May 2007 Sales: General Motors

[Variance]

May 2007 Sales: General Motors

*Total Sales Up 4.7 Percent; Retail Sales Up 8.5 Percent

*Retail Sales of Full-Size Pickups Up 14 Percent, Led by the New Silverado and Sierra

*GMC Acadia, Saturn OUTLOOK and Buick Enclave Achieve Industry Mid-Crossover Segment Leadership with a 415 Percent Retail Sales Increase

*Chevrolet Impala, Pontiac G6 and Saturn AURA Drive 31 Percent Retail Sales Increase For Mid-Car Segment

*Saturn Leads Divisions with a 69 Percent Sales Increase

DETROIT - GM dealers in the United States delivered 375,682 vehicles in May, up 4.7 percent compared with year-ago monthly sales. On an unadjusted basis, sales were up 8.8 percent. GM's May retail sales of 279,731 were up 8.5 percent. On an unadjusted basis, retail sales were up 12.8 percent compared with a year ago.

May sales reflected the continuing strength of GM's new product portfolio. Increased sales of Chevrolet Impala and Saturn AURA as well as the new industry leading mid-size crossovers GMC Acadia, Saturn OUTLOOK and Buick Enclave demonstrate GM's strong positioning in the marketplace for fuel-efficient and alternative fuel (E-85) vehicles. The Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickup trucks - fuel efficiency leaders in their class - pushed GM's large pickup segment sales up 10 percent in total and 14 percent retail compared with May 2006.

Divisions with retail sales increases for the month included Saturn (up 59 percent), GMC (up 18 percent) and Pontiac (up 8 percent). Additionally, Chevrolet was again the sales leader in the industry (up 5 percent).

Link w/data: http://media.gm.com/servlet/GatewayServlet...amp;docid=36708

[source: General Motors]

[Northstar]

A solid month. Nothing that made me say "wow" except for Impala sales (which could be fleet) and Acadia sales and a nice gain as a result.

Saturn is disappointing, the Aura and Outlook are still below 5k/month.

[thegriffon]

Light vehicle sales were up 5.4% on a DSR

[Intrepidation]

Nice to see them up.

[Flybrian]

Hello Lambdas. Geez!

[toesuf94]

Our local GMC/Saturn/Buick dealer cannot keep the Acadia and Enclave in stock...people looking for those are wandering over to the Saturn shop and picking up an Outlook. They are delivering 1-3 a day! The Acadia is flying off the lots here in Cedar Rapids. I have asked a few of the buyers and they all love the trucks and are happy to report solid 20 mpg in mixed driving. That is really quite good for such a big truck.

Way to go GM...keep it up.

[Intrepidation]

Our local GMC/Saturn/Buick dealer cannot keep the Acadia and Enclave in stock...people looking for those are wandering over to the Saturn shop and picking up an Outlook. They are delivering 1-3 a day! The Acadia is flying off the lots here in Cedar Rapids. I have asked a few of the buyers and they all love the trucks and are happy to report solid 20 mpg in mixed driving. That is really quite good for such a big truck.

Way to go GM...keep it up.

20 mpg is very good for something with that size and power.

[Chicagoland]

Yes, the new CUV's look like real luxury products, and seen some driven by '30-somethings'. The Enclave makes the Rendevous look like an old UPS truck.

[Intrepidation]

Yes, the new CUV's look like real luxury products, and seen some driven by '30-somethings'. The Enclave makes the Rendezvous look like an old, ugly UPS truck.

Fixed

[regfootball]

Impala sells like wildfire around here.

[Oracle of Delphi]

Impala sells like wildfire around here.

I have never bought any wildfire, how much does it cost?

[Tailfin61]

With all the hype and advertising for the AURA, the LaCROSSE still outsells it with NO advertising.

[gmcbob]

The Impala sales going up really shock me honestly. I like the car, and it seems to be holding its own in the marketplace. Hopefully when they convert it back to rear wheel drive, it won't become too expensive. IMO, it looks a lot nicer than the new Camry. Hopefully Chevy has the same luck with the upcoming Malibu.

I can explain the Aura's problem: brand perception and general lack of knowledge by consumers in the marketplace. Like what's his name said in Forbes (the old guy?), the car has "no tail". In other words, people in the market for $28,000 cars like the Camry and Accord don't realize the Aura exists. If they did, the Aura would probably be selling twice as good as it does now. I test drove one, and it was nice (fast as hell too). Being the brand manager or whatever they're called these days of Saturn would be a tough job. Great products that consumers really don't know about or would consider.

It's funny, I had to drive up to The Woodlands (upper middle class suburb of Houston) yesterday and I saw like 4 or 5 Saturn Skys and Pontiac Solstices with a completely different mix of people driving them. One of them I believe may have been a Sky Redline. I was thinking (with the Pontiac), how cool would that car be if it were stretched about a foot, wheel base stretched the same length, and given a roofline similar to a 350Z and had the 300 hp 3.6 L V6 from the new CTS? hmmm?

[Drew Dowdell]

With all the hype and advertising for the AURA, the LaCROSSE still outsells it with NO advertising.

1. Fleet

2. Captive audience, Regal/Intrigue buyers aren't going to Saturn

3. With all the rebates and deals on the LaX, it still is a good car for the money.

4. Aura is a new concept for Saturn, the L-series never caught on so it doesn't have a loyal following.

[Regalguy01]

*GMC Acadia, Saturn OUTLOOK and Buick Enclave Achieve Industry Mid-Crossover Segment Leadership with a 415 Percent Retail Sales Increase

[intrigued]

This family of intrigue/regal buyers went for the aura this month! I think next year the Aura will sell between 60-75k I think it will be like the CTS was for Cadillac.

The CTS only sold about 38k for the first model year. Then it steadily made gains all the way through 2005 and held u bout steady through 2006 with relativley small losses for a last year vehicle this year. It will take time for the perceptions to change and GM is keeping the aura on such a quick product cycle that it will stay fresh for a while.

Give it time, it will catch on.

[2QuickZ's]

You want to talk about dumping cars into fleets, take a look at the Grand Prix! No way the sales went up 71% based on retail sales alone.

[CARBIZ]

The Impala sales going up really shock me honestly. I like the car, and it seems to be holding its own in the marketplace. Hopefully when they convert it back to rear wheel drive, it won't become too expensive. IMO, it looks a lot nicer than the new Camry. Hopefully Chevy has the same luck with the upcoming Malibu.

I can explain the Aura's problem: brand perception and general lack of knowledge by consumers in the marketplace. Like what's his name said in Forbes (the old guy?), the car has "no tail". In other words, people in the market for $28,000 cars like the Camry and Accord don't realize the Aura exists. If they did, the Aura would probably be selling twice as good as it does now. I test drove one, and it was nice (fast as hell too). Being the brand manager or whatever they're called these days of Saturn would be a tough job. Great products that consumers really don't know about or would consider.

It's funny, I had to drive up to The Woodlands (upper middle class suburb of Houston) yesterday and I saw like 4 or 5 Saturn Skys and Pontiac Solstices with a completely different mix of people driving them. One of them I believe may have been a Sky Redline. I was thinking (with the Pontiac), how cool would that car be if it were stretched about a foot, wheel base stretched the same length, and given a roofline similar to a 350Z and had the 300 hp 3.6 L V6 from the new CTS? hmmm?

Not sure if this would skew the Impala's numbers or not, but the Canadian government recently gave the Impala LS/LT a $1,000 credit is they are E85 capable. We anticipate a bit of a spike up here because of that.

[CARBIZ]

The Impala sales going up really shock me honestly. I like the car, and it seems to be holding its own in the marketplace. Hopefully when they convert it back to rear wheel drive, it won't become too expensive. IMO, it looks a lot nicer than the new Camry. Hopefully Chevy has the same luck with the upcoming Malibu.

I can explain the Aura's problem: brand perception and general lack of knowledge by consumers in the marketplace. Like what's his name said in Forbes (the old guy?), the car has "no tail". In other words, people in the market for $28,000 cars like the Camry and Accord don't realize the Aura exists. If they did, the Aura would probably be selling twice as good as it does now. I test drove one, and it was nice (fast as hell too). Being the brand manager or whatever they're called these days of Saturn would be a tough job. Great products that consumers really don't know about or would consider.

It's funny, I had to drive up to The Woodlands (upper middle class suburb of Houston) yesterday and I saw like 4 or 5 Saturn Skys and Pontiac Solstices with a completely different mix of people driving them. One of them I believe may have been a Sky Redline. I was thinking (with the Pontiac), how cool would that car be if it were stretched about a foot, wheel base stretched the same length, and given a roofline similar to a 350Z and had the 300 hp 3.6 L V6 from the new CTS? hmmm?

Not sure if this would skew the Impala's numbers or not, but the Canadian government recently gave the Impala LS/LT a $1,000 credit is they are E85 capable. We anticipate a bit of a spike up here because of that.

[trinacriabob]

Except for the highly versatile Impala, the sales of other W-bodies are down. I notice that, much like a broken record. LOL.

If so, why am I seeing stickers with $1,500 to $2,000 market value adjustment at some dealerships on these cars? They are not moving and they are looking for a "mark-up"?

WAZZA MATTA U ???

[BuddyP]

What REALLY does not make sense is why GM did not make the Lambda's E85 capable??? That is just rediculas!!

[gm4life]

Toe at Richardsons in Dubuque they have a whole row of Aciada's but I see more and more on the street. And also have seen a few Enclaves none in stock at the dealer all sold-out.

[Cadillacfan]

1. Fleet

2. Captive audience, Regal/Intrigue buyers aren't going to Saturn

3. With all the rebates and deals on the LaX, it still is a good car for the money.

4. Aura is a new concept for Saturn, the L-series never caught on so it doesn't have a loyal following.

On top of that, the Saturn brand still has a smaller dealership network then Buick. Especially with the Buick/GMC/Pontiac dealership merger, you get more foot traffic and thus, more cross-shopping.

Refering to Northstar's comments that the Saturn's numbers are disapointing, I think if you look back and remember that Saturn was practically on it's deathbed just a couple years ago.. it's quite remarkable that there is an increase in sales at all let alone leading GM's gains this year by selling over 10,000 more cars then last year at this time.

[Viral]

Here's the Lambda sales chart from http://www.acadiaforum.net

These things continue to skyrocket, eclipsing other GM products (and most other full size CUVs) by the dozen! The Acadia is already the #6 or so selling truck in the GM lineup!

[AxelTheRed]

415% increase in Lambda sales? I knew they were selling well, but I thought the reason I've been seeing so many is because I live in an area where damn near EVERYONE buys GM. They've almost become a road staple over here.

Edited June 5, 2007 by AxelTheRed

[daves87rs]

Wow..not too bad.

As far as the CUVs...they all over around here...

I was sitting at Mickey D's for lunch rush last week, and I think I counted almost 15 in the drive thru in like 40 mins!

And at the local dealership, I've noticed a few more Ventures on the used car lot...

Impys are everywhere..though it helps that you can lease one for like 219 a month with little down....

Also see a lot of Cobalts, Aveos, G5s, Sliverados, and G6s.....

[sciguy_0504]

I've been seeing Lambdas (or Acadias) like mad, too. Whenever I see one while driving and note it, I always think, "duh." Build damn good cars and people will buy them.

[carlover23]

On top of that, the Saturn brand still has a smaller dealership network then Buick. Especially with the Buick/GMC/Pontiac dealership merger, you get more foot traffic and thus, more cross-shopping.

Refering to Northstar's comments that the Saturn's numbers are disapointing, I think if you look back and remember that Saturn was practically on it's deathbed just a couple years ago.. it's quite remarkable that there is an increase in sales at all let alone leading GM's gains this year by selling over 10,000 more cars then last year at this time.

Also, I think it's also linked to the Saturn no haggle pricing strategy, the price you see is what you get and there many people who see that they are not really getting a deal for their Saturn as much as other cars. The XR is 25K, you'll pay that much regardless of what you say to the salesman. But the flipside is that GM is making more money on the Aura than any other vehicle because it's not discounted as much and they are getting the list price. It's not like walking into a chevy dealer and seeing a malibu for 21,500 and getting it for 19K just because you negotiated a lower price from the dealer. You can't with a Saturn. Give it time it will catch on, especially with GM being more aggressive with updates and redesigns, I can see Auras being sold at 100K or more a year.

[A Horse With No Name]

Also, I think it's also linked to the Saturn no haggle pricing strategy, the price you see is what you get and there many people who see that they are not really getting a deal for their Saturn as much as other cars. The XR is 25K, you'll pay that much regardless of what you say to the salesman. But the flipside is that GM is making more money on the Aura than any other vehicle because it's not discounted as much and they are getting the list price. It's not like walking into a chevy dealer and seeing a malibu for 21,500 and getting it for 19K just because you negotiated a lower price from the dealer. You can't with a Saturn. Give it time it will catch on, especially with GM being more aggressive with updates and redesigns, I can see Auras being sold at 100K or more a year.

Let's say a prayer to Thor or Zeus or whomever that the Astra sells well also. With the price of gas Gm will need to get into this section of the market.

Chris