New car sales in May are expected to reach their highest level since 2007, according to auto research firm Truecar. The annualized pace will reach 14.5 million. This trend has helped many car companies, particularly those based in the United States, post strong profits.

As car sales rise, the complexion of brand preference has changed. Toyota (NYSE: TM) is the biggest beneficiary of new buying habits. Its market share is expected to reach 14.8% next month, up from 10.2% in the same month a year ago. Much of the reason for that is the recovery of its production facilities after the Japanese earthquake in 2011. But strong demand for its popular brands like the Prius is just as important. Production improvements could not increase sales by themselves.

The car company that has made the most extraordinary comeback from the recession is Chrysler. It is expected to have a U.S. market share of 10.9% next month. That will put it ahead of Japanese giant Honda (NYSE: HMC), which has had sales driven by high-quality ratings in the past. Chrysler has made an improbable comeback from Chapter 11. Many analysts believed it would lack the financial ability to produce enough new models to be competitive. Its management countered that by releasing relatively few cars that sold extremely well.

Against these improvements are Hyundai and Kia’s numbers. Their market shares are expected to fall to 9.3% next month from 10.1% last year. Hyundai got many of its sales from its pricing, and some from its aggressive warranty offers.

American taste in cars has returned to traditional brands. It is impossible to tell why for certain. But the trend has started to hurt Hyundai badly.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Facebook IPO Mess

The Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) IPO mess has worsened considerably in just 24 hours. The federal government will examine why analysts at Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) lowered their financial forecasts for the social network just ahead of the IPO. The concern is that favored clients knew about the changes, but the broader investment world did not. Nasdaq claims that if it had known how badly its technical glitches would be, it would have suspended the IPO until there was full confidence shares could trade smoothly. There are also rumors that Facebook’s CFO David Ebersman decided at the last minute to increase the number of shares that would be offered by 25% without enough conversation with his entire team of bankers. Ebersman discussed his plans with lead underwriter Morgan Stanley. But the decision caught many large investors by surprise and caused them to wonder whether the market had enough of an appetite for all of the new shares. Based on how Facebook has traded since the IPO, the answer is no.

Fiat and Mazda

Fiat and Mazda will build a small convertible together. Fiat is the controlling shareholder of Chrysler. The deal is an example of how large car companies that face slow sales in Europe and slowing sales in China have started to band together to save costs. General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Peugeot plan to jointly operate production facilities in Europe. GM’s Opel division is bleeding money in the region. Peugeot is one of the most financially troubled European car companies. GM also has made in investment in Peugeot. And trouble is probably what binds Fiat and Mazda together. Fiat’s sales in Europe have collapsed. Mazda sales run well behind Japanese rivals Toyota (NYSE: TM), Honda (NYSE: HMC) and Nissan. Nissan already has a close alliance with Renault. Fiat and Mazda do not have the capacity to easily develop many new models on their own.

Getty Images for Sale

Private equity firm Hellman & Friedman, which owns Getty Images, has begun the process to sell the company it bought for $2.4 billion in 2008. It reckons using investment banks Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM), it can get $4 billion. Getty has one of the world’s great inventories of photos, some of them artistic icons taken by photographers years ago. The company gets a ready stream of licensing revenue for use of its inventory. The Financial Times points out that there have already been a number of deals in the sector. That by itself may hurt interest and bring down the price that outside investors would pay.

Douglas A. McIntyre

GM (NYSE: GM) and Peugeot plan to jointly operate production facilities in Europe. GM’s Opel division is bleeding money in the region. Peugeot is one of the most troubled European car companies financially. GM has also made in investment in Peugeot. And, trouble is probably what binds Fiat and Mazda together. Fiat’s sales in Europe have collapsed. Mazda’s sales run well behind Japanese rivals Toyota (NYSE: TM), Honda (NYSE: HMC), and Nissan. Nissan already has a close alliance with Renault.

Fiat and Mazda don’t have the capacity to easily develop large numbers of new models on their own.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Read: America’s Hottest Brands

Generally, most brand analysis done by the business press is biased toward dollar valuations and contributions to corporate earnings. Obviously, financial success is one factor that demonstrates how well a brand is regarded by consumers. But brand valuation is a financial view, and not one that relies entirely on consumer perception. Based on analysis performed by brand expert company CoreBrand, 24/7 Wall St. wanted to see brands through the eyes of the consumer. For this reason, Corebrand examined brands from the standpoint of favorability and familiarity.

One of the most notable results of the analysis is the high ranking of brands not normally present on most highly valued brands list. When they are evaluated through the consumers’ eyes, however, brands that belong to companies that are struggling financially can still be high on a consumer-perception weighted list. These brands, naturally, are used by a large number of people. More than that, the consumer interaction with the product and services associated with the brand is positive.

Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) and Avon (NYSE: AVP) would not appear high on most brand valuations lists. The two have struggled too much as companies and in the stock market to be high on any business-weighted brand list. They are, however, at the top of the list of brands with high favorability and familiarity. The Avon lady and Dell laptops still carry weight with consumers.

Financial success does not exclude consumer success; they usually go together. Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Ford (NYSE: F) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) do extremely well according to CoreBrand’s ranking. Each of these corporations has posted large profits over the past few years. Their shareholders have also done well. The products and services from the companies have boosted sales fairly consistently.

24/7 Wall St. examined the “hottest” brands list from independent brand valuation firm CoreBrand. CoreBrand looked at the largest brands where both favorability and familiarity increased, measured by overall reputation, perception of management and investment potential. 24/7 Wall St. then ranked the six brands with the greatest increases in favorability from the fourth quarter of 2010 to the fourth quarter of 2011.

These are America’s hottest brands.

Tesla, which missed both top- and bottom-line estimates last night soothed shareholders with word that the company’s new sedan, the Model S, will ship in June, a month ahead of schedule. The company claims that more than 10,000 customers have ordered the new $70,000 sedan. Tesla has sold about 2,250 of the 2,500 Roadsters it has built since 2008. By way of comparison, GM sold nearly 2,300 Chevy Volts in the month of March alone.

Despite the tiny sales numbers and a larger-than-expected EPS loss of -$0.76 last quarter, Tesla shares are rising on the news about the Model S and a small bump to revenue guidance for the rest of the year. Revenue totaled $30.2 million, below the consensus estimate of $32 million and down from $49 million in the same period last year.

For 2012 the company guided revenue to $560-$600 million, moving the low end up $10 million from a previous estimate. That’s a big quarterly hike based on first quarter numbers.

Investors appear to have great faith in Tesla’s ability to fill a high-end niche for EVs because the shares are up 11.6% today, at $33.55 in a 52-week range of $21.50-$39.95.

Paul Ausick

BMW and Mercedes are also near record sales globally. In the US, GM’s (NYSE: GM) Cadillac has sold briskly. Clawing for part of a market they once held Toyota’s (NYSE: TM)’s Lexus brand, Nissan’s Infiniti, and Honda’s (NYSE: HMC) Acura have begun to invest in new models which mimic features of more successful rivals.

All it takes to get into the game is $75,000 and a driver’s license.

Sony (NYSE: SNE) said it would finally turn around is prospects and make money in the next year. Bumbling CEO Sir Howard Stringer is gone. Sony’s core problems are not. It is still in the TV screen business, which has become one of commodity products with no price leverage. Its takeover of the part of Sony Ericsson it does not already own puts its handset business into competition with Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL). It has a tiny PC business. And its game console operations compete with Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Nintendo. Otherwise, its prospects are excellent.

Angela Merkel continues to dig in her heels as Greece insist it may reject the austerity measure which have allowed it to get loan support from its eurozone neighbors and the IMF. A portion of the money meant to prop up it prospects is being held back by the EU while the size of the crisis is measured. Merkel said that the “growth of credit” in the regions would undermine plans to solve the financial problems of some nations. Put another way, these countries will have to live with austerity or face the prospects that there will be no aid to help them move deficits down and begin to control national debt

The luxury car market around the world continues to explode as the relatively small portion of the globe’s population which is rich consumer at extraordinary levels. VW reports that its goal to sell 1.5 million Audis will happen sooner than expect because of buyers in the US and China. Audi is the manufacturer’s luxury brand. BMW and Mercedes are also near record sales globally. In the US, GM’s (NYSE: GM) Cadillac has sold briskly. Clawing for part of a market they once held Toyota’s (NYSE: TM)’s Lexus brand, Nissan’s Infiniti, and Honda’s (NYSE: HMC) Acura have begun to invest in new models which mimic features of more successful rivals.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Toyota said profits in the first quarter of 2012 were up four times what they were last year to $1.5 billion. Profits for the entire year are expected to be $9.5 billion. The figures stand out, in part, because the recession in Europe and a slowing of automobile sales in China have undermined profit growth at several of the world’s largest car manufacturers. Recent earnings reports by General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Ford (NYSE: F) confirmed the extent of those problems.

The last survey of global brand value by BrandZ, one of the leading analysts of the subject, puts Toyota ahead of all other auto manufacturers in the world. At $24.2 billion, it ranked ahead of companies such as BMW, Mercedes and Honda (NYSE: HMC). A similar study by Interbrand also put Toyota at the head of all global car companies.

Toyota also has maintained its reputation for quality in the United States, ranking at or near the top of quality surveys conducted by research firms such JD Power. Toyota’s market share in the U.S. rose to 15% in April from 13.8% in the same month a year ago. And consumers had a wide set of alternatives among competitors because of a rise in the production of new models from formerly bankrupt GM and Chrysler, and an increased demand for recently successful Volkswagen and Hyundai.

Part of the reason for Toyota’s sales improvement is pent-up demand for some of its products, particularly the Prius hybrid, the best-selling car in its class worldwide. But, if Toyota had lost its reputation, that demand and the market for many of its other vehicles would have disappeared.

Brand value is more than a number of a piece of paper put out by a research firm.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Read The Cars Americans Will Not Buy

While a few brands are doing incredibly well, dealers cannot even give away some models. “Days to turn,” or “days on the lot,” reflects the average number of days a vehicle is in dealer inventory before it is sold. All of the car models on our list spent more than 90 days on the lot, considerably longer than the 52-day average. Working with Edmunds.com, 24/7 Wall St. identified 10 cars that Americans are not buying.

Not surprisingly, time on the lot appears to be an excellent proxy for how vehicles are selling. The average car sold in America sold 35,593 units in 2011, according to Edmunds. Eight of the cars on this list sold less than that. Five sold less than 15,000 units last year.

In addition to having poor sales last year, overall sales of seven of the 10 dropped between 2009 and 2011. Total sales of five cars plummeted more than 30%. Two of the cars on this list, the DTS and the Honda Element, have been discontinued, and several more may be in jeopardy.

It is not always clear what makes a car unpopular. The cars on the list are all different types, from pickup trucks to compacts. They are also made by a number of different manufacturers, although six are made in Japan.

Fuel efficiency, on the other hand, appears to be a major factor for these cars’ poor sales. As the price of gas climbs to $4 per gallon, Americans appear to be making more fuel-efficient choices for their family vehicle. Six of the vehicles on the list have combined gas mileage — city and highway — of 25 MPG or less. According to the EPA, the Nissan Titan, which has among the longest days on lot, gets just 15 combined MPG.

Even when these cars belong to categories that generally get poor gas mileage, such as SUVs and pickups, they are still among the worst in their class. The Cadillac DTS, for example, gets a combined 18 MPG. By comparison, the Honda Accord, another full-size sedan, averages 27 combined MPG.

Based on car reviews, poor quality appears to be hurting sales of the cars on our list as well. JD Power reviewed eight of the 10 models on our list. Only one car scored better than a 3 out of 5 in both “overall quality and design” and “initial quality” — considered only passable scores. Three models on this list only scored a 2 out of 5 in initial quality.

24/7 Wall St. obtained days-to-turn data for the full year 2011 provided by auto industry analytics organization Edmunds. To avoid inconsistencies that can arise from small data sets, we only looked at vehicles that sold at least 10,000 units in 2011. We also looked at the list prices of these vehicles as provided by the dealer, fuel efficiency data from the U.S. EPA, and quality ratings provided by JD Power & Associates and Consumer Reports. Edmunds also provided sales figures going back to 2006. All unit sales listed are U.S. only.

These are the cars Americans will not buy.

Carmakers General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM), Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM), and Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (NYSE: HMC) will report first quarter earnings later. GM is expected to post EPS of $0.85 on revenue of $37.5 billion. The consensus estimates for Toyota are EPS of $1.25 on revenue of $73.1 billion. Honda is expected to report EPS of $0.65 on revenue of $29.9 billion.

Ford’s sales in Europe fell by -$1.5 billion to $7.2 billion compared with the first quarter of 2011, and the region posted a pre-tax loss of -$149 million. The drop was the result of “lower industry volumes, lower demand for parts and accessories, and actions to reduce dealer stocks consistent with industry levels.” In other words, nobody in Europe wanted to buy anything we had for sale. European sales were at their lowest levels since 1995.

The company’s Asia Pacific Africa region didn’t do much better, although revenue was up about 8.7% to $2.3 billion. Pre-tax profit fell in Asia Pacific Africa fell to a loss of -$95 million. Ford attributed loss to “continued investment for future growth that precede the benefit of new products across the region.” In other words, more advertising and marketing expenses.

Ford also said that it would offer some 90,000 salaried retirees who are vested in the company’s US pension plan the option to receive a lump-sum payment. If the retiree takes the deal, “the company’s pension obligation to the individual will be settled.” Ford said that this is part of “the company’s long-term strategy to de-risk its global funded pension plans.”

Ford shares are up about 0.7% in pre-market trading this morning, at $11.95 in a 52-week range of $9.05-$15.69.

Paul Ausick