And for anyone wanting to relive the past further, here’s a link to a MT Daytona IROC R/T review. Don Sherman’s comments (at the bottom) are the best (brutally honest) part.

With all precincts reporting, Subaru officially takes second place in the 2009 annual sales increase sweepstakes, with a 15 percent annual increase. That achievement was bested only by Jaguar Land Rover, which finished the year up 65 percent with 38,261 units sold. Only Hyundai improved its volume more than Subaru last year, up 56,852 compared to Subies 28,953 increase. Still, Subaru was clearly an up-and-comer this year, shrugging off industrywide declines for one of the best all-round sales performances since the beginning of the so-called Carmageddon. And the momentum seems to be going strong, as Subaru closed the year with a 33 percent increase in December and 23,074 units sold. And to think it all started with the 360, a car that made the VW Beetle look, sound and perform like a freaking Bentley.
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If nothing else, 2009 was the year that Americans got over its disdain for Korean brands. Hyundai’s December sales were up 40 percent over 2008 capping an 8 percent annual increase, and Kia’s sales were up 43.7 percent, ending the year up 9.8 percent. Total Hyundai volume last year hit 435,064 units, while Kia crested 300,063 units. December details after the jump.

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Honda’s results are following the pattern for the major Japanese makers: a decent rise in December (up 16%), capping a market-mirroring decline of 20% for the year. The Honda brand did much better (up 19%) than Acura (down 8%) for the month. And Acura also did worse for the year (down 27%) than the Honda brand (-19%). The topthree bestselling Honda models for 2009 were the Accord, 290,056; Civic, 259,722; and CRV, 191,214. Here’s Honda’s take:

Accord monthly sales increased 17.3 percent for December to 28,238. Monthly Civic sales increased by 19.8 percent to 22,319. The CRV, the country’s bestselling SUV in 2008 and 2009, increased sales by 24.5 percent to 18,686 for a new December sales record. Additional models with monthly sales gains included the Pilot, up 26.6 percent to 9,184, and the Odyssey, up 19.8 percent to 8,966.

“The good news is that the market appears to be stabilizing and we have more reasons for optimism in 2010,” said John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda. “There seems to be light at the end of the tunnel; let’s hope it’s not another train coming, but rather, brighter days ahead.”

And here’s the full details for you number junkies: (Read More…)

GM’s December sales release shows a scenario that is reflected across the industry: hefty sales declines on the year with some evening out in December. GM’s sales fell six percent last month, the result of a 54 percent decline in “non-core” brands and a 2.2 percent increase in core brand sales. Still, considering December 08 sales were down nearly by half compared to 2007, it’s clear that GM still has some climbing to do to return to something resembling normalcy. Of the four core brands, the three smaller saw modest gains, with Buick climbing 37 percent, Cadillac gaining 11.4 percent and GMC improving 4.8 percent. But those gains were offset by a 1.5 percent decline in Chevy sales. For the year, Buick dropped 25.4 percent to 102,306 units, Cadillac fell 32.3 percent to 109,092 units, GMC fell 31.1 percent to 259,779 and Chevrolet dropped 25 percent to 1,344,629 units. [Complete GM sales data in XLS (Excel) form available for download here]

Some car makers make it easy; posting their sales details in a copy-friendly format instead of pdf. So the full details of Nissan’s not so bad December (up 18%) and not so great year (down 19%) are here for your perusal after the jump. First, the highlights:

• Nissan Division posted sales of 64,296 units in December compared with 53,829 units sold in December 2008, a 19.4 percent increase.
• Nissan Versa sales in December set a record for the month at 6,809 units, a 32.5 percent increase over December 2008 sales.
• Other Nissan models with double-digit, year-over-year sales increases in December were Maxima (59.5 percent), Z (63 percent), Frontier (113.1 percent), Xterra (14.9 percent), Pathfinder (49.2 percent) and Armada (75.8 percent).
• For calendar year 2009, Rogue set a record of 77,222 sales, a 7.2 percent increase over 2008, and sales of Maxima and Z saw increases of 13.3 percent and 26.9 percent, respectively, compared with calendar year 2008 sales.

Infiniti highlights and the full reveal follow: (Read More…)

What a year it’s been for Chrysler [sales release here]. With a bankruptcy and bailout on top of a aged and unloved product lineup, it’s almost a miracle the Pentastar boyz sold anything in 2009. Overall sales were down 36 percent over 2008, which saw sales 30 percent lower than 2007. But never fear Mopar fans, Chrysler swears that this downward momentum is a thing of the past, and that 2010 will see Chrysler’s first annual sales growth in years. But the question that comes to mind looking over these latest results is how? After all, only two Chrysler Group models actually sold better in 2009 than 2008. Can you guess which?
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Ford wraps up a difficult year on a high note: sales were up 33% in December compared to a year ago. And although year-end totals were down 15.4% from ’08, that still outpaced the market to deliver Ford’s first annual market share increase since 1995. Ford estimates its 2009 market share to come in at 15%, up one percentage point from 2008. Details: (Read More…)

We also recognize there is a market (for the Nano) not only in developing countries, but possibly in the developed countries. For the United States we need a car which has a larger engine and we need additional crash test modifications and we are in the process of doing it.

Ratan Tata at today’s India Auto Expo [via Automotive News [sub]], suggesting that the world’s cheapest car could eventually be sold in the US. Fiat is already partnering with Tata to jointly sell the Nano in Latin American markets, so there’s a chance that the Indian city car could eventually show up at Chrysler dealerships.

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Business Week reports that Toyota are planning to capture 10% of the Indian market. “India will play a pivotal role in Toyota’s global expansion plans,” Vice Chairman Kazuo Okamoto said today at the Delhi Auto Show. “The time has come for us to strategically accelerate our growth here.” Toyota is using the Delhi Auto show to showcase the cars which will lead the assault for 10% of the Indian market, the most important of which is Toyota Etios (which will also be produced in Brazil). Autocar.co.uk reports that Etios is 90% production ready and that it will go on sale in India at the end of 2010 (with first-year sales projected at 70k units). Because of the price (around $10000) it’ll go head to head with the Maruti Swift, the very boys who hold a huge chunk of the Indian car market. To help combat Maruti, a larger and better quality interior is key to the Etios. Autocar also reports that in order to keep costs under control, Toyota went on a cost cutting exercise. Measures taken include, limited sound proofing, a hard, but durable, interior and one windscreen wiper. But before you cry “Toyota are turning into GM”, don’t be fooled. Toyota tried the same thing with the Aygo in Europe and the end result was a good car which sells very well.

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Coming back to gray and drizzly Eugene after a week on the sunny coast of California can be a bit challenging. But then all the compensations make themselves apparent: no traffic jams, a familiar bed, and…K cars! Eugene is Kar heaven: every permutation of Lee Iaccoca’s Karmagination is on display, everywhere. Sometimes even two at a time: (Read More…)

The very first post-bankruptcy, Chrysler-brand advertisement was a true re-badge, literally replacing Lancias with Chryslers in the exact same advertisement. The second spot, which we ran yesterday, was a vague, year-end spot emphasizing history and heritage while showing only one modern car. Though it’s not a strict re-badge like the Lancia ad, the new Chrysler ad is, at the very least, based on some serious platform-sharing. Specifically the ad above, an Italian-language spot for the Fiat Group, is thematically identical to the Chrysler ad.

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The production version of the Opel Meriva has debuted, and as promised, the suicide doors made the cut. But will the Meriva come to America, re-grilled as a Buick? A Gamma II-based MPV is rumored for Buick’s 2012 lineup, and suicide doors might just be the gimmick that helps America understand the concept of “premium compact.” Even though, as the image after the jump shows, they are little more than a gimmick.

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Official Kraftfahrtbundesamt data are uncharacteristically late. But Dow Jones Newswire (via Finanznachrichten.de) has it from two reliable sources that Germany’s new car market rose to 3.8m units in 2009, which would be an increase of 23 percent if it pans out. According to the report, Germans bought 3.8m units in 2009, in 2008 it was 3.09m units.
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