[AlexM]

Money talks after all, right?
16% and then 20% in the last two months says it all!

[FenwickHockey65]

Ford in general tanked hard in October. Down 11.7%.

Some of that is attributed to recalls, but wow.

FCA didn't fare much better.

[AlexM]

...and damn, what a drop Mustang took on the sales graph!!! As others said it, I did NOT see that coming.

[JBinSD]

I was cross-shopping the Mustang and Camaro last month, and although I found the 'Maro superior in performance, I thought the 'stang was practical, comfortable and well thought-out. There were almost NO Incentives last month for Mustangs, vs. 20% off for Camaros. Seems like a logical result from a sales perspective.

[ssrs2lt]

Cost is more in line with demand for the camaro..but killing resale value..the other 2 manf were horrible

[KMPrenger]

Camaro won both in Sept and Oct very likely due to the nice rebates going on. Not everyone was getting 15% and 20%, but really, any most any model you could still get at least a few thousand or more off of MSRP. Performance-wise, the car is worth the asking, but for this segment it has been a more difficult pill to swallow for sure.

I'd suspect that Camaro and Mustang sales will remain pretty close over the fall/winter/spring months. But I also expect Mustang to come out on top again in sales once the 2018 model rolls out. I would also expect a bit more of a Mustang price increase than Camaro will have due to the Mustang's possible mechanical changes (10 speed auto anyone?)

[merlin803]

Interesting read regarding cutting of low profit fleet sales while increasing profits per unit sold.

Some scoffed at this idea in the past sales threads but it really is about profits and not "look, we sold more Camaro's than Mustangs"

http://www.autonews.com/article/2016...1/161039998/-1

P.S. These threads are much more pleasant without the Mustang forum trolls, lol

[90503]

Originally Posted by merlin803

Interesting read regarding cutting of low profit fleet sales while increasing profits per unit sold.

Some scoffed at this idea in the past sales threads but it really is about profits and not "look, we sold more Camaro's than Mustangs"

http://www.autonews.com/article/2016...1/161039998/-1

P.S. These threads are much more pleasant without the Mustang forum trolls, lol

Unfortunately, the common perception is that in order to increase profits, GM is "gouging" the retail customer with a higher price. I don't believe that is the case. All they seem to have done is not engage in fleet sales with little or no profit earned in with those "sales".....Just sayin'.....

[merlin803]

Originally Posted by 90503

Unfortunately, the common perception is that in order to increase profits, GM is "gouging" the retail customer with a higher price. I don't believe that is the case. All they seem to have done is not engage in fleet sales with little or no profit earned in with those "sales".....Just sayin'.....

Sales is only part of the equation, they have also reduced costs. The point is, if they are making more profit per car sold, there is no point in fretting about comparing the units sold to Mustangs or past year's Camaro sales because they are no longer an apples to apples comparison.

I also don't think I have seen a single review or owner for that matter that thought that GM was "gouging" with the price of the Camaro's. For what you are getting it is a great value.

Is it the cheapest sports car? Nope. But that doesn't mean it isn't a good value.

[motorheadkev]

Originally Posted by Thor142

I think this was the reason for the better sales. The rebates brought the price of the car inline with what the market will bear.

Saturday looks like a good day to buy a Camaro!!!! because the price is right, now...
my practical side is kicking in, 2LT, 6cyl,6 speed,(for fun) (ZN2 for help seeing blind spotsss) NPP (because it’s a good factory option) looks like January delivery, woooo hoooooo

[Thor142]

Originally Posted by 90503

Unfortunately, the common perception is that in order to increase profits, GM is "gouging" the retail customer with a higher price. I don't believe that is the case. All they seem to have done is not engage in fleet sales with little or no profit earned in with those "sales".....Just sayin'.....

I don't think it's about gouging. I don't like that word. I think charging as much as the market will bear as long as there is direct competition is totally fair. I do think that GM picked price point that's too high. This theory is backed up by the nice bump in sales due to rebates.The price was brought inline with what people thought was a good value and they bought it. Profit as a goal is fine but if your profit margin causes your product to be out of line with your perceived competition it will result in less sale. Again we saw this play out. I say perceived competition because while some enthusiasts will compare performance numbers and track times and what not and come up with a cost over value comparison most average consumers look for the best "deal" on a two door coupe or "pony car".

[ChefBorOzzy]

It's ridiculous how people keep going on about this "price gouging".. I see it a lot from Ford boys.. LISTEN, these auto manufacturers typically have less than 10 percent profit margin (overall). That's not gouging in any shape or form in my book.

You have companies that build a damn phone and charge 900 dollars for it. Give me a break with the price gouging crap.

[90503]

Originally Posted by Thor142

I don't think it's about gouging. I don't like that word. I think charging as much as the market will bear as long as there is direct competition is totally fair. I do think that GM picked price point that's too high. This theory is backed up by the nice bump in sales due to rebates.The price was brought inline with what people thought was a good value and they bought it. Profit as a goal is fine but if your profit margin causes your product to be out of line with your perceived competition it will result in less sale. Again we saw this play out. I say perceived competition because while some enthusiasts will compare performance numbers and track times and what not and come up with a cost over value comparison most average consumers look for the best "deal" on a two door coupe or "pony car".

Yeah, gouging is perhaps not the right term....but if you keep seeing how many feel the Camaro is priced too high, combined with the company's policy of more profit per unit....(produce less, make more money), then it appears the price is artificially high...

I just think it's somewhat of a PR issue that may not set well with many in the buying public. I think this whole "GM profit" discussion is totally misunderstood by most and probably would have been better off without it being mentioned....

If it was unknown whether or not GM was making money, losing their ass, or whatever, the sticker price on the cars wouldn't be such an issue, high or not...

[FenwickHockey65]

Here's the thing though, people are paying the higher prices. Every sales report this year from GM talks about how ATPs are going up. If GM can find enough buyers to support that price point, then why not continue the practice? And if after a while, sales start to lag a bit (as with the 6th gen), you just made enough money to be able to start incentives to boost sales.

It might piss the Ford fans off, but GM's strategy is clearly working. And as someone who watched the company chase volume without regard to profit, leading straight into bankruptcy, I'm glad they're now prioritizing making money.