Roush is well-known for its supercharged Mustangs as well for its popular propane-powered fleet vehicles. But now, the California Air Resources Board has granted them their approval for converting both the Ford F-250 and the Ford F-350 to propane power as opposed to gasoline. Roush is based in Concord, North Carolina, which is slightly northeast of Charlotte, and has long been known for their performance upgrades on Ford Mustangs. This is great news as well for consumers who want to get a performance vehicle but are afraid that they won’t pass CARB regulations – now they don’t have to worry about it! CARB originally approved the Ford … [Read more...]
Dow Bringing More Jobs to Michigan!
April 10, 2010 By
Finally, some great news! Apparently Dow Chemical is going to be bringing a ton of new jobs to Michigan as they are currently looking to get into the lithium-ion battery craze that has been sweeping the nation. The project is currently underway, with jobs already being found, and will last for at least the next 15 years, if not more. The project will also create 320 full-time jobs by the end of February 2014, and there are already jobs in cities such as Flint and Lansing. According to Dow the average weekly wage will be around $730 with an additional $85 in weekly health care benefits on a brand new, 400,000 square-foot facility which will … [Read more...]
Edmunds Calls for Industry-Wide Attention on Acceleration Problems
April 8, 2010 By
This just tickles me pink. Edmunds.com has said that the entire automotive industry should be aware of the accelerator issue that has plagued Toyota for God only knows how long. But, according to Edmunds, Toyota isn’t the only company with acceleration problems – all six major American companies have problems, apparently, and they’re calling now for a comprehensive plan on fixing the issue across the entire board. Nationwide auto shippers have long known that Toyota was going to be hurt by this, as Toyota’s sales numbers and shipping numbers have been down for quite some time. But the reason why Toyota is taking the most flak, … [Read more...]
Hummer Dead, But Owners and Dealers Are Still Bickering
April 6, 2010 By
Well, this is new to me – Hummer apparently has been cut by General Motors. But I guess that’s not really the point of this post, even though it’s big news. There are major questions still on the table in regards to owners and dealers, with some dealers still hoping that GM will find another buyer for the brand name. Hummer currently has 153 dealerships, all of which that have their own dealer auto transport networks, and sixteen of those of those are stand-alone dealerships. High gas prices is among the largest reason why GM has stopped production of all Hummer products, and frankly who can blame them? Those things are freaking … [Read more...]
Toyota’s Problems Impacting Used Car Sales
April 4, 2010 By
Dealer auto transport networks don’t just ship new cars – many handle used cars that are sold on car lots, and they’ve been talking about the huge decrease in the amount of Toyota used cars that have been sold since Toyota found itself in trouble over their recalls. Sales of used cars are down 1.8% from last year, with prices down 1.3% since January 2010. This affects all of Toyota’s vehicles, not just the models that are affected by the recent recalls. Independent dealers still don’t have recall information or the parts to replace the affected vehicles either, which is definitely hurting the numbers that Toyota is seeing slip … [Read more...]
Ford Outsells GM Again
April 2, 2010 By
According to the Detroit Free Press, Ford sold more vehicles than GM for the first time in over a decade. Numbers don’t lie – Ford sold 43% more vehicles than they did a year ago, with over 142,000 vehicles being sold in February, compared to just 99,000 last year. GM sold a little less than Ford did, but that doesn’t mean that Ford isn’t going to celebrate – the last time they outsold GM was when GM workers were on strike. Nationwide auto shippers have been watching Ford and GM for quite some time and have noticed how many new Ford vehicles have been shipped. Ford is anticipating even more strong sales, and their stock has risen … [Read more...]
Ford, Toyota, GM See Sales Grow in China
March 31, 2010 By
According to the Detroit News, GM’s sales in China have risen 51% from last year’s numbers, while Ford and Toyota also reported sales gains in the double digits. This comes in the face of decreasing momentum and sales in the United States and elsewhere, with GM selling over 174,000 in February in China, which was a company record for February sales; however, it was still below January’s record-setting number of over 219,000 vehicles sold. Nationwide auto shippers in China have also seen an increase in American cars being shipped across the country, though the numbers could be a reflection of even lower numbers to come. Ford sold over … [Read more...]
NADA Calling for Unity Between Dealers, Automakers
March 29, 2010 By
The North American Dealers Association is calling for unity in the industry, according to NADA’s official website. They are calling for dealers and automakers coming together and working closely together, no matter if the dealers have a separate dealer auto transport service or something else. This news comes after 2009’s terrible sales year and amidst over 2,000 dealerships closing across the United States. Ex-chairman John McEleney made his speech at the NADA convention in Orlando, Florida. McEleney praised dealers and their efforts in appealing their problems to Congress, with which lawmakers approved a measure which would give … [Read more...]
Ford’s Awesomeness May Be New Norm
March 27, 2010 By
Let’s face it – Ford is pretty awesome. They are the only company out of Detroit to not declare bankruptcy, didn’t want government aid, and is currently doing the best out of the three. Ford has been beating GM in US sales since late 2009, and this could be just the beginning – this is the first time that Ford has topped GM since 1998, and the last time before that was in 1970. GM is still in “turnaround” mode, however, and is looking to reclaim that top spot, though Ford has built their reputation up in the past few years. Nationwide auto shippers have noticed a huge increase in the number of Ford vehicles being shipped, while GM … [Read more...]
Mercedes Enhances Turn-In Process
March 25, 2010 By
Apparently Mercedes-Benz Financial has been talking about enhancing their lease turn-in process, with the head of Mercedes-Benz Financial talking about completely reworking the way that the lease system operates. Currently lease penetration is 50% of retail sales, and is also stating that three of four retail transactions in the United States occur at Mercedes-Benz dealers. This is a huge benefit to dealers, especially those with ties to nationwide auto shippers. Mercedes-Benz Financial recently upgraded their First Class Finish lease program’s turn-in process, giving dealers new software for PDA’s as well as computers. Dealers can … [Read more...]
