Drew Dowdell

It's all the 200. They probably pulled back incentives.

January 5, 2016 SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC. ANNOUNCES DECEMBER 2015 SALES AS BEST SALES MONTH EVER; SETS SEVENTH CONSECUTIVE YEARLY SALES RECORD Subaru sets a new all-time sales record of 582,675 vehicles; up 13.4 percent over 2014 December 2015 marks best-ever sales month in company history 49th consecutive month of year-over-year growth Best December ever for Legacy, Forester, WRX/STI, Outback and Crosstrek Best year ever for Forester, WRX/STI, Outback and Crosstrek 29th consecutive month of more than 10,000 Foresters sold 22nd consecutive month of more than 10,000 Outbacks sold; Best Outback month ever Cherry Hill, N.J. - Subaru of America, Inc. today reported record-breaking sales of 582,675 vehicles for the 2015 calendar year; an increase of 13.4 percent over the previous annual record of 513,693 vehicles set in 2014. This is the seventh consecutive year of sales records for Subaru of America and eighth consecutive year of sales increases. The December sales total of 56,274 vehicles marks the company’s best-ever sales month, eclipsing the previous best month of September 2015 (53,070). December also marks the 22nd successive month of 40,000+ vehicle sales for the company which continues to outpace the industry.Nearly all of the company’s current models contributed to its sales success in 2015. The Forester, Outback, WRX/STI and Crosstrek sales were notably strong as each carline achieved new annual sales records. The Forester and Outback mid-size CUVs finished the year with sales of 175,192 and 152,294, up 9.5 percent and 9.7 percent, respectively. The small CUV entrant, Crosstrek, added 88,927 sales to the year-end total, while the Legacy sedan achieved 60,447 sales in 2015. On the performance side, the company’s WRX and STI models were up 32.3 percent with annual sales of 33,724.“As our franchise closes its seventh consecutive annual sales record, we have to give our heartfelt thanks to our retailers, distributors and colleagues, as well as Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. for making these historic results possible” said Thomas J. Doll, president and chief operating officer, Subaru of America, Inc. “2015 was another stellar year for the Subaru franchise and we are very optimistic about our continued success in 2016.” “December represented the best month ever for Subaru of America, capping off the best year in the company’s history, in both sales and market share,” said Jeff Walters, senior vice president of sales. “Subaru is well positioned to continue its success into 2016. We have the right product line-up, strong marketing and a superior retailer network providing us with a solid foundation for future growth,” added Walters. Carline Dec-15 Dec-14 % Chg Dec-15 Dec-14 % Chg MTD MTD MTD YTD YTD YTD Forester 16,797 15,163 10.8% 175,192 159,953 9.5% Impreza 6,059 5,808 4.3% 66,785 57,996 15.2% WRX/STI 3,089 2,816 9.7% 33,734 25,492 32.3% Legacy 5,759 5,457 5.5% 60,447 52,270 15.6% Outback 16,067 14,772 8.8% 152,294 138,790 9.7% BRZ 413 416 -0.7% 5,296 7,504 -29.4% Crosstrek 8,090 5,482 47.6% 88,927 70,956 25.3% TOTAL 56,274 49,923 12.7% 582,675 513,693 13.4%

Finishes December Up 90 Percent; 24 Percent Increase for the Year ROCKLEIGH, N.J. (Jan. 5, 2016) - Volvo Car USA, LLC, (VCUSA) reported U.S. sales of 9,341 vehicles, an 89.9 percent increase versus December 2014. The top seller for the month was XC60 crossover with 3,510 vehicles sold, an increase of 68.8 percent versus December 2014. The all-new XC90 luxury SUV finished the month right behind with 3,135 vehicles sold. For the year, VCUSA reported 70,047 vehicles sold, an increase of 24.3 percent versus 2014. The XC60 finished the year with a 35.6 percent increase versus 2014. “2015 is a true milestone in the turnaround of Volvo in the US,” said Lex Kerssemakers, President and CEO of Volvo Car USA. “To close the year with our best December since 2007 truly underscores the successes we’ve had this year and there is no better signal of what is to come in 2016 for us.” Following an $11 billion investment, the positive momentum has materialized with the first all-new model off the Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) platform, the XC90, with world-first safety technologies, a new design language, new powertrain architecture and a range of class-leading connectivity services. United States Retail Sales By Car Range - December 2015 Models December 2015 December 2014 % Year To Date 2015 Year To Date 2014 % S60 1,486 1,866 -20.4 % 16,706 20,457 -18.3 % S60 CC 104 0 100.0 % 287 0 100.0 % S80 176 79 122.8 % 1,887 1,753 7.6 % V60 296 357 -17.1 % 4,362 4,990 -12.6 % V60 CC 202 0 100.0 % 2,769 0 100.0 % XC60 3,510 2,079 68.8 % 26,134 19,276 35.6 % XC70 432 470 -8.1 % 5,118 5,093 0.5 % XC90 0 68 - 112 3,952 -97.2 % All-New XC90 3,135 0 100.0 % 12,665 0 100.0 % C30 0 0 - - 66 - C70 0 1 - 7 779 -99.1 % Total 9,341 4,920 89.9 % 70,047 56,366 24.3 % * I, II, III etc shows which generation the car model belongs to.

Get the low hanging fruit first. They need a new family of fuel efficient 4-cylinder engines. The Tigershark just isn't cutting it. Mazda is the most fuel efficient of all manufacturers aside from Tesla. They have zero hybrids.

Shall I post the thousands upon thousands of pictures of gas powered cars that burned to the ground with no reasonable explanation? Exactly. One of my cars is a model that had a number of unfortunate fires, but when it happens it doesn't make more than a 15 second blurb on the local evening news. The Honda CR-V window switches could short out and catch fire if they got wet. Ever open your door in a heavy rain? Honda had to recall that. There are also large number of CR-V Engine fires due to a poorly designed oil filter seal. The seal can separate from the oil filter when it is removed and stick to the engine block, when the new filter is installed, it then has a double seal which causes an oil leak. The oil leaks down onto the hot exhaust pipe in front of the catalytic converter causing a fire. A quote from a mechanic: "what is simply a mess on any other car is potentially hazardous on a CR-V" Naturally, Honda denies any flaw or wrong doing. Who was it who said "Amateurs building cars."? Does that apply to Honda too where they design cars where fluids can leak onto things that shouldn't be leaked on?

Steve didn't get his wish.

The 2.0t also gets you the 8-speed instead of 6-speed.

Are you implying that even in situations like those that have been described, the driver bears no responsibility?

Maybe the I-6 isn't ready yet.

What's interesting is GM's access to the Lyft app... There is probably going to be some data sharing going on that would give a huge amount of information to GM on how vehicles are used in this type of service. This is every bit a knowledge purchase for GM. Johan has already stated that there are no longer technical hurdles to autonomous driving, only legal ones.

I'm not questioning this logic, but I am questioning why diesels cannot have the same or similar gains in efficiency? Part of that answer has to do with the fact that gasoline is sort of becoming or borrowing from Diesel. Specifically higher combustion pressures, higher CR's and direct injection and even boosting. So I think there is more room to move with gas. Smarter cam development is currently being understood with all these new gasoline tuning knobs as well. And although Diesel has not yet hit a wall with it's development, it is still a dirty combustion process that needs expensive compensation to bring down to a tolerable level. And you are still stuck with more NVH and smell and cost than gas, hence my prognostication. DIesel has it's use though, for sure. Gasoline tuning knobs?!

I'm not questioning this logic, but I am questioning why diesels cannot have the same or similar gains in efficiency?

FCA making profit? You might want to look a bit deeper into that into that. That's only because Serg is killing the golden goose to feed it to dead brands.

Mercedes Benz will be doing the full reveal of the 2017 Mercedes Benz E-Class on Monday, January 11th, however images of the car slipped out ahead of time. The exterior design of the new E-Class won't shock anyone as it now looks like a larger C-Class or smaller S-Class. The current E-Class is one of the oldest sedans in Mercedes' line-up and this move brings it up to date with the rest of the family look. Primary motive power is expected to come from a 2.0 liter turbo 4-cylinder and a twin-turbo V6. Alternative fuel minded customer will again have a diesel option this time with an all new 2.0 liter diesel while a plug-in hybrid will also join the line. AMG models are expected to produce around 600 horsepower. The transmission will be a standard issue Mercedes 9-speed and the 4Matic all-wheel drive system should be available on most variants. Fuel economy is rumored to be increased by up to 20% on certain models due to improved aerodynamics and 150 lb weight loss. A new autonomous drive system called Drive Pilot (Not DriveMatic Mercedes? I need that German consistency! - DD) will be available that will maintain lane position and speeds up to 60 mph without lane markings, and 120 mph with them. The driver will need to touch a sensor on the steering wheel every 2 minutes or so to keep the system active. Inside, the E-Class will have a posh new interior, again straddling the space and design features of the C-Class and S-Class. The 2017 E-Class will be officially revealed at 9:35 am eastern time on January 11th 2016. We'll have more for you as we get closer to the live reveal. You can follow this and all of the 2016 Detroit Auto Show stories on our North American International Auto Show page View full article