Automotive Perfect Storm?

134.2, 135.3, 133.9. Are these numbers I picked out of a hat?  NO. These are the prices we are seeing at the pumps.

How are we coping? According to Bill Visnic, analyst and senior editor at Edmunds' autoobserver.com there has been a spike in drivers trying to unload their gas-guzzling SUVs and a ripple effect in the small used car market. Visnic notes that in addition to the gas situation, the shortage of parts in Japan because of the earthquake and tsunami have added to pressure on car prices. In addition, the fact that the economy is improving is sending all used car prices higher, not just for small cars.

Also, in wake of production stoppages in Japan incentives from Japanese brands have evaporated and price increases are being seen even of rival models that would be the closest substitutes for these Japanese brands.

According to Edmunds' proprietary measure of car prices, a three-year-old Honda Accord has soared in value by 24 percent since last September. A similarly aged Hyundai Sonata is up 22 percent, the Honda Civic is up 13 percent and the Nissan Sentra has risen 12 percent.

"Particularly the Civic and Sentra are the standard bearers in the fuel efficient category," Visnic says.

Sounds like the brewings of the 2008 Automotive Crisis all over again only the economic picture looks a little better now then it did back then. Are we going to witness what we did then? GM & Chrysler slipped into bankruptcy in a perfect storm of gas prices, the credit crunch and lack of consumer confidence. Will we see Japanese manufacturers like Toyota, Honda and Nissan file for bankruptcy too? Maybe I'm jumping the gun or does it have all the ingredients to whip up the storm:

• Parts Shortage
• Japanese Automobile Shortage
• High Gas Prices 
• Prices of used cars Increasing

(Should I add Toyota's "100-millionth" recall that it just announced after a whistleblower in Vietnam leaked information about the Toyota Sienna?)

Too soon to tell? What's your opinion?

Sources: msnbc; automonster 

You know you’re not the first. But do you really care?

"You know you’re not the first. But do you really care?". That was the headline on the full-page ad for used cars at Dale Wurfel Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ltd., a dealership located in Strathroy, Ont., just west of London.

Catchy right? Supposedly not, the dealership faced a backlash on the web after prints of the ads were scanned online. Some Internet bloggers blasted the marketing campaign as sexist and objectifying, while others lauded it as clever (one would be me!).

The full-page ads ran separately in the London Free Press on April 8 and 9. “I took responsibility for this matter by immediately pulling the advertising campaign and personally handling all phone inquires,” said Dale Wurfel, president of Dale Wurfel Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ltd.

The campaign was also noted by online readers for its similarity to a 2008 BMW ad featuring a woman lying provocatively alongside the phrase “You know you’re not the first.”

On Friday, Wurfel said his dealership had made a donation to the Women’s Rural Resource Centre in Strathroy in response to the outcry.

Seriously, are the people complaining about the ad even customers? Makes you wonder - because if they were customers they'd know he was poking fun right? Exactly! So why don't we get off our high horses and buy some used cars!

P.S. Dale, love the ad! And hopefully all press is good press?

Source

Uptight much? Chrysler tweet containing the F-word

The official Chrysler Twitter account made a mistake of haste by accidentally tweeting that people in the Motor City (Detroit) don't know how to drive with the F-word stuck in for emphasis.

The tweet was deleted and an apology was posted. Chrysler did say that an employee of their NMS (New Media Strategies) team accidentally tweeted from the wrong account on their way into work and has now been fired. Bummer. I guess I better watch what I write and tweet about!

You know what I think though? If stuff like this didn't happen, it would be one boring business. So, I say: thanks for the laughs and have a great f*****g day!