Perhaps the fact that the top two sellers are trucks is due to people being afraid that they will become illegal to purchase due to the glorious socialist revolution.
@Triborough: Perhaps the fact that more than double the amount of people didn't buy a truck indicates that the vast majority of the population is not scared of that glorious socialist revolution.
What I am most surprised at is the Ford Escape. The little SUV is what, 9 years old, with relatively few changes? The fact that the Edge isn't outselling it speaks volumes. And I see the Altima is right up there with the Camry and Accord.
I believe the Escape is much less expensive than the Edge. It competes more with the CRV, the RAV4, Jeep Liberty, and the Korean models than does the Edge. Plus, I see quite a few Escapes in fleet sales to insurance companies, pharma reps, etc.
@goatrope: Most of those vehicles really don't post very good MPG numbers considering their size. (esp. the Smart)
The Scions are basically disposable. And the focus has become more pointless than the Corolla "S".
So basically you are pointing to the worst cars in the small car segment and using the slump in "no-so-efficient-small-car-sales" as a flimsy justification for saying "Americans don't want small fuel efficient cars."
Who says we need more mass transit in America? We already have it, we just do it one person at a time.
The one thing that always strikes me as odd is the way people will go to SO much trouble to select a home--inspections, negotiations, multiple visits, appraisals, comparables, etc.
But when buying their second-most-valuable asset, one that is all but guaranteed to lose 65% of its value in 5 years (suck it, housing market!), there is a lot less consternation and criticism. If I'm losing my shirt like that, I want sportiness, good looks, good value retention, utility, all of it (for a primary car, anyway).
I saw the May aggregate sales numbers on another site to remain nameless, and Ford's performance was shocking in relation to the other manufacturers. 103% increase in Town Car sales over May 08? What's up with that? Still, I'd think the Fusion could do better against the dullard Camry and fugly Accord. Go Ford!
The new Fusion is still selling really well, a nice bright spot for sure.
The fact the Fusion and Malibu are outsold by the camry/accord is frightening though. Fusion and Malibu are both better looking (subjective), cost less, get better milage, and have higher quality (as reported by 3rd parties). This right here shows just how foolish and in love with Toyota/Honda the ignorant folks of this country are.
@RLJ676-LS3 Commuter Car - for the environment: Agreed. Five years ago, you couldn't have gotten me to pay for a Malibu (I even avoided renting them, especially the 4-cyl "Classic" model). The Fusion was pretty good, but poorly marketed. But right now, I'd absolutely take a Fusion or Malibu over anything from the Japanese.
I'd still consider Hyundai and some Euro cars, but at least the domestics are truly competitive again. IMHO.
@RLJ676-LS3 Commuter Car - for the environment: Agreed, and I think that Ford is doing the right thing by marketing the Fusion and generating a good buzz with promo-events. And once the current Focus is replaced by something more competitive, I think you'll see the Civic and Crapolla moving down the top 10. Go Ford!
@RLJ676-LS3 Commuter Car - for the environment: Yup. It's that whole perception thing we've talked about before. Ford and GM are in a public perception battle now. They've got the product, but they have to convince a public who have been burned by their past product (sometimes literally), and who have grown up in households where they were taught that Toyota and Honda are good, reliable, fuel-efficient cars, but Ford and GM are heavy, ugly crap.
Hopefully Ford keeps their current marketing scheme in place. I think that is really going to do some damage. Point out the features of their cars that nobody else has (Sync), the quality of their cars (equal to or better than Toyota), and the costs (less than Toyota/Honda).
I can't wait until the Cruze/real Focus are being sold here as well. Then the lineup of mainstream cars really will compete on more than just price. Having been up close/in both Euro Focuses and way pre-production Cruze, I can say they both quite a bit nicer than the Corolla/Civic (well, everything is nicer than the shitbox corolla, but Civic's are nice, just space-ship lookin).
Hell, even a great B-car competitor or two will be available. The Spark is much nicer than Aveo, and everyone knows the Fiesta should be a hit.
sidenote: saw a green Fiesta driving on 696 yesterday, they look pretty good on a US street as I'd only really seen them in studio/auto shows/Europe before.
@RLJ676-LS3 Commuter Car - for the environment: Hey, I saw a green Fiesta in So Pas, CA weekend before last. It was pulling into the Golden Arches for some tasty burgers. Good looking car, although I don't think we're getting the five-door (?)
And in the not too distant future, when gas prices are once again over $4 a gallon, all the new truck owners say "Oh noes, who could have seen this coming?!?!" The sensitivity of a long term purchase like a car to near term fuel prices evidences the boundless optimism of human stupidity. But at least GM gets to clear some Silverados. Hooray for the taxpayers!
@DeadFlorist: And in the not too distant future, when gas prices are once again BELOW $4 a gallon, all the new rolling penalty-box/HYBRID owners say "Oh noes, who could have seen this coming?!?!" The sensitivity of a long term purchase like a car to near term fuel prices evidences the boundless optimism of human stupidity.
Without going through the numbers, let's assume these sales numbers are "average". Multiply by 12 and there are about 376,000 Camrys sold in the US. That's about a 10th of the population.
I didn't know we had so many accountants and actuaries in the US.
I wouldn't call this a trend to bigger vehicles...two work trucks and bunch of compact to mid-sized cars. The only SUV on the list is one that anybody can stick a hybrid badge on and pretend to be green with.
@Graverobber: Boy, you are so right about that... I am just back from a trip a couple weeks ago, and that made me think about the bounty of America. Bigger... Better... Amhurka! FY!
GM and Ford, when will you produce vehicles America wants? WHEN??? Also, what % market share will you have to have before the media will admit you produce vehicles America wants?
@nataku83: The light truck numbers are misleading. Many businesses are in a recovery phase after withholding capital spending for a number of quarters, and need to accelerate work truck acquisition as the economy marginally improves. Thus, the number of those trucks which are only/predominantly commuters is questionable. Regarding your veiled criticism of "the media", it simply is a fact that domestics have been losing market share for decades. Whine all you want about that, but it's true. There are some great new products out there by Ford and GM, but consumer inertia is hard to combat. It isn't "the media's" fault.
@DoctorNine: It's true, they have been losing market share at a fairly extreme rate. I am not blind to the facts. However, when GM alone accounts for over 20% of the total market share in the US and was up until very recently battling Toyota for the #1 spot in global sales, I think saying that the domestics do not produce cars that Americans want is a fairly misleading statement. Also, I think the truck acquisition thing is definitely somewhat regional... I see brand new commuter trucks all over the place in TX, and know several people who have purchased new trucks in the last month or two. And yes, I understand that's not statistical information and may be a complete aberration surrounding me specifically, or Texas as a whole, but I'm still inclined to believe that a decent portion of those truck sales are commuter, especially as this "marginal improvement" you speak of is really more of a slowing contraction.
06/03/09
06/03/09
06/03/09
Everything else is just Headless Chicken Dance.
06/03/09
06/03/09
06/03/09
06/03/09
06/03/09
06/03/09
I believe the Escape is much less expensive than the Edge. It competes more with the CRV, the RAV4, Jeep Liberty, and the Korean models than does the Edge. Plus, I see quite a few Escapes in fleet sales to insurance companies, pharma reps, etc.
06/03/09
?
06/03/09
Super popular vehicle.
06/03/09
Other little shitboxes suffered huge sales hits as well:
Scion xD -74%
Scion tC -64%
Kia Rio -62%
Ford Focus -54%
Toyota Corolla -54%
The small, fuel-saving appliances have even less appeal right now.
06/03/09
The Scions are basically disposable. And the focus has become more pointless than the Corolla "S".
So basically you are pointing to the worst cars in the small car segment and using the slump in "no-so-efficient-small-car-sales" as a flimsy justification for saying "Americans don't want small fuel efficient cars."
Ya, good point. Good luck with that. ;)
06/03/09
The one thing that always strikes me as odd is the way people will go to SO much trouble to select a home--inspections, negotiations, multiple visits, appraisals, comparables, etc.
But when buying their second-most-valuable asset, one that is all but guaranteed to lose 65% of its value in 5 years (suck it, housing market!), there is a lot less consternation and criticism. If I'm losing my shirt like that, I want sportiness, good looks, good value retention, utility, all of it (for a primary car, anyway).
06/03/09
06/03/09
The new Fusion is still selling really well, a nice bright spot for sure.
The fact the Fusion and Malibu are outsold by the camry/accord is frightening though. Fusion and Malibu are both better looking (subjective), cost less, get better milage, and have higher quality (as reported by 3rd parties). This right here shows just how foolish and in love with Toyota/Honda the ignorant folks of this country are.
06/03/09
I'd still consider Hyundai and some Euro cars, but at least the domestics are truly competitive again. IMHO.
06/03/09
06/03/09
Hopefully Ford keeps their current marketing scheme in place. I think that is really going to do some damage. Point out the features of their cars that nobody else has (Sync), the quality of their cars (equal to or better than Toyota), and the costs (less than Toyota/Honda).
Go Ford!
06/03/09
I can't wait until the Cruze/real Focus are being sold here as well. Then the lineup of mainstream cars really will compete on more than just price. Having been up close/in both Euro Focuses and way pre-production Cruze, I can say they both quite a bit nicer than the Corolla/Civic (well, everything is nicer than the shitbox corolla, but Civic's are nice, just space-ship lookin).
Hell, even a great B-car competitor or two will be available. The Spark is much nicer than Aveo, and everyone knows the Fiesta should be a hit.
sidenote: saw a green Fiesta driving on 696 yesterday, they look pretty good on a US street as I'd only really seen them in studio/auto shows/Europe before.
06/03/09
06/03/09
I have also seen a few Euro Foci. They look really good, too.
06/03/09
06/03/09
06/03/09
06/03/09
-Works both ways, it'a a paradox!
06/03/09
06/03/09
06/03/09
I didn't know we had so many accountants and actuaries in the US.
06/03/09
06/03/09
06/03/09
06/03/09
What was I talking about?
06/03/09
06/03/09
06/03/09
06/03/09
That's 18,708 more than I expected.
06/03/09
06/03/09
06/03/09
06/03/09
06/03/09
I enjoy my 2006 Impala LT. Rides better, in my opinion, then the Camry or Accord.
//Chevy fan boy disclaimer but work on Camry and Accords all the time.
06/03/09
06/03/09
06/03/09
06/03/09
06/03/09
06/03/09
...
...
thing?
blob?
steak from outer space?
06/03/09
06/03/09
06/03/09
06/03/09
06/03/09
06/03/09
06/03/09
You question the fact that Texas in an aberration?
Carry on.