July's temperatures may have been hotter than Hell, but U.S. new car sales were in Hell. Rising gas prices have thrown the entire American auto industry into turmoil, flooding the market with used SUVs and pickups, cratering residual values and trapping millions of consumers in light truck limbo. At the same time, automakers can't ramp-up production quickly enough on those fuel-sipping models that are leaving the lots. Incentives aren't moving the metal, but NOT increasing them would be worse. The downturn is widespread. And despite what the automakers say, it's going to get worse. Soon. For now, here's the damage report.
Overall, U.S. light vehicle sales were down 13.2 percent from last July, down 10.5 percent overall from last year. That breaks down into a 0.3 percent drop in passenger cars and a 25.8 percent drop in truck sales. Year to date (YTD), car sales are down only 1.5 percent. But Detroit's still-truck-centric Big 2.8 are taking it on the chin, with truck sales off by 19.3 percent.
Family Sedans
Chevy's Malibu* continues its strong showing against last year's lackluster model; up 78.6 percent in July and 37 percent YTD. Ford's Fusion also booked a healthy increase, up 13.5 percent for the month, 11.9 percent for the year. Chrysler's 300 continues its slide into the dumpster, dropping 57.6 percent below last July and 39.1 YTD. The Toyota Camry* leveled off, finishing July 1.5 percent; it's a wash YTD. Honda Accord sales continue to outpace last year, finishing the month 11.4 percent ahead and 12.6 percent better YTD.
Compacts
Compacts' popularity continue to soar. The Chevy Cobalt was up 3.5 percent, 16.4 percent YTD. The Focus is once again Ford's most popular car, racking up 15.6 percent more sales, up a full 26.2 percent YTD. The Dodge Caliber bucked the trend, dropping 9.4 percent for the month, down 1.2 percent YTD. The Toyota Corolla** increased sales by 15.9 percent, but fell down 1.3 percent YTD. The Honda Civic* was up 4.6 percent, 16.1 percent YTD. The Nissan Sentra finished the month up 16 percent, 5.3 percent YTD.
Subcompacts
The up-and-down Chevy Aveo was up 16.9 percent ahead of last July, but only 1.4 percent YTD. Toyota's Yaris showed a 6.1 percent increase for the month and a 34.1 percent jump YTD. The Honda Fit also experienced a meteoric rise. Sales were up a staggering 93.4 percent in July, 72.9 percent YTD. Nissan's Versa rose 14.4 percent above last July, up 19.6 percent YTD.
Prius
Toyota Prius ' demand continues to outstrip supply. Sales in July were down 8 percent from last July. Annual sales are down 3.9 percent.
Pickup Trucks
And now the bad news… Chevy's Silverado* plunged 29.8 percent from last July, down 26.1 percent YTD. The Ford F-Series isn't doing quite as badly. Sales off 20.6 percent on the month, down 22.4 percent on the year. Even with dealers running half price sales, the Dodge Ram sank 27.2 percent, down 30.0 percent YTD. They're all doing better than the Tundra. ToMoCo's full-size pickup dropped 42.1 percent from last July. Sales are down 15.2 percent from last year.
Truck-Based SUVs
There's only one thing that can make pickup sales look good: SUV sales. Chevy's Tahoe* is down 35.1 percent for the month, off 27.8 percent YTD. The Ford Explorer has lost its way, finishing the month down 51.8 percent, minus 35.6 percent YTD. The biggest loser: the Durango. The Dodge Boys sold all of 384 units in July. Sales tumbled 84.5 percent, down 51.3 percent YTD. Toyota Sequoia sales continue growing, with an increase of 62.9 percent from last July, up 32.8 YTDr.
CUVs
The once and future Next Big Thing wasn't. Sales of the GMC Acadia, the best selling of the Lambdas triplets (soon to be quints), dropped 5.2 percent. Healthy sales from earlier in 2008 kept the model 6.6 percent ahead of last year. The Ford Edge continues edging down, dropping 6.5 percent. Again, it's a recent phenom; sales are up 13.8 percent YTD. Even with a hybrid model available, the Toyota Highlander* dropped to its lowest level in three years. July sales slid 23.7 percent, down 7.4 percent YTD. The Pilot made a strong "contribution" to Honda's 22 percent drop in truck sales; it was off 43 percent, down 21.1 percent YTD.
By Manufacturer
Deep breath. GM sales plunged 26.1 percent for the month, down 17.7 percent YTD. Ford had the best showing of the D3, dropping "only "17.1 percent. Year to date, they're off 14.8 percent. Chrysler didn't have a lot to start with, but they still managed to finish 28.8 percent below last July. For the year, ChryCo is down 22.8 percent. Toyota's starting to get used to the negative side of the sales ledger, falling 11.9 percent, down 7.6 percent below last year's mark. And, showing they're not invulnerable, Honda lost 1.6 percent from last July. They're still 3.2 percent ahead of last year.
Down the Road
Here come the "please God clear this lot of '08s" rebates and incentives. While Toyota, Honda and others are selling all the small cars they can produce, GM, Ford and Chrysler can only respond to current demand with the promise of new, highly competitive small cars. They won't come on-stream in force until 2010. Meanwhile, August is going to be brutal and then… winter. What's beyond brutal?
*Include Hybrid models
** Includes Matrix
I’m just so incredibly pleased that crossovers are taking a bath.
The sheer marketing smugness that has been the crossover drumroll has been incredibly irritating and it’s nice to see the auto executives’ best and brightest being humbled in their attempt to ram “Bigger/Heavier/More Expensive” down everyone’s throats.
Is the entire CUV segment dropping or are we seeing the same number of purchases spread over more models?
And how are the small CUVs doing, like the CR-V?
Somebody sold about 3.8M shares of GM @ ~$10 each during the last trade today. I wonder who?
I wonder how many SUV/crossover refugees have swallowed their pride and migrated to minivans.
carlisimo
And how are the small CUVs doing, like the CR-V?
Not very well
………….Change from July 07……..Change from 2007 YTD
Escape………..-16.20%………………..-2.10%
Rav-4………….-17.20%………………-17.80%
CRV…………….-13.30%………………..-1.60%
Tucson…………-55.90%……………..-44.30%
Sportage……….+6.20%……………..-16.70%
Vue……………….-5%……………………-1.50%
Equinox ……….-18.90%………………-2%
(Sorry about all the periods. This kludgy software won’t let me put a table in a comment.)
Yeah, the CUVs were equivalent of running shoes and a track suit on a 400lb asthmatic… They didn’t fool anybody.
No offense intended to any 400lb asthmatic TTACers.
Gas mileage-wise, a minivan is not much different from a SUV.
Would be interesting to see minivan sales, bet they are dropping as well as a lot of people realize that you do not need a minivan for two adults and two kids.
Hey Frank, how is the Dodge Journey doing? And would you classify it as a small or large CUV? (Or midsize if there is such a thing?)
Oh and how are Titan sales? I hear they have something like 400 days supply on the lots.
YTD statistics for everyone sound fairly terrible.
How about posting overall sales percentage statistics and market share for the 2.8 since the last time each one (individually) were profitable? I feel this would give a better impression for how far we’ve fallen in such a tragically short time span.
Gas mileage-wise, a minivan is not much different from a SUV.
The minivan advantage is miles per gallon per cubic foot. By that standard, they’re unbeatable. But your second point is a good one:
Would be interesting to see minivan sales, bet they are dropping as well as a lot of people realize that you do not need a minivan for two adults and two kids.
That’s true. A lot of people bought minivans for the same reason they bought trucks: for the maximum capacity they might utilize, not the average capacity they normally do.
I’d like to know sales of the Rondo and Mazda5, on that note.
-Blunozer-
“No offense intended to any 400lb asthmatic TTACers.”
None taken. Thanks!
Anyway. I ask, how in the world are these dealers (mainly domestics) keeping the lights on? How does a salesman make enough to live on?
Wow, it truly is a different world when the Chevy Cobalt is selling to retail customers month after month at such significant volume. With the General’s overall sales performance continuing to nosedive, I wonder if anyone has contemplated it?….that the world may finally be ready for the Cadillac Cimmaron based on the lovely Cobalt? Maybe even a Cimmaron XFE???
I’m obviously joking, but just the brief mental image that it ever happened to begin with….I need an Alka Seltzer.
I’m assuming you’re comparing Ford’s 2007 sales apples with 2008’s oranges. It’s a bit misleading to include Jaguar and Land Rover’s insubstantial but not insignificant contributions to your comparisons, no? And won’t those comparisons get meaninglessly uglier as the Brit-less second semester continues?
What more than some might consider a fairer comparison would be Ford, Mercury and Lincoln, down 13.3% for the month,14.1% for the year, or heck,throw in Volvo, bringing the whole family business down 14.9% for the month, 14.3% for the year.
While we’re on the subject, from what I’ve read elsewhere, Ford, and to some extent GM, are among the “others [who are] are selling all the small cars they can produce.”
@Durask: FWD Minivans get 16-17 city/23-25 hwy on the EPA cycle, similar to big CUV’s but at least a couple MPG better in each category than an Explorer or Trailblazer. At the lower end of the MPG curve, moving from a SUV to minivan results in some substantial savings.
@psarhjinian: kids have friends, and preadolescent kids need to be in car or booster seats. The front passenger seat is not an option for the little ones, so vestigial but kid-capable 3rd rows are important. So, buying for maximum capacity is not totally unreasonable. The smaller Mazda5 has its limits – the 6 cubic feet behind the 3rd row isn’t a whole lot of space and visibility out the rear window is just a slot with kid seats in the back.
Unadjusted numbers:
Mazda5: 1,336 in July 2008 (+39.7%), 13,313 YTD (+43.7%)
Kia Rondo: 2,556 (+15.0%), 18,530 YTD (+51.7%)
Great percentage gains, but not exactly a stampede when compared to the not-so-minivans. Note that last year’s C/T&C sales included the now-discontinued SWB variant, replaced by the Journey.
Odyssey: 13,123 (-7.2%), 85,712 (-9.3%)
Sienna: 8,726 (-24.7%), 74,996 YTD (-11.7%)
Caravan: 6,115 (-12%), 81,920 YTD (-26%)
T&C: 8,070 (+24%), 75,876 YTD (-7%)
Journey: 3,449, 26,180 YTD
Having just come back from Hawaii (Big Island) and realized how at least where we were staying everything was rental cars, I got a whole new perspective on what was being dumped into fleets.
Big SUV – Almost none around
CUV – By far the most common was the Buick Enclave which was a not a car I thought was going into fleets much. Almost NO clones of it though(Acadia/Outlook). Next most popular seemed to be the Mazda CX7/9, then the Edge.
Small Suv – Tons of the new Saturn Vue’s.
Large Sedans – mainly the obvious Impalas and Malibus. Actually still saw quite a few Marquis’.
Midsize/Small Sedans – Mainly Fusion and Sebring.
I’m sure there was other stuff but it all kind of blends together. The above is what I noticed driving all over the island and kind of stuck out compared to back home (West Coast).
As for us:
After reserving a midsize (Mazda6 or equivalent) and being handed the keys to a Corolla (nice try, How is THAT equivalent?) I demurred and got handed the keys to a Malibu. What struck us most was how quiet it was. Decent (I-4) power for a vacation car, good handling. 12000 miles on it, everything worked great except for the keyless entry which died on the fifth day – but which I admit to you was my fault as I took it into the ocean with me on accident…Good car, nice interior, but my wife and I decided we would never consider it as a new car for us mainly (only) because:
A) the name “Malibu” has been squandered and carries a negative connotation in our opinion.
B) that Gold (Brass?) – colored Chevy logo is horrific looking, especially on a silver car. Why can’t it be a simple Chrome outline? The current badge looks tacky, too much like a gold package.
kids have friends, and preadolescent kids need to be in car or booster seats. The front passenger seat is not an option for the little ones, so vestigial but kid-capable 3rd rows are important. So, buying for maximum capacity is not totally unreasonable.
But buying for maximum capacity when you hardly ever need it isn’t entirely reasonable, either. I have one child (two and half years, obviously still carseat-bound). While we do occasionally take friends, it’s so rare that on the two trips we’ve done in the past year where we took multiple families with carseat-bound kids, we just rented one or more minivans (once, lots of people, camping trim) and a rented minivan and our 9-3 (smaller daytrip).
I’m not saying that people don’t need minivans–anyone with three preschool kids probably does, as does anyone who frequently does “neighbourhood hockey mom” duty–but that many who think they need one probably don’t, or at least don’t need one more than a few times a year. The sticker price difference alone between a Rondo/Mazda5 and Sienna/Odyssey pays for a lot of rentals, never mind the fuel use.
I’m reminded of the time I had to be talked down from buying a weed whacker. It was useful, but I just don’t need it often enough to justify having my own when I can just borrow my neighbour’s on occasion.
The smaller Mazda5 has its limits – the 6 cubic feet behind the 3rd row isn’t a whole lot of space and visibility out the rear window is just a slot with kid seats in the back.
But for average use, the 5 is pretty good. If you have one or two kids, it’s a very functional and economical family wagon, serving 90% of the utility of a Sienna/Oddy and certainly about as much as the CX-9 (much to Mazda’s chagrin, too, I’d wager). Again, if I was loading the thing up to maximum capacity daily, it might make sense to go to the next level, but for daily intracity use, a Mazda5, or perhaps even a base Matrix or Fit, would work well for most.
I think the sales numbers for the MPVs are going to go nowhere but up, especially if they’re picked up by non-niche automakers. People have been in an ugly habit of overbuying recently, and as disposable income shrinks, we’ll see a lot more of these “need” vehicles being sold.
“What’s beyond brutal?”
Years ago the National Semiconductor had a humorous set of data-sheets for a line of buffer modules. (These are simple analog electronic building blocks which are rated, in part, by how quickly they response to signal changes.) The basic part was called a Buffer, the first upgrade a Fast Buffer, better still was the Very Fast Buffer …. and imagine my surprise when I turned the page to find the “Damn Fast Buffer” – part number LH0063.
So perhaps beyond Brutal we have Very Brutal and Damn Brutal.
Nice one, John! Damn brutal, indeed.
The absolute cratering of Tundra sales tells me that they were selling to the “truck-wanters” moreso than the “truck-needers.” Which is a good thing for the domestics, as it shows that the core truck buying market still favours the ‘merican trucks.
If Toyota gets off their duff and is first to bring a hybrid pickup to market, however, all bets might be off.
It may be worth noting that in the entire industry only two companies are seriously south of the mean drop numbers.
BTW- Edmunds reported that GM topped the incentives list last month.
Ford did better with less cash on the hood.
If this were a level year thier numbers would look like a recovery.
On Duh General and the Puppy the public is speaking loud and clear.
Bunter
I am looking for the August numbers.
First, a slight drop in gas costs could signal that we are bottomed (topped) out in the fuel department. Now, other times, when fuelcame down many went right back to their large cars and suv’s when they thought the coast was clear. If the numbers in August don’t at least show a leveling off of the 2 ton + catagory of vehicles, then I think bankrupcy for 2 of the three American mfgs. is a certainty.
The ones that talk the toughest, chrysler will probably go first, GM would teeter for a while and go if a huge federal bailout is not forthcoming. I think Ford get’s through as someone who has learned their lesson first and is really committed to selling cars in the future.
Also, Ford has a non car (albeit a manufacturing expert) guy at the helm. No one from within or a shrink your way out guy like Nardelli will ever get it. They have to be scared in Detroit to look on TV like their leaving the funeral services for their entire family (ala Wagoner).
windswords
Hey Frank, how is the Dodge Journey doing?
They sold 3,449 in July and 26,180 so far this year. Since it’s a new model, there’s no historical data to compare to.
And would you classify it as a small or large CUV? (Or midsize if there is such a thing?)
I’d classify it a station wagon, as would I classify almost everything else they’re calling a “CUV.”
tony-e30
How about posting overall sales percentage statistics and market share for the 2.8 since the last time each one (individually) were profitable?
I posted market share for the past three years for the manufacturers I’m covering in BTN earlier this week.
Durask
Would be interesting to see minivan sales, bet they are dropping as well as a lot of people realize that you do not need a minivan for two adults and two kids
psarhjinian :
I’d like to know sales of the Rondo and Mazda5, on that note.
. . . . . . . . . . July Sales . . . . Year to Date
Town & Country. . . +23% . . . . . . . -7.0%
Caravan . . . . . . -12.0% . . . . . . -25.9%
Odyessy . . . . . . -7.2%. . . . . . . -9.3%
Entourage . . . . . -68.8% . . . . . . -74.0%
Sedona. . . . . . . -34.8% . . . . . . -30.2%
Rondo . . . . . . . +15% . . . . . . . +51.7%
Mazda5. . . . . . . +39.7% . . . . . . +43.7%
Quest . . . . . . . +15.5% . . . . . . -31.4%
Sienna. . . . . . . -24.8% . . . . . . -11.7%
Beelzebubba
Wow, it truly is a different world when the Chevy Cobalt is selling to retail customers month after month at such significant volume.
These are total sales, not retail.
NoSubstitute
I’m assuming you’re comparing Ford’s 2007 sales apples with 2008’s oranges. It’s a bit misleading to include Jaguar and Land Rover’s insubstantial but not insignificant contributions to your comparisons, no?
Jag and Landie’s sales in July totaled a hair over 3276 units. That would change Ford’s July drop from 17% to 15%. It would have made about 0.5% difference in their YTD number.
On the other hand, down in the niche market, our local Subaru salesmen are sporting rich suntans, flashy ties, crisp new clothes and deep, rumbling booming laughs and chuckles. All’s right with their world.
Subaru Canada used to be happy selling 1500 vehicles a month. Now it’s 2000.
They flogged off the 08’s at a big discount over the last month with 3 to 4 grand off Legacies and Imprezas (still at much higher prices than in the US). There were dozens and dozens of cars lined up all over the place a couple weeks ago. Now a solitary Outback sits in their place with a giant $26,995 tag on its side.
The Consumers Reports Forester win only added to their deeply contented mien.
Yup, life’s good in Subieland. At the moment.
@psarhjinian: depends what’s average – most other “breeders” we know/hang out with have at least 2 kids. BTW, the picture I linked to is my own Mazda5 with 2 car seats and a booster. Not a lot of luggage fits in that 6 cubic feet, but we use it for weekend trips. Our Sienna LE-8 actually ends up doing most of the kid hauling.
Frank,
What about Luxury vehicles? My brief knowledge seems to show Mercedes holding firm, BMW going a little down and Lexus falling off a cliff. Is that what the July #’s show?
Frank – Are there equivalent numbers for scooters and motorcycles? I am particularly seeing a lot of brand new scooters on the road, and more motorcyclists in general. Of course this is here in Northern California, which God blessed especially for motorcycling…
. . . . . . . . . . July Sales . . . . Year to Date
Town & Country. . . +23% . . . . . . . -7.0%
Quest . . . . . . . +15.5% . . . . . . -31.4%
Somebody dumped some metal on some fleets…
Motorcycles typically don’t cost less to own unless it’s in the 250cc to 400cc and is given a lot of highway/cruising road time.
Scooters are getting to be all over the place… but there is an enormous difference in quality. A lot of folks are buying the Chinese models which, with rare exception, are very low in quality and very difficult to get parts.
The only scooters that truly represent the ‘economic proposition’ of long-term ownership are generally made by Yamaha, Honda, Kymco, and Genuine Scooters. Vespas are not cheap to own, but are probably the best buy for someone who doesn’t want a maxiscoot (>250 cc’s) and has a cost is no object shopping orientation. I actually got one for a third of the price from a salvage auction about 5 years ago and replaced about $600 in parts. They are fun… but not cheap.
As for numbers… the Chinese sell the most. Their home market for scooters is comparable to our car market if you’re looking at sales volume. However their standards are by and large lower than anyone else and I have yet to find a Chinese scooter I can endorse. Lousy fly-by-night distribution, hit or miss quality, and inadequate service support are a lethal combination when you have something no one else knows how to work on .
WalterRohrl:
After reserving a midsize (Mazda6 or equivalent) and being handed the keys to a Corolla (nice try, How is THAT equivalent?) I demurred and got handed the keys to a Malibu.
The rental companies’ vehicle classes differ somewhat from those generally accepted in the marketplace. Hertz, for example, considers the Corolla to be “Midsize/Intermediate,” and “equivalent” to a Mazda 6. They consider the Mailbu to be “Standard,” which is the next level up in the Economy/Compact/Intermediate/Standard/Full Size/Premium ladder.
I certainly don’t consider the Corolla to be midsize, so I bitch and complain whenever I get one. As a business traveler with frequent renter status, I find my requests are usually accomodated. As has been reported on TTAC and elsewhere, many renters, in an effort to save on fuel costs, turn down free upgrades in favor of the economy cars they’ve actually reserved. Thus, there’s typically a nice selection of “true” midsize or better cars to choose from.
What even an economical motorcycle (EG SV650, VStrom 650, the best bang/buck motorcycles available in the US) saves in gas they make up for in tires: a LONG LIVED set of tires is good for 10K miles and costs ~$400 installed, or $.04/mile in rubber!
As a bay area commuter, Where a motorcycle can make a big difference is PARKING cost. I save $16/day by riding my motorcycle to work in parking & bridge tolls, but near zilch on gas (It gets 42 MPG on premium, the Saturn Hamstermobile gets 37 MGP on midgrade).
It is, however, a lot more fun too. :)
Interesting to see how the RAV4 has fallen off. I wondered why Toyota made the decision to upsize it as much as they did. The RAV4 held a nice little niche, and ‘Yo had to just make it bigger and add a 3rd row, instead of just redesigning the 4Runner.
Believe it or not, the mid-90’s Camry was technically considered to be a ‘compact’ vehicle according to the U.S. government. It’s size barely covered those specifications.
The Corolla may actually be a smidgen bigger in some ways than the 92-96 Camry. I think the interior room is virtually identical between those two models so I would be inclined to say that it’s ‘the new family car’.
The current Camry is actually larger than some early to mid 90’s Cadillacs. But that’s a topic for another rant.
@Steven Lang: the third generation Camry had 97 cubic feet passenger space, 2009 Camry is 101cf, 2009 Corolla is 92cf.
Yamaha, Honda, Kymco, and Genuine Scooters
Never even heard of the last two. Would you recommend one over the other, Stephen L?
Back to cars…God the Caliber must suck.
dean :
The absolute cratering of Tundra sales tells me that they were selling to the “truck-wanters” moreso than the “truck-needers.” Which is a good thing for the domestics, as it shows that the core truck buying market still favours the ‘merican trucks.
When you consider where companies are compared to their CY06 sales, the Tundra is the only one that is moving better than CY06. Dodge, Ford, and GM are way, way down compared to their CY06 sales. Then when you consider the volumes that the big 3 moved and being down those percentages, things don’t look good at all for the big 3 truck makers. The Tundra trend looks erratic. The B3 trend looks like a ski slope.
Genuine if you’re not a daily commuter.
Yamaha XC125/Vino and Honda Metro/Elite if you do a lot of in-town riding
Kymco if you’re wanting something that goes about 55 to 60 and can handle a variety of elements.
Honda Reflex/Helix if you have to do drive around 55 to 60 mph but still want something no more than 250 cc’s.
Everything else will cost far more than a car on average. Acquisition costs matter a lot as well. I had a 2 year old Helix back in 2000 with 7000 miles that I bought for $1000. Five years later, with scooters gaining in popularity, I bought a 2001 Yamaha XC125 for the same price.
Tires are a very high cost item on scooters. It’s one of those expenditures where you’ll actually stock up if you see a good deal out there.
Overall I think scooters are best for suburban, small town and rural areas. Any place with winding one lane roads and low traffic works well. But overall, I still don’t think scooters represent a practical alternative for 90+% of the population. At least not with the way most folks drive today.
The raw sales numbers are great, but I would really like to see more demographic information before folks make sweeping generalizations like “everyone is trading in their trucks for a Honda Civic.”
Demographic data would answer questions involving why folks are buying Toyota Sequoias (which I suspect are being purchased by rich coastal yuppie suburbanites who do not care about gas prices), and Civics and Fits (which may be selling to give to college-aged kids, or maybe Japanese sedan owners may be downsizing, who knows?). However, the raw numbers cannot support broad conclusions without some analysis of age, geographic location, first ime car purchaser, income level, whether the lease on the previous car was up, what was the consumer’s reason that car was chosen, etc., etc.
I would guess that most people are just hanging onto the cars that they have for the moment, looking for what is coming out around the corner. But then again, demographic data would answer those questions.
ScottGSO
What about Luxury vehicles? My brief knowledge seems to show Mercedes holding firm, BMW going a little down and Lexus falling off a cliff. Is that what the July #’s show?
Audi- down 4.5% in July, down 1.9% YTD
BMW – up 2.2% in July, down 3% YTD
Infiniti – down 2.9% in July, down 3% YTD
Lexus – down 18.3% in July, down 15.2% YTD
Mercedes – up 11.6% in July, up 2.3% YTD
and for comparison’s sake,
Cadillac – down 17.9% in July, down 0.9% YTD
Lincoln – down 1.2% in July, down 20.1% YTD
edgett
Frank – Are there equivalent numbers for scooters and motorcycles?
I don’t know. I guess there would be on a motorcycle site.
Scottie
. . . . . . . . . . July Sales . . . . Year to Date
Town & Country. . . +23% . . . . . . . -7.0%
Quest . . . . . . . +15.5% . . . . . . -31.4%
Somebody dumped some metal on some fleets…
Yep. Exactly what I thought. Unfortunately they don’t report fleet sales as readily as they do total sales.
I know here in the Puget Sound area, motorcycles also get HOV access and “first on, first off” on ferries (along with lower cost to ride the ferry).
I see alot of scooter folk, and I think they are in for a big surprise the first time they fall off. They dress sleeveless or with a single light layer – what road rash they’re going to get…
I worked for a time in a Bangkok emergency room. That city has huge numbers of cycles and scooters, and they kept the hospitals full.
Nicholas Weaver>
here in the Chicago area it is WORSE for motorcyclists/2 wheelers. Some parking garages have bans on 2 wheeled vehicles for liability reasons. Even worse is parallel parking where EVERYBODY bumps EVERYBODY. If someone knocks down your motorcycle, there is no “feeling sorry” or leaving a note as you/me/other cyclists are simply an annoyance. I know from personal experience ($2k+ damage)
Scooters can get away with parking on someones private grass next to the house, although I’m pretty sure motorcyclists would get ticketed (I haven’t tried as my less than one month old apartment has a garage).
Nutherlogin> Most motorcyclists are in for a surprise as well. The number of people who wear ABSOLUTELY NOTHING while trusting the cagers around them to not be yapping on a cell is amazing.
IMHO the absolutely BEST buy (esp if you aren’t punished by parking garages, cities, etc for using a bike) is a 2-5 year old ninja 250. you can buy it for $1800-$2500 and have close to 0 depreciation. The 2007 model has been the same for 20 years. The kinks are worked out and people put more than 100k miles on them. On top of that insurance is cheap, tires aren’t worn as fast as higher end sportbikes, and it can hit 100mph. 0-60 is in the civic SI range. Add 60+ mpg, and that makes the bike a winner. The only downside is that it is slow by motorcycle (and possibly even car enthusiast) standards.
So perhaps beyond Brutal we have Very Brutal and Damn Brutal.
“Buckle this! Ludicrous Speed, GO!”
[Light Speed] -> [Ridiculous Speed] -> [Ludicrous Speed]
Interesting to see how the RAV4 has fallen off. I wondered why Toyota made the decision to upsize it as much as they did. The RAV4 held a nice little niche, and ‘Yo had to just make it bigger and add a 3rd row, instead of just redesigning the 4Runner.
I wondered this myself, though what I was wondering was “Why would anyone buy the Highlander”. I’d be interested to know if RAV/4 sales have displaced the Highlander, and the xB the same to the RAV/4.
Toyota did a reasonable job of spacing things out given the xB would very much have cannibalized sales of the old RAV/4. The dubya-tee-eff moves are the Highlander and Venza, and my money’s on the Highlander dropping off: it’s squeezed badly between the Venza, RX, RAV/4 and Sienna.
The 4Runner is a different beast altogether. It’s far more cramped, far less car-like and much thirstier. Its more of a Toyota take on the Explorer.
I’m looking to buy a new or used vehicle as a daily driver, so that I can park my Jeep Wrangler to build it up (and make it even suck more gas!).
Anyway, I test drove a Civic Coup LX last Saturday. They had three on the lot, and the salesman told me he’d get me whatever I want and has called me twice since then. I told him that I’m not in a rush and really don’t want to buy for several more months to give me time to look at other options. The Civic I test drove was fine and has great mpg, but it was slow and boring. Would be hard to go back…
My other option is like a ’98 to ’01 Jeep Cherokee. I’m looking for deals now to move one off a lot! I would put up with the lower mpg then drive a Civic again (I had two once).
” Ford had the best showing of the D3, dropping “only “17.1 percent.”
Now that’s what I love to hear, Ford’s would be Panther replacement with more models is being outsold by the partially fleet only Panther YTD, with death lingering on the Sable and X.