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High Gas Prices Good For Kia, Honda

Fuel-sippers slide off lots as gas prices hover around $4

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

June 10, 2008

• Labor Day Gas Prices Up a Penny • Gas Prices Fall for 37 Days • Gas Prices Slide 8 Percent from Record • Gas Prices Creep Down • Oil Price Trend May Be Good News For Consumers • Gasoline Drops Below $3.90 a Gallon • Gas Prices Pull Back Slowly • Oil Prices Fall As Storm Misses Rigs • Latest Gas Price Round-Up • 'Run Your Car On Water' Scheme Could Leave Consumers All Wet • Unregulated Energy Trading Blamed for Much of Gas Price Gusher • Airlines Join Effort To Limit Oil Speculators • Questions Raised about MyGallons.com • 'Hypermiling' Is Dangerous, Says AAA • Struggling Drivers Blame Washington for High Gas Prices • What’s Really Fueling Those Sky-High Oil Prices • Credit Card Fees at the Pump are a 'Hidden Tax' on Consumers • Survey: 3 Out of 4 Angry About High Gas Prices • $2 A Gallon Gas Possible, Analysts Tell Congress • Speculators Buy More Oil Contracts Than Oil Companies • Saudis to Pump More Oil • Limiting Oil Speculators Gains Ground • Congress To Probe Oil Price Spike • Oil Market 'Saturated,' Iran Claims • Feds See No Relief from High Gas Prices • High Gas Prices Could Mean Lower Insurance Rates • High Gas Prices Good For Kia, Honda • Gas Prices Rip Past $4 and Keep Climbing • Administration, OPEC See Different Causes Of Oil Surge • Feds Probing Possible Oil Market Manipulation • Beware of Fuel Sippers Sipping High-Test • Retailers Respond to High Gas Prices with Discounts, Promotions • Rushing Into a Smaller Car Too Soon May Not Save Money • Hybrid Sales and Prices Climb in Lockstep with Gas Prices • Truckers Bemoan Burden of High Diesel Costs • Gas Prices Biting into Worker Productivity • Consumers Warned About Gas-Saving Schemes • Is Tony Soprano Controlling Gas Prices? • Oil & Gas: The New Bubble • Critics: New Federal Gas Mileage Standard Falls Short • Consumers Feeling Pain of Skyrocketing Gas Prices • New Gas Price Record Forecasts Expensive Summer Driving Season --- • More ...

Two automakers known for small, fuel-efficient cars have reported record sales in May.

Kia Motors America reported its best sales month ever for the second consecutive month with record May sales of 31,047 units, an increase of nine percent over the same period last year, and year-to-date sales of 129,327 units.

May's record sales were led by Spectra and Optima, which both had their best months ever with 9,407 and 8,197 units sold respectively, increases of 10.5 and 120.8 percent over same period last year. Rio also continued with strong sales in its best month of the year at 4,474 units, a 28.6 percent increase over the same period last year.

"With gas prices continuing to rise, record sales of the fuel-efficient Spectra and Optima are proof that consumers are recognizing Kia's value now more than ever" said Byung Mo Ahn, group president and CEO of KMA and Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia (KMMG).

"Achieving the best month ever for two months in a row is the result of enhancement efforts to Kia's brand image and the Kia dealer network's total endeavors in a difficult market environment to sell more vehicles"

American Honda Motor Co., Inc., reported May sales of 167,997, up 11.3 percent on a daily-selling-rate basis, shattered the company's all-time sales record for any month as Civic sales reached 53,299, up 28.3 percent versus last May and surpassing the previous monthly record for any car in the lineup.

"The dramatic increase in car sales appears to be one of the most profound shifts in automotive buying patterns in more than a decade" said Dick Colliver, executive vice president of American Honda. "Record sales of the Honda Civic clearly demonstrate an accelerated trend toward fuel efficiency"

Honda Division sales of 153,104 increased 13.9 percent for the month as total car sales reached 105,548, up 30.7 percent. The Honda Civic, with sales of 53,299, set a new monthly sales record for any model in the Honda lineup, surpassing the previous record of 49,098 set in August 2003 by the Accord.

But overall, U.S. car sales were down in May, led by double-digit declines at General Motors and Ford. GM sales were down 30 percent while Ford sales declined 19 percent.

$4 Barrier

The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline is now $4.023 throughout the country with regular selling well above that in many areas.

The price blew through the $4 mark over the weekend and climbed again as the June 9 workweek began. Mid-grade gasoline sells for $4.273 a gallon and premium sells for $4.426.

Diesel is selling for $4.773

"If crude oil prices stay at nearly $139 a barrel, a 30-cent rise for a gallon of gas over the next few weeks is possible," said Trilby Lundberg, editor of the nationwide Lundberg survey of about 7,000 gas stations.

One month ago a gallon of regular gasoline sold for an average price of $3.692 and one year ago a gallon sold for $3.091 on average.

Average prices are the highest in California at $4.445 a gallon. People in Missouri and South Carolina see the lowest average price at $3.825 and $3.829.

Soaring gas prices are crippling consumers and damaging businesses in an economy already facing higher food prices, job losses and plummeting home values.

Drivers in Woodbridge Hills, California, are paying the most for gas at $4.78 a gallon. Folks in Granite Falls, North Carolina can find the cheapest gallon at $3.62.

Prices at the pump vary across U.S. regions, with consumers paying an average $3.84 in the Gulf Coast area and $4.27 a gallon along the West Coast.

"We can expect some further increase at the pump," Lundberg warned. The Lundberg warning was echoed in a statement issued by the travel group AAA.

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