Beware of the Fleet Queens

Yesterday, I came across some interesting data on fleet sales as a percentage of total sales for each car and truck sold in the US for the first half of the 2007 model year. There were some surprises and some non-surprises in reviewing the list.

Before pointing out some of the more notable items, let's talk about fleet sales. What is a "fleet sale" anyway? Well, auto sales are broken into two main categories: retail sales and fleet sales. Every manufacturer wants high retail sales, because they're not giving volume discounts on the vehicles, retail units are generally better equipped than the ones sold to fleets, and retail sales don't end up at auctions or used car lots for half of their original MSRP with 10,000 miles after only a year. Heavy fleet sales (and thus a large volume of fleet vehicles on the used car market) depress residual values of every one of that model, including ones sold to retail customers , making unhappy retail customers and likely further reducing retail sales.

Fleet sales can also be broken down into a few subcategories: commercial, government, and rental. The daily rental fleet sales are the worst kind, because the cars are driven by hundreds of different people during their time owned by Hertz or Avis, and not necessarily babied by their drivers. They are also quickly sold back to the manufacturer, as opposed to a car sold to a company for use by a sales representative, where he or she would keep the car for three years before turning it in. Also, having a substandard car in your lineup that is a "rental car favorite" is not a good way to turn renters into future buyers, because you're not putting your best foot forward as a manufacturer. For example, imagine if the general public thought that all GM sedans were on par with the Grand Prix, when the reality is that many are better.

The source of my data is http://www.fleet-central.com. Fleet Central is a website for automotive fleet managers and appears to be pretty comprehensive. Fleet percentages given are as a percent of the model's total sales midway through 2007 unless otherwise noted, and include commercial, government, and daily rental sales.

The Non-Surprises

Ford Taurus

Think about the cars you have rented over the past few years. Most likely, they were models such as Chevy Malibu (58.8%) or Impala (53.9%), Ford Taurus (96.5%), Pontiac Grand Prix (77.6%), etc. For this reason, these models are all leaders on this list. Some others on the list are not surprises; the Ford Crown Victoria, a government favorite (thanks to police departments) sold 91.3% of its overall sales to fleets, mostly governmental agencies. The Ford Econoline, a favorite of plumbers and contractors, was 69.2% fleet sales because not many retail buyers need or want the capability and size of a full-size van.

The Surprises

Dodge Avenger

This part is more fun, but it's not necessarily good news. There are some 2008 model vehicles, just introduced in the past few months that are already selling more than half of their production to fleets (and mostly daily rental fleets). Offenders include the Chrysler Sebring (63.5%) and Dodge Avenger (79.4%!!). No wonder Chrysler management is so concerned about those two vehicles and has implemented an immediate improvement program to make them more attractive to people who want to buy the cars, not just catering to people who rent them and don't get to choose.

Other relatively new models with somewhat high fleet percentages include the Kia Optima (52.8%), Dodge Caliber (45.1%), Ford Edge (32.0%), and Chrysler Aspen (31.2%).

The Fleet "Hall of Shame"

Pontiac Grand Prix

The following vehicles sold more than half of their overall sales to fleets; if you would like to buy one of these cars for yourself, you can probably get a great deal on a slightly used one, but you're likely to take a huge depreciation hit if you decide to be in the minority and buy one of these new from the dealer.

• Chevrolet Express (58.4%)
  
• Chevrolet Impala (53.9%)
  
• Chevrolet Malibu (58.8%)
• Chevrolet Uplander (70.9%)
  
• Chrysler Sebring (63.5%)
• Dodge Avenger (79.4%)
• Dodge Caravan (54.8%)
  
• Dodge Charger (56.2%)
• Chrysler Crossfire (70.6%)
• Chrysler PT Cruiser (61.8%)
  
• Dodge Magnum (60.9%)
• Ford Econoline (69.2%)
  
• Ford Taurus (old version) (96.5%)
• GMC Savana (50.9%)
  
• Kia Optima (52.8%)
• Mercury Grand Marquis (50.0%)
  

Study the list above carefully; odds are, next time you visit the rental car counter, they'll hand you the keys to one of the models above.

The full lists are available here:

Cars: http://www.fleet-central.com/af/stats2007/cars_web.pdf
Trucks: http://www.fleet-central.com/af/stats2007/trucks_web.pdf

RIP Monte Carlo: Don't Let the Door Hit Your Ass on the Way Out

GM announced today that the last front wheel drive, W-body Monte Carlo "sports coupe" has been built. The Monte Carlo of the past several years took all that was wrong with the Impala (review here) and added to it a cheaper looking interior, large and impractical coupe doors, the biggest quarter panels since a 1976 Coupe de Ville (slight exaggeration), and a redneck/NASCAR owner stereotype.

Similar to the Impala, the Monte Carlo is a perfect example of the OLD GM and exactly the kind of car that it should not be building. I'm glad that they finally gave up on it. Sales were a lukewarm 34,113 in the 2006 calendar year, and were down over 30% so far in 2007. Few buyers want coupes after their first two years on the market, and even fewer want ones with gangly styling, a NASCAR alter ego, and chassis architecture that dates to the late 1980s (albeit with periodic improvements).

I'm not going to miss the Monte Carlo, at least as it was in this form. My favorite style is the first generation. The second generation was way too overstyled, and the next generation began a trend of mediocrity for the car. The low point, though, was probably the Lumina-looking Monte Carlo of the 1990s that had ZERO style, grace, or character. At least the last generation had a little style, even if it wasn't exactly a current style.

Rest in peace. Now, will the NASCAR fans in the South start driving Impala SSs? It's hard for me to imagine, unless they release a special "Intimidator" edition with black paint and silver ground effects.

MF Drives The Biggest Piece Of Crap That Ever Crapped Out A Crap

I don't want to incur the wrath of a young Ahnold and be a party pooper, but recent news of the current generation Impala selling like gangbusters needs to be tempered. By quite a bit.

Yeah sure, sales are moving along briskly- the current Impala is actuallyl gaining sales year over year- it's on pace for its best year in a long time. But after having spent a full day in an LT model this past week, my old question is- who spiked the punch?

Let me use my first automobile review cliche- the Impala is roadkill. From the outdated platform to the just barely enough but still outdated engine to the sloppy steering to the sloppy styling to the sloppy interior, there is next to nothing that one can point to with the Impala and state, 'that's class leading'. Nope. Nothing. Yeah it's big. And yeah, it rides like uses marshmallows for shocks. But honestly, that's about the only milquetoast praise I can lavish on this vehicle.

From the outside, the Impala looks like a 2 generations ago Camry put through an American to Japanese translator set to bland. Twice. The resulting shape and style can kindly be called soapish. While not ugly per se, it's viciously inoffensive and will immediately identify anyone driving it as a lover of mediocrity. The delicious irony in all of this is that Chevy fans are some of the most vocal about the blandness of Toyota, when the Chevy lineup has two of the worst offenders in the industry with the Impala and Malibu.

Inside, things only get worse. Either the Impala interior looks like the Lucerne interior or vice versa, but either way, that is definitely not a point of praise. Fit and finish is horrid- theupper dash portion squeaks, rattles and has gaps large enough that losing toddlers could become a worry. Hard plastic is found throughout the interior, and the whole thing in general gives off a mid-90's GM vibe, minus the Fisher-Price rounded instrument tackiness. Which sounds self-defeating, but actually isn't, and when you see it in person, it all makes sense.

On the plus side, the seats are hella comfortable, and the steering is light, but by no means does it ooze feedback. Speaking of comfort, the Impala will ferry you around like a king, until you turn the steering wheel. Make a turn, ANY turn, and immediately feel car sickness set in. Wallowy body motions, overboosted steering, and an itchy gas pedal all compromise any ideas of driving smoothly when the esses enter the picture. Heck, forget esses- right and left hand turns at intersections are enough to eviscerate the chassis of the Impala.

Bottom line- even though GM is selling boatloads of the Impala, it is EXACTLY the type of sale they don't need at this point in their comeback- it absolutely reeks of mid-90s crappy engineering, and it is an unpleasant reminder of what GM used to be and what GM is trying to move away from. Every Impala sold to a customer is a further reminder to said customer about how far behind GM is in the passenger car arena. Sure it's cheap and is a best seller- but so is Kraft Dinner- and pretty soon the Chinese will be here with cheaper, and then what?

Two enthusiastic thumbs and two enthusiastic toes down.