Subaru maker Fuji Heavy Industries continues to charge ahead in the key U.S. market with sales seen jumping by a fifth this month, but it faces a lot of work to boost its earnings power, its CEO said on Friday. According to Automotive News, Fuji Heavy has stolen the limelight with the only rise in U.S. sales this year apart from South Korean rivals Hyundai Motor Co and Kia Motors Corp., giving it the same market share as mass-volume brand Volkswagen AG. CEO Ikuo Mori said he expected the trend to continue, with sales so far in November soaring by 20 percent before adjusting for two fewer selling days against the year before. Official figures are due out this week. "We've identified the United States as the single-most important market under our medium-term strategy, and we're boosting our share there," Mori told Reuters in an interview. Subaru's U.S. sales grew 13 percent in the first 10 months as demand for the Forester and Legacy models surpassed expectations, particularly under the Cash for Clunkers scheme this summer. The overall market dropped 26 percent in the same period. Fuji Heavy expects its sales in China to jump 85 percent this year to 35,000 units. It expects global sales of 545,000 units in 2009-2010. Click here for more on Subaru's U.S. sales strategy.
Several categories of new vehicles have gained market share over the past four years. According to Tom Libby at the Detroit Free Press, small car sales are up more than a third, and middle cars are up by more than a fifth. One reason why Asian auto makers now have a higher U.S. new light vehicle share (48 percent October 2009 YTD, according to Autodata, Inc.) than either the domestics (44 percent) or Europeans (8 percent) is that, for many years, Asian automakers have offered a wide array of competitive products in all three of these flourishing categories. Asian auto makers also were the first to market crossovers in the U.S. in both the non-luxury (CR-V, RAV4, Forester) and luxury (RX Series) arenas. Another category that has remained a constant part of the new vehicle market is luxury cars, but this segment also remains very small. Just eight of every 100 new vehicle buyers choose a luxury car. Given these segment share shifts since 2005 and the likelihood that such movement will continue, full-line vehicle manufacturers need to offer products in as many segments as possible and be able to quickly switch production among segments as well. Click here for more on America's shifting auto market.
Twelve vehicles will make world debuts this week at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Many are slightly altered versions of vehicles in production outside North America and of previously seen concepts. According to Automotive News, the surprises will be the redesigned 2011 Toyota Sienna minivan and concepts from Honda and Volkswagen. The three automakers have revealed little about their vehicles. Vehicle unveilings are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 2 and 3. Check autonews.com on those days to see the world debuts. Honda says it plans to display its P-NUT, which will "demonstrate a futuristic concept for an ultracompact, aggressively designed coupe." The concept vehicle stands for Personal Neo Urban Transport. Infiniti will unveil the redesigned 2011 M sedan, with sales slated to begin in April. A two-mode hybrid will debut about a year later. Mazda will unveil the 2011 Mazda2, a small five-door hatchback that shares a platform with the Ford Fiesta. Mazda2 sales begin in fall 2010. Porsche is introducing the redesigned 2011 Boxster Spyder, a soft-top model that the automaker says will be its lightest at 2,811 pounds. Toyota is taking a stab at changing its minivan image with the third-generation Sienna. The 2011 Sienna has an edgier profile, moving away from boxy. Volkswagen is mum on details, but the auto maker says a four-seat concept will debut. Click here for more on the vehicles auto makers plan to debut at this week's L.A. Auto Show.
Officials with General Motors Co.'s Saab unit said the brand has received serious expressions of interest from potential buyers since last Tuesday's collapse of a deal to sell the Swedish car maker to Koenigsegg Group AB. According to the Wall Street Journal, Saab Automobile AB officials are now racing to build a case for GM's board of directors and its chief executive to keep Saab alive. Saab has held talks since Tuesday with at least two U.S. investment firms, Wyoming-based Merbanco LLC. and Renco Group Inc. in New York, according to several people familiar with the matter. At least one of those firms would be open to working with Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co., a Chinese company that had planned to partner with Koenigsegg. GM's board will begin its regular monthly meeting Monday evening, and a decision on Saab's future could be made public by Tuesday. GM's post-Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring plan included selling, closing, or fixing several of the company's auto brands. The board will rely heavily on Mr. Henderson's guidance on Saab, one person close to the matter said. Earlier in the year, Mr. Henderson decided GM's capital constraints meant keeping Saab was unrealistic. It's unclear whether he has a preference for engaging in talks with another buyer, or abandoning the brand once and for all. Click here for more on GM's attempts to sell its Saab brand.
Ever considered buying a Lamborghini or Ferrari? According to Forbes, now could be your last, best chance to get a deal. Increased production of exotics since the late 1990s has created such a glut in today's recessed economy that resale prices are (somewhat) competitive. Fortunately, the same rule applies to people looking for everyday cars as well. Used-vehicle registrations have declined 7.3 percent year-to-date, down an average of 286,000 units each month, according to Experian Automotive. New-car registrations are down 34.8 percent or an average of 430,500 units each month. To compile its list of the best and worst used cars, Forbes consulted reliability data. The publication used Consumer Reports' Best and Worst Used Cars report - reliability ratings culled from 1999 to 2008 - to isolate which cars the agency rates as the most- and least-reliable models sold. To pare down the list, Forbes evaluated each 2009 model's two- and five-year residual values. Consumers should note that time is of the essence, though, when it comes to cashing in on the tough economy and scoring a good deal on a used car. Click here for full analysis on the best and worst used cars. Click here to view the entire list.
Cures for Noises that Nag [NY Times]
Nissan Qazana will bring New Era of Design, Love It or Hate It Reaction [Autoblog]
2011 Infiniti M56 First Drive [Edmunds Inside Line]
Italian Police Total Lamborghini Cop Car [Jalopnik]
Our Publications: 
