GM, FORD SCALE BACK CAR LEASES AS ERA ENDS

July 30, 2008—Detroit's money troubles are starting to put a key part of the American dream—a pricey new car—out of reach for some people. Squeezed by falling used-vehicle prices, as well as continued tumult in the credit markets on Wall Street, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. are significantly scaling back their auto-leasing businesses. Ford on Tuesday began telling dealers that it is essentially ending leasing deals on most trucks and sport-utility vehicles. GMAC LLC, GM's financing arm, is also expected to rein in leasing offers in the U.S. soon, possibly this week, people familiar with the matter said. On Tuesday, it said it will no longer offer subsidized leases in Canada. Chrysler last week said it is ending all leasing deals in the U.S. Leases at the Big Three automakers account for about 20 percent of their total new-vehicle business, according to Automotive Lease Guide. (The Wall Street Journal)

JULY AUTO SALES EXPECTED TO KEEP DOWNWARD TREND

July 30, 2008—DETROIT—Take automakers' inability to finance leases, combined with gas prices, the weak economy and other problems facing the industry, and you have the makings of what could be one of the worst months for auto sales in more than 15 years. Auto companies report their U.S. sales for July on Friday, and the results are expected to continue the downward trend that has plagued the industry all year. Auto consulting company J.D. Power and Associates predicts the industry will see its worst July since 1992, with little chance for a recovery in the next 12 months. That forecast is shared across the industry. Jesse Toprak, the chief economist for ... Edmunds.com, predicts industry sales will tumble 3.3 percent in July from a year earlier, and that Honda Motor Co. will be the only major automaker reporting a sales increase thanks to its stable of small, fuel-efficient cars. Honda could even overtake Ford as the second-largest carmaker by U.S. sales behind General Motors Corp. (Associated Press)

VW PASSES FORD FOR NO. 3 IN FIRST-HALF GLOBAL SALES

July 30, 2008—Volkswagen AG moved ahead of Ford Motor Co. to become the world's third-largest automaker by vehicle sales in this year's first half, as the U.S. company declined in its home market. Volkswagen reported a 7.2 percent increase to 3.31 million cars and trucks, while Ford said its sales fell 11 percent to 3.09 million. Ford is headed for another decline in the annual global sales rankings, after yielding the No. 2 spot to Toyota Motor Corp. in 2003. Ford's U.S. sales fell 14 percent as gasoline prices rose above $4 a gallon, crimping demand for large pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles. Its figures also exclude Jaguar and Land Rover, sold to Tata Motors Ltd. in June. Volkswagen ... cited growth in China, India, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine for its increase. Ford under Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally is trying to end losses and has de-emphasized sales rankings. The company has lost a total of $23.9 billion since 2005, the last year it posted a full-year profit. Ford last week said it would add more small cars to help reduce its dependence on large pickups and SUVs. (Bloomberg)

RESALE VALUES OF TRUCKS, SUVS FALL

July 30, 2008—NEW YORK—Wholesale prices of used trucks and SUVs have dropped significantly in recent months, according to data released Wednesday by the National Automobile Dealers Association's Used Car Guide. Prices of used pickup trucks tumbled 11.2 percent during the second quarter, while prices of used SUVs fell 9.6 percent, the group said. At the same time, prices of passenger cars rose 3.5 percent, boosted by strong demand for compact and midsize models, the NADA said. All of the NADA data refers to vehicles between one and five years old. The NADA also attributed the changes to rising fuel costs, saying that for every $1 increase in the cost of a gallon of gas, large pickups decline in value by an average of $2,200, while resale prices of compact cars rise by an estimated $980. The group added that the effects of high gas prices have become a long-term depreciation trend, and as a result, it is making "fairly aggressive" devaluations of trucks and SUVs through the end of the year. (Associated Press)

AUTO DEALER DONATES CPR DUMMIES

July 30, 2008—The American Red Cross hopes to train at least 2,000 citizens of Alamance County [Burlington, N.C.] on what to do when a person has a heart attack or requires CPR. The CPR training program was greatly enhanced when the National Automobile Dealers Charitable Foundation and Greg Westcott with Westcott Buick presented Resusci Anne training units to the Piedmont Carolina Chapter's CPR training program [last] week. These Resusci Anne training units are mannequins that are essential to providing adult, child and infant CPR. "The Red Cross does not receive government funding and relies totally on donations and training revenue," according to a news release. (The Times-News) (Burlington, N.C.)

U.S. SALES TO GO DOWN IN '08, TOYOTA PREDICTS

July 29, 2008—Toyota Motor Corp. expects its annual U.S. auto sales to fall for the first time in 17 years, reflecting a severe downturn that sideswiped its Tundra pickup and other big vehicles. The troubles in the U.S. auto market led Japan's biggest carmaker to cut its overall sales forecast for 2008, but Toyota said on Monday that it still expects to sell more vehicles worldwide this year than it did in 2007 because of solid demand in emerging markets. (The Detroit News)

GM CUTS JOBS AS PART OF A PRODUCTION CURB

July 29, 2008—GM said Monday that it would cut production of 117,000 pickups and SUVs as part of a larger effort to trim its North American manufacturing capacity by 300,000 vehicles by next year. The company also said it would idle several other assembly plants for various periods to address the shrinking demand for pickups and SUVs. (The New York Times)

HUMMER: BONUSES, BUYOUTS

July 29, 2008—With its dealers struggling to sell vehicles from a brand that might be sold, General Motors has paid Hummer dealers early bonuses and is in talks to buy out stores. [Tim Kelly, a Hummer dealer in Chattanooga, Tenn.] said GM is "tiptoeing through a legal minefield" by trying to shed Hummer, trying to avoid the lawsuits that ensued when it killed Oldsmobile. He said he doesn't think that dealers "are going away without a fight, but I think GM is handling it the right way by making peace with each dealer, one by one." (Automotive News) (Subscription required.)