Who's on First: Chevy or Ford?
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Who's on First: Chevy or Ford?
The last paragraph is also interesting!
Who's On First: Chevy Or Ford?
Jerry Flint, 01.13.04, 11:22 AM ET
The big war in the automobile world used to be Ford versus Chevy. Ford was on top until the Chevrolet division of General Motors took leadership in the 1920s and 1930s. It wasn't until the 1950s that Ford was able to, briefly, regain the lead in total vehicle sales, but Chevy usually dominated Ford until the mid-1980s, when Ford's Taurus sedan, Explorer sport utility vehicle and F-150 pickup helped it wrest the top spot from Chevy.
Now General Motors (nyse: GM - news - people ) and Chevrolet want the title back. Why? It's a symbol to GM of its resurgence. Its top officials say that total vehicle sales at Chevrolet will climb from 2.6 million units in 2002 to 3 million within the next few years. If Chevy could reach that goal it would almost definitely bump Ford (nyse: F - news - people ) out of first place.
I agree that Chevy is much improved, but I think that GM may be making its usual mistake--forgetting that everybody else is improving, too.
Chevy is gaining ground on Ford. In 2000 the difference was 850,000 vehicles in Ford's favor. In 2002 the lead was down to 350,000, and for all of 2003 the gap was 240,000 cars and trucks.
Why is Chevy hot?
2003 Unit Sales
Vehicles Ford Chevy
Cars 792,313 801,143
Trucks 2,102,034 1,854,634
Total 2,894,347 2,655,777
Source: Forbes
The new 2004 Malibu small sedan is getting good reviews, and another Malibu model, the Maxx, is now arriving in dealerships. Chevy also has a brand-new small pickup, the Colorado, which is expected to sell better against the Ford Ranger than the old S10 model.
This spring, GM will begin producing a new small SUV, the Chevy Equinox, priced in the low $20,000s. The Equinox should give Chevy a viable entry against the popular Ford Escape, and I expect that it will generate 100,000 additional sales for Chevrolet. Chevy is starting to sell a new Korean-built cheapie, the Aveo. And by the end of the year the division will have a new small car, the Cobalt, to replace the hoary Cavalier.
That's only part of the onslaught of new vehicles that Chevy has on the way. Next fall there will be a new version of Chevy's halo car, the Corvette. Another image vehicle, the SSR, a sports car/pickup combo, is now in production. And the Venture minivan will be replaced this fall by the Uplander, which will look a bit more like an SUV than a minivan.
A little further down the road, Chevy will add a small crossover SUV called the HHR that looks like a scaled-down Suburban, plus an updated (but still front-wheel-drive) Impala sedan.
This powerful lineup of new vehicles should bolster Chevy's strong stable of existing trucks, such as the Silverado pickup as well as the Suburban, Tahoe and Trailblazer SUVs. So why am I still doubtful that Chevy can overtake Ford?
Ford isn't sitting still, either. Its new 2004 F-150 pickup is hot, and Ford should be able to sell even more of these trucks after the middle of 2004, when it is done converting all of its F-150 factories to building the new model. Meanwhile, Ford's big SUV, the Expedition, which was redone over a year ago, is still going strong.
The Ford Focus, its well-regarded small car, gets a facelift this spring, and next fall Ford will have a brand-new Mustang coupe, a new full-sized sedan, the 500, and a new SUV, the Freestyle, built on a car chassis rather than the truck frame. The 500 is handsome and should be a winner, and the Freestyle is targeting a growing segment of the market.
In the image department, the Ford GT supercar will arrive this spring and by fall Ford should have its fuel-stingy hybrid version of Ford's Escape SUV. And in two years Ford will have a new midsized sedan, the Futura.
Ford's biggest problem is that its most interesting new models, the Mustang, the 500 Sedan and Freestyle SUV, won't be on sale until fall. Meanwhile, Ford's top-selling Explorer is under pressure from growing numbers of competitors, and Ford is letting its well-known cars, the Taurus and Crown Victoria, drift into oblivion.
But Ford's new lineup is just one reason why I think that GM may be overestimating Chevy's potential for grabbing the number one title. Nissan (nasdaq: NSANY - news - people ), Toyota (nyse: TM - news - people ) and Honda (nyse: HMC - news - people ) also have ambitious plans for new models. Toyota is now the top passenger-car brand, outselling Ford and Chevy cars in the U.S.
GM's car sales today are boosted by huge incentives--up to $4,000 a car. The company will try to cut incentives with the new vehicles, but I think that it will be difficult to both cut incentives and significantly raise sales.
A few other factors stand in the way of Chevy regaining the sales crown. One problem is GM styling, which is better than it was a few years ago, but still lacks imagination. Take a look at Chevy's Malibu and upcoming Cobalt four-door sedan to see what I mean. Most important, Ford's dealers are better than Chevy's.
When it comes to Ford versus Chevy, only losers come in second.
http://www.forbes.com/2004/01/13/cz_...rtner=netscape
Who's On First: Chevy Or Ford?
Jerry Flint, 01.13.04, 11:22 AM ET
The big war in the automobile world used to be Ford versus Chevy. Ford was on top until the Chevrolet division of General Motors took leadership in the 1920s and 1930s. It wasn't until the 1950s that Ford was able to, briefly, regain the lead in total vehicle sales, but Chevy usually dominated Ford until the mid-1980s, when Ford's Taurus sedan, Explorer sport utility vehicle and F-150 pickup helped it wrest the top spot from Chevy.
Now General Motors (nyse: GM - news - people ) and Chevrolet want the title back. Why? It's a symbol to GM of its resurgence. Its top officials say that total vehicle sales at Chevrolet will climb from 2.6 million units in 2002 to 3 million within the next few years. If Chevy could reach that goal it would almost definitely bump Ford (nyse: F - news - people ) out of first place.
I agree that Chevy is much improved, but I think that GM may be making its usual mistake--forgetting that everybody else is improving, too.
Chevy is gaining ground on Ford. In 2000 the difference was 850,000 vehicles in Ford's favor. In 2002 the lead was down to 350,000, and for all of 2003 the gap was 240,000 cars and trucks.
Why is Chevy hot?
2003 Unit Sales
Vehicles Ford Chevy
Cars 792,313 801,143
Trucks 2,102,034 1,854,634
Total 2,894,347 2,655,777
Source: Forbes
The new 2004 Malibu small sedan is getting good reviews, and another Malibu model, the Maxx, is now arriving in dealerships. Chevy also has a brand-new small pickup, the Colorado, which is expected to sell better against the Ford Ranger than the old S10 model.
This spring, GM will begin producing a new small SUV, the Chevy Equinox, priced in the low $20,000s. The Equinox should give Chevy a viable entry against the popular Ford Escape, and I expect that it will generate 100,000 additional sales for Chevrolet. Chevy is starting to sell a new Korean-built cheapie, the Aveo. And by the end of the year the division will have a new small car, the Cobalt, to replace the hoary Cavalier.
That's only part of the onslaught of new vehicles that Chevy has on the way. Next fall there will be a new version of Chevy's halo car, the Corvette. Another image vehicle, the SSR, a sports car/pickup combo, is now in production. And the Venture minivan will be replaced this fall by the Uplander, which will look a bit more like an SUV than a minivan.
A little further down the road, Chevy will add a small crossover SUV called the HHR that looks like a scaled-down Suburban, plus an updated (but still front-wheel-drive) Impala sedan.
This powerful lineup of new vehicles should bolster Chevy's strong stable of existing trucks, such as the Silverado pickup as well as the Suburban, Tahoe and Trailblazer SUVs. So why am I still doubtful that Chevy can overtake Ford?
Ford isn't sitting still, either. Its new 2004 F-150 pickup is hot, and Ford should be able to sell even more of these trucks after the middle of 2004, when it is done converting all of its F-150 factories to building the new model. Meanwhile, Ford's big SUV, the Expedition, which was redone over a year ago, is still going strong.
The Ford Focus, its well-regarded small car, gets a facelift this spring, and next fall Ford will have a brand-new Mustang coupe, a new full-sized sedan, the 500, and a new SUV, the Freestyle, built on a car chassis rather than the truck frame. The 500 is handsome and should be a winner, and the Freestyle is targeting a growing segment of the market.
In the image department, the Ford GT supercar will arrive this spring and by fall Ford should have its fuel-stingy hybrid version of Ford's Escape SUV. And in two years Ford will have a new midsized sedan, the Futura.
Ford's biggest problem is that its most interesting new models, the Mustang, the 500 Sedan and Freestyle SUV, won't be on sale until fall. Meanwhile, Ford's top-selling Explorer is under pressure from growing numbers of competitors, and Ford is letting its well-known cars, the Taurus and Crown Victoria, drift into oblivion.
But Ford's new lineup is just one reason why I think that GM may be overestimating Chevy's potential for grabbing the number one title. Nissan (nasdaq: NSANY - news - people ), Toyota (nyse: TM - news - people ) and Honda (nyse: HMC - news - people ) also have ambitious plans for new models. Toyota is now the top passenger-car brand, outselling Ford and Chevy cars in the U.S.
GM's car sales today are boosted by huge incentives--up to $4,000 a car. The company will try to cut incentives with the new vehicles, but I think that it will be difficult to both cut incentives and significantly raise sales.
A few other factors stand in the way of Chevy regaining the sales crown. One problem is GM styling, which is better than it was a few years ago, but still lacks imagination. Take a look at Chevy's Malibu and upcoming Cobalt four-door sedan to see what I mean. Most important, Ford's dealers are better than Chevy's.
When it comes to Ford versus Chevy, only losers come in second.
http://www.forbes.com/2004/01/13/cz_...rtner=netscape