Hyundai CEO Krafcik warns against price war, short-term thinking

Filed under: GM, Hyundai, Toyota, Earnings/Financials

John KrafcikHyundai Motor America President and CEO John Krafcik believes that some automakers are starting a price war, which would be an unwise move that focuses solely on short-term sales.

General Motors had strong sales in January 2011, but its 23-percent gain was due to increased incentives and price-cutting. After GM made its move, Toyota followed suit.

Krafcik says that Hyundai, whose incentive spending is among the lowest in the industry, has no plans to join in this game. Heavy incentive spending leads to sharp up and downswings in an automaker’s accounting ledger. Hyundai sales rose 24 percent in 2010 and Krafcik expects to see improvements in 2011. While some automakers are fiddling with the radio, Krafcik is paying attention to the road in front of him.

[Source: The Economic Times]

Hyundai CEO Krafcik warns against price war, short-term thinking originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 13 Feb 2011 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chicago 2011: 2011 Mazda MX-5 Miata Special Edition adds exclusivity… for a price

Filed under: Chicago Auto Show, Convertible, Performance, Mazda

2011 Mazda MX-5 Miata Special Edition

2011 Mazda MX-5 Miata Special Edition – Click above for high-res image gallery

In the market for a new MX-5 Miata, but want a bit more exclusivity? Check out the 2011 Mazda MX-5 Miata Special Edition, as the new range-topping droptop should fit the bill perfectly.

Based off of a fully-loaded power retractable hard top Grand Touring model and limited to just 750 units by Mazda, the Special Edition is most easily spotted by its Sparkling Black Mica or Dolphin Gray Mica exterior paint and bright-finish 17-inch alloy wheels. The interior sports gray upholstery, chrome accents and aluminum pedals (6MT only). Unique underpinnings include the MX-5’s standard Suspension Package with Bilstein shocks, a limited-slip differential and sport-tuned dampers. Motivating the 2,593-pound two-seater is Mazda’s 2.0-liter four-cylinder rated at 167 horsepower and 140 pound-feet of torque (158 horsepower with the 2,619-pound 6AT).

If the specs catch your fancy, be prepared to shell out $30,925 for the manual transmission model or $31,525 for the six-speed automatic.

Gallery: 2011 Mazda MX-5 Miata Special Edition: Chicago 2011

2011 Mazda MX-5 Miata Special Edition2011 Mazda MX-5 Miata Special Edition2011 Mazda MX-5 Miata Special Edition2011 Mazda MX-5 Miata Special Edition2011 Mazda MX-5 Miata Special Edition

Photos copyright (C)2011 Drew Phillips / AOL

Chicago 2011: 2011 Mazda MX-5 Miata Special Edition adds exclusivity… for a price originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 18:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Price dropped on Cameron’s home from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Filed under: Etc., Ferrari

Cameron's house from Ferris Bueller's Day Off

“It’s like a museum… It’s very beautiful and very cold” – Click above for high-res image gallery

Highland Park, Illinois is home to a very special house. Architecture buffs will recognize 370 Beech Street as a steel and glass building designed by notable architects A. James Speyer and David Haid. To auto enthusiasts, however, 370 Beech is where one unforgettable movie Ferrari met its tragic demise at the hands of Cameron Frye in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. It’s also for sale. Still.

We first told you about this house last year, when it was listed with an asking price of $2.3 million. Guess what? It never sold and the price has come way down. Today, the so-called “Ferris Bueller house” could be yours for just $1.65 million. If we had the means, we’d love to park Zach Bowman’s International Pickup in view of nature and nosy neighbors… so he could kick it through the glass when he finally loses his mind.

What say you, Autoblog reader – Is the house is worth the dough or is it just “something d-o-o economics?”

Gallery: Ferris Beuller home for sale

[Source: Realtor.com]

Price dropped on Cameron’s home from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 08 Jan 2011 09:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Tesla Motors share price drops as IPO lock-up period ends

Filed under: Earnings/Financials, Tesla, Electric

Tesla Motors logoTesla Motors (TSLA) shares were hammered hard near the end of last week and are still dropping as word of the expiration of a 180-day post-IPO lock-up agreement continues to make the rounds. Starting today, 75 million Tesla shares, which had previously been subject to a lock-up agreement restricting their sale, will be eligible for registration.

The automaker’s recent 10-Q filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission noted that a fall in share price could possibly coincide with the expiration of the 180-day post-IPO lock-up agreement. The filing’s actual wording reads:

The market price of our common stock could decline as a result of sales of a large number of shares of our common stock in the market in the future, and the perception that these sales could occur may also depress the market price of our common stock.

Tesla shares are currently listed at $25.44, a drop from the $29.36 that they were trading at in early November and a decline from the $32-plus price recorded near the middle of last week.


[Source: Forbes]

Report: Tesla Motors share price drops as IPO lock-up period ends originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 27 Dec 2010 17:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2012 Mustang 5.0 comes with lower price, new features

Filed under: Car Buying, Coupe, Performance, Ford

2011 Ford Mustang GT

2011 Ford Mustang GT – Click above for high-res image gallery

For those of you desperate to get your hands on Ford’s new 5.0-liter Mustang GT, it just got a little easier. Pricing has dropped for the base model of the 412-horsepower pony car by $500 for the 2012 model year, edging back under the 30k mark to $29,995. In contrast, the Premium GT model sees a price increase of $200 while the Premium GT Convertible is $700 more than last year.

While the 2012 Mustang lineup carries over relatively unchanged, there are a few updates to keep the cars fresh. Ford will be offering a new color, Lava Red Metallic, available on both the exterior and interior, while Sterling Gray Metallic will no longer be available. Ford has also added a few minor features like a universal garage door opener and sun visors with a storage system and illuminated vanity mirrors, and the EPAS steering system will now also come with three modes – Comfort, Normal and Sport.

Gallery: 2011 Ford Mustang GT 5.0

[Source: TheMustangSource.com, Edmunds]

2012 Mustang 5.0 comes with lower price, new features originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 16 Dec 2010 14:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumormill: 2011 Jeep Compass to get big price increase, Trail Rated model

Filed under: Crossover, Jeep, Rumormill

2011 Jeep Compass spy shots – Click above for high-res image gallery

Thanks to the efforts of some wily spy shooters, we’ve already peered upon the vastly improved styling of the redesigned 2011 Jeep Compass. If a report from the usually well-informed Allpar.com is correct, it would seem Jeep will be positioning its 2011 Compass a few rungs up the ladder than the platform-sharing Patriot.

If reports are correct, buyers will also need to fork over significantly more cash for the Compass in 2011. According to Allpar, the Compass will start at $19,995 in front-wheel drive guise and $21,695 when powering all four wheels – the 2010 model starts at just $15,365. More interesting, though, is word that the new Compass will be Trail Rated for the first time, something we suspected from the rather familiar-looking round fender badges on the silver vehicle in our spy shot gallery.

Presumably using the same off-road bits and pieces as the Trail Rated Patriot – Freedom Drive II with a CVT and dedicated low-range gearing – the Compass is rumored to feature repositioned rebound springs cribbed à la Grand Cherokee, along with an increase in ride height by one inch.

After looking at the pictures, we had an inkling that the new Compass may in fact be a more desirable overall package than the 2011 Patriot, which starts at $15,995, and this report would appear to confirm that hunch.

Gallery: Spy Shots: 2011 Jeep Compass

2011 Jeep Compass2011 Jeep Compass2011 Jeep Compass2011 Jeep Compass2011 Jeep Compass

[Source: Allpar.com | Images: Chris Doane/Brenda Priddy & Company]

Rumormill: 2011 Jeep Compass to get big price increase, Trail Rated model originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Zenvo ST1 gets a U.S. distributor and a price: $1,225,000

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, SUV, Specialty, Diesel, Luxury

Zenvo ST1 – Click above for high-res image gallery

The Zenvo ST1 and Dartz Kombat are coming the to U.S., both brought to you by Indiana importer Red Sea Distribution. The Danish-made coupe will set you back $1,225,000. That price might seem steep for a dressed-up Corvette – even down to the 7.0-liter V8 – however, underneath that fiendishly gorgeous body the engine has been upgraded to a twin-charged, 1,104-horsepower monster that’ll get you to 60 miles per hour in under three seconds. And they’re only making 15 of them per year.

The Dartz Kombat comes in at a much more palatable $225,000, and while you can’t get that whale foreskin interior anymore, you can get all kinds of amour and perhaps even armament that will protect you from, well, everything bar a direct asteroid hit. You can check them both out in the gallery of high-res photos below, and figure out your ordering preferences after reading the press releases post-jump. Hat tip to Alexis

Gallery: Zenvo ST1 and Dartz Kombat come to America

[Source: Red Sea Distribution]

Continue reading Zenvo ST1 gets a U.S. distributor and a price: $1,225,000

Zenvo ST1 gets a U.S. distributor and a price: $1,225,000 originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 19 Oct 2010 18:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Top Gear America’s Reasonably Price Car outed as Suzuki SX4

Filed under: Budget, Etc., Hatchback, Suzuki, Celebrities

U.S. Top Gear Big Star in a Small CarHere in the good ‘ole United States of America, we like things big… and small. Over in UK, they can have their reasonably priced cars, we don’t need ’em. We’re putting a Big Star in a Small Car instead.

Naturally, the premise is the same. Take one name-brand celebrity and place them behind the wheel of a run-of-the-mill car available to the masses here in America and send them around a makeshift race track. While the British version of Top Gear currently uses a Kia Cee’d for star-shuttling duty, America’s TG spin-off will feature a Suzuki SX4.

For what it’s worth, we had a couple of guys in the audience during the taping of the U.S. show’s first episode and we had signed statements restricting us from publishing this information. Apparently, though, it’s been leaked by either someone at Top Gear or by Suzuki.

In any case, we genuinely like Suzuki’s little runabout. It’s not particularly fast, but it’s an able handler and it has the beans to pull itself around a track quickly enough. Plus, it’s pretty reasonably priced… not that we care, of course. And, as you’d expect from any show that carries the name Top Gear, there will indeed be an American Stig. Current internet rumormongering suggests that F1-ace Rubens Barrichello is the American Stig, but that hasn’t been, nor is it likely to be, officially confirmed.

In related news, some of the American stars that will be piloting the SX4 include Tim Allen, Buzz Aldrin, Ty Burrell, Tony Hawk, Bret Michaels, Dominic Monaghan, Kid Rock and Michelle Rodriguez. Suitably big stars?

[Source: Variety]

Top Gear America’s Reasonably Price Car outed as Suzuki SX4 originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 19 Oct 2010 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Followup: GM officials take issue with Whitacre’s IPO share price estimates

Filed under: Government/Legal, GM

Ed Whitacre, GM CEO

It was only last week when Reuters reported that Ed Whitacre, Jr. told the media that General Motors IPO shares would “likely to be priced between $20 and $25 in the initial public offering by the automaker in November.” GM didn’t respond immediately, but now, like a judge giving instructions to the jury to disregard a courtroom outburst, The General is essentially saying “ignore everything you just heard.”

According to The Detroit News, a GM response filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission refutes everything, saying that the price hasn’t been set, the IPO might not happen in November, and the company doesn’t know if it “will be successful or whether it will work.” GM is in a self-imposed “quiet period” before its IPO “to comply with SEC regulations,” which Whitacre’s comments blew out of the water. According outside observers, “Any comments beyond what is included in GM’s regulatory filings could be construed as breaking SEC rules during the quiet period and could jeopardize the timing of the IPO.” Whoopsie.

[Source: The Detroit News]

Followup: GM officials take issue with Whitacre’s IPO share price estimates originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Followup: GM officials take issue with Whitacre’s IPO share price estimates

Filed under: Government/Legal, GM

Ed Whitacre, GM CEO

It was only last week when Reuters reported that Ed Whitacre, Jr. told the media that General Motors IPO shares would “likely to be priced between $20 and $25 in the initial public offering by the automaker in November.” GM didn’t respond immediately, but now, like a judge giving instructions to the jury to disregard a courtroom outburst, The General is essentially saying “ignore everything you just heard.”

According to The Detroit News, a GM response filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission refutes everything, saying that the price hasn’t been set, the IPO might not happen in November, and the company doesn’t know if it “will be successful or whether it will work.” GM is in a self-imposed “quiet period” before its IPO “to comply with SEC regulations,” which Whitacre’s comments blew out of the water. According outside observers, “Any comments beyond what is included in GM’s regulatory filings could be construed as breaking SEC rules during the quiet period and could jeopardize the timing of the IPO.” Whoopsie.

[Source: The Detroit News]

Followup: GM officials take issue with Whitacre’s IPO share price estimates originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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