those nine Oscar spots -- purchased when GM, then on the verge of bankruptcy, bailed out of the show. For Hyundai, the overall results were clear: Sales and market share were up, and its brand image overhauled.
Hyundai's market share jumped to 4.3% in the first ten months of 2009 from 3.1% in the same year-ago period. In September, while the industry overall suffered a 22% sales drop in a post-Cash for Clunkers hangover, Hyundai managed to increase its new-vehicle tally by 27% to 31,511 units.
Scott Fink, chairman of Hyundai's national dealer council, said he has more showroom traffic today than two years ago. And while his New Port Ritchie, Fla., dealership used to get mostly Detroit model trade-ins, he's now seeing mostly Japanese nameplates. Mr. Fink said he's getting "a lot of Acuras" traded in, along with BMWs and Mercedes Benz cars, for the new Genesis. "We're really eroding other brands."
Before the recession, "these same people [that] never would have been caught dead in a Hyundai" might have worried about what their neighbors would think, said Mr. Fink. "Now people are very comfortable because the brand has been elevated. We used to be a price player, but now we're a mainstream player."
Searching for stability
A lot has been done to
change a very ingrained image of Hyundai in a very short time. Hyundai
entered the U.S. market in 1986 with small, affordable, entry-level
models that were often the butt of jokes by late-night TV hosts. After
early success with these cars, Hyundai hit a speed bump with quality.
The automaker started building momentum in late 1998 after introducing
the industry's first 100,000-mile warranty, repricing its lineup closer
to transaction prices and slashing build combinations. In the middle
part of this decade, Hyundai management ranks had a revolving door, and
there was a great deal of instability at the company. Ex-Chief
Operating Officer Steve Wilhite disbanded all regional dealer ad groups
shortly after he signed on in 2006. That angered many dealers and
slowed momentum, as the move eliminated some $300 million in regional
ad spending for uniform messages, though most groups have re-formed
now.
In early 2007, things began to stabilize when Joel Ewanick, Hyundai's VP-marketing, arrived from Richards Group, then Hyundai's creative and media agency, where he had been director-brand planning. In Chris Perry, the director-marketing communications who had been at Hyundai since 2000, Mr. Ewanick found an ally who thought along the same lines he did.
Mr. Ewanick said the two men "share the same mindset" when it comes to marketing, so they don't need to be at all the same meetings. That's why Mr. Perry has autonomy in many cases to make decisions for fast-track online ad deals, and "he doesn't have to wait for me," Mr. Ewanick said.
One major move came quickly. In April of that year, Mr. Ewanick ditched his old shop and hired Omnicom Group's Goodby, Silverstein & Partners to handle advertising duties after a two-month review.
One of the team's most important challenges was helping Hyundai to get into the driveways of more affluent drivers, something auto pundits were skeptical of. The then-new Genesis sedan started in the $30,000 range and was the automaker's most ambitious and priciest product ever. (It was the two-door coupe version that Hyundai launched during the Super Bowl this year.)
Nevertheless, Hyundai Motor America was in a funk at the end of 2008. With the U.S. auto industry in a tailspin due to the economy, the credit crunch and plummeting consumer confidence, the marketer's fourth-quarter sales dropped by 41% -- more than the total industry's 34.7%. And the company's 2008 vehicle sales slid 14% from the prior year's tally of 467,009 units -- the highest since the American arm of the South Korean carmaker started selling here in 1986. The Genesis launch, too, wasn't exactly a huge hit, as early sales targets were missed and dealers became disenchanted with Goodby's "Think About It" campaign. By fall, there were reports that the Hyundai-Goodby relationship was about to fall apart.
The genesis of Assurance
This year, however, was a
different story. The automaker announced in the first week of January
it was launching the Hyundai Assurance program to let buyers or lessees
return their new vehicles for up to a year if they lost their jobs. The
program was launched with Goodby's high-profile commercial in the Super
Bowl and another in-game spot dubbed "Bosses" that touted the Genesis
win as North American car of the year at the Detroit Auto Show. Hyundai
scooped up sponsorship of the pre-game show, and a trio of 30-second
commercials there.
"This is a recession of fear," Mr. Ewanick told Advertising Age back in February. "We realized that the elephant in the room was the fear of losing your job. I feel the same way. We all do. The idea of giving people the option to give the car back if they were struggling . . . seemed a great way to make customers comfortable and increase our market share in an economy like this."
In a recent interview, Mr. Ewanick said the Assurance program came together in 37 days from concept to ads on the air. A relatively lean, flat organization has been one of the automaker's core strengths, he said. "One of the things that have served us well is our ability to adapt quickly to the changing economy and competitive marketplace."
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| Hyundai's U.S. sales over the years |
Americans were apparently so wowed by the ads and press exposure of the Assurance program that consideration for new Hyundai vehicles jumped to 59% in the first two months of the year, CNW Marketing Research found.
Filling a void
Hyundai followed up its
Super Bowl gambit with an ad blitz in ABC's Academy Awards broadcast,
its first national play with the Oscars. The automaker's new media
agency, Initiative, Irvine, Calif., had alerted Hyundai to the void
left by financially ailing GM as exclusive auto sponsor of the program,
a vacuum Hyundai will be filling for three years after inking a deal
less than two months before the broadcast. Hyundai also signed a deal
with Fox to place its vehicles in "24" and advertise during the show
after Ford pulled out.
In April, the marketer dropped Goodby and moved its national creative account, including digital, without a review, to Innocean Worldwide Americas, a subsidiary of Korean parent's Hyundai Motor Group. Innocean also provides media oversight, promotion and events planning for both Hyundai and affiliate Kia Motors America. Jim Sanfilippo, exec VP and CEO of Innocean's Irvine, Calif., office, said Goodby was "a tough act to follow." After reviewing all the metrics, which Innocean had as media coordinator, Innocean opted to stick with the "Think About It" theme.
"We love the brand voice that Joel [Ewanick] has achieved, and that's rare in automotive these days," said Mr. Sanfilippo. Hyundai is "no longer an alternative, we're a rival."
At the end of the half-year mark, Hyundai posted an all-time high U.S. market share of 4.2% compared to 3.1% at the end of June 2008. Not only that, even though Hyundai's monthly June sales slid by 24% from the prior June, it outsold Chrysler Group's volume Dodge brand for the first time, boosting the brand to the sixth biggest by sales in the U.S. in the industry's worst climate in decades. June 2009 marked Hyundai's best monthly sales tally ever, even with decreased sales. June brought another accolade to the brand. Hyundai ranked fourth behind Lexus, Porsche and Cadillac, respectively, in consultant J.D. Power and Associates' annual Initial Quality Survey. In 2008, Hyundai ranked thirteenth in that survey, in which consumers rate their new vehicles at 90 days of ownership.
The Fountain Valley, Calif., automaker kept the pressure on competitors in July. Rather than advertise vehicle incentives that can damage brand image, Hyundai introduced Assurance Gas Lock, which guaranteed summer-month buyers $1.49-per-gallon for a year. The feisty marketer then jumped the gun in early July, weeks ahead of the Cash for Clunkers' program, with an ad campaign saying it was already offering the tax credits ahead of Uncle Sam's July 24 start date.
Good marks
"We saw the [clunkers]
program coming, and we understood the [government's] rules, so we
mobilized the program and had ads running July Fourth weekend," said
Mr. Ewanick. Hyundai's messages of the early clunker rebates, along
with Assurance and the Gas Lock programs, gave the marketer "a better
and richer story to tell," he said.
In early October, the marketer started advertising the new HyundaiMomentum.com microsite, a place for people to see what third parties are writing about the brand's cars and trucks. Ads from Innocean will run online and during NFL TV broadcasts through November.
"We have been receiving a lot of accolades, awards and positive reinforcement from the press and consumers, and shoppers are noticing this," said Mr. Perry. "We needed to find a way to harness this momentum and offer it up in a way that is easy for the consumer to access and understand."
"Hyundai is really ahead of the game," said CNW Marketing Research President Art Spinella, and the brand has managed to capture a lot of shoppers who had Toyota on their lists. He said Hyundai is building its brand and consideration the same way Toyota did decades ago -- "with a good car at a good price and a lot of exposure with a lot of ads."
The marketer said 60% of Americans today are now aware of Hyundai and willing to buy the brand, compared to just 40% two years ago. Mr. Ewanick credited better products backed by the "Think about it" campaign. "It's a proof campaign, and we are giving people evidence about our cars and our quality and our styling, and we keep shoveling on the facts and information."
Different buyers
Mr. Ewanick admitted
his budgets have been flat and will stay that way in 2010, give or take
a few percentage points. This year he shifted dollars from print to
online, buying more on newspaper and magazine sites. The automaker
spent nearly $115 million in U.S. measured media in the first half of
2009 vs. $107 million in the same six-month period of 2008, according
to TNS Media Intelligence. Both figures are without internet spending.
The marketer spent $348 million last year, including internet, TNS
reported.
"Hyundai has been very successful with their new-product launches," especially the Genesis line, said Alexander Edwards, president of consultant Strategic Vision's auto group. The sedan and coupe models attract buyers with median annual household incomes of $120,000 vs. $75,000 across the rest of Hyundai, Strategic Vision data show. "Clearly the Genesis has brought in a new kind of buyer to Hyundai," Mr. Edwards said.
As for what rivals make of Hyundai's innovation streak, he said the "Bosses" Super Bowl spot showing German and Japanese-speaking car execs screaming at underlings because of Genesis' car-of-the-year win, isn't so farfetched. Competitors he wouldn't name, including mass and premium makers, are asking Mr. Edwards, "What do we have to worry about with Hyundai?"
"Everybody wants to find out what Hyundai will do next," he said.

Austin police arrested Omar Ramos-Lopez, 20, on Wednesday, charging him with felony breach of computer security.
Ramos-Lopez used a former colleague's password to deactivate starters and set off car horns, police said. Several car owners said they had to call tow trucks and were left stranded at work or home.
"He caused these customers, now victims, to miss work," Austin police spokeswoman Veneza Aguinaga said. "They didn't get paid. They had to get tow trucks. They didn't know what was going on with their vehicles."
Ramos-Lopez was in the Travis County Jail on Wednesday with bond set at $3,000. The Associated Press could not find a working phone number for his family.
The Texas Auto Center dealership in Austin installs GPS devices that can prevent cars from starting. The system is used to repossess cars when buyers are overdue on payments, said Jeremy Norton, a controller at the dealership where Ramos-Lopez worked. Car horns can be activated when repo agents go to collect vehicles and believe the owners are hiding them.
"We are taking extra measures to make sure this never happens again," Norton said.
Starting in mid-February, dealership employees noticed unusual changes to their business records. Someone was going into the system and changing customers' names, such as having dead rapper Tupac Shakur buying a 2009 vehicle, Norton said.
Soon, customers began calling saying their cars wouldn't start, or that their horns were going off incessantly, forcing them to disengage the battery. Norton said the dealership originally thought the cars had mechanical problems.
Then employees noticed someone had ordered $130,000 in parts and equipment from the company that makes the GPS devices.
Police said they were able to trace the sabotage to Ramos-Lopez's computer, leading to his arrest.
Norton said Ramos-Lopez didn't seem unusually upset about being fired.
"I think he thought what he was doing was a harmless prank," Norton said. "He didn't see the ramifications of it."




Ford announced today in Geneva that it will build a "global high-performance" version of the new Focus.
This won't come as any surprise to Europeans who have been treated to a steady stream of hot Focus ST and hotter RS models over the life of the model. To Americans, who have watched a once-promising little hatchback turn into a cheaped-down Chevy Cavalier competitor, the announcement of a new hot-hatch Focus is something to celebrate.
Ford isn't confirming that the new high-performance model will come to the United States. But it will. Don't expect that the new high-performance model will be a clone of the glowing-green, 301-horsepower killer that is the current European Focus RS. In fact, we expect that Ford will put the SVT badge on the vehicle when it arrives here. And don't start holding your breathe just yet. The regular Focus 5-door hatch and 4-door sedan won't even go on sale here before the end of the year. So you've got some time to wait before this thing hits.
Oh, and that photo above? We simply tweaked a picture of the 5-door Focus so we'd have something pretty for the top of this story. Ford has not released any photographs or sketches of the new high-performance model.
When it does, likely wearing the 5-door bodywork, it will be powered by a turbocharged, direct-injection four-cylinder motor, known to Ford as EcoBoost. That leaves two options: Either Ford could use a hot version of the 1.6-liter EcoBoost that will be part of the European-market regular Focus line-up or Ford might use the 2.0-liter EcoBoost that will also be offered in the Ford Edge. With the 263-horsepower Mazdaspeed3 out there tearing up the pavement, it's hard to imagine Ford would come with less than 250 hp.
And if that kind of power is to be routed solely through the front wheels, then we hope Ford uses a version of the "RevoKnuckle" front suspension it pioneered on the current Focus RS, which significantly reduces torque steer.









U.S. regulators are investigating 10 recent cases in which owners of recalled Toyota vehicles say they brought their cars in for repair and yet still experienced unintended acceleration.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has started contacting consumers about these complaints “to make sure Toyota is doing everything possible to make its vehicles safe,” agency chief David Strickland said in an e-mailed statement.
A recurrence of unintended acceleration, even after sticky gas pedals and obtrusive floor mats have been addressed by dealers, would suggest there may be other causes of the loss of speed control in Toyota vehicles.
“We are confident that Toyota vehicles are safe, and we're doing everything we can to ensure that our customers are satisfied with the repairs we are making,” Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons said in an e-mail.
Lyons said Toyota has asked NHTSA for the information needed to contact customers with post-repair complaints.
Toyota's top executives have repeatedly denied that electronic throttle-control systems may interfere with acceleration, most recently at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing Tuesday. The company has hired the Exponent consulting firm to look into the matter further.
Since October, Toyota has recalled more than 6 million U.S. vehicles for unintended acceleration. The causes were attributed either to sticky gas pedals or to floor mats that entrap pedals.
The Safety Research & Strategies consulting firm reported this week that four Toyota customers complained to NHTSA last month of recurring unintended acceleration, even after their vehicles were recalled and repaired.
In one case, the owner of a 2008 Toyota Avalon reported Feb. 25 that a few days after a recall, the driver had the car in reverse and was slowly backing out of a residential carport when it accelerated on its own, the Safety Research report said.
“The car did about three loops around the garage area of the home, causing damage to the car, benches, tree, bushes, lamp post, etc.” the report said.
The owner of a 2010 Camry reported that within a week of its Feb. 12 acceleration fix, the car sped up as the driver was entering a parking space.
“I was pressing the brake,” the complainant said, according to Safety Research. “I jammed both feet into the brake. After three seconds, as my car was climbing up a snow bank, it stopped.”
The complainant added: “The fix done by Toyota is not the fix for the acceleration problem.”
Said Toyota's Lyons: “We have rigorously tested the solutions that Toyota engineers have developed, and are aggressively investigating any complaints.”
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Despite recent reports citing a slight financial ascent,
newly installed Toyota president and CEO Akio Toyoda (pictured)
recently stated that his brand is "grasping for salvation" on its
return to profitability.
"Toyota has become too big and distant from its customers," the chief executive said.
In the U.S., the automaker's sales are down 13% in September from a year ago. Globally, sales are down 28% for the brand.
The company’s 2008 fiscal year ends on March 31.
It widened its forecast for an operating loss on its main automotive business to 450 billion yen, or $5 billion, attributing the larger loss to both steep declines in global auto sales and strong gains by the Japanese currency, the yen, which lowers the yen-denominated value of overseas earnings.
The global downturn has pummeled global auto sales, but Toyota had appeared somewhat resistant. No longer.
The last time Toyota posted a net loss was 59 years ago, when it operated under different accounting rules. Then, Toyota was in a financial crisis that led to the departure of its founder, Kiichiro Toyoda. ( New York Times)
The disclosure comes a week after Toyota announced it will recall 3.8 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles to replace a floor mat that could cause the accelerator to stick. The recall prompted a public apology from Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda.
Frame Rust
Toyota faced a similar frame-rust problem last year involving about 750,000 Tacoma pickups.
In March 2008, the company agreed to buy back 1995 to 2000 model year Tacomas at 150 percent of the high Kelly Blue Book value.
Then in November 2008, the company issued a recall on 2001 to 2004 model year Tacomas. If there was no rust, Toyota automatically extended the warranty to 15 years with unlimited mileage. If there was rust, the frames were replaced at no cost to the consumer.
Lyons did not say why the company did not issue a recall for the Tundra at the same time as the Tacoma.
“The two trucks did not share the same frame, but there were similarities,” he said. Lyons said both trucks had the same supplier.
“But it's our responsibility, not the supplier's responsibility,” Lyons said. - (autoweek.com)


Renault Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn didn’t recommend approval of an agreement with Penske at yesterday’s board meeting, Pelata said after a news conference in Paris. Ending the talks “was not a board decision,” he added.
“The deal probably made a lot of sense to Renault at first glance,” Mike Tyndall, a London-based European autos specialist with Nomura Securities, said in a telephone interview. The proposal may have drawn objections from Nissan Motor Co., Renault’s 44 percent-owned Japanese affiliate, he said.
“When they looked into the details they probably realized
it would do the Renault-Nissan alliance more harm than good,”
Tyndall said. “They’d be using potentially cheaper versions of
alliance products to compete with Nissan in its most important
market.” (BLOOMBERG NEWS)

IN THE "RUSH" TO SAVE CHRYSLER FROM EXTINCTION, THE COMPANY PUSHED THROUGH A DEAL WITH THE ITALIAN AUTO MAKER FIAT, WHO HAS A FULL LINE OF SMALL CARS & COULD BENEFIT FROM THE SALES OF CHRYSLER'S LARGE CARS & MORE SO THE TRUCKS LIKE THE RAM & CARAVAN MINIVANS IN EUROPE.
THERE WAS NO CASH FROM FIAT COMING TO CHRYSLER IN THAT DEAL HOWEVER, AS THEY WERE RELAYING UPON THE US GOVERNMENT "BAIL OUT" TO FUND THE COMPANY. WHILE IT IS TRUE THAT CHRYSLER HAS A FEW VERY GOOD MODELS, LIKE THE MINIVANS WHICH VW NOW SELLS A VERSION OF AS THEIR OWN VW MODEL, & NISSAN IS HANDING OVER THEIR "TRUCK MODELS" TO CHRYSLER TO SELL RE-BADGED VERSIONS OF THE DODGE RAM TRUCKS AS NISSAN TRUCKS, THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT CHRYSLER OR DODGE HAS NEW CARS THAT CAN INDEED CAPTURE A INCREASED MARKET SHARE FOR THE COMPANY.
The company claims that Fiat's innovative small-car technology will fill a gaping hole in Chrysler's product lineup and turn Detroit's No. 3 automaker into a winner. Chrysler desperately needs that kind of help, and Fiat does have some appealing vehicles, like the 500 and Panda, each of which has earned honors as European car of the year. If the Fiat deal flies, such models could be imported to the United States and even built here.
[See why Chrysler still might not survive.]
But it's a stretch to believe that a few snazzy little imports are enough to salvage Chrysler. It's not as if American roads are devoid of thrifty runabouts. The Detroit Three clearly have a small-car deficit, but by the time Fiats begin to land on U.S. shores in a couple of years, General Motors and Ford will both be rolling out new misermobiles largely patterned after vehicles that have been popular and profitable overseas.
Meanwhile, foreign-based automakers like Toyota, Honda,
Volkswagen, and Mazda have been successfully selling small cars in the
United States for decades. They're not about to step aside just because
the Italians are coming to town. Besides, clever novelties from
overseas often land with a splash but struggle to penetrate a crowded
market. The Suzuki SX-4,
for example, gets good marks for fun, style, and affordability, yet
more than a dozen compacts outsell it. Chrysler might want to pay close
attention to that mediocre performance—since the SX-4 is a joint
venture with Fiat, which sells its own version in Europe as the Sedici. ( European Auto)
ALL THAT BEING SAID, CHRYSLER DOSE HAVE A FEW "ACES" UP IT'S SLEEVE, THE DODGE CHARGER & THE NEW CHALLENGER BOTH ARE SELLING QUITE WELL, IN SPITE OF THE LESS THAN "ECONOMICAL" STATUS OF THOSE PERFORMANCE STYLED MODELS. A NEW VERSION UPDATE OF THE CHARGER IS EXPECTED IN 2010.

^ THEN AGAIN, THIS NEW CHRYSLER 200 C HAS ALL THE MAKINGS OF A REAL TOP SELLING CAR FOR THEM ! THE MUCH MALINGERED "DODGE AVENGER" CAN ALSO BENEFIT FROM THIS NEW DESIGN, WHICH IS QUITE A LOOKER & HAS THE STUFF TO DELIVER REAL VALUE TO AUTO CUSTOMERS FOR CHRYSLER.
CAN THEY PULL IT OFF ?....ONLY TIME WILL TELL. DON'T BET ON FIAT HELPING THEM OUT TOO MUCH THO.
The next 100 days are the key to how Detroit's three carmakers, and the others, too, will fare in coming years. Watch the numbers that are released each month for car sales for September through December. The pivotal figures to focus on are the market share numbers, not the percentage loss or gain against the year before or the month before.
Here's why: The artificial stimuli are over. Cash for Clunkers is done and the inventories are low, so the companies don't have to go crazy with give-away incentives, but the dealers are hungry, so it's still a good time for customers to buy. New models are out--some, anyway--and the cars for the old lines being eliminated are about gone from the dealer lots. So the market share numbers we start seeing through the end of the year will predict the trend for months, even years to come.
Let's go company by company:
General Motors
Market share this year to date has run 19.5%. It's likely to fall over
the next hundred days. The key is how much? If it falls to 18.5%,
that's fine. If it falls more toward 16.5%, that's trouble.
What's the plus for GM? Look for more and better advertising. Robert Lutz, the vice chairman of Doing-It-Right-For-A-Change, is in charge of marketing and he's nobody's fool. There are some new models out: The Camaro sporty car, the Buick LaCrosse sedan, the Chevy Equinox small SUV, a Cadillac SRX crossover SUV and a CTS wagon. There's also a return to leasing for Cadillac, plus the 60-day money-back guarantee to inspire confidence.
What's the minus? The lineup is spotty. Pontiac cars are gone and Saturn is fading away, cutting sales. At Chevy, the small Cobalt car is dated and its replacement is months away. The mid-size Malibu is a single four-door sedan (no coupe, no convertible, no wagon) and may be tiring. Buick has three models (and one is fading out), and Cadillac has no big, modern car.
The GM trucks are still big sellers--the pickups and SUVs, like the Chevy Traverse--but we don't know how they will do in this new world of fuel economy regulations. So the next three months will tell us if GM can hold near 20% share, or if it will keep going down and risk being outsold by Ford Motor ( F - news - people ) or Toyota ( TM - news - people ). And even the name General Motors is so discredited that it's being pulled off the products.
Ford
It's been taking 15.8% of the market this year to date, but it's
largely a pickup truck company (Ford's share of car sales is just
11.2%). Honda
(
HMC -
news
-
people
)
outsells Ford in cars and Hyundai/Kia is closing in. The big F-150 Ford
pickup is a star, but Ford SUVs--all but the small Escape and the
Mercury Mariner--do poorly.
There's a new Taurus, but it will cost $35,000 to buy one nicely equipped, and the most interesting Fords are still "to come." A new small Focus and the smaller Fiesta aren't here yet. Ford doesn't care about its to-be-discarded rear-drive sedans and doesn't seem to know how to sell Mustang.
So the market share numbers of these four months will tell us if the company can regain some momentum and take sales from the fading GM and Chrysler.
Chrysler
Chrysler's gone dark. Even Detroit reporters can't figure out
what, if anything, is going on. The eight-month sale share is 9.2%, but
it's been falling; August was 7.4%. If share keeps falling, down to 6%
by Jan. 1, we have to wonder if Italian automaker Fiat
(
FIATY.PK -
news
-
people
), which now controls Chrysler, will stay the course, or--with no money invested--bolt? Watch the share numbers.
The foreigners will send signals, too. Korean Hyundai/Kia is hot. Sales are actually up a tiny bit from last year, and a new Kia plant is opening in the state of Georgia. The combined pair (Hyundai controls Kia, but they operate separately in the U.S.) is outselling Nissan ( NSANY - news - people ) and closing in on Chrysler in recent months. Can the Koreans keep it up?
At Toyota, we see new mangers, new directions--but maybe new confusion. Its half-built plant in Mississippi is stalled; Toyota can't seem to figure out what to build there. For all the praise heaped on its hybrids, Toyota sales slumped just like most everybody else's. And Toyota hasn't seemed to figure out that shipping cars here from Japan with the yen climbing is a recipe for red ink. But the next few months will show us how determined the company is to stay ahead of Ford and keep closing in on GM. Toyota's share is 16.6% now. GM might be that low by the end of the year.
Watch the share numbers over the next 100 days. They will tell the story.

WILMINGTON, Del. – Luxury automaker Fisker Automotive is buying a shuttered General Motors assembly plant in Delaware to produce plug-in hybrid electric cars, officials said Tuesday.
The California-based company has signed a letter of intent with Motors Liquidation Co. (MLC), formerly known as General Motors Corp., to purchase the Wilmington plant for $18 million after a four-month evaluation period.
Fisker, which recently won approval for $528.7 million in government loans to develop plug-ins, expects to spend another $175 million to refurbish the facility before production of next-generation hybrids begins in 2012.
Fisker expects Project NINA will create or support 2,000 factory jobs and more than 3,000 vendor and supplier jobs by 2014, with full production capacity of between 75,000 and 100,000 vehicles per year. More than half the cars will be exported, the largest percentage of any domestic manufacturer.
"This is a major step toward establishing America as a leader of advanced vehicle technology," said CEO Henrik Fisker, who described the production of electric hybrids as part of "the most dramatic change in the car industry ever."
Vice President Joe Biden was among those on hand to announce the resurrection of the GM plant, which produced the Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice roadsters, as well as an Opel version that was exported to Europe, before closing this summer.
"I refuse to believe that we will not once again lead the entire world in the manufacturing of automobiles," Biden told a crowd of more than 1,000, including scores of union workers. "This factory in Delaware, and the industry, are going to get back up off the mat."
The vehicles to be built in Delaware under Fisker's Project NINA will cost about $40,000 after federal tax credits. They will be able to run mainly on electricity for short trips and a combination of electricity and gasoline for longer ones.
The Wilmington assembly plant, built in 1947, churned out more than 8.5 million cars. It employed more than 5,000 workers in the mid-1980s but ended production with a work force of only about 450 hourly workers.
"This is a great day for three reasons: job, jobs, jobs," said U.S. Sen. Ted Kaufman, D-Del., who replaced Biden in the U.S. Senate.
Fisker officials said the Wilmington site was selected for its size, production capacity, modern paint facilities, access to ports and rail lines and skilled work force.
Mike Hicks, 51, who worked for 32 years in the plant's paint department, was heartened by the news that cars will be built there once again.
"We have a good work force here, and it's always been a top quality plant in General Motors," Hicks said. "I'm glad they're giving us another chance to show what we can do."
It was not immediately clear whether former GM workers would be given priority status when Fisker begins hiring. Fisker spokesman Russell Datz said that decision likely will be made by union leaders.
"It's being negotiated," said Sam Lathem, president of the Delaware AFL-CIO.
"I'm sure they're going to want a skilled work force, and part of that will be workers who have been there," he added.
UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said persuading Fisker to locate in Delaware was "a true team effort."
"There was a lot of hard work involved, and it's going to pay off with manufacturing jobs that will be a great asset in Wilmington and in communities around the country, Gettelfinger said in a prepared statement.
U.S. Sens. Benjamin Cardin and Barbara Mikulski, both Maryland Democrats, said the reopening of the plant will preserve 500 jobs for Maryland residents who worked at the facility.
Jim Hoffa, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, welcomed the reopening of the auto plant.
"By rehiring laid-off workers, the White House and the company are showing a commitment to reinvesting in our national infrastructure," he said in a prepared statement.
Fisker told reporters that his company will demonstrate to consumers in the U.S. and overseas that electric cars can be powerful and sexy, and needn't be defined by dull styling and "range anxiety," about limited mileage between charges.
But energy efficiency is likely to remain a key selling point. Fisker noted that owners of Project NINA cars who drive 50 miles or less each day could rely almost entirely on electricity and might have to fill up the gasoline tank only once a year, an idea that could hit home with European drivers paying the equivalent of $6 to $8 for a gallon of gas.
"We're designing our cars for the world market," he said.

Want an economical midsize sedan that doesn't cost much, yet won't bore you to tears? Need to please your greener side with a high-tech hybrid? Fancy a near-sport sedan with AWD, 18-inch rolling stock, and the latest infotainment and electronics? Depending on which model you choose and how many option boxes you tick, the Fusion can be any of the above. Arthur St. Antoine calls the Fusion "a compelling sweep across one of the market's most hotly contested segments."
The original Ford Fusion came to market for the 2006 model year. The basics were there, but the car wasn't fully baked. For 2010, Ford's product teams gave the lineup a soup-to-nuts redevelopment so thorough, it's as if the first-generation car never existed. Only the passenger-shell sheetmetal and other basic architectural elements escaped being redesigned, upgraded, or replaced. Although a four-door sedan is the only body style offered, powertrain choices expand from two to four, and each is new or substantially revised. There are several trim levels offered as well: base S, upmarket SE, luxurious SEL, a separate Sport model, and a Hybrid. Early in this year's COTY program, there were quiet whispers, while heads nodded, about how the Fusion looked, felt, and drove like an entirely new machine.
| Brand | Vol % | January 2010 | January 2009 | DSR* % | DSR 1/10 | DSR 1/09 |
| Mercedes-Benz | 45.29 | 15,158 | 10,433 | 57.40 | 632 | 401 |
| Buick | 44.37 | 10,061 | 6,969 | 56.40 | 419 | 268 |
| Volvo | 41.86 | 4,128 | 2,910 | 53.68 | 172 | 112 |
| Volkswagen | 41.39 | 18,019 | 12,744 | 53.17 | 751 | 490 |
| Audi | 37.87 | 6,510 | 4,722 | 49.35 | 271 | 182 |
| Chevrolet | 36.42 | 105,294 | 77,186 | 47.78 | 4,387 | 2,969 |
| Subaru | 28.02 | 15,611 | 12,194 | 38.69 | 650 | 469 |
| Ford | 25.93 | 99,888 | 79,322 | 36.42 | 4,162 | 3,051 |
| Hyundai | 24.44 | 30,503 | 24,512 | 34.81 | 1,271 | 943 |
| Nissan | 19.44 | 55,861 | 46,769 | 29.39 | 2,328 | 1,799 |
| Lincoln | 15.51 | 7,036 | 6,091 | 25.14 | 293 | 234 |
| GMC | 11.42 | 21,303 | 19,120 | 20.70 | 888 | 735 |
| Mini | 7.93 | 2,247 | 2,082 | 16.92 | 94 | 80 |
| Porsche | 7.72 | 1,786 | 1,658 | 16.70 | 74 | 64 |
| BMW | 7.61 | 13,163 | 12,232 | 16.58 | 548 | 470 |
| Mercury | 5.77 | 5,482 | 5,183 | 14.58 | 228 | 199 |
| Lexus | 5.40 | 15,517 | 14,722 | 14.18 | 647 | 566 |
| Land Rover | 4.37 | 1,958 | 1,876 | 13.07 | 82 | 72 |
| Mazda | 1.78 | 15,694 | 15,420 | 10.26 | 654 | 593 |
| Dodge | 0.50 | 19,953 | 19,853 | 8.88 | 831 | 764 |
| Kia | 0.12 | 22,123 | 22,096 | 8.47 | 922 | 850 |
| Cadillac | -0.69 | 8,440 | 8,499 | 7.58 | 352 | 327 |
| Chrysler | -2.26 | 10,443 | 10,685 | 5.88 | 435 | 411 |
| Honda | -4.48 | 60,347 | 63,175 | 3.48 | 2,514 | 2,430 |
| Infiniti | -5.68 | 6,711 | 7,115 | 2.18 | 280 | 274 |
| Jeep | -6.65 | 15,715 | 16,834 | 1.13 | 655 | 647 |
| Acura | -9.22 | 7,132 | 7,856 | -1.65 | 297 | 302 |
| Mitsubishi | -11.84 | 4,170 | 4,730 | -4.49 | 174 | 182 |
| Toyota | -18.80 | 83,279 | 102,565 | -12.04 | 3,470 | 3,945 |
| Jaguar | -19.21 | 631 | 781 | -12.47 | 26 | 30 |
| Ram | -25.38 | 11,032 | 14,785 | -19.17 | 460 | 569 |
| Suzuki | -44.19 | 2,040 | 3,655 | -39.53 | 85 | 141 |
| Saab | -46.49 | 511 | 955 | -42.03 | 21 | 37 |
| Hummer | -78.31 | 265 | 1,222 | -76.51 | 11 | 47 |
| Smart | -84.35 | 278 | 1,776 | -83.04 | 12 | 68 |
| Saturn | -90.89 | 562 | 6,172 | -90.14 | 23 | 237 |
| Pontiac | -95.73 | 389 | 9,104 | -95.37 | 16 | 350 |
| Companies | ||||||
| Ford Motor Company | 24.63 | 116,534 | 93,506 | 35.01 | 4,856 | 3,596 |
| Nissan NA | 16.12 | 62,572 | 53,884 | 25.80 | 2,607 | 2,072 |
| General Motors | 13.62 | 146,825 | 129,227 | 23.09 | 6,118 | 4,970 |
| BMW Group | 5.77 | 15,140 | 14,314 | 14.58 | 631 | 551 |
| Jaguar Land Rover | -2.56 | 2,589 | 2,657 | 5.56 | 108 | 102 |
| American Honda | -5.00 | 67,479 | 71,031 | 2.92 | 2,812 | 2,732 |
| Chrysler Group | -8.07 | 57,143 | 62,157 | -0.41 | 2,381 | 2,391 |
| Toyota Mo Co | -15.77 | 98,796 | 117,287 | -8.75 | 4,117 | 4,511 |