Strong August auto sales numbers revealed a problem last month that Ford, GM and Chrysler once would have begged for — not enough cars to sell.
Automakers sold 1.5 million vehicles last month, a 17% gain over the same month a year ago and one of the best showings since 2007, before the Great Recession set in, according to Autodata Corp.
Chrysler Group LLC said Wednesday that its U.S. sales of 165,552 in August rose 11.5 percent over the same month last year, marking its best August sales month in six years.
The Auburn Hills-based automaker said its Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram Truck and Fiat brands posted year-over-year sales gains in August, led by Ram which posted a 29 percent gain. Six Chrysler Group vehicles had record sales for August and the Dodge Journey posted its best sales month ever at 8,890.
The Chrysler minivan turns 30 years old later this year and to celebrate the vehicles that literally invented the minivan segment – the Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan will both benefit from a new 30th Anniversary Edition packages for 2014.
The Dodge Caravan was introduced for the 1984 model year and the first ever minivan rolled off of the assembly line in Windsor Ontario on November 2nd 1983. That means that the original minivan will turn 30 years old in a couple months and to celebrate that monumental occasion, the company will offer up 30th Anniversary Edition models of both the Chrysler Town & Country and the Dodge Grand Caravan for the 2014 model year.
This year has seen quite a few important automotive milestones. Aston Martin celebrated its centennial, and the Porsche 911 turned 50, as did the Lotus Elan. Even Cunningham had a milestone to celebrate, with the marque founded by Briggs Cunningham turning 60. An anniversary you might not have heard about with all the hubbub surrounding the celebrations at Pebble Beach, Lime Rock and other venues is Chrysler's minivans turning 30.
It's been known by many names: the Chrysler Town & Country, Dodge Caravan, Plymouth Voyager, Chrysler Voyager, Lancia Voyager, Volkswagen Routan, Ram Cargo Van... but the bottom line is that Chrysler's minivans have defined the segment for 30 years now. In fact, Chrysler says it has sold 13 million of them since 1983, helped along by the Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan that accounted for nearly half of all minivans sold in the United States just last year. So to celebrate this three-decade milestone, the Auburn Hills auto has announced a pair of new special editions.
The next three years at Chrysler Group can be summed up simply: more Fiat and more miles per gallon.
First Fiat. Three nameplates will be redesigned on shared Fiat platforms: the Chrysler 200, Dodge Avenger and the Dodge Journey replacement.
The Italian invasion will continue with more Fiat nameplates and the beginning of Alfa Romeo sales in U.S. showrooms.
Chrysler may not have invented the minivan, but it sure did put a lot of them in America’s driveways—more than 13 million of the bratwagons by Chrysler’s count since the first Dodge Caravan (and its badge-engineered twin, the Plymouth Voyager) broke cover for the 1984 model year. Those first minivans were truly fun-size—lightweight, front-wheel-driven, four-cylinder–powered, and no lengthier bumper to bumper than a mid-1980s Honda Accord—but with way more usable space inside for seven passengers and their stuff than the competing station wagons of the day. And because they were based on car components, the early Chrysler Group minivans drove like, and achieved similar fuel economy to, cars.
Early sales success begat competition. Before long the Caravan had an extended-wheelbase Grand Caravan sibling with more space, and in 1989, the first luxury minivan, the Chrysler Town & Country was introduced. As features were added, dual sliding doors replaced single ones, V-6 power was added, doors and liftgates became power-operated, and seats not only folded and flipped, but disappeared into the floor. Cup holders spread like mushrooms and so did video systems to pacify the peanut gallery.
General Motors Co. expects 2013 sales of Chevrolet vehicles to reach 5 million for the first time in GM’s 100-year history, spurred in part by growth in the Middle East, said the global head of Chevrolet, Alan Batey.
“When I look out and think about where we need to take the brand, the Middle East is a significant part of that opportunity,” he said in Dubai today at an event for the media.
General Motors Co. is expanding a Detroit recycling program to turn vacant lots into urban gardens.