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GM retakes title of top-selling global automakerDETROIT — General

Motors Co. has retaken the title of world’s top-selling automaker, selling just over 9 million cars and trucks across the globe.

The company said Thurs-day that it sold 9.03 mil-lion vehicles worldwide last year, up 7.6 percent from 2010. That’s more than 1 million better than Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp., which took the title away from GM in 2008.

GM had held the global sales crown for more than

seven decades before los-ing it to Toyota, as GM’s sales tanked while it head-ed toward financial ruin. In 2009, GM filed for bank-ruptcy protection, needing a U.S. government bailout to survive.

Now GM is profitable again and its vehicles are selling well across the globe. The company reported net income of $7.1 billion for the first three quarters of last year, and it is expected to add to that number when it reports fourth-quarter and full-year results in February.

In 2011, Germany’s fast-

growing Volkswagen AG took second place behind GM with record global sales of 8.16 million, up 14 percent from the year before. The French-Japa-nese alliance of Renault and Nissan was third, sell-ing 8.03 million vehicles.

Toyota ended up finish-ing fourth in 2011 with 7.9 million vehicles sold. Its sales were hurt last year because the March earth-quake in Japan slowed its factories, and dealers ran short of cars to sell. Toyota is aiming for a comeback and has forecast that it will sell 8.48 million vehicles

in 2012.Auto industry analysts

predict a tight race this year between GM, Volk-swagen, Toyota and the Nissan-Renault joint ven-ture.

Some analysts have said that VW is the world’s big-gest automaker because GM’s figures include vehi-cles made by its Wuling joint venture in China. Many don’t count Wuling because GM doesn’t have controlling interest in the company, but GM includes it in global sales figures.

Excluding Wuling, GM would have been topped

by Volkswagen.Being the world’s top-

selling automaker doesn’t mean much for the bottom line. But GM retaking the title is an example of how far the company has come since its 2009 bankrupt-cy.

GM CEO Dan Akerson said last week that the com-pany isn’t that concerned about posting large sales numbers and is focused more on making money so it can reinvest in prod-ucts and generate returns for shareholders. But he says strong sales can bring strong finances.

“You’re not going to achieve the financial goals we want to achieve and have declining market share or declining numbers of units sold,” he said. “So it’s one indicator among many.”

GM said its sales were up in all four of its regions: North America, Europe, South America and Inter-national Operations, which includes Asia. The Chevro-let brand led the way, sell-ing a record 4.76 million vehicles across the world.

GM sold 640,000 more cars and trucks last year than it did in 2010, when it sold 8.39 million.

By Tom KrisherThe Associated Press

Paul Moseley/Fort Worth star-telegraM/MCt

Here, Arlington GM plant manager Paul Graham stands in front of a special Suburban in Arlington, Texas, on May 11, 2011. The General Motors Assembly Plant in Arlington had rolled its nine-millionth vehicle off the assembly line. General Motors recently was named the world’s top-selling automaker.

/ Monday, January 23, 2012 Tallahassee Democrat / OnTheMOve

Average age of cars on US roads rises to new record

LOS ANGELES — The average age of autos on the road has reached a record high.

The average age of the 240.5 million cars and light trucks being driven in the U.S. rose to 10.8 years last year from 10.4 in the year before, according to R.L. Polk & Co., an automotive market research firm.

The aging fleet is a result of slow new vehicle sales since 2008 and the reluc-tance of consumers to invest in new cars, analysts said.

Automakers say this has created a latent demand for new vehicles that is just beginning to translate into more robust sales.

Automakers sold 12.8 million vehicles last year, a 10.3 percent increase from 2010 and the most since 2008. They expect sales to reach about 13.8 million this year.

The improving new vehicle market is expect-ed to continue for several

years and slow the aging rate seen in the U.S. fleet in the past three years, said Polk, which analyzes national vehicle registra-tion data.

In the meantime, the number of aged vehicles on the road should be good for some segments of the auto industry.

“Dealer service depart-ments and independent repair facilities, as well as aftermarket parts suppli-ers, will see increased busi-ness opportunity with cus-tomers in need of vehicle service,” said Mark Seng, global aftermarket prac-tice leader at Polk.

The average age of pas-senger cars rose to 11.1 years from 11 years at the end of June 2011, Polk said.

The average age of pick-up trucks and sport-utility vehicles rose to 10.4 years from 10.1.

Overall, average vehicle age has increased an entire year since 2006 and almost two years since 2000.

By Jerry HirschLos Angeles Times

DaviD P. Gilkey/Detroit Free Press/MCt

Jon Moss, manager of GM special vehicles, stands above the floor of Custom Automotive Services, which houses General Motors show cars and historic automobile fleet.

Auto industry, seeing new life in 2012, is on a rapid hiring spree

DETROIT — Volkswagen opened a plant in Tennessee last month with 2,000 work-ers. Honda is hiring 1,000 in Indiana to meet demand for its best-selling Civic. Gen-eral Motors is looking for 2,500 in Detroit to build the Chevy Volt.

Two years after the end of the Great Recession, the auto industry is hiring again — and much faster than the rest of the economy. As an employer, it’s growing fast-er than airplane manufac-turers, shipbuilders, health care providers and the fed-eral government.

The hiring spree is even more remarkable because memories of the U.S. auto industry’s near-death experi-ence are fresh. In 2009, Gen-eral Motors and Chrysler both got government bailouts and entered bankruptcy, and auto sales hit a 30-year low.

In June of that year, about 623,000 people were employed by the auto industry in the United States, the fewest since the early 1980s. Now the figure is almost 700,000, a 12 percent increase.

Sales are back up, too, and automakers are hiring by the thousands to meet increased demand.

“The buzz is incredible around here about what opportunity we’re going to get if we can build a great prod-uct,” says Ben Edwards, who went to work for Volkswagen in Chattanooga, Tenn., last year and is now a team lead-er on an assembly line that installs tires and seats.

Edwards was working as a general contractor until the housing market dried up. He says the pay at Volkswagen, which starts at $14.50 an hour, is fair and the benefits are generous.

Besides hiring 2,000 people itself, Volkswagen figures the

plant, where it will make its new Passat, will create 9,000 spin-off jobs in the region, including 500 at auto-suppli-er plants that are springing up nearby.

Automakers are hiring again because car sales are rising. Americans bought 10.4 million cars and trucks in 2009 and 11.6 million in 2010. This year, they’re on track to buy 13 million or more, and auto companies are adding shifts to meet the demand.

The auto industry’s 12 per-cent increase in jobs com-pares with a 0.2 percent gain for the economy as a

whole, excluding farming and adjusted for seasonal varia-tion, since June 2009. The Labor Department reports Friday on jobs gained or lost last month.

In a normal economic recovery, improvement in the housing market leads the way by creating construc-tion jobs. But home prices haven’t stopped falling, and the construction industry has shed 8 percent of its workers since June 2009 — 474,000 jobs in all.

The gains in the auto industry have been small by comparison. But they do create positive ripple effects for the economy. The Center for Automo-tive Research estimates that every new auto manu-facturing job leads to nine other jobs — from parts makers to restaurants that feed autoworkers.

Before the turnaround, new auto jobs were scarce. Detroit’s auto companies had too many factories, high wages and bloated

bureaucratic management. Jobs began disappearing in 2006 and 2007 as U.S. auto-makers tried desperately to restructure. Dozens of auto suppliers were pushed into bankruptcy.

Then came 2008, when gas prices spiked and the financial crisis struck. The industry lost almost one in every four of its jobs. By the time GM and Chrysler got out of bankruptcy, in June 2009, the industry employed about half as many people as it did in 2000.

Sales and profits have risen ever since, and pay-rolls have followed.

GM, Ford and Chrysler are all making money for the first time since the mid-2000s and adding workers to build popular models like the revamped Ford Explor-er. Foreign companies, stung by the high cost of exporting cars to the U.S. when the dollar is weak, are racing to build more products here.

By Dee-Ann DurbinThe Associated Press

JiM GensheiMer/san Jose MerCury news/MCt

Customers check out how cars are assembled at the Tesla factory in Fremont, Calif. Job growth in the auto industry is growing faster than airplane manufacturers, shipbuild-ers, health care providers and the federal government.

In 2009, Gen-eral Motors and Chrysler both got government bail-outs and entered bankruptcy, and auto sales hit a 30-year low.

OnTheMOve / Tallahassee Democrat Monday, January 23, 2012 /

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Buick unveils 2013 Encore compact luxury crossover SUV

DETROIT — Buick on Tuesday revealed the 2013 Encore, one of the first entries in a new segment of compact luxury cross-over SUVs.

The Encore will launch early next year as the fifth new entry from Buick in five years, as the brand seeks to remake itself for younger, luxury-minded buyers. Audi and BMW also are expected to add little SUVs to their line-ups in 2013.

“This vehicle is going to play in white space,” Buick marketing chief Tony DiSalle said ahead of the crossover’s unveil-ing.

Buick is riding two straight years of U.S. market-share gains in its attempt to create a new “approachable luxury” segment, aimed at people who want to appreciate the finer side of life, but who shun flashiness.

Buick now stands for beauty, quiet and refine-ment, said Mark Reuss, General Motors’ North American chief, in a recent interview. Reuss, 48, who joined GM at its Buick City operations in Flint, said the past couple of years have marked the first time

in his career in which he could articulate what a Buick was.

At 168.5 inches long, the Encore is six inches short-er than the Volkswagen Tiguan. Buick says its 36.7-foot turning radius is tight-er than the smaller Mini Countryman. Its petite size means the crossover is aimed at singles and married couples without children, along with empty nesters who are ready to move on from minivans.

The Encore’s headlights and waterfall grille look like those of its older sib-ling, Buick’s strong-selling full-size Enclave crossover. Hockey stick shaped char-acter lines along the sides mirror the look of newer Buick Regal and Verano sedans, while upswept rear quarter panels give the five-passenger Encore a sporty look.

Features include lane-departure warning, blind-spot alert forward collision warning and Bose noise cancellation to eliminate road noise.

T he E nc ore h a s a 140-horsepower, 1.4-liter turbocharged engine and six-speed automatic trans-mission. It will come with front- or all-wheel-drive. The front-drive Encore should get better than 30 miles per gallon on the highway.

GM initially will import the Encore from South Korea, Reuss said. The car will be quite profit-able this way, he said, so GM can wait to see how many customers Buick attracts in this new seg-

ment before it decides whether to build the car in the United States.

If GM were to build the Encore in the U.S., production options could include the Orion Town-ship plant. That factory

already builds a compact vehicle, the Buick Verano sedan, along with the sub-compact Chevrolet Sonic. Its production line runs two shifts, while many of GM’s U.S. plants operate on three. The Orion fac-

tory also has room for a second assembly line.

Next year GM also plans to start building an Encore in China, where middle-level managers have made Buick a sought-after brand.

By Chrissie Thompson and Mark PhelanDetroit Free Press

Andre J. JAckson/detroit Free Press/Mct

Buick unveils the 2013 Encore, a small luxury crossover, during the 2012 North American International Auto Show at Cobo Center in Detroit, Mich., on Jan. 10.

Honda CEO: We’re poised to boost U.S. sales, North American production

DETROIT — Honda expects sales of its main-stream brand to grow to 1.25 million vehicles in the U.S. this year, while its Acura lux-ury brand expects sales to rise to 180,000 from 123,000 in 2011, CEO Takanobu Ito said last week.

Ito also said he expects Honda to boost its North American production by

about 20 percent this year as sales rebound and the compa-ny exports more vehicles to offset the impact of a strong yen on profitability of vehi-cles exported from Japan.

Honda’s U.S. sales fell 6.8 percent last year as the Japanese earthquake in the spring and flooding in Thai-land disrupted its flow of parts, forced production cuts and left dealer showrooms understocked. While produc-tion at Honda’s North Amer-

ican factories has reached pre-earthquake levels, deal-er inventories won’t be fully recovered until March 2012, Ito said.

Acura has unveiled the 2013 RDX crossover and a compact sedan called the ILX, along with a concept of a new NSX ultra-sports car. This month, Honda introduced a concept of the 2013 Accord that will reach showrooms by the end of this year.

Much is riding on every new product. Critics have not been kind assessing the very conservative styling of the 2012 Honda Civic.

Other industry observers have asked whether luke-warm consumer reaction to Honda’s recent new models isn’t as big a factor in last year’s sales decline as the natural disasters in Japan and Thailand.

Ito and Tetsuo Iwamura, Honda’s top U.S. executive,

defended the competitive-ness of Honda’s recent mod-els and the strength of its engine technology, which has been the automaker’s core strength for decades.

“We think the Civic and the CR-V are competitive enough,” Ito said.

The company is plan-ning to recapture sales and market share lost in 2011. It is building a new facto-ry in Celaya, Mexico, that will start production in 2014

and eventually make up to 200,000 cars annually. It also is expanding its Lincoln, Ala., plant to boost annual output by 40,000.

As previously planned, its newest American plant in Greensburg, Ind., is increas-ing production. Between the two U.S. and one Mexican plant, Honda will be able to make about 1.9 million vehicles a year in North America by the middle of the decade.

By Greg GardnerDetroit Free Press

OnTheMOve / Tallahassee Democrat Monday, January 23, 2012 / Page 5

Surprising safety and fuel efficiency innovations for 2012

A host of new features you may never have heard of — and certainly didn’t expect to see in main-stream cars and trucks — will be commonplace by the end of 2012.

New technologies and safety and fuel economy concerns have accelerat-ed automakers’ innovation into hyperdrive.

Here’s some of what to watch for in 2012 and at the North American Interna-tional Auto Show:

STOP-STA RT: Also called auto stop, this shuts the engine off at traffic lights and stop signs and imperceptibly restarts it when you’re ready to go.

“Imperceptible” is the key word. Auto stop can reduce fuel consumption signifi-cantly, but people won’t tolerate it if they notice the engine cycling on and off, or if the vehicle doesn’t start moving when they expect it to. The Mazda 3 already offers the sys-tem, which will show up on many more models in 2012.

DOUBLE-DIGIT AIR BAGS: Front-seat knee air bags are one of the next big things. Cars ranging from the subcompact Chevro-let Sonic to the compact Buick Verano and mid-size Toyota Camry added them in 2011, with more to come next year. Ten is the magic number for air bags in new cars, as tho-

rax-protecting bags for the front and rear seats become common. Next up: inflatable shoulder belts a la the Ford Explorer and a center-mounted bag from GM that keeps front-seat occupants from knocking heads. Some automakers are even considering air bags to keep backseat pas-sengers from hitting the front seats.

The days when automak-ers believed safety sys-tems don’t help sell cars are gone.

MORE VOICE-RECOG-NITION: Your smartphone will make your next car better, thanks to new sys-tems that will use it for navigation, to stream your favorite news, music and more. Now that Transporta-

tion Secretary and driver-distraction hardliner Ray LaHood has come out in favor of hands-free systems rather than a pointless and unenforceable prohibition of phones, automakers are free to continue to inno-vate. Buick, Cadillac, Chev-rolet, Hyundai and Toyota all have slick new systems to make the phone an inte-gral part of your car.

FORD STICKS TO ITS GUNS: Despite widespread complaints from customers and critics, Ford remains committed to the con-troversial MyFordTouch control layout. In its sim-plest form in the Focus, the system works fine. More elaborate versions used in the Explorer SUV elimi-nate the dials that control

audio volume, radio sta-tion, temperature and fan speed. Ford says it fixed usability problems with better voice recognition, but skeptics say dials are simply the best way to do some things.

We’ll find out who’s right when Ford uses the system in some high-pro-file new models in 2012.

SMALL BUT POWER-FUL: This is a golden age of engine development. Small engines with new technologies have power and fuel efficiency that were inconceivable a few years ago.

GM’s 2.0-liter four-cyl-inder turbocharged, direct-injection engine produces a whopping 270 horsepow-er and 295 pound-feet of

torque. It would wipe the floor with a lot of old V-8s and rates 32 mpg on the highway in the Buick Regal GS, the year’s most sur-prising sport sedan. Ford created the catchy Eco-Boost name for its tur-bo/DI engines and uses it on everything from the compact Focus to the big Explorer crossover SUV and F-150 pickup.

The F iat-designed, 1.4 -liter four-cylinder engine Chrysler builds in Dundee, Mich., will gradu-ate from the slow-selling Fiat 500 to the sportiest version of the new Dodge Dart compact sedan.

You’ll see lots more small engines with big performance numbers in 2012.

By Mark PhelanDetroit Free Press

Chrysler looks to retake compact car market with reinvented Dodge Dart

DETROIT — If the new Dodge Dart sells anything like the original, Chrysler will have the small-car hit it needs.

The reinvented compact, unveiled at the Detroit auto show Monday, is nothing like its predecessor from the 1960s and ‘70s. But Chrysler is counting on the Dart, and its zippy name, to help it sell more small cars and continue its recent revival.

Instead of the somewhat boxy lines of the original, the new Dart has the sleek stance of a modern muscle car, with a short hood, long roof and slightly flared fenders. And it’s based on the frame and suspension of a crisp-han-dling Alfa Romeo hatchback brought over by Chrysler’s Italian owner, Fiat SpA.

The Dart also is a crucial test of the Chrysler-Fiat alli-ance, one aimed at saving millions of dollars by reus-ing Fiat frames, engines and technology, yet giving them an American style with more

space for people and gear. The Dart is the first Chrysler designed jointly by the com-panies.

Chrysler, which ran out of cash and had to be bailed out by the government in 2009, saw sales jump 26 percent last year, and it’s poised to turn its first annual profit since 1997.

Now the automaker needs a breakthrough in the grow-ing small-car market, where it hasn’t had success since the bug-eyed Dodge Neon in the mid-1990s. After nearly failing, Chrysler also real-izes it must end its depen-dence on inefficient SUVs and pickups.

Since the Neon, few have

considered Chrysler com-pacts, keeping the compa-ny out of a market that has grown to about 15 percent of U.S. auto sales.

Forty years ago, it was a different story. Back then, Dodge Darts were every-where. Middle-class Ameri-cans bought nearly 3.3 mil-lion between 1960 and 1976,

when Chrysler offered ver-sions for every lifestyle: the stripped-down commuter car, convertibles, the fam-ily station wagon, and street racers like the Dart Swing-er, which came with a rac-ing stripe, hood scoops and a 340-cubic-inch V-8 engine. Sales peaked in 1974 at more than 340,000 when gasoline

was a little over 50 cents per gallon and President Richard Nixon resigned during the Watergate scandal.

Chrysler would kill for those sales today. Its current small-car offering, the Cali-ber, sold only 35,000 last year, a fraction of the class-leading Toyota Corolla at 240,000. The Caliber is noisy, slow and its looks can’t compete with rivals like the Honda Civic, Ford Focus, Hyundai Elantra and Chevrolet Cruze.

“Let’s face it, the Cali-ber is not really able to go ... toe-to-toe with ... competi-tive compact cars,” says Reid Bigland, CEO of the Dodge brand and Chrysler Group LLC’s sales chief. “That’s about to change.”

Some versions of the Dart will get 40 miles per gallon on the highway. Its start-ing price is $15,995, at least $500 below its closest com-petitors, the Ford Focus and Chevrolet Cruze. The Focus starts at $16,500, while the Cruze base price is $16,720. The Toyota Corolla, the sales leader in compacts, starts at $15,900.

By Tom KrisherThe Associated Press

Tony Ding/The AssociATeD Press

The 2013 Dodge Dart is unveiled at the North American International Auto Show on Jan. 9 in Detroit, Mich.


DET ROIT — L exus unveiled a sleek, powerful concept sport coupe Mon-day that the luxury brand said offers a look at how its future offerings might be designed.

The two-door, four-seat LF-LC hybrid, which features an expansive glass roof, was displayed for the first time at the North American Interna-tional Auto Show in Detroit. It features tail lamps inspired by the look of jet airplane afterburners.

“We wanted this to be a gor-geous car, but we also wanted everything to be functional with a focus on the driver,” said Lexus general manager Mark Templin.

The LF-LC is packed with technology, including a touch-screen device in the center

console that allows the driv-er to control some of the vehicle’s systems as well as two 12.3-inch LCD display screens. Touch-screen surfac-es on each door operate win-dows, mirrors and seats.

The luxury arm of Toyota Motor Corp. said there are currently no plans to produce the LF-LC.

The car illustrates what Templin said is the latest phase for Lexus, which is aim-ing for “emotional and inspi-rational” vehicles. This year it plans nine new or updated vehicles and three F Sport models. As part of that, Lexus plans to release new versions of the midsize GS sedan early this year.

“From the GS forward, all our products will have more distinctive designs, more engaging driving dynamics, even better fuel economy and more advanced electronics,”

Templin said.Here’s what’s new:n POWER: Lexus expects

the LF-LC would kick out more than 500 horsepower.

n SPEED and MILEAGE: Those technical details weren’t released.

n LOOKS: A definite head-turner, the LF-LC’s glass roof and flowing lines set it apart. There’s no mistaking the lux-ury look and feel as well as its powerful appearance.

n CHEERS: It’s a beautiful machine, even at rest. It sur-rounds the driver in the lat-est technology, and raises the possibility that future Lexus models will draw on the dis-tinctive design.

n JEERS: A car like the LF-LC likely would be a pricey addition to the Lexus collec-tion. The rear seating, which sets it apart from the tradi-tional sportscar, looks to be a tight fit.

By David RunkThe Associated Press

Lexus coupe a forerunner for future models

Lexus unveils LF-LC hybrid, a concept sport coupe

Carlos osorio/The assoCiaTed Press

Lexus Division General Manager Mark Templin with the Lexus LF-LC concept as it’s introduced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on Jan. 9.

deTroiT Free Press/JessiCa J.TreViNo/MCT

Even at rest, the Lexus LF-LC Hybrid sports coupe is a beautiful machine. Aiming to be an emotional and inspirational vehicle, with its glass roof and flowing lines, it’s a definite head-turner. This year, Lexus plans nine new or updated vehicles and three F Sport mod-els. Lexus also plans to release new versions of the midsize GS sedan this year.

OnTheMOve / Tallahassee Democrat Monday, January 23, 2012 / Page 7

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‘06 CHEVROLETSilverado 1500

$9,977850-576-6171

Kraft Nissan

Tilt-Adjustable SteeringWheel, Spd-ProportionalPower Steering.

‘01 TOYOTACamry

$8,997850-576-6171

Kraft Nissan

Tilt-Adjustable SteeringWheel, PW, PS.

‘07 DODGE Caliber

$8,995850-576-6171

Kraft Nissan

PS.

‘97 FORD F-150

$5,997850-576-6171

Kraft Nissan


‘02 GMC Envoy

$5,997850-576-6171

Kraft Nissan

Tilt-Adjustable SteeringWheel, PW, Cruise,Spd-Proportional PowerSteering.

‘04 KIA Optima

$3,997850-576-6171

Kraft Nissan

Tilt-Adjustable SteeringWheel, PS.

‘02 DODGE Neon

$3,477850-576-6171

Kraft Nissan

3227 Mahan Drive | Tal lahassee, FL 32303850-576-6171

3227 Mahan Drive | Tal lahassee, FL 32303850-576-6171

TD-0000196664

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