Tidbits

“The banks run the auto industry” Ravi Shanker the lead auto analyst for Morgan Stanley opines. He maintains that it is all about available retail credit, manufacturing capacity matched up to demand and market competition which should heat up due to the weaker yen

Honda has $70 million in civil penalties for failing to report deaths,injuries and some warranty claims to the federal government.

Equifax reported that auto loan balances have reached an all time high at $975 billon.

The 2014 Corvette retains 84.7% of MSRP as a one-year-old used car according to NADA used car guide. This represents the highest retained value for any new or redesigned vehicle.

Kelly Blue Book announced best resale awards for 2015 models based on lease residual rates. The brand winners include Subaru and Lexus. Models honored are the Subaru Legacy, Impreza and WRX, Honda Fit and CRV, Jeep Wrangler, Toyota Tacoma, Tundra, Sienna, Camry Hybrid and 4Runner, Mercedes GLK, Lexus GX460, RC350, GS350, RX450h LS460 and LK570, Dodge Charger, Chevy Corvette and Suburban and Camaro

Black Book predicts 2017 wholesale and residual values for 2012 models and projects VW Jetta SEL to be worth $9200, BMW X3 – $17800, Nissan Altima S – $8125, Acura TL – $13800, Lexus ES350 – $16525, Ford F150 XLT supercab 2WD – $12150, Ford Explorer XLT 4WD – $12950, Honda CRV LX AWD – $11775, Honda Pilot EXL 4WD – $18375, Chevy Impala LS -$6750, Ford Taurus SEL – $9525. We also have the data for 2010, 2011 and 2013, if you are interested give us a shout.

Dealers sold 200,671 certified preowned vehicles in December according to AutoData Corp – a new record for the month. It also set records for the year at 2,340,752.

44% of respondents to a survey late in 2014 said that would likely buy a fully automated self driving car by 2025.

Court rules that Yelp can legally manipulate reviews and ratings based on a business being an advertiser. WOW!

According to emarketer.com, on average American adults spent 12 hours and 28 minutes each day on major media of which 5 hours 46 minutes was spent on digital platforms of which 2 hours 51 minutes were spent on mobile devices. We spend 4 hours 33 minutes in front of the TV.

2014’s yearly sales volume was a robust 16.44 million units, which was 5.8% higher than 2013’s 15.53 million sales. Ford had a disappointing increase of only 0.3% whereas Fiat Chrysler saw a gain of 20% and GM ‘s yearly gain was 5.3%. Asian brands posted 9.8% gains while the European automakers posted 5.6% gains. Subaru posted a whooping 21% gain.

Incentives to consumers and dealers rose for the 23rd straight month in December to an average of just under $3000 per unit retailed

Subaru ended December with a scant 20 days supply of vehicles while Toyota had 44 days supply, Honda had 53 days, Nissan 67 days, BMW 27 days, Land Rover 21 days (who is buying all of these?) and Ford closed with 72 days. It is considered that anything less than 60 days of inventory is running lean.