plus 4, Uptrend Spotted in Shares of Dollar Thrifty Automotive (DTG) - Investors Business Daily

Uptrend Spotted in Shares of Dollar Thrifty Automotive (DTG) - Investors Business Daily
Tax incentives lifeline for Turkish automotive sector in 2009 - Today's Zaman
Saab's demise different than Pontiac, Saturn - Oakland Press
Videos From the Web: Car Videos - San Francisco Chronicle
Speedway's comeback predicted - Arizona Daily Star

Uptrend Spotted in Shares of Dollar Thrifty Automotive (DTG) - Investors Business Daily

Posted: 26 Dec 2009 08:46 AM PST

Uptrend Spotted in Shares of Dollar Thrifty Automotive (DTG)

Posted 11:35 AM ET

Dec 26, 2009 (SmarTrend(R) Spotlight via COMTEX) -- SmarTrend identified an Uptrend for Dollar Thrifty Automotive (DTG) on December 07, 2009 at $21.75. In approximately 2 weeks, Dollar Thrifty Automotive has returned 23.9% as of Thursday's closing price of $26.95.

Dollar Thrifty Automotive is currently above its 50-day moving average of $21.55 and above its 200-day moving average of $14.84. Look for these moving averages to climb to confirm the company's upward momentum.

SmarTrend will continue to scan these moving averages and a number of other proprietary indicators for any shifts in the trajectory of Dollar Thrifty Automotive shares.

Write to Chip Brian at cbrian@tradethetrend.com

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SmarTrend analyzes over 5,000 securities simultaneously throughout the trading day and provides its subscribers with trend change alerts in real time. To get a free trial of our trading calls and maximize your trading results, please visit http://www.mysmartrend.com.

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Tax incentives lifeline for Turkish automotive sector in 2009 - Today's Zaman

Posted: 26 Dec 2009 10:55 AM PST

The automotive sector rose as the best performing and highest earning industry in the country over the last decade, dethroning textiles and home appliances, in both domestic consumption and exports; however, it also suffered the most contraction during the recent crisis. Some auto manufacturers in Turkey slashed business hours of their plants by 24 percent, while others cut 30 percent of their labor force. Nearly 2,500 automotive sector workers lost their jobs each month in 2008 and the market shrank by 17 percent in 2008 over the preceding year. Auto sales in Europe, which draws the lion's share of Turkey's auto exports, also fell by 7.8 percent in 2008, the sharpest decline seen over the last 15 years.

Unlike its bright past, the sector entered 2009 with a very gloomy picture, struggling with a series of problems due to a significant contraction both in the domestic and global auto market. The sector saw a 59.4 percent decrease in its output in the first quarter of the year compared to the same quarter of 2008, declining from 350,902 to 142,567. Unemployment rates also reached record levels in Bursa, Turkey's car manufacturing hub, with approximately 14,000 people losing their jobs in just the first two months of 2009. Several major car manufacturers, including Tofaş, OYAK-Renault and Bosch, announced cuts in production in response to falling demand.

As calls for necessary measures to be taken immediately to heal the sick sector became more common, the government introduced reductions in the private consumption tax (ÖTV) in the auto sector along with several sectors starting from March 15 for three months, in a bid to rejuvenate the ailing sectors amidst the then-ongoing global financial bottleneck. The incentives were extended for another three months on June 15, expiring on Sept. 20. With the tax reduction, the sector breathed a sigh of relief, enjoying a boost in demand. Auto sales in the domestic market rose by 150,000 vehicles and automobile sales increased by 11.6 percent in the first 11 months of the year compared to the same period of last year, while total auto sales in the domestic market rose by only 0.5 percent during this time. The last month of the incentives, September, also saw a record sales figure. A total of 81,390 automobiles were sold during this month, while until this year the highest sales figure seen in September was about 62,000. On average, this month sees sales of roughly 40-45,000 vehicles, a figure that increased by more than twofold this year thanks to the incentives.

However, the following month saw a sharp drop in auto sales as the term of incentives expired. In October, auto sales decreased by 36 percent compared to the same month of last year and fell by 75 percent compared to the previous month, deemed a sign of what will happen in the sector if an incentive is not introduced again in the near future by sector representatives, calling on the government to continue tax cuts to help the sector "maintain the edge it achieved in the last decade." The Automotive Distributors Association (ODD), in a study, argued that the Treasury would bring in more revenue if the government cuts tax rates, as auto sales will rise due to more affordable prices.

The tax incentives, however, were not extended and market players pinned their hopes on a cash for clunkers incentive that sought to replace old vehicles with new ones, a move that is expected to increase auto sales by 100,000. In further bad news for the auto industry, Industry and Trade Minister Nihat Ergün noted in early October that a cash for clunkers incentive will not be introduced in the near future, also expressing his concern over whether the incentive would create the anticipated demand.

Continuing their decline after the expiration of the incentives, automobile sales again fell by 38.3 percent in November compared to the same month of 2009, confirming fears of the sector representatives that auto sales might drop by as much as 30 percent in the absence of an incentive.

Auto industry happy over incentives

However, reaching such high sales figures in the face of a recession is deemed a real success by most market participants. ODD President İbrahim Aybar, sharing the same opinion, noted that such sales levels in a though year should go down in history for the sector.

Hyundai Assan Domestic Sales and Marketing General Director Kurthan Tarakçıoğlu also said that the Turkish auto sector was not influenced by the crisis as badly as anticipated thanks to the "doping effect" of tax cuts.

Increasing to record levels until October 2008, Turkish auto exports, which constitute the highest share in the country's total exports, remained at low levels throughout the year. The exports suffered a 38 percent decline in January-November compared to the same period of 2008, amounting to $13.1 billion, which is expected to rise to $14.5 billion by the end of the year, according to the Association of Automotive Parts and Components Manufacturers (TAYSAD).

Not every part of the sector has enjoyed the positive results of the incentive, however. Sales of heavy vehicles such as trucks, tractors and minibuses were not influenced by the incentives because the ÖTV rate was already low for these vehicles. The heavy vehicle sector suffered the heaviest contraction in five years. Sector representatives have urged for a cut in the value-added tax (KDV) to ensure the rejuvenation of this vehicle group.

According to data released by the Automobile Manufacturers' Association (OSD), the sector's production fell by 30 percent in the first 11 months of the year compared to the same period of last year, from 1.11 million to 775,834. While 873,754 vehicles were exported in the January-November period of last year, this number decreased to 560,824 in the same period of 2009, representing a 35.8 percent decline.

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Saab's demise different than Pontiac, Saturn - Oakland Press

Posted: 26 Dec 2009 10:22 PM PST

By JOSEPH SZCZESNY
Of The Oakland Press

Over the last century, hundreds of automotive nameplates, like Saab, have died and been forgotten.

Some of them died before they ever really had a chance to show they had any real character.

Others left only a legend behind, like the Tucker. Some — Eagle, Merkur and Plymouth come to mind — died simply because they couldn't find a place or space in an automotive world where the attention of consumers was definitely elsewhere.

Other brands with solid names, like Packard, Studebaker and Nash, died from a combination of competition, neglect and mismanagement.

Certainly, the impending departure of Pontiac and Saturn certainly underscore the role of neglect and mismanagement in life and death of automotive brands. Pontiac and Saturn had been fading away long before the Obama administration's automotive task force decided — more or less ordered — GM to get rid of both as part of the company's re-organization.

Both brands had been severely mauled during the misguided reign of Ron Zarrella, GM's erstwhile marketing chief from the mid-1990s until after the turn of the century.

First, GM failed to capitalize on the momentum created by Saturn's early success, which was one of GM's major mistakes of the past two decades. GM simply squandered an enormous opportunity to remake its image with a fresh, crisp edge.

The automaker also failed to renew and revive Pontiac's heritage. Pontiac was one of the company's most successful brands during the 1950s and '60s but, by the end of 1980s, it was badly in need of revival and a series of GM managers and executives simply could never manage it. They blew it.

By the time Steven Rattner and the automotive task force visited Detroit last week, the Pontiac brand had been reduced to a shell with a storied name and little else.

At the end, GM did make an effort to sell Saturn to outside entity that might have been able to keep the brand alive. But even Roger Penske, talented as he is, can't perform miracles and Saturn would have had to travel a very difficult road.

But while the blame for the demise of both Pontiac and Saturn can clearly be traced back to GM's inept top management, I don't think GM's management should be forced to shoulder the blame for death of Saab as well.

I certainly wish GM's efforts to spin off Saab would have succeeded. For one thing, if the new management team spun off with Saab had been able to enjoy even modest success, it would have been a pretty significant boost for the local economy.

Saab's North American headquarters would have been in Royal Oak and the connections between Detroit area and Sweden certainly would have grown and expanded if the automaker had survived the separation from GM.

At the time of this writing, Spyker's 11th-hour attempt at purchasing Saab from GM had yet to be decided. Here's hoping the two can come to an agreement.

During its 20-year relationship with Saab, GM had done just about everything it could to help Saab succeed. It offered its Swedish subsidiary a lot of autonomy to ensure the brand remained true to its roots. At the same time, however, GM provided Saab with virtually unlimited resources to modernize its factories in Sweden and the technology required to meet new European and North American safety and emission regulations.

Saab did have a band of devoted loyalists, which is one of the principal reasons GM kept spending money on the Swedish brand right up until early 2008. By then, however, GM's own financial problems had grown enormous, forcing the automaker to shut off the subsidies that had been keeping Saab afloat over the past couple of decades.

Beyond its band of European and American loyalists, Saab had failed to attract any new customers to the brand, making it nearly impossible for the tiny automaker to survive in the face of the brutal crisis in the auto industry.

In the end, even the Swedish government seemed unwilling to underwrite an expensive and chancy turnaround bid by Saab, which also limited the company's chances of survival.

Saab's troubles also could turn out to be a warning for luxury brands, which are pinched by recession now. The conventional wisdom is that sales by luxury carmakers always recover first and luxury carmakers are hoping that the axiom holds up again 2010.

GM's experience with Saab recently also suggests the conventional wisdom might get thrown for a loop this time around.

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Videos From the Web: Car Videos - San Francisco Chronicle

Posted: 26 Dec 2009 10:22 PM PST

www.rcautomotive.com Take a look at this pre-owned 2004 Pontiac GTO, Stock: U1422.Visit our website for more information on this vehicle and our full inventory. RC Automotive 4022 South State Street Salt Lake City Murray UT, 84107 (801) 268-9911 RC Automotive is a 5th generation auto dealership located in the heart of Salt Lake City, Utah. We pride ourselves in offering high quality vehicles at great prices with a simplified buying process. Our goal is to provide you a positive car ...

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Speedway's comeback predicted - Arizona Daily Star

Posted: 26 Dec 2009 11:05 PM PST

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Speedway's comeback predicted

The location of the former Steve Christy Jeep-Chrysler dealership, 5200 E. Speedway, and, before that, Galloway dealership, was sold last month for just under $1.2 million. New owners Bruce M. and Karen F. Daley also have the last parcel in the half-block that made up the former Jeep-Chrysler, and in earlier times, Plymouth, Eagle and AMC dealerships, under contract for an undisclosed amount, Bruce Daley said.

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