Autoblog

Following our report last month, Audi has confirmed it will be showing two new cars at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit next month. Although Audi is mute on what those two cars will be, one is reportedly a "stunning" new concept car; the second being a new production model making its worldwide debut.

We previously speculated that Audi could be showing the production TT-S, although the next new model expected to come down the pipeline from Audi is a facelifted version of the A3 hatchback, which makes it a strong candidate to fill that slot at Audi's Detroit stand. The A3 has run the longest in the line-up since introduction or refresh, followed by the A8 luxury sedan.

The "stunning" concept car is expected to be somehow based on the already-stunning R8 supercar. Some reports suggest it could be the V10 version known tentatively as the RS8, or possibly a convertible version of the mid-engined sportscar. Given the aesthetic used, the roadster would seem more fitting than the V10, although a design study could also fit the bill.

We'll just have to wait another few weeks to see.

[Source: Audi]

January was a harsh month for the domestics, mainly because reduced sales to fleet and rental companies dragged down the raw number of units sold. Still, General Motors apparently doesn't like the red on the balance sheet and has introduced a new round of incentives to ensure February's numbers are better. Announced today, buyers in the Midwest and Northeast regions are being offered $500 bonus cash and 0% financing for five years, most likely as a bribe to pry them from their sofas and brave the snowy climes to buy a car. As always, most 2006 and 2007 models are included except for the cool stuff, like the Pontiac Solstics, Saturn Sky, Chevy Corvette Z06, Saturn VUE Hybrid, all medium-duty trucks and the Cadillac, HUMMER and Saab brands. Automotive News reports that GM actually kept to its promise last month of reducing incentive spending, shelling out only $2,365 per vehicle. While still far more than some imports spend, it was much less than the $3,853 spend by Ford and $3,502 spent by the Chrysler Group.

[Source: Automotive News]

Ford and General Motors see sales fall sharply in January, Toyota continues growth, Mitsubishi makes a comeback

The numbers for January look worse than they actually are. Both Ford an General Motors saw sales fall around 20% compared to last year, but the drop is the result of a planned reduction in sales to fleet companies by both automakers, which will in turn improve the resale value of their vehicles reaching showrooms this year. The Chrysler Group managed to minimize the damage this month, thanks in large part to the performance of its Jeep brand that was up 14% this month. Some analysts and journalists are making noise that Ford fell to fourth place in sales this month behind GM, Toyota and the Chrysler Group. This is only true if sales of the Premier Automotive Group are not counted along with Ford, Lincoln and Mercury sales, something that was never done before this month when it seems convenient to make a sensational headline.

As usual, Toyota was up almost 5% this month and earned the title of Nation's Best-Selling Brand thanks to Ford and Chevy giving up all those fleet sales. Both of Nissan's brands had a good month, propelling Nissan North America up almost 5%. Finally, we have to give Suzuki credit for carrying its momentum into the new year with sales up 9% and Mitsubishi, a company we all thought was on life support in the U.S. but came out of January kicking with sales up nearly 21%.

Biggest Winner
Mercedes-Benz 31.4% at 17,069 (1/06: 12,469)

Biggest Loser
Pontiac –38.5% at 24,060 (1/06: 37,545)

BRANDS
Acura –10.6% at 13,017 (1/06: 13,981)
Audi .97% at 6,399 (1/06: 6,084)
BMW –1.8% at 19,761 (1/06: 19,274)
Buick –32.8% at 12,013 (1/06: 17,173)
Cadillac –10.5% at 13,740 (1/06: 14,733)
Chevrolet –17.9% at 148,488 (1/06: 173,622)
Chrysler –18% at 41,486 (1/06: 48,628)
Dodge –1% at 79,461 (1/06: 77,064)
Ford –25.2% at 132,006 (1/06: 169,412)
GMC –2.3% at 28,488 (1/06: 27,978)
Honda –.17% at 87,773 (1/06: 84,413)
HUMMER –26.7% at 3,980 (1/06: 5,214)
Hyundai –11.9% at 27,721 (1/06: 30,208)
Infiniti 6.8% at 8,964 (1/06: 8,058)
Isuzu 1.5% at 667 (1/06: 631)
Jaguar –16.4% at 1,390 (1/06: 1,596)
Jeep 14% at 35,361 (1/06: 29,773)
Kia 19.4% at 22,524 (1/06: 18,110)
Land Rover –10.8% at 3,433 (1/06: 3,693)
Lexus 8% at 22,118 (1/06: 19,658)
Lincoln 1.4% at 9,594 (1/06: 9,345)
Mazda 1.7% at 19,265 (1/06: 18,177)
Mercedes-Benz 31.4% at 17,069 (1/06: 12,469)
Mercury –5.3% at 12,604 (1/06: 12,781)
MINI –33% at 2,050 (1/06: 2,944)
Mitsubishi 20.7% at 9,383 (1/06: 7,463)
Nissan 4.3% at 73,680 (1/06: 67,834)
Pontiac –38.5% at 24,060 (1/06: 37,545)
Porsche –10.7% at 3,103 (1/06: 3,337)
Saab 3.3% at 2,362 (1/06: 2,196)
Saturn –22.2% at 13,705 (1/06: 16,907)
Subaru –6.4% at 12,074 (1/06: 12,384)
Suzuki 8.9% at 8,179 (1/06: 7,210)
Toyota 4.7% at 153,732 (1/06: 140,967)
Volkswagen –1.8% at 16,610 (1/06: 16,237)
Volvo –15.2% at 7,808 (1/06: 8,844)

COMPANIES
BMW Group –5.8% at 21,811 (1/06: 22,218)
Chrysler Group –3.5% at 156,308 (1/06: 155,465)
Ford Motor Co –22.1% at 166,835 (1/06: 205,671)
General Motors –19.7% at 247,464 (1/06: 296,003)
Honda America –1.7% at 100,790 (1/06: 98,394)
Nissan North America 4.5% at 82,644 (1/06: 75,891)
Toyota Motor Co. 5.1% at 175,850 (1/06: 160,625)

Note: All percentages represent the chance in the Daily Average Sales rate on account of there being 25 selling days in January 2007 compared with 24 in January 2006. Thus, the percentage is obtained by dividing the number of sales in each month with the number of available selling days that month, and calculating the difference between the two as a percentage.