Small Sales + Small Cars = Dealer Pain

As Gas Prices Soar, Size Matters In A Whole New Way For Automakers And Car Dealers

(CBS)  At Rodeo Ford in Dallas, home of the pickup, they're finding size doesn't matter as much as it used to, CBS News correspondent Cynthia Bowers reports.

The main thing that the customers there have been requesting? "Can I get a deal on something fuel-efficient?"

"Normally, the first question would be, 'can I get a truck?'" said Ford dealer Hollywood Henderson.

It's the same story across the country. Sales of Ford's popular F-150 are running on empty - down 18 percent from last month over April of a year ago.

Plummeting truck sales mean huge problems for Ford. The automaker will idle some plants three weeks longer than usual this summer ... and reports of more layoffs mean tougher times ahead.

"If fuel prices weren't high and the economy got soft, they might be OK," said Joe Weisenfelder of Cars.com.

"If fuel prices went high but the economy was still pretty strong, they might be OK," added Weisenfelder. "But all these different factors together really leaves them with losses at every turn."

To make matters even worse, struggling U.S. automakers are getting squeezed by suppliers. The cost of steel used to build cars has jumped in just six weeks from $830 a ton to more than $1,000.

And while it can cost almost as much to make a small car as a truck or SUV, small cars are a lot less profitable.

On average Ford makes nearly $12,000 on every full-size pickup, but only $861 on an economy sized car.

As recently as a few years ago, Americans bought 17 million cars a year, this year's forecast is about 15 million. For carmakers, small sales and small cars add up to big headaches.

[itgranny]

scrapmetal: perhaps we need to look at all the crushed cars etc. we''re sending to china. Heck, they even wisked away the steel from the world trade centers... but the reason for that may have been to cover up the evidence of the inside job.

[deacon20081]

FORD
Found On The Road Dead
Fix Or Repair Daily
Fails On Race Day............Same Old Story

[jaykay3141]

Yeah, right. Keep on driving those 8 gallons per mile Hummers and help America ... by sending all your gas-guzzled dollars to freedom-loving countries like Venezuela, Russia, and Saudi Arabia.

Nowhere does the Constitution or the Bible say we have any kind of right to cheap gas, so we''ve managed to do a really good job of messing ourselves over. As someone who tries hard to conserve, I''d laugh except that I''m getting scr3wed at the pump too.

P.S. What in the heck is ELLECENT? Sounds like it belongs in a zoo somewhere, lol!

[incog-nito]

BE AMERICAN, SUPPORT AMERICA, NOT THE COMMIE, THATS RIGHT I SAID COMMIE''''S

Posted by forthepeopl1 at 07:54 PM : May 28, 2008

Hey Einstein, it''s the "American" corporation that support the "Commies" by outsourcing American jobs overseas to boost their bottom line. Yeah right, buy American, and they''ll STILL move manufacturing abroad anyway. Look at Ford: They have already moved some plants to Mexico. Think you buy American when you buy a Ford? Think again.

[beehive21-2009]

Drive less fools,soon, Pres. ChevronTex will be out, an fuel prices will,plundge along with the weight of these fat *** people who need to walk, park the car ,walk to the field, school,store.A blessing, so walk,run ride the bike and stay out of Walmart fatso.

[forthepeopl1]

DO SOME INVESTIGATING ON THIS MATTER..

BE AMERICAN, SUPPORT AMERICA, NOT THE COMMIE, THATS RIGHT I SAID COMMIE''S

[forthepeopl1]

OOP''S IT WAS SUPPOST TO BE A SECRET...

[forthepeopl1]

HEY CBS NEWS, WHY NOT REPORT THE OVER 1MILLION TOYOTA TACOMAS BEING RE-CALLED BECAUSE THEY ARE ROTTING OUT SO FAST THAT THEY CANT HANDLE IT..

WHY ALWAYS FORD???

HOW ABOUT DOING THAT STORY ON MILLIONS OF THE GREAT TOYOTAS BEING RECALLED..TOYOTA PAYING HUSH MONEY TO THEIR CUSTOMERS IN THE 1.5 TIMES WHAT KBB SAY''S IT''S WORTH IN ELLECLENT CONDITION ...NO MATTER WHAT THE CONDITION IS..1.5 TIMES THE VALUE OF ELLCELENT..

THATS HUSH MONEY..