Automakers Report Strong First Quarter 2010

The year was 2009 and the United States was all watching Chicken Little thinking he actually may be right, particularly those in the automobile industry. Sales were absolutely tanking and the boom and bust nature that already is the auto industry was showing the kind of bust nobody wanted to see. The failed policies of the Bush Administration had come home to roost and the country was in a panic, wondering just what was next. Enter the first quarter of 2010 and things are a bit more rosy.

Auto makers are reporting their first quarter sales with surprisingly cheery attitudes. At the top of the charts is General Motors' Buick-GMC group who led the charge with a fat 54 percent sales increase, leading a 43 percent gain for General Motors as a whole.

Chevrolet dealers reported sales of 133,165 which is a 41 percent increase over March of 2009. The Chevrolet Equinox, a compact SUV, continued to sell at a brisk pace with sales up 194 percent over the previous year. In fact, GM announced that it was going to add additional proaction capacity for this vehicle and its sister the GMC Terrain .

Buick alone reported a 76 percent gain led by the Buick LaCrosse whose sales were up 236 percent for the month. The LaCross is Buick's bid to gain sales in the premium full-size market where has been languishing.

Cadillac March sales increased 42 percent on high demand for the Cadillac SRX. March sales of the SRX were 550 percent higher than a year ago, and are up more than 425 percent for the year.

Over at Ford, things are looking good as well. Ford's new lineup is bringing more and more customers into the fold, with the rate of customers trading in competitive-brand vehicles rising 18 percent from 2005 to 2009 for the Ford brand. The conquest rate for Lincoln rose 61 percent, while Mercury saw a 12 percent increase. Among Ford vehicles, the Fusion Hybrid, Escape Hybrid and Mustang attract the most customers coming from competing brands. For Lincoln and Mercury, the MKX and Mariner Hybrid attracted the most customers from competing brands.

Volkswagen is also making noise about its clean diesels, with sales for the entire brand up 40.9 percent but with sales of clean diesels up significantly. While hybrids make a lot of noise in the news, a lot of people are realizing how earth-friendly a clean diesel vehicle is with its exceptional efficiency that does not come at the expense of having fun behind the wheel.

What sparked this news was Subaru's boasting of its sales, reporting its best first quarter in the company's history with some models reporting up to 126 percent sales increases.

What About Toyota?

The biggest question on many people's minds is about Toyota. With all the troubles reported by that auto maker, many people have been asking how far their sales have dropped. The bottom line: Toyota sales are up, too. In fact, the Toyota brand has reported sales up by 35.3 percent over last year. What's more, Lexus division's numbers were up by 42 percent.

According to the company, "Toyota’s strong sales performance in March reflects our customers’ continued confidence in the safety and reliability of our vehicles and their trust in the brand,” said Don Esmond, senior vice president of automotive operations for Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. “We are standing by our cars, and we're grateful that our customers are standing by Toyota.”

Toyota has been using sales tactics very familiar to the domestic "big three" including zero percent financing, rebates and incentives to move their vehicles while other auto makers are simply selling cars, insinuating that the increases by other vehicle manufacturers are more profitable.

Not All Good News

While Chrysler might also be popping champagne bottles, it's not going to be the expensive stuff that other auto manufacturers are opening with only a 10 percent overall improvement. While sales of the Dodge Ram truck line are up about 20 percent and the Chrysler Town & Country minivan is up, Jeep is only up three percent over a dismal period last year. For some who study the industry, they will hear a song that Chrysler sings quite often - rebates and incentives are coming back. The company is announcing zero percent financing and cash back on many of its models to help bolster sales of vehicles with as much as $4,000 rebates on some models.

There are still many who wonder about the viability of the Chrysler Corporation and its beleaguered line of vehicles. While truck sales are strong, passenger car sales are not and the mediocre passenger car line up is getting long in the tooth causing some outsiders to wonder if Fiat made a good decision in buying the company.

In Summary

No matter what, the news is very, very encouraging for the economy as a whole as manufacturing is a significant driver of the economy and whether the vehicles have a domestic or foreign nameplate, or you just can't tell, many of them are manufactured right here in the United States and that's good for the people who make them and the communities that they live in.