January 25, 2012

Consumers See Fewer Differences Among Car Brands
The perceived difference between the top car brands and the challengers is shrinking. That's the finding of the 2012 Car-Brand Perception Survey conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center. Toyota, Ford, Honda, and Chevrolet maintained their top positions but have seen the point gap decrease. In fact, most of the top brands saw double-digit drops in their total scores. Smaller companies have benefited from this shift, illustrated by the small electric-car builder, Tesla, breaking into the top 10. The survey scores reflect how consumers perceive each brand in seven categories: safety, quality, value, performance, environmentally friendly/green, design/style, and technology/innovation. Combining those factors gives us the total brand-perception score. While the scores reflect a brand's image in consumers' minds, they do not reflect the actual qualities of any brand's vehicles. Toyota continues to dominate in brand perception, although it slipped a significant 17 points, compared with last year's survey results. Other top brands – Ford, Honda, and BMW – saw their scores drop more than 20 points. Overall, the car-brand leaders do not stand out from the pack the way they did only a couple years ago, and perceptions for the individual factors reveal significant changes. Click here for Consumer Reports’ findings and their implications.

Volkswagen Plant Helped Trigger Indiana's Right to Work Push
Forbes reports that Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels is citing Volkswagen when he explained why he’s now supporting a Right to Work law. Speaking on Inside Indiana Business Television, Daniels said he was frustrated that his state was losing opportunities to compete for projects to other states that had Right to Work laws, which prevent unions from collecting mandatory dues. One such project, according to the governor, was the assembly plant that Volkswagen opened last year in Chattanooga, Tenn. The sought-after plant marked the return of VW to American production for the first time since the early 1990s. “I couldn’t get VW to return our call,” the governor said last week. “We’ve won on Honda, we won on Toyota, we’re clearly the fastest growing automotive state, and we couldn’t even get them to talk to us.” First elected in 2004, Daniels took steps early in his tenure to limit public employees’ collective bargaining rights. But until late last year, he resisted efforts for Right to Work legislation, which would be the first passed by a state in two decades, and the first in the industrial Great Lakes states. Read more on his decision to support Right to Work legislation here.

Kia Leads Internationals in New Car Registrations
New car registrations grew 12 percent last year, according to an analysis by Edmunds.com. The website’s research also found some of the biggest increases came from Jeep and Chrysler, whose registrations grew 55 percent and 48 percent, respectively, in 2011. Sandwiched between Jeep and Chrysler was Kia, whose national registrations grew 54 percent in 2011. Hyundai joined its South Korean counterpart among the top five fastest growing brands, climbing 30 percent. Lexus registrations, for example, declined more than any other automotive brand. The luxury carmaker fell 12 percent in 2011, a rate that doubled the next biggest drop from mainstream counterpart Toyota (-6 percent). Among the 10 largest U.S. markets, only three outpaced the national average. Chicago led the top 10 markets with 16 percent growth in 2011, followed by Los Angeles and Dallas-Fort Worth at 14 percent each. The New York market had the slowest growth among the top 10, with a year-over-year increase of just 4 percent. Edmunds.com's market analysis examined 2010 and 2011 new car registration data provided by Polk. Only automotive brands with a minimum of 10,000 new registrations in the first 11 months of each year were considered. Click here for complete analysis of new car registration.

Toyota Raises Sales Forecast on Hybrids, State Incentives
Toyota Motor Corp. raised its global sales forecast because of Japanese government incentives on fuel-efficient vehicles and demand for its Prius compact gasoline-electric hybrid car. Sales, excluding those of subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor Co. and Hino Motors Ltd., will climb 21 percent to 8.58 million vehicles this year, Toyota said today. According to Automotive News, that's 100,000 units more than the company's projection last month. Toyota was outsold by General Motors Co. and Volkswagen AG in 2011 and is counting on government incentives and the new Prius hybrid to help the company regain market share lost last year, when natural disasters in Japan and Thailand crippled production. The recovery will help the maker of the Camry sedan double profits next fiscal year after shortfalls in output lead to a decline in earnings in the 12 months ending March, according to analysts' estimates. Toyota still faces the strength of the yen, which has appreciated more against the dollar than any other major currency in the past six months, undermining the value of Japanese exports. For the latest on Toyota’s sales forecast, click here.

12 Mid-Size Cars for 2012
Automakers – at least in public – generally treat their competitors in the most gentlemanly of ways. After all, picking a fight invites retaliation, and everybody has a weakness. So it was with surprise that Ford kicked off this year's Detroit auto show by firing a couple of shots across the bows of Toyota and Honda. When it introduced the all-new mid-size Fusion, Ford noted that Camry and Accord, the longtime segment leaders, have seen their sales and market share fall dramatically since 2007 despite sharp increases in their incentives. According to CNN Money, Ford failed to note that industry sales overall have fallen dramatically over the same time period. But it effectively sounded the starting gun for a sales race in the industry's single largest passenger car segment, accounting for the sale of 1.8 million vehicles. In addition to the established Japanese leaders, Fusion will be fighting against an equally new Chevrolet Malibu and Volkswagen Passat. "With the three models all very new in the segment, success will be hard-fought even with all the praise Fusion is getting so far," says Edmunds.com's senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell. Click here for CNN Money’s rundown of the contenders for the mid-size crown.

AIADA’s 42nd Annual Meeting and Luncheon is Around the Corner. Register TODAY!
Time is running out to join AIADA, fellow dealers, and industry leaders at our 42nd Annual Meeting and Luncheon on February 6 in Las Vegas. Together, we’ll consider the Legacy of Leadership that is inspiring the international dealer community and what it means for the future of our industry. This year's meeting will include keynote remarks from Mark Templin, Group Vice President and General Manager at Lexus. “Lexus has proven itself a leader in the U.S. auto market, and Mark Templin has played a central role in making it one of today’s most popular luxury brands,” said AIADA President Cody Lusk. “His remarks will provide invaluable perspective for dealers considering how our industry can continue to lead in the U.S.” Read more about Templin and AIADA’s 42nd Annual Meeting and Luncheon here. In addition to Templin’s remarks, the event will include the presentation of the David F. Mungenast Lifetime Achievement Award and the passing of AIADA’s chairman’s gavel from the current chairman, Jim Smail of Pennsylvania to Chairman-Elect Ray Mungenast of Missouri. Don’t miss your chance; register today by clicking here or call 1-800-GO-AIADA.

Around the Web
The Honda Integra is Back . . . as a Scooter?! [Jalopnik]
Hiriko Folding EV Headed for Production [Autoblog]
What are the Dumbest Car Badges [DriveOn]
Subaru Preps for Grand Am Racing Series [Driver's Seat]