1932 Buick Model 86 Victoria on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Black Friday could power record November sales

Black Friday allows some shoppers to line up in the wee hours for doorbuster deals on laptops and TVs, but the day after Thanksgiving could mean huge profits for automakers this year, too. Multiple industry analysts predict record growth for the industry for November, and the upcoming incentives could help those numbers. TrueCar predicts that Black Friday incentives could provide a major boost, and it estimates a November sales jump of 3.9 percent from last year to a record for the month at over 1.35 million vehicles. As examples of potential deals, Chevrolet, Buick, and GMC plan to offer up to 20 percent off some models, and FCA US has no-interest financing for up to 75 months from its brands. "Consumers are excited about Black Friday promotions and these month-long events appear to be resonating with car buyers." Eric Lyman, TrueCar's vice president of industry insights, said in the report. Black Friday only recently became a big day for auto sales, according to an analysis from Edmunds. Last year, Thanksgiving weekend posted double the sales as any other weekend in the month. The company predicts a sales volume of over 1.33 million vehicles for November. If that happens, it would be the beat the previous record of 1.32 million sales for the same month in 2001. Some forecasts temper the gains for November but only slightly. Kelley Blue Book predicts flat year-over-year sales at 1.3 million vehicles, but that's largely because there are two fewer sales days in 2015 versus in 2014. "Black Friday deals on vehicles have grown in popularity in recent years, and should be a big contributor to this month's sales results," said analyst Tim Fleming in the study. The combined research from J.D. Power and LMC Automotive have the lowest November prediction among this group at just over 1.279 million sales for the month versus 1.299 million in 2014. However, once the researchers adjust the figures for the two fewer selling days, 2015 could actually be seven percent higher than last year. TrueCar Finds New Auto Sales in November to Reach Monthly Record Black Friday promotions bolster sales gains; industrywide incentives up 6% from last year November 24, 2015 12:11 PM Eastern Standard Time SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TrueCar, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRUE) projects total new vehicle sales, including fleet deliveries, will reach 1,352,500 units in November, a 3.9 percent increase from a year ago and the highest ever for the month.

GM announces 6 recalls covering nearly 720k cars

General Motors has announced yet another sprawling recall campaign, with six separate elements covering 717,950 vehicles on US roads. At this point in 2014, it's starting to seem like there are more days with a GM recall than without. Perhaps most troubling about this latest volley, though, is that every vehicle is from the past few years, indicating that GM's quality woes may not be limited to pre-bankruptcy vehicles.
The largest element of this latest campaign covers 414,333 units, and includes the 2011 to 2012 Chevrolet Camaro, 2010 to 2012 Chevy Equinox, GMC Terrain and Cadillac SRX and the 2011 to 2012 Buick Regal and LaCrosse. Only vehicles with powered, height-adjustable seats are covered. In these particular cars and crossovers, the bolt that secures the height adjuster actuator may loosen of its own accord and in some cases fall out completely. If this happens, the seats will be able to move both up and down. GM claims the vehicles are safe to drive, provided drivers don't vertically adjust their seats. This particular issue has caused one crash and three injuries.
The largest element of this latest campaign covers 414,333 units, including the Chevrolet Camaro and Equinox, GMC Terrain, Cadillac SRX and the Buick Regal and LaCrosse.

Buick Cascada convertible likely dead after 2019

Opel announced it was discontinuing a few cars today, but the one that got our attention was the Cascada. The plan is to let the Opel Cascada live out its life until the end of 2019, with no replacement in the works. This brings into question the future of the Buick Cascada sold in the United States, since it's basically the same car and produced by Opel in the same factory in Poland. The Cascada has been on sale in other markets since 2012 badged as either an Opel or Vauxhall, but the Buick-badged car was only introduced in North America for the 2016 model year. Of course, Buick could decide to build the model beyond 2019, but it would need to find a new manufacturing location, convertibles aren't exactly popular, and the car would be egregiously old at that point. In other words, it looks like the Cascada is dead after 2019. We asked Buick what the game plan might be, and were told that there is nothing official to say at the moment. That's par for the course for something a manufacturer doesn't want to talk about yet, but it's also possible the announcement came as a surprise. Opel is no longer owned by GM, so the announcement actually came from the brand's new PSA ownership (the same French company that owns Peugeot and Citroen). As for the rationale behind the decision, that was a head scratcher, too. Opel/PSA said it was discontinuing the Cascada, as well as the subcompact Adam and Karl, in order to meet increasingly stringent emissions requirements and produce crossovers instead. This seems contradictory. Replacing a low-selling convertible and a pair of low-profit subcompacts with high-selling, high-profit crossovers sure seems like a solid business decision more than an emissions requirement one. Indeed, the Buick Cascada has never been a raging success in the United States either, with only 5,595 leaving the lots in 2017. It helped bring in some different kinds of customers to the Buick brand, but the impact is minute compared to a vehicle like the hot-selling Buick Encore. Related video: Featured Gallery 2019 Buick Cascada View 17 Photos Rumormill Buick Opel Convertible buick cascada