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Trucks, SUVs — and Camry — shine in mixed U.S. January vehicle sales

DETROIT — Automakers posted mixed U.S. new vehicle sales data for January, with American consumers continuing to abandon passenger cars for the larger pickup trucks, SUVs and crossover models that manufacturers also love because they are far more profitable. Total industry auto sales for the month rose 1 percent versus January 2016. According to Autodata Corp, which tracks industry sales, the seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) of U.S. car and light truck sales in January fell to 17.12 million units from 17.44 million a year earlier. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a January SAAR of 17.2 million units. U.S. auto industry sales fell 2 percent in 2017 to 17.23 million vehicles after hitting a record high in 2016 and are expected to drop further in 2018 despite a solid economy. Interest rates are rising and around 4 million late-model used cars will return to dealer lots this year to compete with more expensive new ones. Automakers have used consumer discounts to boost sales, a growing concern for observers who say this undermines resale values and profits. Discounts declined in January, but remained above 10 percent of manufacturers' recommended prices. ""I think the industry has accepted that (sales) volumes will fall somewhat in 2018 ... and I don't think the industry is going to go over the cliff with insane incentives," Mike Jackson, chief executive officer of AutoNation Inc, told Reuters after his company, the largest U.S. auto retail chain, posted a higher quarterly net profit. Mark Wakefield, head of the North American automotive practice for consultancy AlixPartners, had a gloomier perspective. The industry's less-than-stellar sales performance for January showed "we are now past the peak," he said. "Automakers are now selling the deal instead of the vehicle," he said. "That's a tough spot to be in because that treadmill is hard to get off once you're on it." General Motors January sales rose 1.3 percent, driven by a 16 percent rise in fleet sales. Sales to consumers fell 2.4 percent. GM posted strong gains for models such as the Silverado pickup truck and Equinox crossover model, while its passenger cars continued to struggle. Ford The Blue Oval posted a 6.6 percent sales decline for January, with retail sales down 4.3 percent. Sales of Ford's F-Series pickup trucks - America's best-selling vehicle brand for decades — rose 1.6 percent. Passenger cars were down more than 23 percent.

Honda expands Takata recall for older CR-Vs

Honda has added another 127,000 bad Takata airbag inflators to its growing recall. This latest round affects 2003 and 2004 CR-V crossovers and brings Honda's total inflator tally to 3.4 million units. This marks the first time that the 2004 CR-V has been included in the airbag recall. Repairs will be conducted free of charge, and Honda notes that "it has sufficient replacement parts supplies to begin recall repairs of the added vehicles immediately, nationwide." The company's recall repair is nearly half complete, with 47.1 percent of the bad inflators replaced across the US. "American Honda continues to urge owners of Honda and Acura vehicles affected by the Takata airbag inflator recalls to get their vehicles repaired at authorized dealers as soon as possible," the company said in the attached statement. "Vehicle owners can check their vehicles' recall status at www.recalls.honda.com for Honda owners or www.recalls.acura.com for Acura owners or by calling their authorized dealer." Read on for the official release. Statement by American Honda Regarding Expansion of Nationwide Recall of Certain Takata Passenger Front Airbag Inflators Dec 23, 2015 - TORRANCE, Calif. Nationwide recall of passenger front airbag inflators expands to include approximately 127,000 inflators in 2003-2004 CR-V vehicles not previously subject to recall or safety improvement campaign No change to national recall of driver front airbag inflators Honda's national Takata airbag inflator recall repair completion rate is 47.1% Honda announced today that it will expand a national recall (15V-370) to replace, free of charge, Takata passenger front airbag inflators installed in certain 2003-2004 CR-V models sold in the United States following a recent defect determination by Takata, the airbag inflator supplier. This expansion will add approximately 127,000 passenger front airbag inflators not previously subject to either a recall or safety improvement campaign. Approximately 78,000 of the affected 2003-2004 CR-V vehicles included in existing passenger front airbag inflator recalls and Honda's voluntary safety improvement campaigns (14V-353 and 14V-700) will also transition into the new recall. The same free repair - replacement of the passenger front airbag inflator - will be completed under the new national action. This updated recall (15V-370) now includes approximately 3.4 million passenger front airbag inflators now requiring replacement in this action.

Honda Accord, Civic are America's most stolen cars

The National Insurance Crime Bureau has released its latest Hot Wheels study on the most popular stolen cars and trucks for 2012. The study has changed a bit from past years, with the new findings listing only the make and model of each vehicle, while taking into account all model years in its totals. Previous iterations only focused on the most stolen vehicles of a particular model year, with that make and model not appearing anywhere else on the list so as not to appear to call out a particular car. Confusing, eh? Said another way, in previous studies, if the three most stolen vehicles were the 2006, 2007 and 2008 Belchfire Turbo from Fictitious Motors, only the model year with the highest number of thefts would make the list.
The new study takes all model years into consideration while breaking down the number of vehicles stolen per model year in a full, in-depth report. Separately, the NICB is also listing the top 25 new vehicles stolen in 2012. That list is limited exclusively to model year 2012 entries.
Honda took the top two spots in the most stolen vehicles list, with 58,596 Accord models stolen and 47,037 Civic models stolen. The study is interesting, though, in that the most recent model year for the Accord is 1997, while the most recent the Civic is 2000. In fact, Hondas from 1990 to 2000 make up 16 of the top 20 cars stolen in 2012, according to the NICB. Compare that with the MY2012 list, where Honda's vehicles are eleventh and fifteenth, and it looks like the Japanese brand has been beefing up its theft control.