The most common deals under the government’s $3 billion Cash for Clunkers program, aimed at putting more fuel-efficient cars on the road, replaced old Ford or Chevrolet pickups with new ones that got only marginally better gas mileage, according to an analysis of new federal data by The Associated Press.

The single most common swap — which occurred more than 8,200 times — involved Ford 150 pickup owners who took advantage of a government rebate to trade their old trucks for new Ford 150s. They were 17 times more likely to buy a new F150 than, say, a Toyota Prius. The fuel economy for the new trucks ranged from 15 mpg to 17 mpg based on engine size and other factors, an improvement of just 1 mpg to 3 mpg over the clunkers.

Owners of thousands more large old Chevrolet and Dodge pickups bought new Silverado and Ram trucks, also with only barely improved mileage in the middle teens, according to AP’s analysis of sales of $15.2 billion worth of vehicles at nearly 19,000 car dealerships in every state. Those deals helped the Ford 150 and Chevy Silverado — along with Ford’s Escape midsize SUV — climb into the Top 10 most-popular vehicles purchased with the government rebates. The most common truck-for-truck and truck-for-SUV deals totaled at least $911 million.

AP article continued

New products are one of the key elements of the SEMA Show, which is coming up the first week of November. Virtually every attendee to the Show takes the time to tour the New Products Showcase. But why wait? SEMA has already compiled more than 100 items that are confirmed for exhibit at the Show. So, even if you can’t get in… here’s what some manufacturers can’t wait to show off at SEMA 2009.

Take a Look!

Some large retailers are finding ways to post significant growth even in a recession. On October 5, U.S. News & World Report posted its list of the “10 Retailers Gaining Strength from the Recession,” and among those bucking the recessionary trend was O’Reilly Automotive Inc.

The magazine examined a list of about 140 retailers with annual revenue of $250 million or more to see which have posted significant gains in both total revenue and market share since the end of 2007. The firms covered a dozen categories, from apparel to Internet sales.

U.S. News & World Report points to O’Reilly’s 84 percent revenue growth over the last two years as a sign of strength during the recession. O’Reilly, the report says, is in a position to benefit from car owners holding on to older vehicles for longer than usual.

U.S. News says O’Reilly is similar to other strong-performing companies in that it offers products that appeal to people looking to save money and has enough diversity to not be unduly hurt by poor performance in any one sector.

“Last year and this year, people have not been buying new cars, holding on to their older vehicles, and having more and more repairs done on those vehicles,” said O’Reilly spokesman Mark Merz. “That benefits a company like ours. Also, gas prices were down toward the end of last year, which gave people more disposable income to make those repairs they might have been putting off.”

He added that the fact that O’Reilly supplies both do-it-yourself consumers and professional repair shops, making the company less susceptible to drops in either individual sector.

Original Story From Springfield Business Journal

General Motors announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its Hummer brand to China’s Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co.

The sale includes all rights to the Hummer name and its current product lineup, which General Motors will continue to produce for the new owner until June 2011, with a possible extension to June 2012. General Motors says the agreement will secure 3,000 jobs in the United States.

The sale ends General Motors efforts to trim the number of brands that it markets to four, after the elimination of the Pontiac and Saturn, and sale of Saab to a Swedish consortium.

Financial terms of the agreement with Sichuan Tengzhong were not released.

Reflecting on this past weekend’s family activities offers insight into the priority the Ford hobby plays in my life and the life’s of my family members during “these economic times.”

Sunday is a special day in our household. It is the one day each week the entire family (all four of us) are together from sunrise to sundown. The day usually offers some special outdoor activity for my boys who are just 1 and 3 years old. Like most American families, we are especially cost-conscious right now but are reluctant to hunker down in the house every weekend just to save money.

From September 18 - 20 the local Air Races were in full swing here in Reno, NV. The Air Races bring the musclecars of the aviation world to our hometown, the P51 Mustangs. The Blue Angels were also invited this year to show off their skills. This would be a perfect event to show my boys so we decided to go until we realized it was $27.00 per adult for entry and bringing your own food was prohibited. As a father, I did the quick math and multiplied by 1.25 to account for hidden costs.

Considering the show, the price was fair. Afterall, these are some very special planes that take big dollars to operate and maintain. However, there had to be a better option. We hopped in the Ford Freestyle and drove to an obscure off-road spot in the desert hills outside the airport. Surprisingly, there were at least 30 other cars spread respectfully across the desert landscape with the same idea… to watch the warbirds within the negative space on the perimeter of the airport, free of charge. It was awesome. Right overhead and loud! To top off the savings, we skipped the usual pre-made Deli sandwiches and worked with the ham, cheese, and sliced bread we already had in the house. Total savings for the day was easily $100 and the entertainment was spectacular.

To make the day complete, we went home and put the kids to sleep. Shortly after, I put one cold Blue Moon in my toolbag (yes, one!) and rolled down to Pick N’ Pull. Found a good ‘86 Turbo Coupe in the back of the nearly empty yard, popped the top and pulled some gems. Total cost… $30. It was a great day… even in “these economic times.”

That is how much Ford’s stock has appreciated in 2009. Back in February 2009 the stock hit $1.63. It was at the trough of American automaker woes. GM and Chrysler were at the brink of collapse (and arguably still are), and it was unclear where Ford stood. The general consensus amongst investors was to stay away from all automotive stocks, particularly those of the Detroit “big” three.

It was at this time that FordMuscle co-founder Jon Mikelonis asked me if Ford (F) was a good investment. Heck, he reasoned, a thousand shares would cost a mere $1500 and perhaps there was nothing but upside. I follow the market more than he does, and I perhaps suffered a bit of “paralysis by analysis”. Rather than pull the trigger on a relatively low-risk (in hindsight) investment, I said there was still lots of uncertainty if these companies would survive.

I regret that advice. Six months later Ford emerges as the only US automaker to not have taken government bailout money. Last quarter they saw an 18% sales growth, with F150 sales starting to pick back up (perhaps a sign that the overall economy is improving as small business owners and tradesman go back to work.) The stock has improved over five-fold from that weak $1.63 to $7.44 today. That $1500 would now be about $7400.

Of course playing hindsight with the market is useless. In the end it comes down to your confidence in the company. I should have had more faith in Ford. They do make great cars, and the Quality is now on par with, or even superior to the foreign automakers (see the new Fusion Hybrid).

I now have confidence that Ford will emerge as the premier, and profitable, US automaker within the next several years. They have made a commendable turnaround in how they run their business, cut costs and develop fuel efficient yet exciting new vehicles.So, with that being said, today I bought 500 shares of Ford at $7.27.

We’re taking submissions for the first ever FordMuscle calendar. Attach a photo of your car to the forum thread link below. The staff will be selecting 12 examples of Ford muscle to celebrate our 10th year online.

2010 FM Calendar

FM user, NeanderPaul, uploaded this righteous video showing his musical chops and respectful use of a 1974 Ranchero survivor. Bravo, Bravo.

Here’s a link to more samples