Car Sales Numbers
By comparison, GM and Ford did pretty well. GM, which had a 4.7 percent jump in October would have been up 11.6 percent, but it was dragged down by its Hummer, Saab, Saturn and Pontiac brands – all of which are being dropped eventually. Ford kept up its hot streak, recording a 3 percent bump in October sales. It's already benefitting from positive consumer reviews of its products and fresh profits in the third quarter.
Auto industry writer Paul Ingrassia, author of the forthcoming Crash Course was impressed by both Ford and GM.
"The progress is welcome and it's real," he said in an interview. "There's a long way to go, but you have to have a few first steps."
And you have to step in the right direction, which is what Chrysler is not doing.
Says Ingrassia: "Chrysler is still in the deep woods here and it's unclear what will happen."
A look at their report for October shows incredible declines in almost all of its models except the Dodge Challenger. Chrysler Sebring? Down 69 percent. Chrysler Aspen? Down 68 percent. Town and Country minivan? Down 33 per cent. Zheesh!
This is a company in desperate need of a turnaround plan, which is exactly what its new owner, Fiat, will unveil this week. The word is that Fiat plans to introduce many smaller models to Chrysler showrooms.
Judging from the way its current lineup has been selling, Chrysler could use anything other than what it already has on offer.
