Hyundai was the first one to honor the cash for clunkers program and it looks like the gamble is paying off. Out of all the cars that were preferred by car buyers after the trade-in, Hyundai Elantra stood tall. The Elantra topped the likes of other cars such as Ford and Dodge. Hyundai accounted for 41% while Ford 32%.

Apparently the price disparity had a bearing here. After the trade-in, they Hyundai Elantra ran a total cost of $8,620. Remember, though many people are hesitant on what car to get after the car rebate program, they will always consider the cost of the new vehicle. Though there will be exceptions such as brand preference, hard times means wiser buying.

Ford ran second but it still had quite a number of buyers. So if other car manufacturers should follow, who knows which other car would make the grade? Again, it depends on the price after discount, something which for now, points motorists to the Hyundai Elantra.

(Source) Press

Tags: brand preference, car buyers, car manufacturers, car purchases, car rebate, Cars, disparity, Dodge, exceptions, Hyundai, hyundai elantra, motorists, new car, rebate program

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After a tumultuous couple of months clouding the popular car brand, General Motors is now ready to stand up once again, starting a new chapter with a new and supposedly better GM in the U.S. auto industry. Among the highlights of the new GM include leaner greener models and now 61% owned by the U.S. government.

The debts have been cleared and the business continues. But if GM is not careful in its strategic approach, they may end up falling short of attaining goals they have. Apparently, these are only some things they have to watch out for.

With a grueling economy and people choosing to shy away from new car purchases for now, GM has its work cut out for them. New marketing approaches and wiser cars for the conservative motorists have to be done if GM wants to make the new company fare better than the old one.

“It is the smaller, leaner, tougher, better cost-focused GM,” said George Magliano, an automotive analyst with the consulting firm IHS Global Insight. “But they still have to deal with the problems that they faced longer-term.”

(Source) Yahoo News

Tags: auto industry, car brand, car purchases, consulting firm, debts, economy, General Motors, global insight, GM, marketing approaches, models, motorists, new car, new chapter, new marketing

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With most car companies basically frantic about trying to survive the economic storm, the deals and throw-ins of most companies have become too good to be true. Too good that it should not be surprising that the cost of new cars may very well be cheaper compared to buying a used car.

Edmunds.com, the premier resource for automotive information, today announced that the deals on some new cars are so generous that they actually make the new car less expensive than the one-year old used version of the same model.

Some automakers are currently offering special finance rates among the incentives offers they use to attract buyers. When applying the appropriate special finance rates being offered as incentives for new car purchases, Edmunds.com found the savings rose as high as $6,175. Edmunds.com estimates that approximately 18 percent of new car buyers qualify for the special finance rates offered by automakers.

“Never underestimate the cost of the interest on a loan, and never forget that if you have decent credit, you may be able to negotiate the interest rate you are offered,” recommends Edmunds.com Senior Consumer Advice Editor Philip Reed. “Car shoppers should look at all the costs of buying a car, not just the purchase price.”

(Source) Press

Tags: automakers, automotive information, buying a used car, car buyers, car companies, car purchases, car shoppers, economic storm, finance rates, interest rate, new car, new cars, price source

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The relationship is synonymous to the law of demand and supply: no rentals means no new car purchases. That is the scenario at the moment as rentals are not spared from the economic plunge. With people opting to forego renting a car, car rentals seem to be finding little reason to purchase new cars.

With that, car manufacturer sales are hurting as well. A fine portion of their sales come from car rentals who invest in these cars for business. Car rental companies have seen demand for their services fall since the financial crisis erupted in September 2008, prompting businesses and consumers to cut back on travel spending.

With cars sitting idle in their lots, rental companies are much more inclined to scale back their fleets than to buy new vehicles.

(Source) AP

Tags: auto sales, car manufacturer, car purchases, car rentals, financial crisis, new cars, new vehicles, plunge, rental car companies, renting a car

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If car purchases are falling, you can just imagine why car rentals are holding back. People turning to car rentals are sure to be decreasing as well and it seems that this is more than enough reason for them to stop new car purchases for now.

A noted practice that car rental companies do is to unload old rental cars to interested buyers. However, it seems that this practice has been affected to by the credit crunch and they are forced to make do of what cars they have on hand. A fraction of their funds used to buy new cars is taken from amounts they get from selling old cars in their fold.

Rental car operators have been hit by the same credit problems that car dealers and consumers are facing. As a result, drastic cuts for new cars are being experienced by automakers. The car rental companies are also finding it difficult to find car dealers willing to purchase their used vehicles thus forcing them to put on hold the purchase of new vehicles available in the market.

Via CarRentals UK

Tags: automakers, car dealers, car purchases, car rental companies, car rentals, car roster, credit crunch, new cars, old cars, rental car

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