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GM and Ford quarterly sales continue to slump in China

BEIJING — General Motors and Ford announced their quarterly sales in China fell, albeit at a slower pace sequentially, as the U.S. automakers were hit by a slowing economy amid the Sino-U.S. trade war. GM's vehicle sales in China for the quarter ended June 30 dropped 12.2%, while Ford's sales slumped by 21.7%. While GM also suffered from heightened competition in its key mid-priced SUV segment, Ford was hurt by the limited new models for customers to choose from. For the first quarter of this year, Ford's sales in China tumbled 35.8 percent while GM's skid 17.5 percent. Still, the numbers from GM, the second biggest international automaker in China by sales, and Ford portend more uncertainty for the industry which is trying to rebound from a downward spiral that led to its first annual sales decline last year in more than two decades. GM delivered 1.57 million vehicles in China in the January-June period this year, while Ford delivered 290,321 vehicles. China's factory activity shrank more than expected in June, highlighting the need for more economic stimulus amid higher U.S. tariffs and weaker domestic demand. Annual car sales in China fell last year for the first time since the 1990s, and they are expected to fall this year too. Sales tumbled 16.4% in May from the same month a year prior, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said. That marked the 11th consecutive month of decline and followed falls of 14.6% in April and 5.2% in March. U.S. car companies' share of total China passenger vehicles sales fell to 9.6% in the first five months of this year from 10.9% in the year-ago period, according to CAAM. Over the same period, German car makers' share has risen to 23.3% from 20.9% and Japanese auto makers' to 21.3% from 17.3%. CAAM is set to announce June sales next week, which industry analysts forecast will be negative.   New models In China, GM has a joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp, in which the Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac are made. It also has another venture, with SAIC and GuangxiAutomobile Group, in which they make no-frills minivans and have started to make higher-end cars. Sales of GM's affordable brand Baojun dropped 31.8% for the latest quarter. But luxury brand Cadillac's sales jumped 36.6%. GM sold 3.64 million units in China last year, down from 4.04 units in 2017. Ford makes cars in China through its joint venture with Chongqing Changan Automobile Co and Jiangling Motors Corp (JMC).

2017 Ford GT looks resplendent in Liquid Silver and will be built in Ontario

You didn't think we'd let an opportunity to capture another high-res image gallery of our favorite vehicle from the North American International Auto Show pass by, now that it's taking center stage in Chicago, did you? Especially since it's now painted in a brand-new hue? Of course not. And so we're happy to present to you the 2017 Ford GT in Liquid Silver, wearing titanium-tinted racing stripes. It may not be as classically American as the show-stopping blue that debuted with the concept in Detroit, but it's beautiful nonetheless. And, in even better news, we hear that the GT has been confirmed for production at Ford's factory in Markham, Ontario, according to our Canadian friends at CTV News. To recap what we know about the Ford GT – besides the fact that we're in mad, mad love with it, of course – it's beautiful, will be powered by a mid-mounted 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 with "more than 600 horsepower," it's beautiful, it sends all that power to the rear wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, it's beautiful, blends a carbon fiber monocoque and body panels with aluminum subframes, and it's beautiful. We think it's likely headed for endurance-racing competition, as was the original GT40 that is its spiritual grandfather, and we're sure it will look good doing it. Heck, maybe it'll even win at Le Mans. In any case, check it out in high-res glory below, in multiple color schemes, in both images and video. Related Video: Related Gallery Ford GT Concept: Detroit 2015 View 45 Photos Related Gallery Ford GT View 11 Photos Related Gallery 2017 Ford GT: Chicago 2015 View 30 Photos Image Credit: Live photos copyright 2015 Drew Phillips / AOL Design/Style Plants/Manufacturing Chicago Auto Show Ford Coupe Performance Supercars Videos autoblog black

Spy shooter claims proof of upcoming aluminum Ford F-Series Super Duty

Ford has already confirmed that the 2015 F-150 (pictured above) was just the beginning for its more extensive use of aluminum. CEO Alan Mulally said it himself during the 2014 Detroit Auto Show. We've even already seen the future Raptor testing with an aluminum body. But a recent discovery from an intrepid spy photographer might indicate that the lightweight metal is coming to the Blue Oval's Super Duty pickups in their upcoming generation, as well.
According to Automotive News, a spy shooter in Colorado spotted a prototype for the next-gen F-350 testing. He happened to have a magnet on hand and got close enough to check the truck out. When he held it up to the metal in the bed, it didn't stick, which signaled to him a switch from steel to aluminum.
Obviously, this claim raises some questions. Given that it was a test vehicle, one possibility is that the Blue Oval is just evaluating the feasibility of switching to aluminum for the Super Duty trucks, not necessarily committed to it yet. Ford has been testing it quite exhaustively, after all. In fact, much of the rest of the truck in question was covered in camouflage, so it's possible that the magnet failed to work along the rest of the body not because it was aluminum, but because it wasn't powerful enough to get through the disguising material. Thus, the lightweight metal's use could be far less substantial than on the new F-150. Still, it was a clever idea for the cameraman to check things out and might have given us the first hint about brand's next heavy-duty models.