The web search engine with the extraneous exclamation point's put together an early list of the ten most searched-for cars of 2009. Unexpectedly to some, online auto searches seem less about sales and more about what makes car fan-boys excited.
We've run the cars up against their sales numbers and as you'll see there's a lot of muscle on the list. There's also only two that even break the 100,000 sales mark. In both cases, they're Honda models and in both cases they sell over 200,000 units a year.
We think this means that if you're an automaker and you want your car model to break into the top ten, you need something with a plastic interior and a 500 HP option — or you need to sell an appliance that's so non-exciting people need to search for it to remember what it is.
Alas, only one of those choices seems to provide heavy sales numbers. Without further ado, here's the full list. Click next over yonder to begin.
POSITION: 10
NAME: 2009 Mazda3
2009 SALES*: 88,485
*Through November, 2009.
POSITION: 9
NAME: 2009 Jeep Wrangler
2009 SALES*: 75,246
*Through November, 2009.
POSITION: 8
NAME: 2010 Dodge Challenger
2009 SALES*: 23,316
*Through November, 2009.
POSITION: 7
NAME: 2010 Dodge Charger
2009 SALES*: 54,378
*Through November, 2009.
POSITION: 6
NAME: 2009 Honda Accord
2009 SALES*: 261,818
*Through November, 2009.
POSITION: 5
NAME: 2009 Smart ForTwo
2009 SALES*: 12,709
*Through November, 2009.
POSITION: 4
NAME: 2009 Mini Cooper
2009 SALES*: 50,511**
*Through November, 2009.
**Combined for both MINI Cooper and MINI Clubman. MINI does not break out sales data for individual models.
POSITION: 3
NAME: 2009/2010 Ford Mustang
2009 SALES*: 60,096
*Through November, 2009.
POSITION: 2
NAME: 2009 Honda Civic
2009 SALES*: 237,403
*Through November, 2009.
POSITION: 1
NAME: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro
2009 SALES*: 54,100
*From March 16, 2009 through November, 2009.