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September 2014 Dashboard Report

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by bwilson4web, Oct 1, 2014.

  1. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    I wonder if we should stop correlating hybrid sales with gaso prices, so much as the economy.
    Hybrids cost more, but they are now a nice-to-have "upscale" car option.
    If people feel like they can afford it, they will go for the hybrid without looking at gaso prices so much...maybe

    Right now we seem to have low gaso prices, but the economy is sluggish too.
     
    Okinawa likes this.
  2. Okinawa

    Okinawa Senior Member

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    Maybe it is because of the sluggish economy.
     
  3. austingreen

    austingreen Senior Member

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    Auto sales are up this year, plug-in sales are up, its not the economy.

    It may be the dealers, it is much more likely gas prices and lack of a new prius liftback that dominates the market. That last bit we can't test until 2016, but I bet when the gen IV comes out the growth will start. We may simply be in the selling cycle and the design is over 5 years old.
     
  4. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    IIRC, the gen2 was called a sedan on the window sticker.
     
  5. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    ...you are correct car sales are up but is average price up?
    One explanation I heard for the higher car sales was the scaling back of the military forces.
     
  6. austingreen

    austingreen Senior Member

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    yes the asp (average selling price) of a new car is up more than inflation this year.
    New-Car Transaction Prices Jump Nearly 3 Percent In August 2014, According To Kelley Blue Book - MarketWatch

    Autos are leading a weak recovery. One big reason is people did not buy vehicles in the deeper part of the recession so the average age of a light vehicle in the US is the highest its ever been. Many of these vehicles are expensive SUVs and full size trucks. With gas prices relatively low, people are buying more expensive new vehicles to replaces the old ones, instead of down sizing to cars. The auto sales growth though is unlikely to continue, as we have recovered to pre recession levels.
     
    #46 austingreen, Oct 22, 2014
    Last edited: Oct 22, 2014
  7. kabin

    kabin Member

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    More likely due to a less than desirable long in the tooth prius design.
     
  8. Okinawa

    Okinawa Senior Member

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    Risky loans are being made to sell cars just like they did that caused the real estate bust. Now they are going to make risky loans again in the real estate market to try to jump start it. A 3 ring circus.
     
  9. austingreen

    austingreen Senior Member

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    While I agree one of the drivers in the auto recovery is easy money, that dosn't put much of the economy at risk. After about 2 years a defaulted auto loan really costs the financing company nothing as they should be able to sell the car for more than the defaulted amount. Say you have 10% bad loans (which is high) that cost 20% in default with an loan of $30,000, that is $19b in loan losses, tiny compared to the scale of these financing companies. All those used cars on the market would hurt the major auto companies though, but toyota, gm, ford, etc all have reduced cost in the recession so they can sell fewer cars and still make a profit.

    Real estate and financial companies are just to far off topic for this discussion, but I agree we need serious reform.