Posted on 01/13/2009 10:41:37 AM PST by Red Badger
As we all know by now, auto sales are down, dropping by around 18% in 2008. Pick-ups actually fared worse, posting a decline of 26.5% over the same period. Still, the Ford F-150 and Chevy Silverado maintained their positions as the two best selling vehicles in the United States, and these two manufacturers managed to post incremental increases in total pick-up truck market share after all was said and done.
Those increases came directly from the competition, especially Dodge. The full-size Ram truck managed to see its piece of the pie dwindle by almost one full percentage point. Dodge's drop in overall market share allowed Toyota, for the first time ever, to grab the bronze medal behind Ford and General Motors. However, it's not particularly good news for the Japanese upstart, which owns just 8.52% of the market after seeing Tundra sales fall by over 30% in '08 and well short of its stated goal of 200,000 units per year. The last place trophy goes to Nissan, as its 34,000 sales represent a meager 2.11% of the market.
These market share figures include both full-sizers and their smaller brethren, and it was the Toyota Tacoma and the aging Ford Ranger that made the biggest upward moves among the mid-size pick-ups. Again, the biggest loser award goes to Dodge, which saw its Dakota sales fall nearly 65%, and its Mitsubishi Raider stablemate, which posted an insignificant 2,900 total sales.
At least Toyota makes a lot of vehicles in the USA...though much of that wealth ends up being sent back to Tokyo....
Another unintended consequence of government/UAW regulations.
When foriegn cars started to be a real threat to the domestic automakers, congress/UAW pushed through limits on the number of cars that could be imported. So what did the foriegn car makers do? Started making bigger cars/trucks and luxuray so they made more per vehicle.
The emergence of brands like Lexus and Toyota going into the pickup truck business can all be tied back to the government limiting the number of cars that could be imported to "protect" domestic manufacturers.
Instead of protecting domestic manufacturers, it caused the foriegn companies to move in on Detroits bread-and-butter vehciles (larger luxury cars and trucks.)
Proof again that you can't regulate business.
The St. Paul, MN Ford plant has been making the same Ranger pickup for almost 30 years.
Yes. LITERALLY the same Ranger pickup truck. :P
Yes, wish we had done it sooner. We’re really impressed by the Tacoma. We bought the access cab model and were shocked at how much room we have.
We are getting 24/25 mpg in the Tacoma.
False.
If you look at the price of a new vehicle, a large % of it is the expense involved in building a vehicle (labor + components + mfg overhead). Nearly all of which remains local to the country in which it is constructed.
Actual profit is a very small portion of a vehicle's sales price.
The new Dodge Ram should help with sales. It’s a great looking truck, too. Here is the assembly info from it’s window sticker:
PARTS CONTENT INFORMATION
FOR VEHICLES IN THIS CARLINE:
U.S./CANADA PARTS CONTENT: 53%
NOTE: PARTS CONTENT DOES NOT INCLUDE FINAL ASSEMBLY, DISTRIBUTION, OR OTHER NON-PARTS COSTS.
FOR THIS VEHICLE:
FINAL ASSEMBLY POINT:
WARREN, MICHIGAN, U.S.A.
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
ENGINE: MX
TRANSMISSION: US
That will work!
Toyota is traded on the New York Stock Exchange. If you think they’re making too much money, you could buy their stock and, then, you too could be making too much money.
Bare bone 2009 with long bed was quoted to me as $15,000 out the door. Silverados are $12,000.
The Ford Ranger is still sitting on the same 1980 chassis and suspension (with a couple of modifications) as the original 1980 Ranger. You can literally drop the current Ranger body on top of a 1980 Ranger frame and it will bolt up with the exception of (IIRC) one or two body bolts.
Handling and ride are pretty much straight from 1980 as well. It’s nowhere near as “car-like” to drive as the Toyota Tacoma or even the GM Canyon/Colorado twins.
They also have the usual run of “UAW-induced” flaws.
Sure, the 2.3L Ranger is the most fuel-efficient small truck on the market, along with its twin, the Mazda B2300 2.3L, but the 2.3L truck is gutless. Better to get the 2.7L Toyota Tacoma which is only 1 mpg less in the city, ties it in highway, and has more power (143hp/154lb-ft of torque for the Ranger, 157/180 for the Tacoma - and with trucks, torque is king.)
Interesting... most of them are made in Saltillo, Mexico, though.
More importantly, what cut does the UAW get. Toyota looks better by the day, he said as he drove off in his American built Camry.
Dodge probably saw sales dwindle because their offerings have gotten pretty dated. They have a new full size truck this year, though. And they will soon offer a diesel in the 1500.
I don't understand your comment that all your money goes to Mexico if you buy a Dodge. Chrysler LLC is an American company, and I think they still make a profit on their trucks.
And, no...I don't own a Dodge.
We’re picking up our new Ranger today at 5pm. We’re trading our 2006 Ranger. Nice little truck. Great for hauling dirt, rocks, mulch, wood, boat, and utility trailer. Small enough to zip around and it gets great gas mileage.
Trust your gut...don’t go with what’s popular or the “in” truck at the moment.
Saltillo is where the 5.7L Hemi is made, which that particular Dodge had in it. Other engines are still US made.
The Tacomas haven’t always been trouble free - early models had issues, mostly due to Toyota attempting to source as much of it as possible from US suppliers (turned out to be a mistake) - but overall Toyota’s got the best small trucks out there.
And they *usually* take care of their customers should something go wrong.
Infor from the sticker on a 4.7L version:
PARTS CONTENT INFORMATION
FOR VEHICLES IN THIS CARLINE:
U.S./CANADA PARTS CONTENT: 53%
NOTE: PARTS CONTENT DOES NOT INCLUDE FINAL ASSEMBLY, DISTRIBUTION, OR OTHER NON-PARTS COSTS.
FOR THIS VEHICLE:
FINAL ASSEMBLY POINT:
WARREN, MICHIGAN, U.S.A.
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
ENGINE: US
TRANSMISSION: US
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.