February 3, 2012

Honda Posts Surprise Gain in U.S. Sales as Recovery Buoys Toyota’s Growth
Bloomberg reports that Honda Motor Co. ended eight months of shrinking U.S. sales with an unexpected January gain as recovering auto demand also buoyed growth for Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co., and Hyundai Motor Co. Honda posted an 8.8 percent increase from a year earlier, compared with an average estimate of a 1.2 percent drop in a Bloomberg survey of six analysts. Sales rose 7.5 percent at Toyota, Asia’s largest automaker; 10 percent at Nissan; and 15 percent at Hyundai. Japanese and South Korean brands gained 13 percent, topping the industry’s 11 percent, Autodata Corp. said. “Finally, Honda is getting back on its feet again,” said Michelle Krebs, senior analyst at Edmunds.com, an automotive pricing and data company in Santa Monica, California. Toyota’s sales of Toyota, Lexus and Scion models rose to 124,540 vehicles last month from 115,856 a year earlier, aided by a 56 percent jump for Camry sedans. The Toyota City, Japan- based company’s increase exceeded the 7 percent average of six analysts’ estimates. Check out AIADA’s January issue of Market Watch for more on how fellow international brands fared. For Bloomberg’s coverage of rebounding sales for several Asian automakers, click here.

Beetle Diesel: Chicago Show Debut, August Showroom Launch
Volkswagen, already the diesel champ in the U.S., is adding a diesel variant of the Beetle in August, reports USA Today. Price isn't set yet, but other VW diesels run roughly $1,500 more than similar gas models. It'll be the first diesel Beetle since the 2006 model. VW also offers diesel engines in its Golf, Jetta, and Passat models. About 20 percent of all VWs sold in the U.S. have diesel engines. VW forecasts a fuel economy rating from the feds of 29 mpg in town, 39 mpg on the highway. Look for some sniping by automakers who sell gasoline cars rated higher than that. The Beetle TDI will be available with a six-speed manual or a dual-clutch DSG transmission – a manual-style box that shifts automatically without requiring the driver to use a clutch pedal (there isn't one) or move the gear lever. "Manumatic" it's sometimes called. VW coined the TDI moniker back when "diesel" was a dirty word. It stands for, approximately, "turbocharged direct injection.” For the latest on the VW Beetle TDI, set to make its U.S. debut at the Chicago Auto Show, click here.

Mazda Says It’s Considering Capital Increase After Losses Mount
Mazda Motor Corp. said it’s considering boosting capital as four years of losses erode equity, threatening its credit rating. Repairing Mazda’s capital “is a must,” President Takashi Yamanouchi told reporters in Tokyo this week after the company’s earnings presentation. “We are considering every option. Nothing has been decided.” According to BusinessWeek, the carmaker’s 73 billion yen ($958 million) third-quarter loss lowered the company’s proportion of equity by 5 percentage points to 19.2 percent of its assets. The drop in the so-called equity ratio triggered Japan’s Rating & Investment Information Inc. to warn it may lower its debt rating on Mazda within three months. “R&I cannot overlook the further weakening of the financial base, which has already been weaker than the rating suggests,” the debt-rating assessment company said in a statement. A share sale would give Mazda room to keep its investment- level debt rating as mounting competition and the yen’s appreciation prevents the company from making profit. Mazda yesterday downgraded its earnings outlook by projecting its biggest full-year loss in 11 years. Mazda’s Yamanouchi said he’s confident the company will return to profitability next fiscal year and that the carmaker is “aggressively” looking to form an alliance. For the latest on Mazda, click here.

15 Great Cars That Get Overlooked
They don't get featured on the covers of car magazines or feted in Super Bowl commercials. At dealer lots, they get parked in the back while newer, glitzier models are showcased in the showroom. They won't get you many oohs and ahs from the car pool kids, or a thumbs-up from other drivers. Face it – these are the wallflowers of the auto world. But, reports CNN Money, when it comes to value, you can't beat these cars. After you consider purchase price, operating costs (including depreciation and insurance), and resale value – and then multiply by the fun-to-drive factor – they’re all aces. A few generalizations: 1.) Asian makes beat domestic. Consumer Reports ranked 37 Asian cars among the best values in their class vs. just five American models – two of them full-size pickups. 2.) Bigger is not better. Small and midsize cars and SUVs are much more likely to represent a good value than large and luxury sedans and SUVs because of lower purchase price and better mileage. 3.) Second-tier brands can outscore better-known ones. Kia, Subaru, Mazda, and Volkswagen combined placed more than twice as many cars on the list as General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler together. Click here to check out the list.

How Soon Do Safety Features Go From “Premium” to “Standard”?
In 1951, Mercedes-Benz made history when it pioneered the idea of crumple zones. Volvo was the first company to make seat belts standard across all its vehicles. Do these sound familiar? They should – whether from government mandate or lower production costs, these features have proliferated to being standard equipment on every car sold in America. But how long does that take? About three decades, says The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. That’s about how long it takes for a ritzy, expensive safety feature on a luxury car to trickle down to 95 percent of the car market. Things like electronic stability and anti-lock brakes took about that long to expand from the Mercedes S-Class. Automotive.com reports that other features take time to popularize as the initial manufacturers work out the kinks, and other manufacturers catch on. Still, some companies (such as Volvo, who made its seat belt patent “freely available” to other manufacturers) spread their safety features altruistically, in the interest of saving consumers’ lives, no matter what car they drive. Click here to read more about the evolution of safety features in vehicles.


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