Chevy set to pass Ford in Sales

[fastolman]

I didn't see this posted and thought some might find it interesting.


Chevy poised to end Ford's reign as No. 1

GM brand ahead in 2005 sales as U.S. rival slumps

December 1, 2005
BY MICHAEL ELLIS

Jason Hallman, who sold Ford cars and trucks for nine years, did something this summer he had never done before -- he bought a Chevrolet.

After quitting his job as a Ford salesman last year, the 32-year-old father of two felt free to buy whatever vehicle suited his family.

After checking out a few different cars and SUVs, Hallman decided to trade in his Ford F-150 pickup and buy a red Chevrolet Cobalt coupe.

"It was the first time in my life, as an adult, I could go to a dealership and buy what I liked," said the Canton resident, who quit his job at Jack Demmer Ford in Wayne in 2003. "It was kind of an eye-opening experience.

"I was looking to get the most car I could for the money," Hallman, who also owns a 2004 Mercury Mountaineer SUV, said this week.

More and more Americans are coming to the same conclusion as Hallman.

For the first time since 1986, Chevrolet could top the Ford nameplate this year as the best-selling brand in the United States.

The battle for bragging rights is tight. Through the first 10 months this year, Chevrolet led the Ford brand in U.S. sales by 2,272,218 to 2,257,104 -- a margin of 15,114 cars and trucks. That's equivalent to just a few days' worth of sales.

Both brands are scheduled to report sales for November today, and year-end clearance incentives could help Chevrolet extend its lead.

The Corvette is the only Chevy left out of GM's Red Tag sale. Ford excluded two top-selling cars -- the Fusion and the Mustang -- from its latest incentives

New vehicles like the Chevrolet HHR small car have pushed the General Motors Corp. brand ahead of its longtime rival.

But an even bigger factor has been the sharp drop in Ford sales.

Ford's U.S. sales fell to 2.78 million last year from 3.47 million vehicles in 2000. That was the same year Firestone's recall of more than 6.5 million tires, most on the Ford Explorer, raised questions about the safety of the top-selling SUV.

Chevrolet's stronger sales are a rare bit of good news for GM.

The automaker announced plans last month to stop production at a dozen North American plants and cut 30,000 hourly jobs by the end of 2008. The company has lost nearly $5 billion in its North American automotive operations this year.

But Chevrolet's victory, if it passes Ford, may be short-lived. The Toyota brand is on pace for its 13th consecutive year of stronger sales, having sold 1.51 million vehicles this year excluding the Scion line of small cars.

Although Toyota is still far behind Chevrolet and Ford, the Japanese company is planting the seeds for continued growth.

[ULTIMTEORANGESS]

they both need to outsell toyota instead of taking sales from each other.


yes any sale is good but they need to get foreign car buyers buying domestic again.

[ThumperWS6]

Originally posted by ULTIMTEORANGESS
they both need to outsell toyota instead of taking sales from each other.


yes any sale is good but they need to get foreign car buyers buying domestic again.

QFT

[Davy_Baby9]

I heard on the news yesterday that the New Explorer is a flop. Ford has not sold so few Explorers since 1980, or something like that.

[Affirmed]

Id say the mad discounting has something to do with it

[Affirmed]

Originally posted by Davy_Baby9
I heard on the news yesterday that the New Explorer is a flop. Ford has not sold so few Explorers since 1980, or something like that.

It looks like ass IMO

[ULTIMTEORANGESS]

Originally posted by Davy_Baby9
I heard on the news yesterday that the New Explorer is a flop. Ford has not sold so few Explorers since 1980, or something like that.

its reputation isnt great though its probably a descent vehicle.

[ATC350X]

Originally posted by ULTIMTEORANGESS
they both need to outsell toyota instead of taking sales from each other.


yes any sale is good but they need to get foreign car buyers buying domestic again.

QFT

[Affirmed]

Originally posted by ULTIMTEORANGESS
its reputation isnt great though its probably a descent vehicle.

Yeah there pretty good, then again I use mine alot for going off road and hunting, towing my boat, driving around in the snow alot ect. Plus its got a pretty nice ride/feel.

[GMCtrk]

So Chevy is outdoing all of ford?

Why not pit up GM vs ford?

[ThumperWS6]

Originally posted by GMCtrk
So Chevy is outdoing all of ford?

Why not pit up GM vs ford?

I have been saying that for freaking YEARS...

I don't believe the F150 has out sold the Silverado/Sierra combination yet.

And neither has Toyota.

[Davy_Baby9]

Originally posted by w02thumper
I have been saying that for freaking YEARS...

I don't believe the F150 has out sold the Silverado/Sierra combination yet.

And neither has Toyota.

Not even close,

The F150 and Silverado are always very close usually every year, then you add all of the Sierra's and its acutally close to a 1.7/1 ratio of GM/Ford,

Since the mid 90's the gap in between F150's and Silverado's has been closing ever so slightly...its just a metter of time.

I also agree with Affirmed, my buddy had a 01 Explorer Sport, it was nice, thats what we used to pack in and go to EMU to party every weekend...those I did like the looks of, all the new ones though look like ass.

[jr. gong]

Originally posted by GMCtrk
So Chevy is outdoing all of ford?

Why not pit up GM vs ford?

Because everyone knows GM has been number one for decades. :boggled:

[Sax1031]

Toyota is going to take over in the next 5 years.

[Johnny_Pappis]

Originally posted by Sax1031
Toyota is going to take over in the next 5 years.


:(

[ThumperWS6]

Originally posted by Sax1031
Toyota is going to take over in the next 5 years.

WTF ever

[426HEMI]

I think the focus should be on profitability, rather than sales #'s. Not saying GM or Ford aren't making money on them, but I think too much is made of raw sales numbers. The Impala was the best selling car in it's class for a while, but then when you look at the insane discounts it was easy to see why.

[Sax1031]

Originally posted by w02thumper
WTF ever

I don't want it to happen but it seems very likely.

[Mako]

Sad part is that they said the same thing last year after Ford decided to stop selling all those fleet cars (or so they said) Didn't they also get rid of hertz?

So it's kinda like GM is winning a race after everyone else stopped for donuts.


Cept for Toyota, and they just eat rice.

[Dax]

I just saw on the NBC Nightly news that Chevy did in fact outsell Ford in 05 and one of the big reasons was the Trailblazer stomping the Explorer.

[judge smails]

Originally posted by Davy_Baby9
I heard on the news yesterday that the New Explorer is a flop. Ford has not sold so few Explorers since 1980, or something like that.

Explorer came out in 1990. Its not a flop, its just not marketed at all. They improved fuel economy, added HP and TQ, added a 6 speed trans to the V8 model, changed the chassis, and made it the quietest mid size SUV on the market. It won the Detroit Free Press truck of the year and is being lauded by journalists.

Remember when the G6 was a flop after two weeks in the market. Its selling well now and the Explorer will too. Its too great a vehicle not to.

[judge smails]

Originally posted by DaxsZ28
I just saw on the NBC Nightly news that Chevy did in fact outsell Ford in 05 and one of the big reasons was the Trailblazer stomping the Explorer.

You call beating a truck, in a model ending year, by 20,000 vehicles stomping?

[SMichaelG2]

Originally posted by judge smails
You call beating a truck, in a model ending year, by 20,000 vehicles stomping?

Swing from Ford's nuts much?

Jesus, go to the corral or something if you are going to harass GM loving members here.

:wavefu:

By the way, Explorers, as always STILL SUCK. They were top heavy pieces of shit that killed many people /story.

Now they made them wider, and with more shit, but guess what, the explorer is never going to live down that crap and they need to rename it and get on with life. Don't come to a GM board and expect people to like Fords.

EDITED... i kinda was out of line here, but it is truly how I feel.

[SMichaelG2]

Originally posted by 426Hemi
:\ Uncalled for man.

fixed, now its your turn to edit...

[426HEMI]

Originally posted by SMichaelG2
fixed, now its your turn to edit...

Done and done. ;)

[judge smails]

Originally posted by SMichaelG2
Swing from Ford's nuts much?

Jesus, go to the corral or something if you are going to harass GM loving members here.

:wavefu:

By the way, Explorers, as always STILL SUCK. They were top heavy pieces of shit that killed many people /story.

Now they made them wider, and with more shit, but guess what, the explorer is never going to live down that crap and they need to rename it and get on with life. Don't come to a GM board and expect people to like Fords.

EDITED... i kinda was out of line here, but it is truly how I feel.

I am not a lover, I am not biased either way. THey still suck huh? WHy have they been the top seller for 15 years until last year?

As for killing alot of people, they still should be right? Think all those rollover prone trucks are off the road? They are still be driven everyday by everyday people. Since the Firestone tires were replaced and the air pressure issue solved, there were no more problem.

You are a blind GM loyalist.

[mrgto]

Originally posted by judge smails
I am not a lover, I am not biased either way. THey still suck huh? WHy have they been the top seller for 15 years until last year?

As for killing alot of people, they still should be right? Think all those rollover prone trucks are off the road? They are still be driven everyday by everyday people. Since the Firestone tires were replaced and the air pressure issue solved, there were no more problem.

You are a blind GM loyalist.


Because they were cheaper. Simple as that. And Ford LOWERED the air pressure to make sure they drove like cars and that in turn caused the tires to fail. GM used the same exact tires but used higher air pressures and had no problems like the ones Ford was experiencing. In fact, it was more than just Firestones that were coming apart on the Explorer.

[SMichaelG2]

Originally posted by judge smails
I am not a lover, I am not biased either way. THey still suck huh? WHy have they been the top seller for 15 years until last year?

As for killing alot of people, they still should be right? Think all those rollover prone trucks are off the road? They are still be driven everyday by everyday people. Since the Firestone tires were replaced and the air pressure issue solved, there were no more problem.

You are a blind GM loyalist.

You are a blind Ford nutswinger.

The main problem was that the tire shreded, it would grab the brake line and tear it out. Then, a person would hit the brakes and the abs would fail, causing a full lock to all wheels. The ABS would jam and cause complete loss of control.

EVER WONDER HOW SOLID TIRE STRIPES CAME FROM ALL THE TIRES OF THESE EXPLORERS THAT HAD ABS???

That's right, you didn't do your homework. BTW, those same tires were fitted to many other vehicles that just the Explorer, and those cars had no more than the average number of blow outs.

Thank you, come again!

[judge smails]

Originally posted by SMichaelG2
You are a blind Ford nutswinger.

The main problem was that the tire shreded, it would grab the brake line and tear it out. Then, a person would hit the brakes and the abs would fail, causing a full lock to all wheels. The ABS would jam and cause complete loss of control.

EVER WONDER HOW SOLID TIRE STRIPES CAME FROM ALL THE TIRES OF THESE EXPLORERS THAT HAD ABS???

That's right, you didn't do your homework. BTW, those same tires were fitted to many other vehicles that just the Explorer, and those cars had no more than the average number of blow outs.

Thank you, come again!

who gives a fuck. I never said Ford wasnt at fault, but they fixed the issue and moved on. That was also a full two models ago, but yoy still say they suck.

Notice I own two GM vehicles, but according to you i am a Ford nut swinger.

Tell me this Einstein, how many people in the real world check tire pressure. How many single women even know what a valve stem is. There are tons of vehicles on the road right now with low tire pressure, including Explorers. Why arent the tires shredding?

But forget that point, 20,000 vehiles is not owning anyone. If it was Ford beating Chevy by that I still would call it a push

[Sax1031]

Originally posted by SMichaelG2
You are a blind Ford nutswinger.

The main problem was that the tire shreded, it would grab the brake line and tear it out. Then, a person would hit the brakes and the abs would fail, causing a full lock to all wheels. The ABS would jam and cause complete loss of control.

EVER WONDER HOW SOLID TIRE STRIPES CAME FROM ALL THE TIRES OF THESE EXPLORERS THAT HAD ABS???

That's right, you didn't do your homework. BTW, those same tires were fitted to many other vehicles that just the Explorer, and those cars had no more than the average number of blow outs.

Thank you, come again!


How can you call someone else a nutswinger? :boggled:

[94BAMF]

Originally posted by Sax1031
How can you call someone else a nutswinger? :boggled:

No doubt...

BTW....I think the new explorer is a POS, actually pretty much every Explorer has been a POS. I get to work on them every day.

and it has nothing to do with tire blowouts....;)

[Sax1031]

Originally posted by 94BAMF
No doubt...

BTW....I think the new explorer is a POS, actually pretty much every Explorer has been a POS. I get to work on them every day.

and it has nothing to do with tire blowouts....;)

I have never been a huge fan.

I am actually looking to get a early 90s 4WD Toyota, to be able to play around.

I might entertain the idea of another 5.0 or bike too.

[ULTIMTEORANGESS]

POS or tip over or tire blowouts explorers have made ford a ton of money.


did they end being forced to recall them for that apparent weak roof they were sued for a few times?

[steve442]

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Ford Motor Co. says its Ford brand actually outsold Chevrolet in 2005. Ford will demand that Chevrolet stop advertising itself as America’s top brand, a company official said.

But General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner responded Sunday that GM will stand by sales data showing Chevrolet won the 2005 sales crown.

R.L. Polk & Co. registration data received by Ford executives Saturday morning showed that Ford had 5,000 more total registrations in 2005 than Chevrolet, spokesman Jim Cain said. Ford quickly whipped up a slide on the Polk data to include in its meeting with dealers Sunday here at the National Automobile Dealers Association convention.

Chevrolet earlier reported sales of 2,651,124 vehicles in 2005. Ford’s reported sales were 2,634,041. Chevrolet has been blanketing the airwaves with commercials touting it as America’s top brand.

Ford intends to send GM a letter this week asking that Chevrolet change the ads, Cain said.

“The lesson here is to make sure that all the facts are in your favor before you make such a bold claim,” he said. “Fair is fair.”

According to Ford, Polk data show 2.630 million total registrations in 2005 compared with 2.625 million for Chevrolet. Even when medium-duty trucks are exempted, Ford still had the most registrations, Cain said.

Polk registrations show the number of vehicles registered by retail and fleet customers. The earlier data released by the manufacturers reflect sales as reported by dealers.

A GM spokeswoman said sales data are the industry standard and that there are always discrepancies between sales and registration data. Wagoner said GM will stand by its claim based on sales data.

“All I know is the data we published and we all go by,” Wagoner said. “That’s been out a month or so. Our data is right. It’s published, public data, which has come out.”

[dave1w41]

Sales Data > Registration Data.

[Davy_Baby9]

Originally posted by dave1w41
Sales Data > Registration Data.

Yea according to sales, Chevrolet outsold Ford by 21,000 units, Ford said they had 5,000 more vehicles registerd.

Ford asked Chevrolet to remove all their #1 selling brand in America ads, and then Chevrolet told Ford to shove it...:cool: