[JoeP@TeamBeckyD]

Originally Posted by Gunkk

General Motors will begin reporting U.S. sales at the end of each quarter instead of at the end of each month. March will be the last monthly sales report from GM.

"Reporting sales quarterly better aligns with our business, and the quality of information will make it easier to see how the business is performing," said Kurt McNeil, U.S. vice president, Sales Operations for General Motors.

The automaker says dropping monthly sales reports was driven by a number of factors, including the desire to stop the volatility that sometimes exaggerates monthly sales. GM says unusual weather, product launches or incentive campaigns can skew monthly numbers up or down.

"Thirty days is not enough time to separate real sales trends from short-term fluctuations in a very dynamic, highly competitive market," said McNeil.

......

Originally Posted by Frisbey

While I understand the desire to have monthly reports,
I agree with GM on this one.
Quarterly sales reports are more accurate than monthly reports.
As an example,
The sales reports are accurate IF you’re only counting sales from camaro’s on the lot,
But orders are a different story, sales are reported when the cars are delivered,not when they’re ordered, so, monthly numbers aren’t a true representation of sales.
My Camaro was ordered in October 2017, delivered in April 2018.
And there are other examples too.
So I can see both sides of the debate,
But I side with GM on this one and quarterly reports are a business standard.
JMHO

IMHO:
........


Becky

[enzia35]

Damn, those numbers actually look amazing. And Ford was talking about getting out of the rental market.

[Cldgin2]

Why should they compete with two companies that actively sell their cars to fleet and report that in their sales? I still don't know why some of you don't get that. I think Chevy is right.

[bub]

You can roughly back fit the quarterly information into monthly using the previous years' data for monthly % of total. Just a rough methodology to allow continuation of the handy graph that's been around for like 8 years.

Will be curious to see 2019 MY data against the historical information. That restyled nose is gonna be a tough sell IMO, especially on the base cars which represent a large % of sales.

[Gen6_1Le]

Originally Posted by bub

You can roughly back fit the quarterly information into monthly using the previous years' data for monthly % of total. Just a rough methodology to allow continuation of the handy graph that's been around for like 8 years.

Will be curious to see 2019 MY data against the historical information. That restyled nose is gonna be a tough sell IMO, especially on the base cars which represent a large % of sales.

It was the same hate going on for the refresh with the 2014 model year but it ended being one of the best selling years for the 5th gen. I believe the 2019 will do just fine .

[kttxz06]

Originally Posted by Gunkk

Mustangs are for girls.

Saw a dude driving a silver convertible V6 today. I thought the same thing as u.

[hotlap]

Originally Posted by bub

You can roughly back fit the quarterly information into monthly using the previous years' data for monthly % of total. Just a rough methodology to allow continuation of the handy graph that's been around for like 8 years.

Will be curious to see 2019 MY data against the historical information. That restyled nose is gonna be a tough sell IMO, especially on the base cars which represent a large % of sales.

IMO they softened the base cars considerably to make them more appealing to the non sport/muscle car crowd. The base is very easy to like and actually looks classy.

[joelster]

I don't understand it at all. When they started showing pics of the 6th gen, I thought it was game over for Ford and Dodge. At the time the Camaro was selling very well (2010-early 2015). Sales of 2015's actually dropped for a short time at the end of the model year, for what I thought was anticipation of the new 6th gen. I figured the 6th gen would launch at the dealers and sell like hotcakes, but sadly that has not been the case. What exactly is the 6th gen missing, that the Challenger and Mustang have? I just don't get it.

['01LS1]

Originally Posted by bub

That restyled nose is gonna be a tough sell IMO, especially on the base cars which represent a large % of sales.

They will call that a nose dive.

The only reasoning I can think of moving to quarterly is that it simplifies reports for investors venturing into a new or growing market. But think it also delays some indicators if we enter a declining market or recession.

Worst case scenario for the unintended audience of sales reports(us on various forums & news sites). Imagine the Mustang averages 8000 units per month while the Camaro avg's 5000. Think how that snapshot is going to look multiplied by 3.

Maybe GM had expected other mfg's to follow along with quarterly reporting? Will a few more mfg's jump on board for the second half of the calendar year? Best case scenario, it could save some short term scrutiny for various companies when they cut multiple cars in the next 24 months?

[init4fun]

They don't want you to know how bad sales of the 2019 refresh are going to be.

[shaffe]

Originally Posted by Frisbey

While I understand the desire to have monthly reports,
I agree with GM on this one.
Quarterly sales reports are more accurate than monthly reports.
As an example,
The sales reports are accurate IF you’re only counting sales from camaro’s on the lot,
But orders are a different story, sales are reported when the cars are delivered,not when they’re ordered, so, monthly numbers aren’t a true representation of sales.
My Camaro was ordered in October 2017, delivered in April 2018.
And there are other examples too.
So I can see both sides of the debate,
But I side with GM on this one and quarterly reports are a business standard.
JMHO

I disagree. As a business owner I like being able to look at my monthly trends(which we all know GM has access to internally). As a potential investor in a company, IMO automotive is one of the few where you can kind of see trends month to month vs having to wait for quarterly reports. That kind of makes me wonder why are they going against industry standard and now only reporting every 3 months?

Originally Posted by R.C. Collins

Wow. And here the Mustang guys are bragging about outselling the Camaro.

A sale is a sale. Would Ford love more retail sales, you bet. but if they can move a bunch of cars at once they will do that to. All about finding the right balance.

Originally Posted by '01LS1

They will call that a nose dive.

The only reasoning I can think of moving to quarterly is that it simplifies reports for investors venturing into a new or growing market. But think it also delays some indicators if we enter a declining market or recession.

Worst case scenario for the unintended audience of sales reports(us on various forums & news sites). Imagine the Mustang averages 8000 units per month while the Camaro avg's 5000. Think how that snapshot is going to look multiplied by 3.

Maybe GM had expected other mfg's to follow along with quarterly reporting? Will a few more mfg's jump on board for the second half of the calendar year? Best case scenario, it could save some short term scrutiny for various companies when they cut multiple cars in the next 24 months?

I feel the opposite. As I mentioned if I am looking to invest in an auto company, you can kind of see trends based on monthly sales. GM is now the only one NOT providing monthly sales info. Why? That might cause me the potential investor to invest my money in someone else who's trends I can see.

[MackSteelPrivateEye]

Originally Posted by Gunkk

Mustangs are for girls.

I wouldn't go so far to say the Mustangs are for girls, I just think that many buy Mustangs because the are intimidated by the additional low end torque that Camaros and Challengers put out with the Pushrod engines. Unfortunatly the DOHC engines lack the low end grunt that can be extremely intimidating and frightful to some.