February 2013

Ford shows 8 percent January sales increase in Canada

(February 5, 2013) OAKVILLE, Ont. — A full lineup of cars, utilities and trucks helped Ford Motor Company of Canada, kick off the New Year with an 8 per cent sales increase, marking its best January in 10 years. Car sales helped fuel strong sales with a 24 per cent rise, F-Series sales remained strong with a 10 per cent increase and SUV sales jumped 19 per cent.
 

Buyer data shows Chevrolet Spark attracting younger buyers

(February 5, 2013) DETROIT — Early buyer data for the Chevrolet Spark shows that 29 percent of buyers are under 35, and more than half are coming from non-General Motors’ brands, and price is a big selling point.

According to Chevy Spark early buyer data, Spark owners are:

Sirius XM Radio reports record revenue of $3.4 billion, up 13%

(February 5, 2013) NEW YORK, Feb. 5 — Sirius XM Radio, now found in a majority of new vehicles, has announced fourth quarter and full year 2012 financial and operating results — including 2012 revenue of $3.4 billion — up 13% from 2011 revenue of $3.0 billion. 

Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco awarded 2014 Corvette

(February 5, 2013) NEW ORLEANS — The honor of awarding the Super Bowl XLVII MVP Award was given to Rick Flick of New Orleans’ Banner Chevrolet, who knows a thing or two about comebacks. Banner Chevrolet, a part of Flick’s family for 40 years, was wiped out by Hurricane Katrina and was the first business to reopen in New Orleans East after the devastating 2005 storm.

'Honoring Our Veterans' license plate now available in Pennsylvania

(February 4, 2013) HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania vehicle owners can now show their support of veterans by purchasing the new "Honoring Our Veterans" license plate. The plate features an image of the American flag and a bald eagle and contains the words "Honoring Our Veterans."

Largest collection of Aston Martin racing cars to gather

(February 4, 2013) LONDON — The largest collection of Aston Martin racing cars ever to gather on a single track will meet at Brands Hatch in July for a unique race series to continue the British brand’s centenary celebrations.

More than a hundred of the marque’s racing cars, dating from 1922 to the present day, will gather for the two-day race series in Kent on July 6 and 7.

Renault-Nissan Alliance posts sales record in 2012 for 4th straight year

(February 4, 2013) PARIS — The Renault-Nissan Alliance sold a record 8,101,310 vehicles in 2012, representing one in 10 new cars sold worldwide. Calendar-year sales increased about one percent from 2011, with strong growth in emerging markets and the U.S., compensating for the protracted European slowdown.

2012 was the fourth straight year of sales growth for the Renault-Nissan Alliance.

Updated 2014 C63 AMG ups horsepower to 507

(February 4, 2013) MONTVALE, N.J. — The Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG models are becoming even more aggressive with the addition of a newly developed "Edition 507." The output of the AMG 6.3 liter V8 engine has been increased by 56 horsepower, bringing the output to 507 horsepower with 450 lb.-ft. of torque.

Toyota gets off to strong 2013 sales start in January

(February 4, 2013) TORRANCE, Calif. — Toyota last week reported January 2013 sales results of 157,725 units, an increase of 21.6 percent on a daily selling rate basis. Unadjusted for 25 selling days in January 2013 versus 24 in January 2012, sales were up 26.6 percent over the year-ago month.  
 

Ads score big with car shoppers during Super Bowl XLVII

(February 4, 2013) ATLANTA — Alpacas, a genie, a farmer and babies flying in from space were just a few of the characters auto manufacturers used to try and grab consumer's attention during Super Bowl XLVII. And judging by the activity on AutoTrader.com they resonated with car shoppers. On average, vehicles that were advertised during the game saw a 245% increase in search activity on AutoTrader during the hour after their ads ran.