“does without doors, a conventional roof and all other body elements which might possibly limit the intensity of the occupants’ encounter with their surrounding world,” said Mini in a statement.
I kicked this one off with a quote for this exact reason. Think about that for a second…the Beachcomber Mini, which recently bowed at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show but won’t be unveiled proper until the Geneva show in March, is an SUV that doesn’t have doors or a roof.
I know people were always complaining about fuel efficiency on an SUV before, but is the solution to remove half the body?
Oh, and in case you were wondering what the deal was with the Shark Man when we talked about it earlier in the “weirdest moments of the 2010 Detroit Auto Show” video, well, this is what that was in aid of. Apparently it was designed to distract us from the sheer ridiculousness of an SUV with half its body missing.
Here’s an exciting little nugget for you Ford Explorer fans–the only one of the big three not to take free government money is rolling out with some fantastic versions of next year’s vehicles.
And I know I’m jumping the gun a bit on “next year’s”, what with it still being 2009 for another couple weeks yet, but still–it’s mostly accurate.
Anyway, the 2011 Ford Explorer seems to be something of a different model from those in the past. Speaking as someone who’s driven a few different models of Ford Explorer–growing up, my folks loved them–I can tell you this one definitely looks different. In fact, it not only looks different, with a lot softer line and the fact that it looks a bit longer than the ordinary (but that’s just what I can get from the video) the word is the engine size will be toned down a bit and offroad capability will be reduced in favor of slightly better gas mileage.
Check out the video for a few more tasty news bites!
Chrysler and General Motors are expected to announce car dealership closures in the coming days and many are awaiting the impact that this would have on local communities.
Chrysler has communicated to 789 of its 3188 dealerships that they will have to close by June 9. Most of the affected dealerships are located in densely populated areas where there are multiple Chrysler dealerships currently competing for the same business. It is estimated that approximately 38,000 people will lose their jobs. It is rumored that tomorrow, General Motors will announce 1,000-2,000 dealership closings.
Local communities who are losing dealerships will clearly see a rise in unemployment. Sales tax is often cited as another area of loss, but this is actually not an overall risk.
“Dealerships may be going away, but customers are not. In other words, when a dealership closes, its customer may buy a competitive product, or buy from another Chrysler dealership. The sales tax is still being paid. The risk for communities is that the tax may shift to a different town,” explained Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl.
The closing of dealerships will change the competitive landscape for buyers. Currently, shoppers in saturated markets can essentially instigate “bidding wars” for their business, encouraging dealerships to undercut each others’ prices in competition for each car sale. With fewer dealerships in each area, that will become much harder to do, and buyers will pay more as a result.
Some people mistakenly believe that car companies will somehow save a significant amount of money by having fewer dealerships. In truth, there are only minor savings gained by cutting the regional staff and the streamlining of certain processes required to serve a smaller dealer body.
“As these dealers are more competitive against other brands, sales could increase, at least in theory,” commented Anwyl. “However, in practice, there is risk: One path to profitability for a dealer is through higher profit margins achieved by charging higher prices. As prices rise, other brands become more competitive and consumers may flee. In this way, dealerships may benefit, but manufacturers suffer further sales declines.”
“This move allows Chrysler to eliminate dealerships that did not embrace the opportunity to extend their franchises to include Dodge and Jeep vehicles, which are also owned by the Chrysler LLC parent company,” noted Edmunds’ AutoObserver.com Editor Michelle Krebs. “Chrysler didn’t play favorites in making the decision; a handful of the stores being closed are owned by well-connected industry ‘hot shots.’”
Though it may seem like a chain of business deals, Edmunds.com seems to be the winner in the end. Edmunds.com has secured a mobile advertising deal with Quattro Wireless who in turn secured a site sponsorship with Volvo for the re-design launch.
With a mobile ad campaign that started April 1, Volvo became the first sponsor for Edmunds.com’s site re-launch and will have exclusivity over Edmunds.com’s “Vehicle Spotlight” for the duration of the campaign for the launch of its 2010 XC60 Crossover vehicle. Quattro is developing an innovative and expandable mobile microsite and ad unit for Volvo to support their key sponsorship site placements and create an interactive experience for the consumer. Quattro worked with Mobext and Media Contacts, Volvo’s digital media agency, for the sponsorship deal.
As an exclusive publisher in the Quattro Mobile Ad Network, Edmunds.com will leverage Quattro’s team and their technology platform to publish a re-designed site with auto news and reviews, vehicle pricing including Edmunds.com’s True Market Value, buying guides, loan calculator, dealer locator and other utilities for a mobile audience.
Through Quattro’s platform, Edmunds.com’s wired site content has been dynamically configured for mobile with the layout and navigation specifically adapted for all types of mobile handsets. Quattro Wireless’ technology and turnkey solutions have been leveraged by many of the leading brands in automotive including Edmunds.com, Volvo, Toyota, Mazda, Lincoln and Car and Driver.
Toyota is not exempted from the declining car buying market as they found that out through figures on sales for their $64,000 Lexus LS sedan and $67,000 Lexus SC Coupe. Demand for the best-selling luxury car brand in the U.S. dropped 37 percent in the first quarter, led a 43 percent plunge in sales of the costliest car models. The company has sacrificed profit margins to stanch the decline.
Toyota had its first annual loss in six decades as the global recession decimates auto sales. Surging incentives at other luxury brands including Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, Daimler AG and Audi AG has forced the Toyota City, Japan-based carmaker to more than quadruple discounts on Lexus models in the last two years, according to Edmunds.com.
U.S. Lexus sales shrank 27 percent in Toyota’s fiscal year that ended March 31, versus a combined 23 percent drop for Toyota and Scion models. While the premium line accounts for 12 percent of Toyota’s overall U.S. volume, analysts estimate it has generated a much larger portion of profit.