Michael J. Moody

Car Sales Tanked in 2020, But Dealerships Had Their Most Profitable Year Ever

By Michael J. Moody 3 days ago
Photo credit: Howard Berman - Getty Images

Photo credit: Howard Berman – Getty Images

From Road & Track

Last year wasn’t good for new car sales. Factory shutdowns, lockdowns, and consumer hesitancy caused car sales to crater in the Spring of 2020; stronger sales in the latter months of the year couldn’t erase the early drop. Overall, sales were down 14.6 percent in 2020, which sounds like bad news for dealers. That’s hardly the case: Automotive News reports that overall dealer profits soared by 48 percent last year, leading to record-setting profits despite sluggish sales.

That begs the question: How did dealers manage to make so much more money selling fewer cars? The first answer appears to be simple: They put the squeeze on us. Shuttered factories drastically reduced supply, but demand stayed strong. That led to a rush on dealers for in-demand models, with a line of customers ready to pay. Dealers could charge what

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World Car Awards 2021 finalists announced

By Michael J. Moody 3 days ago


World Car Awards trophies

© Provided by Motoring Research
World Car Awards trophies

The finalists in the 2021 World Car Awards have been revealed after 93 jurors overcame coronavirus challenges to vote on a longlist of dozens of cars.

A total of 10 cars will go forward and run for 2021 World Car of the Year, while five cars each will battle to win Urban Car of the Year, Luxury Car of the Year, Performance Car of the Year and World Car Design of the Year.

The overall victor will succeed 2020’s World Car of the Year, the Kia Telluride.

Billed as the World Car Finals, jurors will now complete another round of secret judging (overseen by KPMG) to decide the top three finalists in each category.

Motoring Research has listed the full rundown of finalists below.

In the main World Car of the Year category, two brands are represented twice – BMW

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Volvo says it will be ‘fully electric’ by 2030, move car sales online

By Michael J. Moody 4 days ago

Volvo Cars said Tuesday it planned to become a “fully electric car company” by the year 2030, with all sales of the firm’s pure electric models set to move online.

In order to meet its target, the company will look to remove cars with internal combustion engines — including hybrids — from its global offering by the end of the decade.

The Chinese-owned automotive giant launched its first all-electric car last year. In the mid-term, it wants half of global sales to be fully electric by 2025, with hybrids accounting for the other half.

“There is no long-term future for cars with an internal combustion engine,” Henrik Green, Volvo Cars’ chief technology officer, said in a statement.

“We are firmly committed to becoming an electric-only car maker and the transition should happen by 2030,” Green added.

Speaking to CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Tuesday morning, CEO Håkan Samuelsson sought to

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2021 TOYOTA YARIS NAMED CAR OF THE YEAR AT GENEVA AUTO SHOW +VIDEO

By Michael J. Moody 4 days ago


PHOTO (select to view enlarged photo)

Toyota Yaris, Car of the Year 2021, A deserving winner

“The Car of the Year” trophy, which has been awarded since 1964, is the most prestigious and coveted award in the automotive world. A 59-member jury, made up of automotive journalists from 22 countries, selects the winner from seven models that have made it to the round of finalists in the first round of voting.

The finalists for “The Car of the Year 2021” are:

•    Citroën C4
•    Cupra Formentor
•    Fiat 500
•    Land Rover Defender
•    Škoda Octavia
•    Toyota Yaris
•    Volkswagen ID.3

One of these cars will be the successor of last year’s winner, the Peugeot 208.

Now it is a neatly different story. Yaris keeps on being more compact than other B-segment models, but has matured and refined in every aspect: looks, perceived quality, safety and comfort equipment, performance and handling too. The main

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