Vroom Room

Good Morning!

Its a fresh month, its Friday, its the Vroom Room, come in make yourself comfortable, enjoy the cappuccino and biscotti.

We have an extremely busy month ahead of ourselves, The Colonel is in "scramble mode" please bar with us if we have the occasional lapse this month. 

Canadian Sales for April, its clear that when Canadians want trucks the Detroit 3 do very well, which was the case last month. Its also clear that when Honda and Toyota power out of a quarter, and start trading some paint with the Korean it gets interesting with the Koreans giving up positions.

You get the feeling that all manufacturers focused on making money in the first quarter, and now they are moving iron in the second quarter.

If you remember a few years ago smart was matching Mini in sales across Canada, until cooler cars for less money arrived on the market. Yes...the writing is on the wall...for everyone to see.

Lets keep in mind that April was an incredibly strong (for all the folks that follow the monthly up or down), that will the challenging to surpass next year. 

In case you did not know...our Wall of Reviews has been emulated a few times.

Our usual old race cars from the Speedfest Classic.

Great photos from the Tour Auto Rally 2013...enjoy!

Vroom Room

Good Morning!

Its another Friday and another Vroom Room, come in and make yourself comfortable, enjoy the cappuccino and biscotti, join the conversation.

This week we were all reminded that we live in a dangerous world, that most of the time is safe, and in an instant can turn very ugly. One of our friends was near the finish line watching one of his friends participate in the Boston Marathon. As you can imagine there were a few anguishing moments for our friend's family, and you can quickly imagine what it was like for all the other families. 

For a fleeting moment you would think that in a interconnected, interdependent planet this sort of behavior, and actions would end permanently. 

This past week we had a nostalgia moment about some of our Porsche experiences, if you missed them just scroll down, and we published our e-book on Canadian sales for the 1st quarter of 2013. Fascinating to us that our Canadian sales quarterly ebooks are becoming increasingly popular.

If you have been following the various write ups, on Ford reviving the Lincoln brand, a few years ago we had a conversation with an individual at Ford, and we got the impression back then that their effort seemed inward oriented for some reason. We saw photos of the new MKZ and were quite excited the car looks cool especially from the front. 

This week we have an MKZ, lets just say that more folks at Ford should have benchmarked more luxury cars, and we remember reading that Alan Mulally used to drive a Lexus...it begs the question...what happened?

We all know that its easy to read about "something" and a slightly different story to go out and execute what at times we read about...especially when it involves change. If its easy to the point that anyone can do it, how worthwhile is it, how meaningful is it?

If you want an idea of how and where the auto industry will expand and focus in the coming years, while you have been reading about BRIC (Brazil-Russia-India-China) take a look at The New Global Economy.

The other day we were looking at sales consultants that were nominated across Canada as part of an exclusive circle for a specific manufacturer, from a total of 45 there was 1 woman...truly a wow moment.

Some old cars from the Copperstate 1000 Rally...enjoy!

Canadian Sales - First Quarter 2013

Our thoughts...

 

Vroom Room

Good Morning!

Its Friday, its the Vroom Room come in make yourself comfortable, we have cappuccino and biscotti, join the conversation. 

A few days ago we had an opportunity to observe folks in airports, and on planes fascinating to see how engrossed most folks are with their smart devices, while being almost oblivious to other folks around them.

Lets not get into the carry on luggage mind set...unreal the shuffling that goes on to find a place for oversized carry on that should be checked.

Fascinating to observe humans in an airport and on a plane!

You probably remember the stories of forgettable rental cars from a whole bunch of folks. Yes...we had such an experience. The immediate question "Who would buy such a car besides a rental company at a very inexpensive price?" The second question "Why would they still make such a forgettable car?" probably to keep plants running anf folks employed. It was a reminder of the good old days when some vehicles were simply hideous. 

On a different note, an interesting journalistic cooperation "About the largest leak of offshore financial secrets"

Canadian sales for March were good considering the current Canadian economic climate, and how leveraged CMS (Citizen Main Street) really is...kudos to the manufacturers that are holding their own in a competitive market. Agreed...interesting to see the manufacturers that are getting elbowed by the market and the competition. As usual...fascinating to read the various press releases.

Our usual old race cars from the HMSA Spring Club Races...enjoy.

Canadian Sales 2-13

Are we surprised...not really! With the aggressive advertising activity during CIAS in Toronto it was either a strong month, or everyone was playing catch up. 

Seems they were all trying to catch up!

Not to sound robotic, last year was an exceptionally strong February, and a leap year with an additional day. Similar to January perhaps a little too strong. This year its a strong February, and an impressive first 2 months.

Although it still begs the question: What happened?

The simplest answer is that CSM (Citizen Main Street) is more conservative, and prudent. It should not come as a surprise, and should have been expected.

Think about this for a moment same as last year at the end of February Chrysler is # 1 in Canada. 

MerBimAu's traction control light is flickering...lets see how much traction it gains.

We agree, VW is nibbling away at someone's lunch.

The Koreans hit a bump in the road, but after so many consecutive months of smooth sailing, perhaps it was to be expected.

The Detroit 3 are holding on, gaining traction in a competitive market with the light truck market on a upward trajectory.

The Japanese are surprising by their collective lacklustre performance after 2 months.

One question to reflect: There was an auto show in Montreal in late January, and auto show in Toronto in mid February with millions disbursed by the various manufacturers to have a presence at these show. Sales are down from the previous year for 2 consecutive months?

Lets see what March brings...how it will develop, as well as the various PR/pundit spins that will be disseminated.