Ford, Toyota, Honda Etc: Who's A Winner, Or A Loser?

Forget all the talk you will hear about people not wanting to buy a new car or truck. Some models ARE selling, and some brands ARE doing well while others muddle along. So with that in mind here is my list of who is cruising and who is losing in the auto biz.

2007 BMW 335i Convertible

Winner: Luxury Brands. BMW,Lexus and Mercedes all boosted sales last month. Proof, the high end models, especially newer ones like the BMW 3 series hard-top convertible, are in demand

Losing: Ford . With retail sales down 13% in August, only the Lincoln and Land Rover brands were up in August. When will things turn for Ford? The Edge is nice, but Ford needs more.

Winning: Honda . The Japanese automaker has quietly been on a roll. Its 10.7% market share in August narrowed the gap with Chrysler (11.4%) and showed Honda's car line-up is connecting with buyers.

Losing: Buyers seeking a deal are not finding lucrative incentives. The average domestic incentive is dropped more than $200 bucks in August and the overall industry average incentive fell $72 to $2,648.

Winning: Mitsubishi. The Asian automaker has been trying for some time to overcome a slew of problems. In August, its sales jumped 19% and year to date, and its sales are up 17%. Sure it's 93,000 vehicles. Still, give Mitsubishi credit for getting its act together.

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