U.S. automakers desperate to sell
TEXT OF STORY
Doug Krizner: General Motors and Ford are getting more aggressive about selling vehicles.They’ve stepped up discounting, and now we’ve got a full-blown price war for pickup tucks. GM’s got new deals for full-sized pickups and Ford’s extending discounts for its entire 2007 lineup. Last month sales for the Big Three automakers took a nosedive, a drop of 13 percent. At this rate, Detroit’s could soon mark a big milestone, as Jill Barshay reports.
Jill Barshay: Americans continue to turn their noses up at General Motors, Ford and Chrysler.
Before the end of the year, more than half the cars we buy will come from foreign car manufacturers. Michelle Krebs is editor of Edmonds Auto Observer.
Michelle Krebs: GM at one point had 60 percent market share by itself. It shows that the whole landscape of the American automobile industry has changed
Sales have fallen fast since U.S. automakers cut back on discounts and rebates. Krebs says now they can focus on profits.
Krebs: Profitability is the most important thing, because you could increase your sales by practically giving away vehicles, but that’s not the smart way to do it.
The Big Three are about to bumped off the top of the market, but that doesn’t spell the end of the American auto industry.
Experts say more than half the cars and trucks sold in the U.S. will still be built in America, whether they’re foreign or not.
In New York, I’m Jill Barshay for Marketplace.
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