Chevy Equinox Sales Double
Chevy Equinox February 2010 sales showed what we already knew, this is one hot crossover SUV! General Motors announced improved overall sales for February, with an increase of 32% over last year. But the big numbers came from their popular Chevy Equinox, with a huge sales increase of 121 percent over February of last year! Sweetness.
This was the fifth consecutive month of year over year retail sales growth for General Motors four brands, indicating the economy is picking up and helping GM get back to firmer financial footing. But again, the big winners were the Chevy Equinox, the GMC Terrain, and the Cadillac SRX, which had a combined sales increase of 198% over same period last year! This is the seventh month in a row that these three vehicles have had increases of greater than 100%. Wow!
GM feels that these three vehicles, and especially the Chevy Equinox, have what consumers are looking for in a new vehicle: fuel economy, styling, quality build, and the security of OnStar.
So, overall things are looking pretty good for General Motors and especially their crossover segment, which include the Chevy Equinox. Their news release today didn’t give out detailed sales figures like the other automakers which is kind of weird. Would like to see full details on the Chevy Equinox numbers and comparisons. As I said in my previous post, I hope that GM can get their Equinox production capacity issues resolved quickly. If they can, I suspect there will be many more months of triple digit sales gains for the Chevy Equinox.
An Electric Chevy Equinox?
I almost fell off my chair when I read about the new 100% electric Chevy Equinox! On February 24, 2010 Advanced Mechanical Products, Inc. (AMP), announced their latest 100% all electric conversion vehicle, the hot selling Chevy Equinox by General Motors. That’s right 100% electric, not a Hybrid Chevy Equinox. They unveiled the new electric Chevy Equinox at the grand opening of their very first showroom.
From PRweb AMP News Release
AMP is the first company to sell a 100% electric crossover SUV, and they made the right choice with the Chevy Equinox, Consumer Digest’s Best Buy award winner. With the surging sales of the Equinox, and the increasing interest in electric only vehicles (like the Aptera electric car), this should be a high profile conversion for AMP and huge sales success. The AMP Chevy Equinox specs indicate a top speed of 90 miles per hour, and a 0 -60 time of a respectable 8 seconds. It will charge at either 110 V or 220 volt. AMP says pricing will be under $50,000 (after incentives), making it an affordable choice for SUV lovers looking to save money on gas.
The electric Chevy Equinox will get up to 150 miles on a charge, compared to only 100 miles on it’s closest competitor, the Nissan Leaf. The Nissan Leaf won’t even be available until sometime in early 2011, giving AMP a leg up on the competition. AMP has totally jumped the gun on Nissan, but it will be interesting to see what kind of price the Nissan Leaf comes out at .
AMP opened it’s first showroom and production facility in Cincinnati, with the Ohio Governor Ted Stricklan expected to attend. They are beginning to take orders now and expect the first converted all electric Chevy Equinox to be delivered in June 2010. AMP will formally unveil their AMP’d Chevy Equinox at the New York Auto Show on April 2, 2010. I can’t wait to see it!
Chevy Equinox Rated Crossover Best Buy
It just gets better and better for the new Chevy Equinox, and for General Motors, the maker of the Equinox. First they announce the good news/bad news scenario of not being able to keep up with demand, as their production of the Equinox is maxed out at their current factory. Now today, Nadaguides.com came out with their annual Best Car Buys for 2010 lists, and the wildly popular Chevy Equinox is ranked the number one best buy in the Crossover division.
While I always chuckle at the number and frequency of these self serving marketing PR’s, it none the less gives me great pride when my favorite car, the 2010 Chevy Equinox, gets mentioned in one of them. And boy has Chevy, and the Equinox in particular been getting a lot of mention in these lists!
The particular model that one first place was the 2010 Chevrolet Equinox 4dr FWD LS . This model has a price of $22,615 and gets a nice 27 MPG. Nadaguides.com states in their release that the Chevy Equinox depreciates 27% after the first year, and that this car is perfect fit for the guidelines used in the survey. I couldn’t agree more!
The Chevy Equinox beat out the Lexus RS450h, the Mazda CX7, the Nissan Rogue, and the VW Tiguan. Some very worthy competitors indeed.
Chevy Equinox Dealer Demand Outpaces Supply
Due to the huge popularity of the 2010 Chevy Equinox, General Motors announced they may have to open previously closed factories, as it struggles to keep up with the massive demand for their popular Equinox crossover SUV. GM said they just can’t make the Chevy Equinox fast enough, in their current open manufacturing plants. According to GM official Mark Reuss, all current Equinox plants are at capacity, as are the plants making the GMC Terrain and the Cadillac SRX Crossover. He announced this at the Detroit Auto Show.
One of the plants GM is considering bringing online again is the Spring Hill, Tennessee, but they have not made any publicly announced decisions yet on which facilities may be reopened. Until a decision is made, GM is looking at short term options to try and raise output of the Chevy Equinox at their Canadian factory in Ingersoll, Ontario.
It’s ironic that GM, coming out of bankruptcy and still trying to get back on solid financial ground, has several new cars (including the Chevy Equinox) that are wildly popular with North American consumers, yet doesn’t have the operating capacity to make and sell those vehicles. Due to the necessary closures of 14 manufacturing facilities while in bankruptcy, GM just can’t take advantage of all this pent up demand for new fuel efficient vehicles. Hopefully GM can find a way to increase it’s capacity to make the Chevy Equinox, as this is one car that is destined to bring GM back to some semblance of it’s previous glory.
Either way, overall, this huge demand is positive for the success of Chevy Equinox as a vehicle, and for GM, as a auto manufacturing company. FYI, GM announced it sold 9,513 Chevy Equinox’s in January, according to Autodata figures. In comparison, Honda CR-V sales were 9,672 and Toyota sold 7,894 RAV4’s. Just imagine how the Chevy Equinox would have sold if they could have been delivered to all the Equinox dealers!
Buy that New Chevy Equinox Now!
If you’ve been researching the awesome new Chevy Equinox, but weren’t sure if it really is the crossover SUV for you, now is the time to buy! With GM’s appealing new incentives program that lets unsatisfied car buyers bring their cars back to the dealer within 60 days, you’ve got nothing to lose! So get to your dealer now and check out that sweet new Chevy Equinox you’ve been considering.
There are some things to thing about before jumping right in. If you decide to bring your new Chevy Equinox back, it must have less than 4000 miles on it, and very little in the way of scratches (less than $200). You’ll also lose any fees paid for registration, taxes and any finance charges.
So if you were already considering a new Chevy Equinox, this program could limit your risk if you are sure you want a Chevy, but aren’t sure whether you want that sexy new Chevy Equinox, or maybe a bigger SUV. But be sure to check this out soon, as the program is likely only around until November 30th, 2009.
Chevy Equinox Plant Adding Shift
DETROIT (Reuters) – General Motors Co said on Tuesday it is increasing production in North America for the second half of 2009 after a surge in sales ignited by the U.S. government’s “Cash for Clunkers” incentives program. It is especially adding production of the very popular Chevy Equinox Crossover SUV.
The No. 1 U.S. carmaker said it would build 60,000 more vehicles than planned for the third and fourth quarters by increasing overtime and adding shifts at several North American assembly plants.
The move will bring about 1,350 hourly workers in the United States and Canada back to assembly lines, GM said.
With the actions, GM now plans to produce 535,000 vehicles in the third quarter, and build at least 20 percent more vehicles in the fourth quarter than the third.
“We are extremely short on a number of products and our dealers are clamoring for more vehicles in almost every segment,” GM U.S. sales chief Mark LaNeve said on a conference call.
“We’re probably not done. We are probably going to continue to ratchet up (production) in the next several months,” LaNeve said.
GM is adding shifts at its Ontario, Canada, plant where it builds the Chevy Equinox and the GMC Terrain SUVs, and its Lordstown, Ohio, plant where the Chevy Cobalt car is produced.
GM also said it expected to increase production of the Chevy Camaro sports car, Buick LaCrosse sedan, Cadillac SRX crossover and CTS Wagon based on consumer demand.
GM joins other automakers including Ford Motor Co in raising output after the runaway success of the rebates program, which offers payments of up to $4,500 to people who trade in old gas guzzlers for fuel-efficient vehicles, helping the companies reduce a glut of unsold cars and trucks.
By late July, the “clunkers” program, inspired by similar programs in Europe, had been drained of the $1 billion in its original budget. Congress authorized another $2 billion to extend the program.
New Chevy Equinox Sales Now On Ebay
As reported earlier this week, GM has now started selling brand new Chevy Equinox and other GM products online, on Ebay. As promised, they began selling them on Tuesday August 11, on a test run basis, and intend to continue the test until September 8. Assuming the test goes well, I suspect you’ll be able to pick up your next 2010 Chevy Equinox on Ebay anytime you want.
GM is obviously hoping to dump a load of new cars, to see if they can eventually reduce the number of high cost dealers, and improve margins down the road, with more online, low cost sales. In addition to the Chevy Equinox, there will be other Chevy’s, such as the Chevy Silverado, as well as Buicks, Pontiacs, and GMC. This program, along with the Cash For Clunkers program(for which the Chevy Equinox does qualify), may be just what GM needs to rebound quickly from their exit from bankruptcy protection.
Unfortunately for consumers, this test run program will initially be limited to California, GM announced on Monday, but may be extended nationwide. Roughly 225 of California’s 250 GM dealers have signed on to the program. Starting Tuesday, car buyers began to visit gm.ebay.com or chevy.ebay.com and peruse new models. They can purchase at the listed “buy it now” price set below the sticker, or they may even be able to negotiate withe the dealer directly. A quick look at Ebay, shows there are currently over one hundred 2009 Chevy Equinox vehicles for sale in the program. Prices range from $20, 653 to $30,263, so you may just find a bargain on the 2009 Chevy Equinox. There is also one 2010 Equinox available for sale.
Naturally, some of the smarter, and internet savvy dealers had already been selling cars on Ebay on their own. Now GM is making this an official program in their efforts to turnaround their financial fortunes. Naturally if you want to buy your Chevy Equinox online on EBay, you would still have to come into your local dealer to arrange payment and pickup of your Equinox.
So, if you’ve been thinking about buying a sweet new Chevy Equinox, this might be a good time to do it. Get a great deal on Ebay, plus mix in the Cash For Clunkers rebate, and you could get a deal of a lifetime on your new Chevy Equinox!
Chevy Equinox Cash For Clunkers Program
Buy a new Chevy Equinox with the Cash For Clunkers Program
Thanks to the Obama Administation Cash For Clunkers program, now is the time to buy a new Chevy Equinox! If you’ve been considering selling your gas guzzling SUV or other older vehicle, take advantage of up to $4500 trade in to buy a more fuel efficient Chevy Equinox.
It’s a win-win-win-win-win situation! Why you ask?
For starters, you dump that gas guzzling SUV. That saves you a ton of money on gas every week, and helps reduce gas consumption overall, which reduces oil consumption, which reduces America’s reliance on foreign oil! I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea!
Second, you get up to $4,500 rebate on the purchase of your new fuel efficient Chevy Equinox. That’s over and above any other rebates or incentives currently offered on the Chevy Equinox. Add that to the fact that dealers are already slashing prices in an effort to reduce their sky high inventories, and you can just imagine how much you are going to save on that shiny new Chevy Equinox.
Third, you save lots of money on fuel, and maintenance on that shiny new Chevy Equinox. That’s extra money in your pocket every week/month to help pay your car or house down faster!
Fourth, imagine thousand or tens of thousands of others also taking advantage of the Cash For Clunkers program to buy a new Chevy Equinox. This could have the potential to have a significant impact on your oil consumption, which ultimately will reduce our reliance on foreign oil, which should reduce the cost of gasoline going forward!
Fifth, and lastly (I promise), all these new car purchases will help improve sales at all the major car manufacturers, hopefully, shoring up the financial woes of General Motors, Chrysler and Ford!
So, if you take advantage of the Cash For Clunkers Program, you are improving not only your own financial situation, but also improving the American economy, reducing oil dependency, and bailing out the auto makers. So get out to your local dealer and buy that new Chevy Equinox you’ve been dreaming about.
Equinox Accessories
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Chevy Equinox Pictures