General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles all ended 2016 selling fewer new vehicles in the United States than the traditional Detroit Three managed one year earlier.Yet for a second consecutive year, U.S. auto sales improved to record levels, shooting past 17.5 million units thanks to an end-of-year push that propelled December to a 3-percent increase, not the 2-percent decline forecasted.Compared with 2015, Jaguar and Volvo were the fastest-growing auto brands in America in calendar year 2016. Ram, Jeep, and Subaru posted the best percentage improvements among volume brands, with Ram and Jeep standing out as overall FCA numbers declined (Chrysler, Fiat, and Alfa Romeo were among the most rapidly declining auto brands). With the 200’s slow departure, Chrysler sales slid 27 percent in 2016. Fiat plunged by nearly a quarter.The Toyota Camry turned 2016 into its 15th consecutive year as America’s best-selling car, just ahead of the arrival of a new … [Read more...] about U.S. Auto Sales Brand-By-Brand Results: December 2016 And 2016 Calendar Year
2015 and 2016 calendar
2015 Ford Edge Ecoboost Review with Video
The large two-row crossover is a rare breed. With compact crossovers getting less compact and folks defecting to supersized three rows, Toyota and Honda chose to kill the Venza and Accord Crosstour while Ford pressed on with a redesign of the Edge. You can think of the Edge as a “tweener” crossover slotting between the Escape and the Explorer while at the same time being the spiritual successor (in modern form) to the Bronco and two-row Explorers of yesteryear. Although Ford says the Edge is a complete redesign, you could be forgiven for thinking this is more of a refresh, and that’s not a bad thing since the Edge was already one the most appealing options in this phone-booth-sized segment. ExteriorThis change under the sheetmetal explains the Edge’s growth which is up four inches overall with a one-inch wheelbase stretch. The increase gives the Edge a sleeker and less boxy profile than before while offering more interior room. … [Read more...] about 2015 Ford Edge Ecoboost Review with Video
2015 Ford F-350 Super Duty Review – Hauling Above The Limit [w/ Video]
![2015 Ford F-350 Super Duty Review – Hauling Above The Limit [w/ Video]](https://res.cloudinary.com/jpress/image/fetch/w_340,f_auto,ar_3:2,c_fill/http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/2015-Ford-F-350-Exterior3.jpg)
There was a time when a 1/2-ton pickup could haul around 1,000 pounds of payload and a 1-ton truck was good for around 2,000 pounds. Twenty years ago a good tow rating for a 1/2 ton truck was 7,500 pounds and 1-ton trucks were used by ranchers for hauling 14,000 pound cattle trailers around. Today things are different.Now we have a Ford F-150 that can tow over 12,000 pounds and haul 3,300 pounds in the bed without batting an eye. In this world, we have 3/4- and 1-ton trucks boasting towing abilities that would have required a Class 5 medium-duty truck in the 1990s. It’s in this world that the F-350, F-450 and Ram 3500 now exist.These trucks have pushed the envelope, boasting towing capabilities that 99 percent of pickup truck shoppers can’t even legally test. With massive turbodiesel torque figures, Ford and Chrysler’s latest trucks can tow 21,000 pounds more than my plain-old California Class C license allows. With the 2017 Ford Super Duty on the … [Read more...] about 2015 Ford F-350 Super Duty Review – Hauling Above The Limit [w/ Video]
Subaru Reports Record U.S. Sales In August 2016 With Industry’s Lowest Incentives As Other Automakers Tumble
Sales of new vehicles declined by nearly 4 percent in the United States in August 2016, a year-over-year drop which followed flatlining sales over the previous three months. Bucking the trend to no small degree in August was capacity-constrained Subaru, which earned 4 percent of the market by selling more than 60,000 new vehicles for the first time in the company’s history.Making Subaru’s achievements even more impressive: according to TrueCar, discounts in Subaru showrooms in August were 78-percent below the industry average.It was only two years ago that Subaru reported record sales of 50,246 units. That August 2014 sales record was topped one year later before Subaru set new monthly sales records in September 2015 and again in December 2015. Last month, Subaru’s 60,418-unit U.S. sales performance was 20-percent better than the company’s record-breaking result from two years ago and 7-percent better than the record set eight months ago.Subaru could … [Read more...] about Subaru Reports Record U.S. Sales In August 2016 With Industry’s Lowest Incentives As Other Automakers Tumble
U.S. Auto Sales Brand-By-Brand Results: September 2016 YTD
September 2016 auto sales slid nearly 1 percent, not as rough an outcome as projected by many industry analysts but more proof that the auto industry may have peaked in calendar year 2015.Despite bright spots from Ram, Buick, and Infiniti, most of the year-over-year improvements reported by automakers in September were modest in size. Porsche, Lincoln, Toyota, Honda, Audi, and Volvo all combined for sub-2-percent increases. Mercedes-Benz, Subaru, Cadillac, Hyundai, and Lexus couldn’t quite manage 4-percent upticks.Yet in a market that slowed for a second consecutive month, many of the gains produced by pickup truck sales still weren’t strong enough to bring more buyers into showrooms than in September 2015.Acura, Smart, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, and Fiat — along with discontinued Scion — all reported double-digit losses. General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles all recorded fewer sales this September than last. Acura’s sharp … [Read more...] about U.S. Auto Sales Brand-By-Brand Results: September 2016 YTD
On Track For Best Year Ever, Ram Beats Chevrolet Silverado In September 2016
For just the second time in 205 months, the Ram P/U range outsold the Chevrolet Silverado in the United States in September 2016.It’s a victory wiped away by including GM’s other full-size pickup truck, the GMC Sierra, not to mention both Ram and Silverado are fighting for second place. The Ford F-Series is America’s top-selling truck line, outselling the Ram by 20,000 units and the GM twins by nearly 4,400 sales.September was nevertheless the icing on the cake for a three-quarter period in which Ram’s pickups finished 27,549 sales ahead of their record-setting pace last year.But Fiat Chrysler Automobiles placed a lot of extra cash on the hood to put so much icing on the cake. During a month in which even sales at the Jeep brand decreased and total non-pickup sales at FCA fell 8 percent, a Ram P/U increase was vital.Heading into September, FCA had a 102-day supply of pickup trucks. To aid inventory glut reduction, the average Ram P/U incentive rose … [Read more...] about On Track For Best Year Ever, Ram Beats Chevrolet Silverado In September 2016
More and More Consumers Paying Big Bucks For Smaller Trucks
U.S. sales of midsize pickup trucks jumped 54 percent in September 2016 to nearly 40,000 units.While massive year-over-year increases in pickup truck sales can often be attributed to commensurate increases in incentives, as seen with the Ram P/U’s victory over the Chevrolet Silverado in September, midsize pickup truck buyers are willing to pay big bucks.Average transaction prices in the Toyota Tacoma-controlled midsize pickup truck segment last month, according to Kelley Blue Book, rose 6 percent compared with September 2015. That was by far the biggest increase for any segment in average transaction prices.These are hardly the sub-$20,000 antiquated Ford Rangers of 2010.On average, consumers were buying $32,350 midsize pickup trucks in September 2016.Led by the surging Toyota Tacoma, every member of the five-truck category posted noteworthy year-over-year sales improvements, including the Honda Ridgeline’s astounding 165,800-percent uptick.*As full-size … [Read more...] about More and More Consumers Paying Big Bucks For Smaller Trucks
Dead and Gone: These Are The New Vehicles We Lost In 2016 [Video]
![Dead and Gone: These Are The New Vehicles We Lost In 2016 [Video]](https://res.cloudinary.com/jpress/image/fetch/w_340,f_auto,ar_3:2,c_fill/http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Screen-Shot-2016-10-31-at-10.04.12-AM.png)
Ah, fall. The leaves have changed and are dropping to the ground below. Football is in full swing. Your kids get free candy just by walking around the neighborhood (and you can eat it after they go to bed). And another new model year of vehicles is taking over parking lot space at the local car stores.But it’s a bit chilly. The leaves are slippery when wet. Baseball season has almost ended. And you’re suffering from a bellyache because ten bags of Skittles was just one too many. All is not well, particularly for the new vehicle nameplates that head off into the Hallowe’en darkness to meet the automotive Grim Reaper. (Or is that just Lee Iacocca?)These are all the vehicles we’re losing after the 2016 model year. DEAD CADILLAC ELRHilariously overpriced, this platform partner of the first-generation Chevrolet Volt launched not long after the all-electric Tesla Model S. But without the Tesla’s sporting credentials, the ELR, seemingly behind the times, … [Read more...] about Dead and Gone: These Are The New Vehicles We Lost In 2016 [Video]
SUVs And Crossovers Will Outsell Cars In America, But When?
Canadians purchased and leased nearly 43,000 SUVs and crossovers in January 2016. At the same time, fewer than 34,000 passenger cars made their ways to Canadian driveways.This wasn’t an anomaly. Canadians also registered more utility vehicles than cars in January 2015, and over the course of 2015, only 2 percent more cars were sold than utilities, a margin of only 14,000 sales.No, it wasn’t an anomaly, but the gap in demand was exceptional. For every passenger car acquired by a consumer, business, fleet, or governmental agency, the industry also recorded 1.3 SUV/crossover sales.How soon before the U.S. auto industry makes the same claim? In January, as car volume plunged 9 percent and utility vehicle sales jumped 6 percent — despite an abbreviated sales month and an overall volume decrease — cars outsold utilities by just 1.1-to-1. That’s down from a 1.25-to-1 gap a year ago.In other words, it’s about to happen.CORRELATIONSduring a particularly … [Read more...] about SUVs And Crossovers Will Outsell Cars In America, But When?
U.S. Auto Industry Slowdown? Not So, Say November 2016 Sales Results
After the U.S. auto industry reported all-time record sales volume in calendar year 2015, the industry grew by more than 1 percent, year-over-year, in the first-half of 2016.But since the second-half began, auto sales have trended in the opposite direction. Compared with the July-October period of 2015, sales in the same period one year later were down 2.5 percent. U.S. auto sales declined in August, again in September, and again in October. Since July, year-over-year volume has fallen by nearly 150,000 units, dragging 2016’s year-to-date ten-month tally below last year’s record results.Yet forecasters say November 2016 will produce a sudden turnaround.Automotive News reported yesterday on a quartet of forecasts — Kelley Blue Book, Barclays Capital, LMC Automotive, and Edmunds.com — that projected gains of between 3 and 5 percent in November 2016.A 4-percent uptick would result in 1.37 million light vehicle sales, an increase of roughly … [Read more...] about U.S. Auto Industry Slowdown? Not So, Say November 2016 Sales Results