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China's auto sales continue to drop

The days of unending growth of carmakers in China look to be over, and some analysts are even forecasting a net drop in volume this year, The Detroit News reports. After falling numbers in June and July, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers tallied total sales, including trucks and buses, in August to 1.7 million, down 3 percent from 2014. There were some tiny specs of good news in China, but there's no turnaround in sight. Total vehicle sales from January to August are actually still up but only 2.6 percent. Like the rest of the world, SUVs are booming with numbers up 45.6 percent from the previous year. Honda managed a very impressive 50.7 percent gain on the strength of the CR-V and Vezel (the HR-V here), according to The Detroit News. Also, the country's domestic automakers, which generally offer less expensive products, posted a 2.5 percent growth in sales. The news continues to look bad for Detroit's automakers, though. Volume from General Motors dropped 4.8 percent in August, and Ford fell 3 percent in August. Both of them have invested significant amounts there in the past years. The vehicle industry in China grew last year, but there was burgeoning evidence of weakness. At the end of 2014, dealers there pushed back against huge inventories pushed by automakers. Even before the big drops began in June, GM saw the writing on the wall and started cutting prices. BMW responded to the slump by cutting back production to deal with the changing demand. News Source: The Detroit NewsImage Credit: Mark Schiefelbein / AP Photo BMW Ford GM Honda Car Buying

The one where we give you real car-buying advice | Autoblog Podcast #495

On this episode, Mike Austin and David Gluckman dive into some useful advice for people searching for a good used car, something David has been dealing with lately. They also talk about what they've been driving lately (Mike took a road trip in our long-term Fiat) and answer some Spend My Money requests from listeners looking for advice. And we have listener questions and comments to discuss, so thanks for sending those in. The rundown is below. Remember, if you have a car-related question you'd like us to answer or you want buying advice of your very own, send a message or a voice memo to podcast at autoblog dot com. (If you record audio of a question with your phone and get it to us, you could hear your very own voice on the podcast. Neat, right?) And please send trivia questions! You'll get the honor of stumping your fellow listeners, and we'll thank you too. Autoblog Podcast #495 The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics and stories we mention 2017 Audi A6 Our long-term 2016 Fiat 500X 2017 BMW 330i Used cars Rundown Intro - 00:00 What we're driving - 01:09 Listener mail - 12:49 Buying advice - 20:20 Spend My Money - 29:38 Total Duration: 57:23 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Feedback Email – Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show on iTunes

BMW won't build M4 Gran Coupe

Over the last few years, it feels like BMW has looked at its lineup and decided to offer a vehicle in every possible segment that it can find, no matter how small. The company is finally showing some restraint, though, at least when it comes to the high performance M division. For example, don't expect to see an M4 Gran Coupe at your local BMW dealer in the future.
M GmbH sales chief Jörg Bartels told Cars Guide in Australia, "It was definitely considered, but there is no plan to build an M4 Gran Coupe." The sport sedan just wouldn't make financial sense, he said. BMW already builds the M3 and M4 at separate factories, adding a third for such a niche model would be too much. Plus, the M3 already fills out the segment.
If you wanted an M model with a bit more storage space in the back, Bartels dashed those dreams, as well. He said that there isn't an M3 Gran Turismo hatchback in the pipeline, either.