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Chrysler has released their sales figures for all of 2008, as well as the particularly bleak December 2008 numbers.  Jeep sales fell -48% from December ‘08 compared to the same time period in ‘07.  The Compass and Commander were the real stinkers of the group with sales falling -63% & -62% respectively.   The Jeep Wrangler was the least offensive of the bunch with only -22% drop.  All other models were -48% or worse.

For all of 2008, Jeep sales dropped -30% from the previous year.  Patriot sales are up 38% for the year.  The Jeep Liberty & Wrangler were the next “best” performers with only a -27% & -29% sales difference.  Grand Cherokee sales fell -39%, while the not-so-fuel-efficient Commander saw it’s sales drop -56% on the year.

Now that GM is worrying about saving itself instead of merging with Chrysler, the future of the Jeep Brand has become even more uncertain.

From Freep.com:

“GM’s decision opens the door for other automakers to look at a deal for Chrysler — with Renault-Nissan potentially reemerging in that scenario — although Renault-Nissan’s chief executive has indicated a reluctance to spend in this economic climate.”

At this point it’s safe to assume that Jeep, Dodge, and Chrysler will be split apart in some capacity.  To what degree we’re not sure of yet.  Hyundai Motor Co. has no entered the ring;

“Hyundai Motor Co. emerged as a possible suitor for Chrysler late Friday. Reuters reported that Cerberus has had talks with the South Korean automaker about a potential deal to acquire Chrysler’s Jeep brand and other assets. Hyundai reportedly denied interest, saying it lacked the capacity for such a deal.” (Freep.com)

According to NDTV Profit, things could shake out a little differently:

“Hyundai has shown some interest, though only in the Chrysler brand- which is where the idea of splitting the portfolio originated.”

NDTV has a lot to say about the possibility of Indian Company Mahindra & Mahindra buying Jeep & Dodge together.

“There could be another global acquisition brewing in the auto industry…with an Indian player in the fray.  Jeep and Dodge are the target and NDTV has learned that Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) could be in the mood to buy…  In the heels of collapse of merger talks between Chrysler and general Motors, M&M is likely to make a bid for parts of the Detroit based automotive giant Chrysler.  However sources indicate that M&M will most likely bid for the Jeep or Dodge lines of business as it would strengthen the Indian company’s UV capability.” (NDTV)

Well, Chrysler LLC has announced their sales figures for October 2008.  Things aren't looking very good for Jeep (or any Chrysler model) at the moment.  The Jeep Patriot is the one and only positive performer for the year, up 62% but still down -11% for 10/08 as oppossed to 10/07.  Jeep Grand Cherokee sales were down -24% in October as oppossed -37% on the year.  That may be due to both dropping gas prices and last ditch efforts to grab a lease.  Wrangler sales dropped -33%, bring their sales down -30% for the year.  The Jeep Liberty is down -40% selling 3,918 units during the time period.  The Commander improved to -48% sales difference, bringing them "up" to -54% on the year.  The ugly stepchild of the family is still the Compass.  This forgotten "Jeep" sold a measly 855 units for the October sales period for a -62% drop in vehicles moved.

These dismal totals bring Jeep sales down 105,017 units sold for a -27% drop in volume moved on the year.

This blog entry is brought to your online source for Jeep Accessories, Jeep Parts, and other cool Jeep Stuff, JeepWorld.com.

Well, Chrysler LLC has announced their sales figures for October 2008.  Things aren’t looking very good for Jeep (or any Chrysler model) at the moment.  The Jeep Patriot is the one and only positive performer for the year, up 62% but still down -11% for 10/08 as oppossed to 10/07.  Jeep Grand Cherokee sales were down -24% in October as oppossed -37% on the year.  That may be due to both dropping gas prices and last ditch efforts to grab a lease.  Wrangler sales dropped -33%, bring their sales down -30% for the year.  The Jeep Liberty is down -40% selling 3,918 units during the time period.  The Commander improved to -48% sales difference, bringing them “up” to -54% on the year.  The ugly stepchild of the family is still the Compass.  This forgotten “Jeep” sold a measly 855 units for the October sales period for a -62% drop in vehicles moved.

These dismal totals bring Jeep sales down 105,017 units sold for a -27% drop in volume moved on the year.

This blog entry is brought to your online source for Jeep Accessories, Jeep Parts, and other cool Jeep Stuff, JeepWorld.com.

A North Derbyshire family-owned motor group have announced a 30% increase in sales of new cars, despite the announcement by the SMMT (the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders) last week that car dealers have had their worst August since 1996. Stan Walker, Group Finance & Insurance Manager for Autoworld in Chesterfield says that Autoworld’s introduction of their
‘Litre-Beaters’ range has enabled them to buck the national trend in what are “uncertain economic times”.

“Litre-Beaters are a range of cars which are so economical to run that they can potentially save the owners up to £100 per month on fuel,” comments Stan.

“Motoring costs are a highly topical and emotive subject. Motorists, who, like the rest of us are incurring increased costs across the board are starting to calculate the amount of time they must work simply to fund the cost of running a car”.

“We empathise with the financial burden people are encountering and fully understand the difficult position they are in; we wanted to offer some way of easing that burden and research showed there was likely to be a huge demand for more economical vehicles. Hence, the introduction of our ‘Litre-Beaters’ range which has already proven to be a great success. The Seat Ibiza is not only very economical to run, but the carbon emissions are so low that the road tax is zero” added Stan.

Chris Rushton, 55 of Lower Pilsey made a decision to buy a Suzuki Swift from the Litre-Beaters range on the basis of fuel costs. “I was driving a 4×4 and decided to buy a Suzuki Swift because I had bought one for my wife’s’ 50th birthday and was really impressed with it. My eldest son also had a Suzuki Swift Sport so it was my turn! I am more than happy with the Suzuki, I travel 28 miles to and from work every day and I only need to fill the tank up once every three weeks; it’s brilliant, a really great car.”

Mark Foulkes, 46 of Chesterfield is one of many customers now turning to Autoworld’s more economical and environmentally friendly range. “I recently invested in a Citroen C1 from Autoworld’s Litre-Beaters range because of astronomical rising fuel costs,” he says. “I replaced my Astra 1.6 as I have to do a three mile journey every day to Walton Hospital where I work. I walked in to the showroom and fell in love with the car which looked great in red with a white stripe. It used to cost me £50 to fill up the Astra and I would get about 260 miles from a full tank. The Citroen from Autoworld costs me just £32 to fill up and I now get over 450 miles from a full tank. I can tax and insure the Citroen for £84 as the road tax is only £35. It is imperative that we carefully control our motoring costs, as we have to run a second car as well; if the family all go out together we need a larger vehicle, hence we have two vehicles purely out of necessity.”

Stan Walker says that “the upsurge in sales means Autoworld can demand better deals from the manufacturers – which in turn means even better deals for customers. In addition to cutting the cost of motoring for customers, if this trend continues Autoworld will need to expand further and take on more staff,” he concluded.

The Litre-Beaters range spans the spectrum of franchises at Autoworld, on Brimington Road North in Chesterfield. Seat, Citroen, Kia, Suzuki, Alfa Romeo and Fiat all have a presence in the range, offering consumers an excellent choice of both style and function.

Toyota Motor, the world’s second-largest automaker, reported a drop in quarterly sales for the first time in seven years after higher fuel costs and the financial crisis crippled auto demand in the US.

TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp. is feeling a big bite from the imploding U.S. auto market. Global sales slumped 4 percent in the July-September quarter and have barely pulled into positive territory for the first nine months of the year, the company said Oct. 24. The three-month downturn marked the first time in seven years the Japanese carmaker’s global sales have fallen on a quarterly basis.

Toyota sold about 2.236 million vehicles worldwide in the three months ended September 30, down 4.3 percent from 2.336 million a year earlier, according to an e-mail from the company.

General Motors, the world’s largest carmaker, will release its third-quarter sales figure on October 29.

Toyota fell 6.4 percent to 3,200 yen at the 3 p.m. close on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

My head is spinning trying to keep up with the bevy of rumors and speculation regarding the sale of Chrysler and the Jeep Brand.  GM is merging with Chrysler, Nissan/Renault is buying the Jeep line while GM takes the rest, GM is buying Chrysler to keep  Jeep and scrap the other lines, GM is gobbling up Chrysler to eliminate a competitor, and on and on.  Does anyone else’s head hurt trying to keep up with this stuff?  Regardless, the situation is one god-awful, ugly mess and it only looks to get worse before it gets better.  Here’s the latest information on the goings on.

Freep.com 10/22/08

“What will become of Chrysler? And of General Motors, for that matter?

Chrysler’s 80% owner, Cerberus Capital Management, desperately wants out of car and truck manufacturing, and will soon sell Chrysler to GM, merge it into the Renault-Nissan alliance, break it into pieces and pawn them, or just crash the Auburn Hills automaker into bankruptcy court.

GM, careening toward insolvency itself, sees in Cerberus-Chrysler a wad of cash that may help GM buy enough time to see the promised land of 2010, when the U.S. economy is stronger, when retiree health care costs shift to a UAW-run trust, when the electric Volt and other hot, new cars hit the market.”

Forbes.com 10/22/08

“Most of what you have read about the prospective deals for Chrysler involving General Motors, Cerberus Capital Management and Nissan/Renault is misleading.

Let me make this clear: Any merger between General Motors and Chrysler would mean the death of Chrysler and another coffin nail for GM.

If GM gains control of Chrysler, it would shut most of Chrysler’s plants and fire most of the workers. I have seen estimates that 30,000 to 40,000 people would lose their jobs, and I do not dispute these figures.

A Chrysler takeover could also be fatal to General Motors. GM needs every bit of its energy to save itself–and adding Chrysler would be a huge distraction, with no rewards…

Jeep would survive. It was part of Willys when it went down, and it survived. Jeep was part of American Motors and endured. The Chrysler minivan plant in St. Louis might last for a few years, but the bloom is off the minivan market. It is hard to see why GM would want 450,000 units of capacity for the Dodge Ram trucks. GM cannot sell the Chevy and GMC pickups it builds now. Nor do I think that GM would have much interest in Chrysler’s passenger cars.”

Last week we brought you the news of a potential merge between Chrysler and GM. It now appears that certain lines may head to GM and Jeep may be bought by Renault.

“Private equity firm Cerberus is in talks to sell all or part of Chrysler’s operations to Renault and General Motors as it considers a range of deals that could break up the No. 3 US automaker, people familiar with the talks said on Thursday. A Renault spokeswoman denied the talks.

Any deal with Renault to buy Jeep would put the world’s first and best-known sport-utility brand back in the hands of the French automaker that sold it to Chrysler along with American Motors in 1987.”

Check out the rest of the story from Wheels 24 here.

I’m a little behind on this one.  You’ll have to forgive me.  According to the AP, GM and Chrysler have been talking about a possible merge.  I hope everyone had a nice long weekend.

DETROIT (AP) — General Motors Corp., Chrysler LLC and Cerberus Capital Management LP have held preliminary talks about a merger or an acquisition of Chrysler by GM, according to a person familiar with the talks.

Chrysler, which is 80.1 percent owned by Cerberus, already has a joint venture with GM making a hybrid gas-electric powertrain, and has discussed a full merger or acquisition with GM, said the person, who did not want to be identified because the talks have not been made public.

The Wall Street Journal, citing people it described as familiar with the discussions, reported that Cerberus, a private equity firm that also owns 51 percent of GMAC Financial Services, proposed trading Chrysler’s automotive operations to GM in exchange for GM’s remaining 49 percent stake in GMAC.

The New York Times, also citing people familiar with the talks, reported that the automakers were discussing a merger.

GMAC, primarily an auto lender, also has significant mortgage lending operations that have been hit hard by the crisis in that industry.

The talks have stalled because of the recent turmoil in the financial markets, according to the Journal. Its sources said negotiations could resume if markets stabilize because both GM and Cerberus want to quickly divest the assets under discussion.

The negotiations between 100-year-old GM and 83-year-old Chrysler have began more than a month ago. The Times said its sources pegged the chances of a merger being completed at “50-50.”

Read the full story here.

Chrysler LLC announced their September 2008 sales figures this week and the news is not getting any better.  Jeep Brand Sales are down -43% overall from the September sales period in 2007.  All models had significant drops in sales, with the gas-hogging Commander and relatively fuel-efficient Compass taking the biggest hit, a -65% drop.  The Patriot, having the same or comparable gas mileage as the Compass, had sales drop only -25%, probably speaking for the public’s preference for the Patriot’s boxier body style.  Sales were down for the Jeep Grand Cherokee -56%, the Jeep Wrangler -29%, and the Jeep Liberty -27%.  Jeep Brand Sales are down -26% for the year.

It looks like Chrysler will be releasing one of their electric vehicle models in the US in 2010.  Let’s hope they make it the Jeep EV in the US.

From the Chysler LLC Press Release:

Chrysler LLC announced today that the Company and its ENVI organization have new production-intent, advanced electric-drive technology packaged in three different vehicles – one for each of its brands, Chrysler, Jeep® and Dodge.

It looks like Chrysler will be releasing one of their electric vehicle models in the US in 2010.  Let's hope they make it the Jeep EV in the US.

From the Chysler LLC Press Release:

Chrysler LLC announced today that the Company and its ENVI organization have new production-intent, advanced electric-drive technology packaged in three different vehicles – one for each of its brands, Chrysler, Jeep® and Dodge.

In another move to clear out some inventory and boost sales, Chrysler is offering special employee pricing for “Key Customer Groups” according to MarketWatch.

“Chrysler LLC is offering eligible military personnel, returning lessees, supplier and affiliate employees the opportunity to purchase a new Chrysler, Jeep(R) or Dodge vehicle for nearly the same price that a Chrysler employee pays.

In another move to clear out some inventory and boost sales, Chrysler is offering special employee pricing for "Key Customer Groups" according to MarketWatch.

"Chrysler LLC is offering eligible military personnel, returning lessees, supplier and affiliate employees the opportunity to purchase a new Chrysler, Jeep(R) or Dodge vehicle for nearly the same price that a Chrysler employee pays.