The other day I had an emergency and went about 95 mph to get where I needed to be, on the way my gas gauge started jumping a lot. It had around a quarter of gas and it jumps past full and down to empty and just keeps moving. The other day we replaced radiator because the head broke on it. could that have anything to do with it? What would I need to look at?
Response:
Your Fuel Gauge has a Fuse marked Gauges in your Fuse Panel and is also connected at the Fuel Pump Relay then 4 wires continue to the Fuel Cell. 2 wires go to the Gauge and the other 2 run the Fuel Pump. Check your connections under the hood but I believe you will find the short wire harness inside the fuel cell is making intermediate connections
Monday, May 10, 2010
Saturday, May 08, 2010
I have a leak in the air conditioning
I have a GMC Jimmy "98" V6 Vortex engine with a leak in the air conditioning. I had it recharged last year and it lasted about 1 month. Do they have something like a radiator leak fix that I can use for the air or something else?
Response:
1) They used to tint (color) the freon when filling, and watch for leaks. That was years ago. Not aware of any type of stop leak that can be added to the freon. There are several places in the system that can develop leaks.
2) Advance Auto Parts carries a stop leak for almost everything including air conditioning. Now mind you I'm not recommending these products, just telling you they have them.
Response:
1) They used to tint (color) the freon when filling, and watch for leaks. That was years ago. Not aware of any type of stop leak that can be added to the freon. There are several places in the system that can develop leaks.
2) Advance Auto Parts carries a stop leak for almost everything including air conditioning. Now mind you I'm not recommending these products, just telling you they have them.
Thursday, May 06, 2010
brake lights come on and go off
I have a 2004 Malibu and the brake lights come on and go off while i'm driving Just wanted to know where the problem is.
Response:
That Dash Light "BRAKE" doesn't always indicate a problem. If your Parking Brake is loose this light may flash as you drive or even remain on. If this light ONLY comes on while Applying the Brakes THEN you have a problem of either adjustment/replacem ent or Air in the system. A GOOD Indicator is if you must "Pump Up" the Brakes. This Light is controlled by a Proportioning Valve and NOT Cheap and Rare to go Bad.
Response:
That Dash Light "BRAKE" doesn't always indicate a problem. If your Parking Brake is loose this light may flash as you drive or even remain on. If this light ONLY comes on while Applying the Brakes THEN you have a problem of either adjustment/replacem ent or Air in the system. A GOOD Indicator is if you must "Pump Up" the Brakes. This Light is controlled by a Proportioning Valve and NOT Cheap and Rare to go Bad.
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Toyota wonders whether owners are misreading acceleration
Toyota's chief quality officer for North America thinks that some of the automaker's recall troubles come from doing a poor job of teaching customers about its cars at the dealership.
Steve St. Angelo -- tapped in March to head the task of repairing Toyota's image in the United States for quality -- thinks some Toyota owners may misunderstand their car's performance features.
“We're realizing that we haven't done a good job of educating our customers about our cars,” St. Angelo said in a phone conversation with Automotive News. “We must do a better job of educating them about the features, especially if they have anything to do with unintended acceleration.”
He said Toyota's radar cruise control system automatically slows down the vehicle if another car comes too close. But after the distance is clear, the car automatically returns to its previous speed -- a feature that could be confused with unintended acceleration, St. Angelo said.
Involve retailers
He said improving customer education will require the involvement of Toyota's U.S. retailers.
St. Angelo, also executive vice president of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, has assigned 200 engineers to travel the United States responding to problems associated with the automaker's safety recalls over unintended acceleration. Those problems resulted in the global recall of 8.5 million vehicles and have damaged Toyota's brand reputation.
Company officials have apologized for the safety problems but originally resisted recalling the vehicles.
St. Angelo said the teams so far have inspected 500 Toyota vehicles in the field that are thought to have related problems. He did not reveal the specific results of the inspections.
He said the task force will continue after the recall problems are resolved.
‘Other issues'
“Once we stabilize these problems, the teams will begin looking at other issues out in the field,” St. Angelo said, without specifying what they would be.
He also said his task force has obtained 150 readout tools for Toyota's event data recorder -- the so-called black box -- for use around the United States and has given 10 to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Toyota was publicly chided late last year when it revealed that, while many of its vehicles are equipped with event data recorders that could shine light on why the vehicles might accelerate unintentionally, the company kept only one readout tool in the United States. Readout tools for other automakers' vehicles could not be used on Toyotas.
Critics pointed to the absence of the readout tools as evidence that Toyota's U.S. safety issues were managed in Japan, where managers were unresponsive to U.S. consumer concerns.
St. Angelo said its 150 U.S. readout tools are now more than adequate to analyze vehicle data locally.
Steve St. Angelo -- tapped in March to head the task of repairing Toyota's image in the United States for quality -- thinks some Toyota owners may misunderstand their car's performance features.
“We're realizing that we haven't done a good job of educating our customers about our cars,” St. Angelo said in a phone conversation with Automotive News. “We must do a better job of educating them about the features, especially if they have anything to do with unintended acceleration.”
He said Toyota's radar cruise control system automatically slows down the vehicle if another car comes too close. But after the distance is clear, the car automatically returns to its previous speed -- a feature that could be confused with unintended acceleration, St. Angelo said.
Involve retailers
He said improving customer education will require the involvement of Toyota's U.S. retailers.
St. Angelo, also executive vice president of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, has assigned 200 engineers to travel the United States responding to problems associated with the automaker's safety recalls over unintended acceleration. Those problems resulted in the global recall of 8.5 million vehicles and have damaged Toyota's brand reputation.
Company officials have apologized for the safety problems but originally resisted recalling the vehicles.
St. Angelo said the teams so far have inspected 500 Toyota vehicles in the field that are thought to have related problems. He did not reveal the specific results of the inspections.
He said the task force will continue after the recall problems are resolved.
‘Other issues'
“Once we stabilize these problems, the teams will begin looking at other issues out in the field,” St. Angelo said, without specifying what they would be.
He also said his task force has obtained 150 readout tools for Toyota's event data recorder -- the so-called black box -- for use around the United States and has given 10 to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Toyota was publicly chided late last year when it revealed that, while many of its vehicles are equipped with event data recorders that could shine light on why the vehicles might accelerate unintentionally, the company kept only one readout tool in the United States. Readout tools for other automakers' vehicles could not be used on Toyotas.
Critics pointed to the absence of the readout tools as evidence that Toyota's U.S. safety issues were managed in Japan, where managers were unresponsive to U.S. consumer concerns.
St. Angelo said its 150 U.S. readout tools are now more than adequate to analyze vehicle data locally.
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Dodge Caliber being probed for sticky pedal issue, U.S. says
Chrysler Group's 2007 Dodge Caliber cars are under federal investigation for unintended acceleration caused by a sticky pedal -- the same type of problem that led to a large Toyota recall this year.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it is investigating as many as 161,000 Calibers for an accelerator pedal that “can stick or bind and not return to the idle position when it is released.”
The safety agency has received five customer complaints but no reports of deaths, injuries or crashes.
Chrysler's own investigation has narrowed the population of suspect vehicles to 10,000 that were made during five weeks in March and April 2006, a company spokesman said.
Supplier issue?
The problem appears to be a mechanical one caused by parts made by CTS Corp., of Elkhart, Ind., Chrysler spokesman Nick Cappa said.
A NHTSA official said the automaker had been cooperative.
“The manufacturer is responsible for the performance of the car, and that's who we're investigating,” a NHTSA official said. “Chrysler has been cooperative.”
CTS also was blamed by Toyota Motor Corp. for its sticky gas pedals, which led to a January recall of 2.1 million vehicles.
The supplier denied the Toyota charge, noting that the automaker has recalled millions of other vehicles for unintended acceleration that were not equipped with CTS pedals.
CTS did not immediately respond today to a request for comment.
Electronic defects probed
In the wake of Toyota's worldwide recall of 9 million vehicles for unintended acceleration, NHTSA has been investigating the possible role played by electronic defects in triggering speed control problems across the auto industry.
Toyota's problems have been far more extensive -- and far more severe, with reports of dozens of deaths and injuries -- than the possible defects under investigation at Chrysler.
Chrysler said today that the sticky-pedal problem “is mechanical in nature and not a design or electronic issue.”
Cappa said Chrysler was able to narrow the problem population to 10,000 vehicles after being alerted to customer complaints by NHTSA on April 23 and then comparing complaints to warranty data.
On April 29, NHTSA opened a preliminary evaluation, the first stage of a formal investigation, the agency said on its Web site. This review can lead to an engineering analysis and, ultimately, a recall.
Four of the five complainants reported that they had found bushings -- bearings made of brass to allow the pedal to pivot -- on the driver's side floor, NHTSA said.
Without the bushings, the pedal arm “can become misaligned” and be prevented from returning to the idle position, the agency said.
Dodge vs. Toyota
The CTS pedals used in the Dodge Calibers are different from those used in the recalled Toyotas, a NHTSA official said.
Chrysler said that since 2003, the Caliber has been equipped with a brake override system that reduces power when both the brake and the gas pedal are depressed.
Most Toyota vehicles have not had a brake override system, which would be mandated under legislation to be discussed at a congressional committee hearing Thursday.
But some consumer complaints to NHTSA raise questions about the effectiveness of the Chrysler brake override system.
One complainant reported that while traveling at 65 mph, the Dodge Caliber accelerated suddenly to over 90 mph, a report on NHTSA's site said. Neither the brakes nor emergency brake could stop the car. It slowed only when the car was put in neutral, the driver said.
Another complainant said that while driving his Caliber at 15 mph, it “abnormally accelerated” to 75 mph. The driver reached over and lifted the pedal with his hand, he said.
One complainant expressed frustration with Chrysler's response to his reports and appealed to NHTSA to investigate.
“I am not getting any satisfaction from Chrysler; they continue to blow me off,” he said. “Please respond; no one else does.”
Monday, May 03, 2010
Pontiac owners are migrating to Chevrolet
Thirteen of Buick-GMC dealer Kim Borcherding's customers had Pontiac leases that ended in March, but none of them bought or leased another new vehicle from her.
Six of them bought an import. Three bought a Chevrolet, which Borcherding's Cincinnati store doesn't sell. One bought a used vehicle from her, and three bought out their leases.
Those were their only options if they wanted to stay her customers, Borcherding says. Her current inventory is “just nothing that is in their league,” she says, since the lowest priced new vehicle she has costs nearly $25,000.
Like most Pontiac owners, Borcherding's customers need moderately priced sedans not found in the current Buick-GMC showroom.
As a result, General Motors Co.'s retention efforts are shifting most of its former Pontiac owners to Chevrolet.
“They have nowhere else to turn because we don't have anything else to offer,” Borcherding says. “They're not going to wait forever.”
In the year leading up to GM's April 27, 2009, announcement that it would kill Pontiac, 37 percent of owners trading in a Pontiac bought a GM product, according to data from Edmunds.com. That percentage has stayed nearly flat at 36 percent.
But the preferred GM brand for repeat buyers has shifted. Before GM decided to eliminate Pontiac, the brand competed evenly with Chevrolet for Pontiac owners' next purchases, with each brand averaging 15 percent. And Pontiac won that battle in the months immediately following the death sentence.
But from Jan. 1 -- when GM's supply of Pontiacs had dwindled to 800 -- through March, one-fourth of Pontiac owners chose Chevrolet for their next purchase. To compare, Buick-GMC sales from Pontiac trade-ins have only increased to 10 percent this year, from 6 percent the year before the Pontiac verdict.
That's fine with some Buick-GMC dealers who either own Chevrolet stores down the street or never depended much on Pontiac sales. But for others, the loss of Pontiac and the shift to Buick-GMC's premium image has meant a drop in revenue. Their wait for less expensive sedans continues while Pontiac owners slowly slip away to the local Chevrolet dealer.
“None of them are buying a Buick-GMC because there's nothing really comparable in the Buick-GMC line,” says Mark Frost, general manager of Jim Ellis Buick-GMC outside Atlanta.
The GMC Terrain small crossover, starting at $24,995, including shipping, has the lowest starting sticker price in the brands' lineups, not counting pickups. The least-expensive car, the Buick LaCrosse, starts at $26,995, including shipping.
Dealers will have to wait until the 2012 model year to sell a less expensive sedan: the base version of the new Buick Regal. A premium-trim-level Regal is on its way to dealerships with a $26,995 price tag, and the base level will cost less than that.
Frost also manages a Chevrolet store, and 10 of the 14 Pontiac trade-ins he has seen since November have been for Chevrolets. His dealership group took over the Buick-Pontiac-GMC franchise a year ago, so it has never really depended on Pontiac sales. But he still advertises service to Pontiac owners through the updated “free agent” lists GM provides to all its dealers.
GM has also offered Pontiac owners four free oil changes and $1,000 off a new GM vehicle.
“The loyalty rates of Pontiac owners are in line with our expectations,” GM spokesman Tom Henderson says. He declined to give data on retention rates or efforts to keep Pontiac customers in the GM fold.
One dealer sees used cars as a way to retain Pontiac owners. New York dealer Mike Mullaney's Buick-GMC store doesn't have inexpensive new products for his Pontiac customers, so he's trying to put them in late-model used Pontiacs. That way, he hopes he can keep from losing his customers to the local Chevrolet dealer and maybe be able to offer them a smaller, less expensive Buick in a year or two.
Says Mullaney: “If we can maintain that customer for one more product cycle, we'll be in good shape.”
Six of them bought an import. Three bought a Chevrolet, which Borcherding's Cincinnati store doesn't sell. One bought a used vehicle from her, and three bought out their leases.
Those were their only options if they wanted to stay her customers, Borcherding says. Her current inventory is “just nothing that is in their league,” she says, since the lowest priced new vehicle she has costs nearly $25,000.
Like most Pontiac owners, Borcherding's customers need moderately priced sedans not found in the current Buick-GMC showroom.
As a result, General Motors Co.'s retention efforts are shifting most of its former Pontiac owners to Chevrolet.
“They have nowhere else to turn because we don't have anything else to offer,” Borcherding says. “They're not going to wait forever.”
In the year leading up to GM's April 27, 2009, announcement that it would kill Pontiac, 37 percent of owners trading in a Pontiac bought a GM product, according to data from Edmunds.com. That percentage has stayed nearly flat at 36 percent.
But the preferred GM brand for repeat buyers has shifted. Before GM decided to eliminate Pontiac, the brand competed evenly with Chevrolet for Pontiac owners' next purchases, with each brand averaging 15 percent. And Pontiac won that battle in the months immediately following the death sentence.
But from Jan. 1 -- when GM's supply of Pontiacs had dwindled to 800 -- through March, one-fourth of Pontiac owners chose Chevrolet for their next purchase. To compare, Buick-GMC sales from Pontiac trade-ins have only increased to 10 percent this year, from 6 percent the year before the Pontiac verdict.
That's fine with some Buick-GMC dealers who either own Chevrolet stores down the street or never depended much on Pontiac sales. But for others, the loss of Pontiac and the shift to Buick-GMC's premium image has meant a drop in revenue. Their wait for less expensive sedans continues while Pontiac owners slowly slip away to the local Chevrolet dealer.
“None of them are buying a Buick-GMC because there's nothing really comparable in the Buick-GMC line,” says Mark Frost, general manager of Jim Ellis Buick-GMC outside Atlanta.
The GMC Terrain small crossover, starting at $24,995, including shipping, has the lowest starting sticker price in the brands' lineups, not counting pickups. The least-expensive car, the Buick LaCrosse, starts at $26,995, including shipping.
Dealers will have to wait until the 2012 model year to sell a less expensive sedan: the base version of the new Buick Regal. A premium-trim-level Regal is on its way to dealerships with a $26,995 price tag, and the base level will cost less than that.
Frost also manages a Chevrolet store, and 10 of the 14 Pontiac trade-ins he has seen since November have been for Chevrolets. His dealership group took over the Buick-Pontiac-GMC franchise a year ago, so it has never really depended on Pontiac sales. But he still advertises service to Pontiac owners through the updated “free agent” lists GM provides to all its dealers.
GM has also offered Pontiac owners four free oil changes and $1,000 off a new GM vehicle.
“The loyalty rates of Pontiac owners are in line with our expectations,” GM spokesman Tom Henderson says. He declined to give data on retention rates or efforts to keep Pontiac customers in the GM fold.
One dealer sees used cars as a way to retain Pontiac owners. New York dealer Mike Mullaney's Buick-GMC store doesn't have inexpensive new products for his Pontiac customers, so he's trying to put them in late-model used Pontiacs. That way, he hopes he can keep from losing his customers to the local Chevrolet dealer and maybe be able to offer them a smaller, less expensive Buick in a year or two.
Says Mullaney: “If we can maintain that customer for one more product cycle, we'll be in good shape.”
Saturday, May 01, 2010
GM properly used escrow to repay U.S. loans, Treasury says
General Motors Co., which repaid $4.7 billion in U.S. loans last week, properly used escrowed cash for the payment, a Treasury Department official said in responding to complaints from a Republican senator.
GM used the escrowed funds created with government loans and overseen by the Treasury after determining the cash wasn't needed for “extraordinary” expenses, Herbert Allison, Treasury's assistant secretary for financial stability, said in a letter to Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa.
Grassley, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, on April 22 wrote to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner that GM's repayment “appears to be nothing more than an elaborate TARP money shuffle” because the money came from the U.S. Troubled Asset Relief Program.
Allison said Grassley was incorrect in saying the escrow account was held at the Treasury, when the funds were held by the automaker.
Allison's written response echoed the points made by a treasury spokeswoman last week.
“The bottom line is that the repayment was made on the dime of taxpayers across America, and it's misleading to say that GM repaid its TARP loans ‘in full, with interest, ahead of schedule, because more customers are buying' GM cars,” Grassley said in a statement on his Web site following Treasury's determination.
GM CEO Ed Whitacre last week met U.S. lawmakers, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in Washington after announcing the repayment. Taxpayers own 61 percent of GM, a stake worth about $2.1 billion, as part of its 2009 bankruptcy financing.
The Treasury will start selling its GM shares when the automaker begins an initial public offering, Allison said.
GM used the escrowed funds created with government loans and overseen by the Treasury after determining the cash wasn't needed for “extraordinary” expenses, Herbert Allison, Treasury's assistant secretary for financial stability, said in a letter to Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa.
Grassley, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, on April 22 wrote to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner that GM's repayment “appears to be nothing more than an elaborate TARP money shuffle” because the money came from the U.S. Troubled Asset Relief Program.
Allison said Grassley was incorrect in saying the escrow account was held at the Treasury, when the funds were held by the automaker.
Allison's written response echoed the points made by a treasury spokeswoman last week.
“The bottom line is that the repayment was made on the dime of taxpayers across America, and it's misleading to say that GM repaid its TARP loans ‘in full, with interest, ahead of schedule, because more customers are buying' GM cars,” Grassley said in a statement on his Web site following Treasury's determination.
GM CEO Ed Whitacre last week met U.S. lawmakers, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in Washington after announcing the repayment. Taxpayers own 61 percent of GM, a stake worth about $2.1 billion, as part of its 2009 bankruptcy financing.
The Treasury will start selling its GM shares when the automaker begins an initial public offering, Allison said.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Ford's $2.1 billion profit may be year's best as costs begin to rise
Ford Motor Co.'s first-quarter profit of $2.1 billion may be as good as it gets this year as the automaker faces rising costs to introduce new models.
Today's earnings report came with a plan to boost second-quarter production and spurred CEO Alan Mulally to forecast a “solid” 2010 profit, a year ahead of his previous prediction. Future quarters may not be as strong, CFO Lewis Booth said today.
“It would be unwise to think of $2 billion as a running rate,” Booth told reporters. “We've got a lot of new product launches, so you'll see some launch expense and we do expect some headwinds from commodities” prices.
The executives cited challenges such as a “fragile” economy after posting a fourth straight quarter of net income, the longest streak since 2005. Booth said the Ford Motor Credit unit was unlikely to “keep up the pace” for the rest of the year.
“The first quarter could turn out to be their best,” said Joe Phillippi, president of AutoTrends Consulting in Short Hills, New Jersey. “The landscape might become more competitive as Toyota fights its way back and GM launches a lot of new products.”
Ford said second-quarter production in North America will be 625,000 vehicles, a 5 percent increase from the plan announced March 2. Output will rise 39 percent compared with a year earlier.
Ford benefited from a recovering auto market and higher prices that added $1 billion to pretax operating earnings. Excluding some gains and costs, earnings were 46 cents a share, topping the 31-cent average of 12 estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Market share
A 37 percent surge in U.S. sales in the first quarter more than doubled the industrywide increase, helping Ford add domestic market share at the fastest pace in 33 years after becoming the only major U.S. automaker to avoid bankruptcy in 2009.
Profit was buoyed by Ford Credit's $828 million of pretax operating income, after a $36 million year-earlier loss. Ford Credit, which lends to dealers and buyers, will earn about $2 billion on an operating basis in 2010, Ford said. The unit will pay Ford a dividend of $2 billion this year, up from a previous forecast of $1.5 billion, Booth said.
Himanshu Patel, a JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst in New York, said in a note that the unit's first-quarter gains were driven by rising resale prices and are “unsustainable.” He advises holding Ford shares.
Ford shares slid 6.3 percent, to $13.55, at 4:02 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The stock tumbled as much as 9.1 percent earlier in the day, the most since May 12, after almost tripling in the 12 months through yesterday.
Regional results
In North America, Ford had a pretax operating profit of $1.2 billion, following a $665 million loss in the first three months of 2009. Revenue climbed 41 percent to $14.1 billion.
Ford also posted better results in all regions outside North America.
• Ford South America reported operating profit of $203 million versus $63 million a year ago. Higher costs prevented even higher profits, the company said. First quarter revenue was $2 billion, up from $1.4 billion.
• Ford Europe posted a profit versus a loss last year. The unit enjoyed higher sales, lower costs and higher parts profit. First-quarter operating profits were $107 million, compared with a loss of $585 million a year ago. Revenue jumped to $7.7 billion versus $5.8 billion.
• Ford Asia Pacific Africa also erased a loss last year. The region posted operating profit of $23 million, compared with a loss of $97 million a year ago. Higher sales in China boosted results.
Factory conversions
Some factories will close temporarily in the second half while being converted to build a new version of the Focus compact car, Booth said. Ford's price gains will “deteriorate” with the debut of the Focus and the Fiesta small cars this year because those models are less expensive, he said.
The Fusion sedan, F-150 pickup and Fusion drove first-quarter U.S. sales increases, Booth said.
“The most important thing Ford has done is invest heavily in new product during this down cycle,” said Erich Merkle, president of consultant Autoconomy LLC in Grand Rapids, Mich. “As we're coming out, they've got all this new product coming out in just about every category.”
First-quarter revenue rose 15 percent to $28.1 billion. That compared with the $28 billion average estimate among seven analysts. Net income was 50 cents a share, exceeding the average estimate of 29 cents from two analysts, and compared with a net loss of $1.43 billion, or 60 cents, a year earlier.
2010 outlook
Revising Mulally's previous forecast of being “solidly profitable” in 2011, Ford said today it “now expects to deliver solid profits this year, with positive automotive operating-related cash flow.” Booth said 2010 earnings will exceed the first-quarter total, without giving a figure.
“Given where we were even three or four months ago, this says to you that we're really encouraged by the start we had” to the year, Booth told analysts.
Ford reported $25.3 billion in automotive cash on March 31, up from $24.9 billion at the end of 2009, which the automaker restated from $25.5 billion because of an accounting change.
Cash consumption was $100 million during 2010's first three months, after the company used $3.7 billion a year earlier. Booth said Ford will have positive cash flow for all of 2010.
Borrowing $23 billion in late 2006 gave Ford a cash cushion to withstand losses and develop new models such as the Fiesta. The trade-off was a debt load that Mulally has said puts Ford at a competitive disadvantage with General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC, which had their obligations cut in bankruptcy.
Automotive debt was $34.3 billion, up from $33.6 billion at the end of 2009, which was adjusted from $34.3 billion due to an accounting change, Ford said. That doesn't include a $3 billion payment Ford made on its revolving line of credit on April 6.
Redesigned models such as the Taurus sedan helped boost U.S. market share through March to 17.4 percent from 14.7 percent a year earlier, the biggest jump since 1977, Ford has said. Ford has said it is attracting buyers from Toyota Motor Corp. after global recalls of more than 8 million vehicles.
Mulally, 64, also completed his push to unload Ford's European luxury brands by reaching an agreement in March to sell Volvo to China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Co. That transaction should close in the third quarter, Ford said today.
Today's earnings report came with a plan to boost second-quarter production and spurred CEO Alan Mulally to forecast a “solid” 2010 profit, a year ahead of his previous prediction. Future quarters may not be as strong, CFO Lewis Booth said today.
“It would be unwise to think of $2 billion as a running rate,” Booth told reporters. “We've got a lot of new product launches, so you'll see some launch expense and we do expect some headwinds from commodities” prices.
The executives cited challenges such as a “fragile” economy after posting a fourth straight quarter of net income, the longest streak since 2005. Booth said the Ford Motor Credit unit was unlikely to “keep up the pace” for the rest of the year.
“The first quarter could turn out to be their best,” said Joe Phillippi, president of AutoTrends Consulting in Short Hills, New Jersey. “The landscape might become more competitive as Toyota fights its way back and GM launches a lot of new products.”
Ford said second-quarter production in North America will be 625,000 vehicles, a 5 percent increase from the plan announced March 2. Output will rise 39 percent compared with a year earlier.
Ford benefited from a recovering auto market and higher prices that added $1 billion to pretax operating earnings. Excluding some gains and costs, earnings were 46 cents a share, topping the 31-cent average of 12 estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Market share
A 37 percent surge in U.S. sales in the first quarter more than doubled the industrywide increase, helping Ford add domestic market share at the fastest pace in 33 years after becoming the only major U.S. automaker to avoid bankruptcy in 2009.
Profit was buoyed by Ford Credit's $828 million of pretax operating income, after a $36 million year-earlier loss. Ford Credit, which lends to dealers and buyers, will earn about $2 billion on an operating basis in 2010, Ford said. The unit will pay Ford a dividend of $2 billion this year, up from a previous forecast of $1.5 billion, Booth said.
Himanshu Patel, a JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst in New York, said in a note that the unit's first-quarter gains were driven by rising resale prices and are “unsustainable.” He advises holding Ford shares.
Ford shares slid 6.3 percent, to $13.55, at 4:02 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The stock tumbled as much as 9.1 percent earlier in the day, the most since May 12, after almost tripling in the 12 months through yesterday.
Regional results
In North America, Ford had a pretax operating profit of $1.2 billion, following a $665 million loss in the first three months of 2009. Revenue climbed 41 percent to $14.1 billion.
Ford also posted better results in all regions outside North America.
• Ford South America reported operating profit of $203 million versus $63 million a year ago. Higher costs prevented even higher profits, the company said. First quarter revenue was $2 billion, up from $1.4 billion.
• Ford Europe posted a profit versus a loss last year. The unit enjoyed higher sales, lower costs and higher parts profit. First-quarter operating profits were $107 million, compared with a loss of $585 million a year ago. Revenue jumped to $7.7 billion versus $5.8 billion.
• Ford Asia Pacific Africa also erased a loss last year. The region posted operating profit of $23 million, compared with a loss of $97 million a year ago. Higher sales in China boosted results.
Factory conversions
Some factories will close temporarily in the second half while being converted to build a new version of the Focus compact car, Booth said. Ford's price gains will “deteriorate” with the debut of the Focus and the Fiesta small cars this year because those models are less expensive, he said.
The Fusion sedan, F-150 pickup and Fusion drove first-quarter U.S. sales increases, Booth said.
“The most important thing Ford has done is invest heavily in new product during this down cycle,” said Erich Merkle, president of consultant Autoconomy LLC in Grand Rapids, Mich. “As we're coming out, they've got all this new product coming out in just about every category.”
First-quarter revenue rose 15 percent to $28.1 billion. That compared with the $28 billion average estimate among seven analysts. Net income was 50 cents a share, exceeding the average estimate of 29 cents from two analysts, and compared with a net loss of $1.43 billion, or 60 cents, a year earlier.
2010 outlook
Revising Mulally's previous forecast of being “solidly profitable” in 2011, Ford said today it “now expects to deliver solid profits this year, with positive automotive operating-related cash flow.” Booth said 2010 earnings will exceed the first-quarter total, without giving a figure.
“Given where we were even three or four months ago, this says to you that we're really encouraged by the start we had” to the year, Booth told analysts.
Ford reported $25.3 billion in automotive cash on March 31, up from $24.9 billion at the end of 2009, which the automaker restated from $25.5 billion because of an accounting change.
Cash consumption was $100 million during 2010's first three months, after the company used $3.7 billion a year earlier. Booth said Ford will have positive cash flow for all of 2010.
Borrowing $23 billion in late 2006 gave Ford a cash cushion to withstand losses and develop new models such as the Fiesta. The trade-off was a debt load that Mulally has said puts Ford at a competitive disadvantage with General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC, which had their obligations cut in bankruptcy.
Automotive debt was $34.3 billion, up from $33.6 billion at the end of 2009, which was adjusted from $34.3 billion due to an accounting change, Ford said. That doesn't include a $3 billion payment Ford made on its revolving line of credit on April 6.
Redesigned models such as the Taurus sedan helped boost U.S. market share through March to 17.4 percent from 14.7 percent a year earlier, the biggest jump since 1977, Ford has said. Ford has said it is attracting buyers from Toyota Motor Corp. after global recalls of more than 8 million vehicles.
Mulally, 64, also completed his push to unload Ford's European luxury brands by reaching an agreement in March to sell Volvo to China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Co. That transaction should close in the third quarter, Ford said today.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Chrysler and U.S. market to play key role in Alfa relaunch
Fiat S.p.A. CEO Sergio Marchionne made a strong commitment to the money-losing sporty brand, which will be 100 years old in June, during a presentation of Fiat's five-year strategy Wednesday.
Marchionne announced the launch of seven new Alfa models between 2010 and 2014 and said Fiat is determined to transform the brand into a "full-line premium carmaker."
Marchionne also said North America will account for 85,000 unit sales in 2014 out of 500,000 that Alfa aims to sell in that year.
The Chrysler-built vehicles for Alfa will be:
• A compact SUV based on the Compact architecture that underpins the Giulietta hatchback in Europe. Production will begin in 2012
• A large SUV, similar in size to the next Jeep Liberty, which is sold as the Cherokee in Europe. Production will start in 2014.
The crossover models will be built in two of the three U.S. plants that Chrysler Group plans to retool for new Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep models based on Fiat-Chrysler's Compact Wide architecture.
Alfa will also sell a mid-sized sedan and station wagon when in the U.S. starting in late 2012. These two vehicles will have the name Giulia and in Europe will replace the 159 range. They will be built in Italy.
Alfa will also sell in the U.S. a five-door version of its MiTo minicar, which is currently sold in Europe as a three-door. The five-door MiTo will be sold in Europe and North America starting in 2013.
Alfa will launch the Giulietta in North America after the car gets a face-lift in 2014. The Giulietta launches in May in Europe.
Alfa will continue to build the Mito and Giulietta in Italy.
Chrysler to build Alfa spider
Marchionne also said Chrysler will provide the platform for a new Alfa spider model, planned for 2013, but said the production location has not been decided.
Fiat's plan for Alfa to sell 500,000 cars in 2014 is five times more than Alfa sold last year.
Starved of fresh product as Fiat delayed key new models, Alfa sales have declined steeply as its lineup became older. This year's volume expected to be 120,000 units, compared with a peak of 207,000 in 2001. Alfa has lost between 200 million and 400 million euros ($288 million to $566 million) a year in the past 10 years, according to company sources.
Alfa quit the North American market in 1995 after the quality of the brand's cars was condemned in studies and its sales plummeted.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
1996 Chevy Express van 1500 8cyl ,v8 ,350 eng. 162,000 miles
will stop after running an hour or two.replaced: 2 fuel pumps,fuel filter,fuel relay,plugs, wires,rotor, distributor, coil,spider, 57 pound of pressure from fuel pump.Continue to cut off after an hour or two.Help.
Response:
1)Have you checked your fuel pressure regulator?
2)vapor lock
3)Check Back pressure on catalytic converter
4) check for Engine codes
Freeautomechanic.com tip : Once the engine has died, check to see what is missing... spark or fuel or both, then concentrate on that circuit to determine the problem. "simplify"
Response:
1)Have you checked your fuel pressure regulator?
2)vapor lock
3)Check Back pressure on catalytic converter
4) check for Engine codes
Freeautomechanic.com tip : Once the engine has died, check to see what is missing... spark or fuel or both, then concentrate on that circuit to determine the problem. "simplify"
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