It has been “noted” and reported among senior, and even junior auto industry analysts and participants that domestic auto industry sales seem to be on the rebound – especially against the “imports” , especially Asian brand model lines – be they Japanese nameplates – such as Toyota, Honda, Mazda & Nissan.  Ditto that for all offshore produced Hyundai & fellow South Korean automaker Kia.

Sure there is an explanation at least in terms of the market leader Toyota , in terms of safety issues – runaway vehicles and Toyota execs apparent coverup & coverups.

Still many in the automobile trade have come to the apparent conclusion that with our current economic malaise , that many North American auto consumers have come to the conclusion that by buying foreign vehicles that it is not good for the local domestic economies – be it the USA, Canada or North America overall.

The best & highest paying jobs – design & management are back home at “head office land – be it Tokyo Japan or Seoul South Korea.

At the best ut seems even if that Toyota Corolla / Matrix is “made” in Cornwall Ontario Canada or a Nissan “made”  in the US South – its simply a matter of an assembly line & Canadian or American assembly line workers working on a “screwdriver” auto assembly plant putting together cars with mainly foreign made automotive components.

The real value added jobs it seems, with imports are “back home”

Local North American auto buyers may have well woken up and developed a new brand loyalty to locally made vehicles at the expense and auto market share of those foreign vehicles.

GM still is king of the hill among Detroit’s Big Three automakers, but Ford drew closer to threatening its crown in April, as the No. 2 U.S. carmaker’s sales rose nearly 25 percent from a year ago.
Year-to-date auto sales through April for all brands were up 16.7 percent so far, a pace that – if it continues – would create the biggest annual gain since 1984, according to Autodata Corp., a research firm based in Woodcliff Lake, N.J.
Meanwhile, dealers continue to offer incentives to pull customers through the doors even as lenders show signs of accelerating the flow of credit to car buyers.
“It’s really been a good past several months,” said Jack Bartko, director of operations for Tri Star Auto Group in Blairsville.
The numbers coming out of research firm Autodata showed broad-based gains throughout the industry.
Ford, the only one of the Big Three not to receive government assistance during the depths of the recession, sold 167,283 cars and light trucks in April, up 24.9 percent from last year’s 133,979.
GM posted only a 7.2 percent increase, rising from 171,258 sold last April to 183,614 this year.
Chrysler nearly matched Ford in the degree of its increase in sales, if not in actual numbers. The perennial third finisher boasted a 24.8 percent increase, with 95,703 cars and light trucks sold compared to 76,682 in April.
But the breakdown of Chrysler’s sales revealed the most dramatic change of all: while its sales of light trucks increased a mere 6.6 percent, its car sales nearly doubled to 30,527 from 15,558.
Ford is advancing on GM in year-to-date sales as well, with 608,991 cars and light trucks sold vs. GM’s 658,867.
Despite the gains for Ford, the automaker announced Wednesday that it would cease production of its 72-year-old Mercury brand by the end of 2010 after years of declining sales.
Mercury’s death, while expected, was latest in a string of casualties as Detroit carmakers try to cut costs and invest more heavily in fewer offerings.
Locally, Tri Star’s Ford dealership in McKeesport reported even better results than national figures suggested. Mr. Bartko said sales were up about 35 percent over last year.
“The Fusion has been a fantastic seller for us,” he said. “We can’t keep them on the lot.”
That’s the regular Fusion, not the hybrid that caused a stir in January at the North American International Auto Show.
“That’s nice technology but, quite frankly, with gas at the mid-$2 range, [buyers are] leaning more toward the Fusion gas engine,” Mr. Bartko said.
None of the Big Three showed as great an improvement as Subaru, which posted at 48.2 percent gain in April vs. a year ago. Other non-domestics followed, with Volkswagen seeing a 42 percent increase, Hyundai gaining 29.7 percent.Longtime favorite Toyota saw a 24.4 percent gain in sales, while Honda posted a 12.5 percent increase.
At #1 Cochran of Robinson, which sells Buick, GMC and Kia vehicles, sales consultant Justin Taylor said sales were picking up.
“GM is on the right track,” he said, “coming out with more product, newer product, nicer product.”
Dealers continue to offer incentives to entice shoppers to buy. On Memorial Day weekend, one dealer published a coupon that entitled buyers to $500 bonus cash on any new or preowned vehicle, and another coupon that promised $1,000 above the Kelley Blue Book value on trade-ins.
Several dealers offered 0 percent financing for periods as long as 60 months. Even without low financing, some buyers are finding it easier to borrow money for auto purchases these days.
Subprime lenders, who extend credit to buyers who might not qualify for a conventional loan, are ramping up activity, as investors express a renewed appetite for bonds secured by auto loans.
At Fort Worth, Texas-based AmeriCredit, the company is approving about 35 percent of car loan applications, up from as low as 20 percent a year ago.
Prestige Financial, of Salt Lake City, plans to double its loan originations this year to increase its dollar volume to between $15 million and $20 million a month.
Closer to home, Chase Auto Finance, a division of JPMorgan Chase & Co., just opened a new office in Penn Center East in Wilkins to serve Western Pennsylvania, a market previously covered by the firm’s Philadelphia office. Bill Jensen, senior vice president, said the firm anticipates future growth as the economy recovers further.

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