Vehicle Sales

DEARBORN, Mich. -- Ford Motor Co.'s U.S. vehicle sales fell 2.2 percent in November, slightly better than analysts expected.Car sales slid 12 percent, wiping out the company's 5.7 percent gain in sales of pickups, minivans and sport utility vehicles.November is traditionally a lackluster month for auto sales because of bad weather and holiday-focused shoppers, but this year was worse than last. U.S. car and truck sales slipped 1.6 percent, compared with November 1995.Ford is cutting prices with big rebates to try to maintain its sales momentum, offering incentives across a broad range of its cars and giving employees leases on the Taurus to help keep it the best-selling car in the U.S. market.

Parris N. Glendening freed his firm grip on the steering wheel, rested his arm on the window opening of the $30,000-plus, silver Land Rover, flashed a broad grin and said: "What a thrill. This was the most fun I've had as governor."The governor had just completed his second lap around a third-of-a-mile, off-pavement demonstration course Land Rover has constructed in the East Point Metro Business Center in Prince George's County. The course familiarizes dealer prospects, potential financial partners, suppliers and customers with the ruggedness of the luxury sport utility vehicle the automaker imports and distributes throughout the country.

The new-car sales boom that has been sweeping the nation continues to bypass Maryland, according to figures from the state Motor Vehicle Administration.Sales of new cars and trucks in Maryland were 1.2 percent lower last month than in May 1995. That dip compared with a 7 percent rise in sales nationally.For the country as a whole, 1996 sales have been better than analysts and industry executives had expected. Sales have been higher in each of the first five months of the year, compared with the comparable period of last year.

At Jerry's Chevrolet-Geo in Parkville, there are still traces of the blizzard of '96 that robbed that dealership and others in the state of a big chunk of their sales last month:-- a pile of snow that rises above the front bumpers of the four-wheel-drive Chevy Blazers facing Joppa Road."

New vehicle sales, which account for $1 of every $6 of Maryland's total retail trade, declined again last month, marking the sixth consecutive month in which sales were lower than in the corresponding period of a year ago."The year started off fine, but the last six months have been very disappointing for dealers," said Jacob J. Cohen, a partner and head of the automotive division at Walpert, Smullian & Blumenthal, a Towson-based accounting and management consulting company.According to registration figures released by the Motor Vehicle Administration yesterday, new vehicle sales were 7.3 percent below the sales pace in the same month last year.

New vehicle sales in Maryland declined for the third consecutive month in August as state motorists rejected the generous cash rebates offered by car manufacturers designed to clear the lots of 1995 models.According to registration figures released by the Motor Vehicle Administration yesterday, new vehicle sales were 7.9 percent below the sales pace in the same month last year.For the first eight months of the year, auto and truck sales are off 3.6 percent in Maryland, according to the MVA.Michael Conte, director of regional economic studies at the University of Baltimore, took an optimistic view of the sales trend.

DETROIT -- June car and truck sales showed the power of incentives: vehicles with them generally sold well, while those with none remained for the most part on dealer lots.While figures released yesterday showed that industry sales slipped one-tenth of 1 percent in June from the corresponding month a year earlier, gains like Chrysler's 11.7 percent increase were bolstered by heavy incentives.Indeed, automakers and dealers combined spent an average of $2,700 a vehicle to promote sales, including cash rebates to customers and incentives for dealer sales forces, according to CNW Marketing/Research in Bandon, Ore. That amount was more than double the year-ago level and the highest since January 1992.

GM, Chrysler sales fell in MayGeneral Motors Corp. and Chrysler Corp. said yesterday that their U.S. vehicle sales slumped in May from a year ago, while buyers snapped up Japan's Lexus and Infiniti luxury models as trade sanctions loomed.Industry leader GM's total U.S. vehicle sales in May declined 5.4 percent, measured by sales per day. Chrysler, the third-largest U.S. automaker, said its sales fell 3.0 percent. Ford Motor Co. is expected to report results next week.Toyota Motor Corp., which makes the Lexus; Nissan Motor Co., which produces the Infiniti; and Mercedes-Benz all reported U.S. sales gains despite the strength of the Japanese and German currencies against the dollar.

Pent-up demand and renewed consumer confidence sent buyers swarming into new-car showrooms across the state last month, resulting in a 29.7 percent jump in vehicle sales.According to title registration figures released by the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration, the big jump in sales last month followed a 34 percent increase during April. For the first five months of 1994, Maryland dealers have sold 129,435 new cars and light trucks, more than 18 percent ahead of last year.All regions of the state seem to be sharing in the good times.

Maryland consumers braved January's ice and frigid temperatures to go on a car buying spree that has area dealers thinking about a return to their pre-recession heydays of the late 1980s."