Gary --<div><br>The Toyota Corolla is manufactured in Fremont, California. The Camry is manufactured in Indiana and Kentucky. The Honda Civic coupe is manufactured in Ontario, but the Honda Civic sedan is manufactured in Ohio. Of the five top cars, only the Prius is manufactured exclusively outside the United States.</div>
<div><br></div><div>-- ACS</div><div><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Aug 5, 2009 at 11:01 AM, the lockshop <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:lockshop@pull.twcbc.com">lockshop@pull.twcbc.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">Only problem is, for the most part, it's not our industry<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=am1mj6R6tAcg" target="_blank">http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=am1mj6R6tAcg</a><br>
<br>
g<br>
<div><div></div><div class="h5"><br>
----- Original Message -----<br>
From: "Tom Hansen" <<a href="mailto:thansen@moscow.com">thansen@moscow.com</a>><br>
To: "Moscow Vision 2020" <<a href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">vision2020@moscow.com</a>><br>
Sent: Wednesday, August 05, 2009 7:07 AM<br>
Subject: [Vision2020] Clunkers Boost Industry<br>
<br>
<br>
Courtesy of the August 4, 2009 edition of the Spokesman Review.<br>
<br>
-------------------------------------------------<br>
<br>
Clunkers boost industry<br>
July auto sales strongest in nearly a year<br>
Ken Thomas And Tom Krisher / Associated Press<br>
<br>
DETROIT - The government's "cash for clunkers" program drew car and truck<br>
buyers back to American showrooms last month, making July the best month<br>
for auto sales in nearly a year and offering powerful evidence that the<br>
rebates were working as senators debate whether to continue them.<br>
<br>
In fact, some automakers, dealers and government officials declared an end<br>
to the industry slump that nearly claimed the lives of General Motors and<br>
Chrysler.<br>
<br>
"We certainly expect that we've seen the worst of it," said Dave<br>
Zuchowski, Hyundai Motor Co.'s vice president of U.S. sales, whose sales<br>
rose 12 percent over July of last year, the second-best in the industry,<br>
behind only Suzuki.<br>
<br>
"We're not saying it's going to be a high bounce back. We think it will be<br>
good, solid, steady growth."<br>
<br>
Even though the overall U.S. market fell 12 percent when compared with<br>
July of last year, gleeful automakers reported vastly better sales than in<br>
the dismal first half of 2009.<br>
<br>
"I think probably this is the greatest one-week energy conservation<br>
program that may have come out of Washington or anywhere else," said<br>
George Pipas, Ford's top sales analyst.<br>
<br>
Without the clunkers program, July sales probably would have been about<br>
the same as June, Pipas said.<br>
<br>
Automakers and the Obama administration said the clunkers program did<br>
everything it was designed to do - replace inefficient sport utility<br>
vehicles with more efficient cars, boost auto sales and help lead the<br>
economy out of recession.<br>
<br>
Gas-guzzling vehicles from the 1990s were stacked up on nearly every new<br>
car lot in America. As of Saturday, the government reported that 83<br>
percent of the trade-ins under the clunker program were trucks, and 60<br>
percent of the vehicles purchased were cars.<br>
<br>
July was the best sales month since August 2008, when the industry sold<br>
more than 1.2 million vehicles before the financial meltdown began.<br>
<br>
Still, the sudden spike in sales depleted dealer stocks of nearly every<br>
major automaker, leading many observers to predict that prices will almost<br>
certainly climb later this year.<br>
<br>
The Ford Focus, which gets 35 mpg on the highway, was the No. 1 purchase<br>
of those trading in clunkers.<br>
<br>
Some economists said the rise in auto sales shows that consumers will<br>
spend money when they see bargains. Yet they warned that the clunker<br>
program's success hardly signals the beginning of a consumer spending<br>
recovery.<br>
<br>
"It tells you that shoppers remain focused on promotions, but it doesn't<br>
mean that shoppers are ready to spend in a more carefree manner," said<br>
Frank Badillo, senior economist at consulting group TNS Retail Forward.<br>
Faced with mounting layoffs and tight credit, consumers remain very<br>
tenuous about opening their wallets, he said.<br>
<br>
Still, July auto sales rose to 11.2 million when converted to an annual<br>
rate. That's the first month this year that sales rose above the depressed<br>
10 million level. As recently as 2007, car and light truck sales topped 16<br>
million vehicles, but a drop in consumer confidence sent sales plunging<br>
late last year.<br>
<br>
Ford Motor Co., which has steadily been gaining sales since GM and<br>
Chrysler took government aid and went through bankruptcy proceedings,<br>
reported a year-over-year sales increase, up 2.4 percent for the first<br>
year-over-year sales jump since November of 2007.<br>
<br>
Troubled Chrysler posted a smaller year-over-year sales drop compared with<br>
recent months, announcing sales fell 9.4 percent.<br>
<br>
GM reported a 19 percent decline, far less than in past months. Toyota<br>
Motor Co., where sales have taken a beating in the downturn, also fared<br>
better than earlier in the year with an 11 percent drop.<br>
<br>
Honda Motor Co. reported a 17 percent sales drop last month, largely<br>
because it had a strong July in 2008. Nissan Motor Co. sales were down 25<br>
percent.<br>
<br>
Bob Carter, Toyota group vice president in the U.S., said the automaker<br>
sold more than 30,000 vehicles through the clunker program, around 17<br>
percent of its sales.<br>
<br>
"For us, this really confirms that there's an appetite out there for<br>
fuel-efficient vehicles."<br>
<br>
---------------------<br>
<br>
A car protrudes from a waste bin in front of a row of auto dealers in<br>
Philadelphia on Monday.<br>
<br>
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/mclh7u" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/mclh7u</a><br>
<br>
-------------------------------------------------<br>
<br>
Seeya round town, Moscow.<br>
<br>
Tom Hansen<br>
Moscow, Idaho<br>
<br>
"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change<br>
and the Realist adjusts his sails."<br>
<br>
- Unknown<br>
<br>
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