http://www.caranddriver.com/article....rticle_id=8352

Four Honda products in the top ten (1 Honda & 3 Acura)...I'm liking that. Acura finally has some hits on their hands again.

 

wow, didnt know the MDX was still selling that well

 

nice find.

 

Interesting note about that though...the RX330 sells more than the MDX. (not that this list is any indicator of actually sales numbers)

 

Lexus saw the RX 330 growth coming and built a new plant in Canada to keep up with demand. It's a hot selling vehicle (120,000 sold by years end) there are just now 2 plants to meet demand.
The MDX has always been a hot seller for Acura.

 

That's actually a complaint I have about Acura...they purposefully keep supply down. That way, they can keep the hype going on a car and keep prices high.

 

This strategy gives them a bigger profit margin per vehicle sold (plus it's just easier to make less vehicles). Makes sense to me.

 

Oh, I know it makes business sense to me. But I still don't like it. That means (to me) TSX and TL buyers are paying more than they should for their car.

 

I wouldn't doubt it.

My Acura dealer out here has 9 tentative pre-orders for Acura RLs. They are not due until October and they are only getting 4 in.

 

MDX and Oddysey sales have consistantly been governed by the amount they can produce. If they didn't built the Pilot they'd probably sell even more of the other two.

 

.
Well some of ya'll are also forgetting it takes a couple billion to build a new plant, train workers, the whole nine. Shit it's a couple million just to study the justability of one.

That is where Toyota's size comes in. They have much larger resources. They are also building a new Tundra plant in Texas as the next Tundra will take a page out the Titan's book and battle head on the Americans.

I think Honda is happy selling what 6k MDXs a month Honda is still conservative. Hell it took them forever to make the MDX (The SLK was a joke). Most companies would have seen 6k a month 40k trucks sold and tried to expand right away. Maybe Honda studies figure they wouldn't sell many more MDXs.

I do know since the RX and MDX are based on cheaper models (Camry, Odyessy), they are CASH COWS. The more expensive a platform sharer the bigger the profit.

 

For the most part, that's true; but Honda did expand the Ohio plant to build additional Odysseys.

 

Maybe Honda studies figure they won't be worth 40k if they sell too many of them....

 

That is possible. Though with 17 days on the lot, that is better than the 30 days most companies would be happy with.
Well let me change that. Honda builds the MDX and figure we sell it at 30k to break even. So there could be 1 MDX on the lot or 1 million, they need to sell above 30k to make a profit.

Supply and demand hits Japanese luxury car makers very little. Notice no rebates on our cars. The MDX would not be effect by it's "value" going down if more are produced. If they make 10 or 10 million, they still will ask 40k for it and still will have their 30k as the break even point.
The Pilot, Odyessy and MDX have all done very well for Honda. Funny as none existed what 5 years ago.
Honda did a great job keeping Honda lovers happy expanding their product line and picking up some additional buyers along the way.

 

See I think that they spend a small amount of time on the lot because supply is nicely matched to (or even a little below) demand. If you increase supply too much (10 million), then everyone who wants one will eventually HAVE one and thus not need to buy one still. Then you have 8 million left on your lot with no one to buy. That's where the long shelf lives and the 3k+ rebates come from (Big three). They have to cut the price back down so that demand will catch up to the ridiculous oversupply.

Why sell at the break even point (or close to it) if you don't have to? I don't know much econ, so somebody stop me if I'm wrong.

 

What I am saying is, no matter how many MDXs Acura makes,
1. They need to sell above 30k to break even
2. They will price it at 40k regardless
(mind you I am just estimating these numbers)

The market is funny and that is where research comes in. Look at the RX 330. They are going to sell 120,000 this year. The SUV is 35-48k loaded. Since 1999, they've sold maybe 1/2 a million. We can say it's NOT a rare SUV, yet it costs more than the industry average (avg car is 30k) and people still buy it and don't care if every neighbor has one.

Take the say Caddy SRX. Priced from 40-55k around the same range. They are not selling well. GM has to bring rebates, or they will sit and rot. It being rarer than the RX or MDX does not matter. People don't want it and the basic complaint I've heard is it costs too much.

So if people want it, you can build millions, the price will not go down.
If people don't want it, you have to build less since no one wants it and you have to drop your price.

 

If Lexus and Acura limit production of the RX and MDX, it would be silly. Why? It's not a collectible for one. Two, since people LOVE their respective SUVs, it may potentially make someone check out a TL who would not have being an Acura MDX owner or a RX owner checking out a LS who would have went to Benz.
3. With platform sharing, they make a KILLER profit since these SUVs cost little to make compared to a 4-runner/GX 470 which has it's own platform,

 

Unfortunately this list means nothing other than low inventories reach the top of this list.

 

Actually, if you look at the list, the number of Japanese products is astounding. Aside from the recent hype for the 300C and the Mini Cooper, the remainder of the cars are Japanese. This is a testament to the just-in-time production system used by Honda and Toyota. American and European car companies produce huge numbers of vehicles only to have then sit on the lots gathering dust. Honda and Toyota use a system where the vehicles arrive just in time to be sold and thus have a much lower average time on the lot. It's smart money and good business. Japanese innovation is hard to beat.

 

Tonkin or Hannah? That's an interesting fact...I'll definitely be @ Hannah to test drive one as soon as it comes in...

 

I dislike links to articles, so here it is:

Summer's Top 10 Sizzlers

The Daily Auto Insider
Thursday, July 15, 2004
July 2004


During June, the following cars spent the least amount of time on dealer's lots before they were sold:

MODEL . . . . . . DAYS ON LOT AVERAGE PRICE
Toyota Prius . . . . . 6 . . . . . $25,089
Chrysler 300 . . . . . 11 . . . . . $31,112
Toyota Sienna . . . . 12 . . . . . $29,344
Acura TL . . . . . . . . 14 . . . . . $32,806
Scion xB . . . . . . . .14 . . . . . $15,698
Mini Cooper . . . . . . 16 . . . . . $22,995
Acura MDX . . . . . . .17 . . . . . $38,876
Honda Pilot . . . . . . .17 . . . . . $30,341
Acura TSX . . . . . . . 17. . . . . $26,559
Infiniti QX56 . . . . . .18. . . . . $52,282

 

That's a good point. But I don't think the SRX is anywhere near as desirable as the MDX/RX330.

 

That average price for the TL seems kind of low - is that the selling price?

 

Probably is. They sell a whole bunch of 'em.

 

I still can't believe that the QX56 is on that list. It's gotta be the ugliest vehicle ever.

 

I have NEVER liked Infiniti's styling except for the Q45's.

 

Well I knew it would be a success. Just like the Escalade, Denali, H2, HUGE SUVs sell very well. Hopefully the profits used will be pumped into bringing us the GT-R before I am 200 years old..
The funny thing is these SUVs blow. The QX56 just finished LAST in it's comparison in Motor Trend. And it's built in Mississippi too, very confidence inspiring.
If you go to Nissan forums or read the magazine article, the truck is a rattle box and seems pretty poorly built to be 55k.

 

I don't know if you've ever driven an H2, Denali, or Escalade but I have driven all three and honestly, they are no better than the QX56. In fact, of those 4, the Infiniti is probably the best on-road of the bunch. Overall, the Infiniti is a decent piece with the same "bling factor" as the Escalade. Expect to start seeing QX56s on dub+4 rims, dropped to the ground with huge speakers, tvs, and neons.

 

I like the SRX but like someone else mentioned here, I thought it was overpriced when I "built" my own on Cadillac's website. Good looking, seems to have plenty of power, nice interior, 3rd row, etc.

 

LX470 puts them all to shame. It's a Japanese Range Rover--luxurious and capable, while being reliable (unlike the Range Rover).

The QX56, however, is an amazing value.

 

All but the RSX and the RL are on the top 10?

Wow.

 

I didn't say they were better. They are all huge expensive crap. :shit: Escalades "Bling" factor is legendary . Infiniti still has no appeal to blingers. :sqnteek:

 

I liked it when I sat in it at the auto show. Interior is better, but still not up to Euro/Japanese standards. WAY overpriced though... GM seems to establish Cadillac pricing by saying 'There it is, we're back!' rather than gradually increasing pricing to bring consumers back to Caddies.

Definitely a much improved lineup IMO.

 

Even GM admitted that they goofed when they allocated more V8 SRXs than they should have to dealers, thinking customers would opt for the more powerful version. Someone send a memo to Cadillac that the cheaper model always sells better.

 

I was actually hoping that by waiting for the newness to wear off that I would geta better deal..apparently not so..

 

Not necessarily true. The 300C is selling a much higher number than originally anticipated with the hemi engine. But then again, the Pacifica didn't sell well at the higher sticker price. Of course, that car is such a dog that I don't know if it would sell at any price.

 

The same for the 300C without the Hemi...too heavy for anything less than the Hemi. But even with the Hemi the 300c is still under 35K. The Cadillac SRX is already demanding close to 39K for a V6 and up to 50K for the V8 model.

 

But in turn you are rewarded with a higher resale value down the line.

 

I think the 300 without the Hemi isn't doing so bad either. Some people just want the look and don't really want the extra money spent on performance they will never use. I think Chrysler did a good job in offering the engine options. This should help the carmaker sell the same car in both volume and with profit.

Junkster, who also notes that the new Hemi engines don't have a hemispheric chamber

 

I've always thought that was funny. The king of all marketing gimmicks. :shakehd:

Clutch, who knows that hemispheric combustion chamber = low compression ratio. Where's the fun in that?