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Mixed sales results, but automaker stocks rise on need for cars in Houston

DETROIT — The Big Three Detroit automakers on Friday reported better-than-expected August sales and issued optimistic outlooks for demand as residents of the Houston area replace flood-damaged cars and trucks after Hurricane Harvey, sending their stocks higher. General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler posted mixed August U.S. sales, with GM up 7.5 percent and Ford and Fiat Chrysler down. Japanese automaker Toyota improved sales by nearly 7 percent, while Honda fell 2.4 percent. Still, analysts focused on the potential for Detroit automakers to cut inventories and stabilize used vehicle prices as residents of Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States, are forced to replace tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of vehicles after the devastation from Hurricane Harvey. Mark LaNeve, Ford's U.S. sales chief, told analysts on Friday that following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 "we saw a very dramatic snapback" in demand. That said, Ford sales fell 2.1 percent in August. It sold 209,897 vehicles in the United States, compared with 214,482 a year earlier. Sales were down 1.9 percent in the Ford division and off 5.8 percent at Lincoln. Demand was down for cars, crossovers and SUVs. It was not clear how many vehicles in the Houston area will be scrapped, LaNeve said, saying he had seen estimates ranging from 200,000 to 400,000 to 1 million. Ford's Houston dealers may have lost fewer than 5,000 vehicles in inventory, he said. Ford is the No. 1 automaker in the Houston market, with 18 percent share, according to IHS Markit. The company plans to ship used vehicles to Houston dealers and has "every indication we would have to add some production" of new vehicles to meet demand, LaNeve said. Investor concerns about inventories of unsold vehicles and falling used car prices have weighed on Detroit automakers' shares most of this year. Now, automakers can anticipate a jolt of demand from a big market that is a stronghold for Detroit brand trucks and SUVs. "It's got to be a positive for the industry," LaNeve said. Investors appeared to agree. GM shares rose as much as 3.3 percent to their highest since early March. Ford increased 2.8 percent at $11.34, and Fiat Chrysler's U.S.-traded shares were up 5.2 percent $15.91, hitting their highest in more than five years. GM reported a 7.5 percent increase in U.S. auto sales in August, helped by robust sales of crossovers across its four brands.

2023 Chicago Auto Show Mega Photo Gallery: See all the new cars from the show

The 2023 Chicago Auto Show played host to a number of reveals this year, and we were there to capture all of them. In traditional auto show fashion, that means you’re getting a mega gallery of galleries to flip through and see all the vehicles on the show floor. Our EditorsÂ’ Picks from the show are already out — spoiler alert, the 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander took home the prize. That said, there were other important reveals like the 2024 Volkswagen Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport and the 2024 Subaru Crosstrek. We also learned some interesting tidbits, such as the fact that VW is considering a pickup, and Jeep owners really are plugging in. To see the photos, scroll on down and start flipping through those galleries.   2024 Toyota Grand Highlander 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander View 7 Photos 2024 Volkswagen Atlas 2024 Volkswagen Atlas View 14 Photos 2024 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport 2024 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport View 7 Photos 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse with its carbon fiber wheels 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse with carbon fiber wheels View 7 Photos 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray View 10 Photos Jeep Wrangler Anniversary Editions Jeep Wrangler Anniversary Editions View 3 Photos 2023 BMW XM 2023 BMW XM View 6 Photos Ram Revolution Concept Ram Revolution Concept View 6 Photos NASCAR Chicago Street Race Pace Car — Toyota Camry NASCAR Chicago Street Race Pace Car ? Toyota Camry View 4 Photos Everything else at the 2023 Chicago Auto Show Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4 View 12 Photos Related video: Chicago Auto Show BMW Buick Chevrolet Ford GM GMC Hummer Jeep Lamborghini RAM Toyota Volkswagen Truck Coupe Crossover SUV Concept Cars Electric Hybrid Luxury Off-Road Vehicles Performance Supercars Sedan

Volkswagen Golf GTE Sport Concept is good, clean, plug-in fun [w/video]

If racing and hypercars have shown us anything, it's that high performance and hybridization are not mutually exclusive. With the Golf GTE Sport Concept, Volkswagen is showing it understands that fact. This wild hatchback originally premiered at the annual Worthersee festival back in May, but it's making its auto show debut in Frankfurt. The Golf GTE Sport uses both gas and electric sources to develop 396 total system horsepower. That gas engine, a 1.6-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder, was swiped from the engine bay of Volkswagen's three-time World Rally Championship-winning Polo R WRC, and generates 295 hp on its own. A pair of electric motors – one per axle – each produce 113 hp, and are fed by a lithium-ion battery pack. Total electric range is an impressive 31 miles. Of course, you don't care about that. You care about what the Golf GTE Sport can do when you switch out of EV or hybrid mode and switch into GTE. In this setting, both the gas engine and electric motors kick in to deliver max performance. Sixty-two miles per hour arrives in just 4.3 seconds and the top speed is an impressive 174 mph. The styling is like a mix of older Golf concepts: VW's two Vision Gran Turismo cars, the Roadster and Supersport, with some of the current GTI thrown in. Check out our live images from Frankfurt and let us know what you think. World premiere of the Golf GTE Sport: Plug-in hybrid sports car catapults the GT idea to the future - Lightweight and high-strength body of the Golf GTE Sport is made of carbon - Concept car with a top speed of 280 km/h is a zero emission vehicle and a race car in one Five key facts about the Golf GTE Sport: 1. Golf GTE Sport is powered by a 295 kW / 400 PS plug-in hybrid system 2. Progressive Golf GTE Sport bridges the gap between road cars and racing sport cars 3. Avant-garde exterior design of the Golf GTE Sport perfects the idea of C-pillars with two-level construction 4. Golf GTE Sport debuts with digital instruments arranged on three levels and tailored to motor racing 5. Golf GTE Sport accelerates to 100 km/h in 4.3 seconds and has a top speed of up to 280 km/h on the racetrack Wolfsburg / Reifnitz, May 2015. Ringing in a new era: with the Golf GTE Sport presented as a world premiere at the legendary GTI event at Lake Worthersee on 14 May 2015, Volkswagen is catapulting the GT tradition into the future.