xcel
07-02-2006, 10:21 PM
Honda officials say production of the Insight ends this September :( (http://www.cleveland.com/business/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/business/1151843418215130.xml&coll=2)
Ann Job - Cleveland Plain Dealer - July 2, 2006
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Honda_Insight.jpg
2006 Honda Insight - last year for the highest FE based auto in the US.
This year, automakers will stop making 10 models because they aren't selling well enough, don't fit company strategy or are too hard to produce under new regulations.
The sizable group includes noteworthy names such as the Honda Insight, which was the first gasoline-electric hybrid car to go on sale in America in 1999, and the exotic, 500-horse- power Ford GT supercar.
Consumers might find good buys in the departing models as dealers clear their lots. Betting that some vehicles will increase in value in coming years, collectors will be looking, too.
But keep in mind that, generally, collectible cars tend to be models that were built in small numbers, had special features and/or marked a historical or cultural watershed.
It might seem like a strange time to get rid of the most fuel-efficient car in America. But Honda officials say production of the Insight ends this September. U.S. sales have never been robust for the odd-looking, two-seat car, which holds the record for fuel economy with a government rating of 60 miles per gallon in city driving and 66 mpg on the highway.
And Honda's Civic Hybrid, updated for 2006, is much roomier and far more popular. So consumers who don't need a lot of room and who want to motor around in the near term with the best mileage possible from a production car had better not wait too long to get an Insight.
Starting manufacturer's suggested retail price, including destination charge, for a 2006 Insight is $19,880.
The rarest of this year's goodbye cars is the Porsche Carrera GT. Production of this 605-horsepower, V10-powered, two-seat supercar ended last month after some 2½ years. Only about 1,270 were built, with half coming to North America.
The $440,000 car attracted an exclusive crowd, including funnymen Jay Leno and Jerry Seinfeld, and Porsche had buyer lists from the get-go. So if you didn't get on a list more than a year ago, you're likely out of luck.
The supercharged Ford GT sports car that drew heavily upon the design of the Ford GT race cars of the 1960s is wrapping up, too. Development and engineering costs were high, and the GT is a low-volume car with a starting price of $153,345.
Today, financially strapped Ford is selling out its GTs and plans to close the Wixom, Mich., assembly plant where the GT is built. So, total Ford GT sales are unlikely to top 2,300.
The Lincoln LS, Lincoln's smallest luxury sedan, also is produced at the Wixom plant outside Detroit and wrapped up production this spring after some 300,000 units. But shoppers may find new LS cars remaining at some dealerships. Starting price is $39,945 and some significant discounts are available.
Go figure. Even the storied muscle car name of Pontiac GTO can't draw lots of Americans to a sizable, rear-wheel-drive, V8-powered coupe. Maybe it's the price of gasoline. Maybe it's the fact that Pontiac's modern reincarnation of the GTO is actually a U.S. version of the Holden Monaro coupe made in an Australian factory by Pontiac's parent company.
But annual GTO sales peaked quickly at 13,569 in 2004. With new federal regulations kicking in this year that would add costs to the car, which carries a starting price of $33,290, the GTO has been canceled. The last cars likely will be found through summer on dealer lots.
After just five model years, the Acura RSX coupe is getting the boot. With a starting price of $20,940, this four-cylinder coupe is Acura's smallest car and its lowest-priced car by some $8,000. But sales have been on the decline, and Acura is working to move upscale.
Don't look for the Mazda MPV after this year. With Mazda launching the 2007 Mazda CX-7 and CX-9 crossover sport utility vehicles this year and retaining the small Mazda5 minivan, the company doesn't need the larger, seven-passenger MPV minivan anymore. Starting MSRP, including destination charge, for the 2006 MPV is $22,675.
The Ford Taurus, America's best-selling car from 1992 to 1996, has been slowly wrapping up its sales for at least a year. The Taurus first was joined in showrooms in fall 2004 by the Ford Five Hundred, a larger sedan with modern platform and a new interior.
Last fall, the Ford Fusion sedan arrived, too. Both cars are supposed to take the place of the long-running and aged Taurus, which primarily became available only to car fleets in calendar 2006. Taurus' sibling, the Mercury Sable, has already retired.
Ford officials say they'll close the Taurus factory in Atlanta as part of corporate cost-cutting.
Among the most difficult to find of the goodbye cars is a new VW Phaeton. For one thing, not every VW dealer signed up to be a Phaeton dealership. For another, not many of the large luxury sedans were shipped to the United States. Shipments of the current Phaeton have already stopped.
It appears that American buyers balked at paying upwards of $68,000 for a VW, even one as impressive as the technology-packed Phaeton, which is based on the Audi A8. All told, the Phaeton tallied fewer than 3,300 sales in the United States from the time it arrived in 2003.
Today, only a few new Phaetons remain on dealer lots, here and there, around the country.
June marks the end of the line for Hummer's H1, the original civilian version of the U.S. Army's Humvee all-terrain vehicle. Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger was the first to get an H1 when they went on sale in 1992, after the Gulf War.
But just 374 H1s were sold in the United States in 2005, and government regulation changes this year were deemed too costly for such small sales volumes. Starting price is $129,399 for a 2006 H1.
Ann Job - Cleveland Plain Dealer - July 2, 2006
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Honda_Insight.jpg
2006 Honda Insight - last year for the highest FE based auto in the US.
This year, automakers will stop making 10 models because they aren't selling well enough, don't fit company strategy or are too hard to produce under new regulations.
The sizable group includes noteworthy names such as the Honda Insight, which was the first gasoline-electric hybrid car to go on sale in America in 1999, and the exotic, 500-horse- power Ford GT supercar.
Consumers might find good buys in the departing models as dealers clear their lots. Betting that some vehicles will increase in value in coming years, collectors will be looking, too.
But keep in mind that, generally, collectible cars tend to be models that were built in small numbers, had special features and/or marked a historical or cultural watershed.
It might seem like a strange time to get rid of the most fuel-efficient car in America. But Honda officials say production of the Insight ends this September. U.S. sales have never been robust for the odd-looking, two-seat car, which holds the record for fuel economy with a government rating of 60 miles per gallon in city driving and 66 mpg on the highway.
And Honda's Civic Hybrid, updated for 2006, is much roomier and far more popular. So consumers who don't need a lot of room and who want to motor around in the near term with the best mileage possible from a production car had better not wait too long to get an Insight.
Starting manufacturer's suggested retail price, including destination charge, for a 2006 Insight is $19,880.
The rarest of this year's goodbye cars is the Porsche Carrera GT. Production of this 605-horsepower, V10-powered, two-seat supercar ended last month after some 2½ years. Only about 1,270 were built, with half coming to North America.
The $440,000 car attracted an exclusive crowd, including funnymen Jay Leno and Jerry Seinfeld, and Porsche had buyer lists from the get-go. So if you didn't get on a list more than a year ago, you're likely out of luck.
The supercharged Ford GT sports car that drew heavily upon the design of the Ford GT race cars of the 1960s is wrapping up, too. Development and engineering costs were high, and the GT is a low-volume car with a starting price of $153,345.
Today, financially strapped Ford is selling out its GTs and plans to close the Wixom, Mich., assembly plant where the GT is built. So, total Ford GT sales are unlikely to top 2,300.
The Lincoln LS, Lincoln's smallest luxury sedan, also is produced at the Wixom plant outside Detroit and wrapped up production this spring after some 300,000 units. But shoppers may find new LS cars remaining at some dealerships. Starting price is $39,945 and some significant discounts are available.
Go figure. Even the storied muscle car name of Pontiac GTO can't draw lots of Americans to a sizable, rear-wheel-drive, V8-powered coupe. Maybe it's the price of gasoline. Maybe it's the fact that Pontiac's modern reincarnation of the GTO is actually a U.S. version of the Holden Monaro coupe made in an Australian factory by Pontiac's parent company.
But annual GTO sales peaked quickly at 13,569 in 2004. With new federal regulations kicking in this year that would add costs to the car, which carries a starting price of $33,290, the GTO has been canceled. The last cars likely will be found through summer on dealer lots.
After just five model years, the Acura RSX coupe is getting the boot. With a starting price of $20,940, this four-cylinder coupe is Acura's smallest car and its lowest-priced car by some $8,000. But sales have been on the decline, and Acura is working to move upscale.
Don't look for the Mazda MPV after this year. With Mazda launching the 2007 Mazda CX-7 and CX-9 crossover sport utility vehicles this year and retaining the small Mazda5 minivan, the company doesn't need the larger, seven-passenger MPV minivan anymore. Starting MSRP, including destination charge, for the 2006 MPV is $22,675.
The Ford Taurus, America's best-selling car from 1992 to 1996, has been slowly wrapping up its sales for at least a year. The Taurus first was joined in showrooms in fall 2004 by the Ford Five Hundred, a larger sedan with modern platform and a new interior.
Last fall, the Ford Fusion sedan arrived, too. Both cars are supposed to take the place of the long-running and aged Taurus, which primarily became available only to car fleets in calendar 2006. Taurus' sibling, the Mercury Sable, has already retired.
Ford officials say they'll close the Taurus factory in Atlanta as part of corporate cost-cutting.
Among the most difficult to find of the goodbye cars is a new VW Phaeton. For one thing, not every VW dealer signed up to be a Phaeton dealership. For another, not many of the large luxury sedans were shipped to the United States. Shipments of the current Phaeton have already stopped.
It appears that American buyers balked at paying upwards of $68,000 for a VW, even one as impressive as the technology-packed Phaeton, which is based on the Audi A8. All told, the Phaeton tallied fewer than 3,300 sales in the United States from the time it arrived in 2003.
Today, only a few new Phaetons remain on dealer lots, here and there, around the country.
June marks the end of the line for Hummer's H1, the original civilian version of the U.S. Army's Humvee all-terrain vehicle. Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger was the first to get an H1 when they went on sale in 1992, after the Gulf War.
But just 374 H1s were sold in the United States in 2005, and government regulation changes this year were deemed too costly for such small sales volumes. Starting price is $129,399 for a 2006 H1.