Well, well. I think that 16% ownership stake in General Motors is going to take a little while longer to ‘pay off’. Sales volume at the General is off by 20% from the same period last year as folks continue to shun the ‘pelosi mobiles’, while sales volume at Ford (which in case you need reminding – didn’t require a bailout) are up by 16%. Great pick Dalton and Stephen. I, for one am happy I picked up FoMoCo at $1.22 in December 2008.
Brands and companies are both displayed in descending order according to their percentage change in volume sales. There were 26 selling days in August 2009 and 27 selling days in August 2008, so the change in monthly sales volume will be different than the change in the average daily sales rate for each brand/company.
| Brand | Volume % | 8/09 | 8/08 | DSR*% | DSR 8/09 | DSR 8/08 |
| Kia | 60.38 | 40,198 | 25,065 | 66.54 | 1,546 | 928 |
| Subaru | 51.51 | 28,683 | 18,932 | 57.33 | 1,103 | 701 |
| Hyundai | 47.01 | 60,467 | 41,130 | 52.67 | 2,326 | 1,523 |
| Audi | 25.77 | 8,057 | 6,406 | 30.61 | 310 | 237 |
| Volvo | 24.78 | 5,826 | 4,669 | 29.58 | 224 | 173 |
| Pontiac | 23.35 | 29,921 | 24,257 | 28.09 | 1,151 | 898 |
| Ford | 21.25 | 161,369 | 133,088 | 25.91 | 6,207 | 4,929 |
| Honda | 15.21 | 151,814 | 131,766 | 19.65 | 5,839 | 4,880 |
| Mazda | 12.09 | 26,542 | 23,680 | 16.40 | 1,021 | 877 |
| Volkswagen | 11.35 | 24,823 | 22,292 | 15.64 | 955 | 826 |
| Toyota | 10.94 | 202,196 | 182,252 | 15.21 | 7,777 | 6,750 |
| Porsche | 8.69 | 1,526 | 1,404 | 12.87 | 59 | 52 |
| Mercury | 8.19 | 9,080 | 8,393 | 12.35 | 349 | 311 |
| Nissan | 0.17 | 97,580 | 97,417 | 4.02 | 3,753 | 3,608 |
| Suzuki | -5.46 | 5,749 | 6,081 | -1.82 | 221 | 225 |
| Jeep | -6.11 | 22,041 | 23,476 | -2.50 | 848 | 869 |
| Mini | -6.55 | 5,111 | 5,469 | -2.95 | 197 | 203 |
| Mercedes-Benz | -7.54 | 17,112 | 18,507 | -3.98 | 658 | 685 |
| Chevrolet | -9.16 | 168,130 | 185,080 | -5.66 | 6,467 | 6,855 |
| Dodge | -15.80 | 52,562 | 62,422 | -12.56 | 2,022 | 2,312 |
| BMW Group | -21.30 | 24,343 | 30,931 | -18.27 | 936 | 1,146 |
| Lexus | -21.82 | 22,892 | 29,281 | -18.81 | 880 | 1,084 |
| Chrysler | -23.50 | 18,619 | 24,337 | -20.55 | 716 | 901 |
| BMW | -24.47 | 19,232 | 25,462 | -21.56 | 740 | 943 |
| Mitsubishi | -25.95 | 6,813 | 9,200 | -23.10 | 262 | 341 |
| Infiniti | -30.19 | 7,732 | 11,076 | -27.51 | 297 | 410 |
| Acura | -36.21 | 9,625 | 15,089 | -33.76 | 370 | 559 |
| Lincoln | -38.43 | 5,874 | 9,540 | -36.06 | 226 | 353 |
| Smart | -44.59 | 1,418 | 2,559 | -42.46 | 55 | 95 |
| GMC | -45.15 | 23,145 | 42,194 | -43.04 | 890 | 1,563 |
| Buick | -51.71 | 8,612 | 17,833 | -49.85 | 331 | 660 |
| Cadillac | -55.01 | 6,931 | 15,405 | -53.28 | 267 | 571 |
| Saturn | -58.41 | 8,479 | 20,385 | -56.81 | 326 | 755 |
| Hummer | -64.03 | 777 | 2,160 | -62.64 | 30 | 80 |
| Saab | -67.80 | 484 | 1,503 | -66.56 | 19 | 56 |
| COMPANIES | ||||||
| Ford Motor Company | 16.99 | 182,149 | 155,690 | 21.49 | 7006 | 5766 |
| American Honda | 9.93 | 161,439 | 146,855 | 14.16 | 6209 | 5439 |
| Toyota Mo Co | 6.41 | 225,088 | 211,533 | 10.50 | 8657 | 7835 |
| Nissan North America | -2.93 | 105,312 | 108,493 | 0.80 | 4050 | 4018 |
| Chrysler Group LLC | -15.43 | 93,222 | 110,235 | -12.18 | 3585 | 4083 |
| General Motors | -20.19 | 246,479 | 308,817 | -17.12 | 9480 | 11438 |
I am surprised that Subaru is at the top of that list. Not surpirsed that Honda (my car) is up there…that mobile is built to last, and accordingly well priced. GM on the other hand, wow. Where’s your head at Harper? I say, let them sink.
I am not that surprised that Subaru is on the list – (1) they overhauled their entire product line in the last two years, (2) they don’t sell a lot of car in comparison to Toyota, Honda, Ford etc, but I do think they have a pretty loyal customer base. I think they fill a niche where people who would like to buy Volvo’s but can’t afford them buy Subarus as the lower cost alternative. I drive a Suuby and love it. Next car will also likely be a subaru.
My uncle drives a Subaru and he is also quite happy with it. That said, he mentioned that Kingston is going to lose their dealership (the one by Regi). An interesting opportunity for some of the folks who are stuck with a dealership, sans vehicles.