It’s been a quarter-century since the last time it happened, but Chevrolet’s reborn Camaro appears set to steal away the yearly pony car sales crown from the Ford Mustang.

According to AutoWeek, the Bowtie Brigade has cleared 75,685 Camaro sales through the end of November, while the Blue Oval has shifted 68,264 units. Extrapolating the monthly sales totals to the end of December, AW estimates that Chevrolet will finish 2010 with around 82,500 sales, besting the Ford’s estimate of 74,500. Trailing the muscle car pack in sales is Dodge’s Challenger lineup, trending at around 36,000 units.

There has certainly been pent-up demand for the Camaro among consumers after its prolonged absence, but what’s even more impressive about its yearly sales total is that if the lead holds, the Chevy will have outsold the Ford and the Dodge with far fewer special editions and no convertible bodystyle like the Mustang. (A droptop Camaro is slated to go on sale next year, and a high-performance Z28 variant is also expected). @Autoblog

Filed under: Car Buying, Budget, SUV, Crossover

Finally, after years and years of stagnation and painfully slow sales, small cars are starting to take a foothold in the United States. Or are they? While conventional wisdom makes us believe that Americans are ready to take the downsizing plunge in the face of – or at least the threat of – high fuel prices and environmental concerns (we’re all still watching the Gulf Coast, right?), it seems that reality may once again set us straight.

Automotive sales watchdog Autodata has found that the gas-swilling large SUV segment is growing at a faster pace than the America’s small car segment. Like statistics? Here we go: With a 19-percent jump over the first six months of 2010, large SUV sales have outpaced small cars (14 percent). Critically, they’ve also outpaced the overall market (17 percent).

Now, before we get our feathers riled up too much, realize that sales of large SUVs still lag way behind small cars – 974,000 to 121,000 through the first half of the year. Further, large crossovers like the Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, Ford Flex, GMC Acadia and Lincoln MKT are included in those figures right alongside traditional behemoths like the Chevy Tahoe, Ford Expedition, Infiniti QX56 and Toyota Sequoia.

We also expect that small car sales will continue to climb with new models coming to market, such as the upcoming Ford Fiesta, Mazda2 and Hyundai’s Accent and Elantra. That said, there’s always going to be a demand for large and powerful SUVs that can haul people and stuff while towing a boat or camper in cool, air-conditioned comfort, and automakers will be only too happy to provide the thick-margined vehicles for their consumption. For better or for worse.

[Source: USA Today via Kicking Tires]

Report: Large SUV segment outpacing small car sales growth in America originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Large SUV segment outpacing small car sales growth in America

June US auto sales rose as the sales of full-sized pickups climbed steeply. The pickup segment increased by 26% when compared to last year, nearly doubling the 14% gain for all light vehicles in June.
The Ford F-series pickup sold 46,502 units, up by 30%. The increase is attributed to the sales of the carryover and [...]

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Report: Full-sized pickups sparked June U.S. auto sales

Analysts pointed out that June is likely to post the smallest increase in US auto sales since February as consumers avoid big purchases over the concern about unemployment and the bad economy.
The average of eight analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg indicates that deliveries throughout the auto industry could reach an annualized rate of 11.2 million [...]

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U.S. auto sales posted the smallest increase since February

In 2009, the major automakers that are competing in the US market spent almost 23% less on measured media advertising, according to Advertising Age, a sister publication of Automotive News.
This actually shouldn’t come as a surprise since auto sales dropped by 21% to its lowest level since 1982. In Advertising Age’s “100 Leading National Advertisers” [...]

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Biggest automakers spent nearly 23% less in 2009 on media advertising

Filed under: Car Buying, Convertible, Coupe, Performance, Chevrolet, Ford, GM

It took a full year for the Ford Mustang to regain its pony car sales title versus the reborn Chevy Camaro, but May sales totals show that the ‘Stang has finally regained its mojo. The far more powerful 2011 Mustang plays a huge roll in the comeback, but after originally reporting the upset, Automotive News is now pointing out a second factor that helped the Blue Oval bring the May pony car sales title back to Dearborn.

The Camaro has been selling so well that General Motors hasn’t had to pour any money into incentives.That’s zero denero, no super low financing… nothing. The tale of the Mustang’s May sales tally is a bit murkier. First, 4,376 of the Mustangs sold in May were 2010 models, and those coupes could be had with $2,500 on the hood and financing between zero and 5.9 percent – depending on the length of the loan. According to Edmunds.com, the 2011 Mustang has $1,500 on the hood for returning lessees and conquests alike, plus financing as low as zero percent for 36 months.

Does the fact that the Mustang has some cash on its hood mean that its 10,225 to 8,931 sales victory against the Camaro is tainted? We’re not inclined to think so because a win is a win no matter how you dissect it. But at the same time, we’re pretty sure GM is thrilled to be selling their pony car at a clip of 100,000 units per year without any cash on the hood. Not a bad consolation prize.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req.]

Ford Mustang/Chevrolet Camaro May sales tally backstory originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 07 Jun 2010 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford Mustang/Chevrolet Camaro May sales tally backstory

Filed under: Car Buying, Convertible, Coupe, Performance, Chevrolet, Ford, GM

It took a full year for the Ford Mustang to regain its pony car sales title versus the reborn Chevy Camaro, but May sales totals show that the ‘Stang has finally regained its mojo. The far more powerful 2011 Mustang plays a huge roll in the comeback, but after originally reporting the upset, Automotive News is now pointing out a second factor that helped the Blue Oval bring the May pony car sales title back to Dearborn.

The Camaro has been selling so well that General Motors hasn’t had to pour any money into incentives.That’s zero denero, no super low financing… nothing. The tale of the Mustang’s May sales tally is a bit murkier. First, 4,376 of the Mustangs sold in May were 2010 models, and those coupes could be had with $2,500 on the hood and financing between zero and 5.9 percent – depending on the length of the loan. According to Edmunds.com, the 2011 Mustang has $1,500 on the hood for returning lessees and conquests alike, plus financing as low as zero percent for 36 months.

Does the fact that the Mustang has some cash on its hood mean that its 10,225 to 8,931 sales victory against the Camaro is tainted? We’re not inclined to think so because a win is a win no matter how you dissect it. But at the same time, we’re pretty sure GM is thrilled to be selling their pony car at a clip of 100,000 units per year without any cash on the hood. Not a bad consolation prize.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req.]

Ford Mustang/Chevrolet Camaro May sales tally backstory originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 07 Jun 2010 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford Mustang/Chevrolet Camaro May sales tally backstory

“Saab’s most important product” – This is how Saab CEO Jan Ake Jonsson describes its first new car, the flagship 9-5, during its launching.
Saab, which was acquired earlier this year by Spyker Cars NV, aims to more than more than double annual sales to 85,000 by 2012 to prevent losses. Global auto sales [...]

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Spyker counting on the new 9-5 sedan to revive Saab brand

For the ninth consecutive month in the Japanese market, Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. have led auto sales as demand was boosted due to government rebates and tax cuts.
The Japan Automobile Dealers Association released a statement that sales of cars, trucks and buses, excluding minicars, increased by 34% in April from a year [...]

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Toyota and Nissan led increase in Japan’s April car sales

Filed under: By the Numbers

Ford outsells GM, Toyota sales fall hard

A number of things transpired last month to paint most of our By the Numbers table below green. A minor contribution can be credited to Toyota and its recall woes, the effect of which has been that many other automakers are grabbing conquest sales from the wounded Japanese automaker.

The Toyota Camry for instance, long the best-selling car in the U.S., moved 16,552 units last month compared to 20,634 the year before, a drop of almost 20 percent. The Ford Fusion, which has been gaining sales on the back of positive reviews and a mantel full of awards, sold 16,459 units last month. That’s a 117-percent sales increase compared to last year, some of which we have to believe is directly attributable to customers turning away from Toyota and the Camry. (Note: The Honda Accord beat them both with 22,456 sales, though the new Crosstour accounts for 2,432 of those sales, and the Nissan Altima fell below the Fusion with 16,198 sales.)

The major contributing factor to so many brands and companies reporting positive sales results in February is the fact that sales in February of last year were so dismal. It’s easy to be in the green when the bar has been reset so low. That said, Ford Motor Company’s performance in particular has to be noted, as it now stands as the largest domestic U.S. automaker after selling more vehicles last month than General Motors (142,285 vs. 141,951), a feat that hasn’t happened for 12 years. Expect it to happen a lot more as GM’s non-core brands wind down into non-existence.

*Brands and companies are displayed in descending order according to their percentage change in volume sales. There were 24 selling days in February 2010 and 24 selling days in February 2009, so the change in monthly sales volume will be the same as the change in the average daily sales rate (DSR) for each brand/company.

By the Numbers – February 2010: Easy Being Green Edition originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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By the Numbers – February 2010: Easy Being Green Edition