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Drew Dowdell

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Everything posted by Drew Dowdell

  1. Drew Dowdell
    Lots of Transit Connects here, not many Transits but they're growing. Lots more Promasters and a bunch of old Sprinters.... GM still rules the roost on big vans here, but not sure how much longer. I've seen one single Chevy City Express.
  2. Drew Dowdell
    Did they squish it?
  3. Drew Dowdell
    After President Trump adds his tariff on Chinese made goods, the Envision will have the same price as an Escalade. You can't do a direct Forex cost on cars sold in China. The Enclave sells for $77k base, Verano is $20k base, and Encore is $20.8k base. They're all over the map. The initial shipments of Envisions will be only premium AWD models and base in the very high $30s to low $40s. Not if you're trying to assess cost of production, or (given that there are probably high tariffs on the Enclave — which has an MSRP of over $99,000 for the awd version) gross margins. But that's not my point. All I'm saying is you pay a lot for an Envision in China. When it comes down to it, GM has a choice between selling an Envision for $53,400 in China, where the market for crossovers is finally taking off in a big way, or spending thousands per vehicle on shipping and selling them for $15-20K less in the US. Bear in mind also that GM's venture partner gets a 50% cut of every dollar of distributed profit from the export price of the Chinese-built Envisions. GM is never going to put much effort into selling Chinese-built Buicks, in the US. It's a nice supplement, both to the US lineup and the capacity utilization in China, but unless (like Honda) you build a wholly-owned plant just for exports, you're not going to import a popular model from China long-term (given exchange rate risks, shipping losses, supply problems etc. there's a reason only Honda has bothered even with that). If you have to add capacity to supply demand, you add it in the market that demand is in. As soon as GM tools up to build a Chevy or GMC in the US on the same platform, they'll make sure they include extra capacity for the Envision. Assuming the Envision takes off, production will move likely to the US with the next generation model. The problem for Buick is that they needed this vehicle 5 years ago, so getting it from China is a stop gap.
  4. Drew Dowdell
    I probably agree with you CP. During my own drive of the M4, my impression of the engine was that it was dull with absolutely zero character. While driving it I was thinking "I don't understand what all the fuss is about..."
  5. Drew Dowdell
    Ouch! So much for the old tech I-6 advantage.
  6. Drew Dowdell
    After President Trump adds his tariff on Chinese made goods, the Envision will have the same price as an Escalade. You can't do a direct Forex cost on cars sold in China. The Enclave sells for $77k base, Verano is $20k base, and Encore is $20.8k base. They're all over the map. The initial shipments of Envisions will be only premium AWD models and base in the very high $30s to low $40s.
  7. Drew Dowdell
    I would have hoped that by now you'd realized that you can't look at one month YoY sales fluctuations.
  8. Drew Dowdell
    It's just a return to norm.
  9. Drew Dowdell
    Sure the base work-trucks have a low entry price, but the GM mid-sizers get pricey really quick and use a lot of parts shared with other vehicles.... I'm sure GM is making a healthy profit on each one or else they wouldn't be trying to squeeze as many out of Wentzville as physically possible. Even a 4x4 LT Colorado 4-cylinder, basically the base minimum for "consumer grade" of truck, is nearly $30k.
  10. Drew Dowdell
    I completely agree that there is something amiss at the NHTSA. I've been tracking an issue with GM trucks for a while, but because the reports are spread over many different models, the issue appears to be minor if just looking at one model. Basically, if you look up issues with a GMC Yukon, you may see 15 to 20 notes on it and when taken in the context of how many they built, it doesn't look like much. But when you expand it to all of vehicles built in that generation of platform, Yukon, Yukon XL, Tahoe, Suburban, Silverado 1500, Silverado HD, Sierra 1500, Sierra HD, Avalanche, Escalade, Escalade EXT, Escalade ESV... etc etc..... then you come up with a number at least several hundred if not over 1,000. And it's a part that all of those trucks share. However, since there doesn't appear to be a way to link similar vehicles that differ mostly in badging, there is no way to get a clear picture. I had to manually count the entries in the database. I have already contacted GM about the issue and they say they've done testing and that no recall will be pending because they do not believe there is a safety issue. That is the extent of their comment.
  11. Drew Dowdell
    It baffles me how they are still able to manage nearly 20k Patriot/Compasses a month. Aren't they two of the oldest models on sale industry wide at this point?
  12. Drew Dowdell
    Indeed... this just may end up being the most reliable FCA (badged) product sold.
  13. Drew Dowdell
    It looks like an old-school 124, more or less. I prefer it's styling to that of the current Miata. What I'm less stoked about is the claimed hp numbers for the Abarth version. Sorry, but you need 200hp, minimum, to differentiate yourself from Mazda, at least as far as I'm concerned. The torque curve of the turbo should do that.
  14. Drew Dowdell
    I know a lot of people would rather have the Miata... but not me... I like this better. It looks more substantial.
  15. Drew Dowdell
    Well, to be fair, all of the mustangs I've rented have been really premium models. Heated/Cooled seats, convertibles, leather, etc.
  16. Drew Dowdell
    All of my Mustang rentals have been the Ecoboost 4.
  17. Drew Dowdell
    Hmm... I just realized the chart is not correct.... Edit: Fixed
  18. Drew Dowdell
    They are less than 100 units up YTD.
  19. Drew Dowdell
  20. Drew Dowdell
    People around these parts don't get too excited about anything Toyota
  21. Drew Dowdell
    They've lost 2 models (The 2 and the 5) and one model is in the middle of a change over (CX9). The rest is on the Mazda 6 which might need a refresh soon.
  22. Drew Dowdell
    I've had 2 Mustang convertibles personally in the last month... and my boss had one at the same time as me when we were both in Chicago. Before one down votes, one should read why I ask. Here is one reason why I ask. https://www.enterprisecarsales.com/list/buy-a-car-1#0/20/Make/a//make%3D%22FORD%22%20model%3D%22ford--mustang%22 You will find just as many on Avis, Hertz, and Budget sites. It was well known when the new Stang came out, that the V6 was primarily for fleet and rentals. What is surprising to me, is a fair number on the Enterprise website are Eco-Boost models. Note: There are quite a few Camaros on there too but they are all 2015/older generation models. This is a new generation Mustang we are talking about. It also has been well noted on the Sales Ticker thread that GM has steadily been decreasing the number of rental cars that sell while they increase their retail sales. All of the Mustangs I've had and have seen have been Ecoboosts, not V6s. In fact, they were really well loaded with heated/cooled seats Sync3 with Nav, etc.
  23. Drew Dowdell
    I usually do in anything that isn't a 3.6 V6 SUV. I do really well in their Turbo-4s. I haven't driven a 2.5 recently enough to remember. The 3.6 in sedans gets me just EPA. The Chryslers with a Pentastar I will beat EPA easily.
  24. Drew Dowdell
    The negative result is because of the big reduction in rental numbers. "As a result of lower rental deliveries, GM expects its fleet mix in 2016 to be about 20 percent of total sales, compared with a historical range of 22 to 24 percent. In 2015, GM reduced rental deliveries by about 50,000 units compared to 2014. In the first two months of 2016, rental deliveries are down about 30,000 units, compared to a year ago." I don't think it matter what the reason behind the negative is, less vehicles were sold, period. Right? How can the claim of "fastest growing full-line brand" when your overall sales are down from last year's? It's honestly confusing to me. If somebody can make it make sense in my head for me I would appreciate that! Well, for starters there is more profit per retail uni sold than fleet or rental unit. If you are at least offsetting your overall sales (and GM is right now) numbers with that formula, then that means more profit, which I hear is a good thing (or at least that's what Ford fans always say ). Profitability over Volume, but great when you can get both.
  25. Drew Dowdell
    I doubled the RAM and CPU on the server today. It should feel a bit snappier here.
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