bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

Unless you want useful cargo space or want to get to 60 in less than half an hour

Trexus

A Prius is no Ford F250, no Lexus LFA, no Ford Excursion but a useful daily commuter car...

spwolf

Between Prius c, Prius and Prius v, plenty of space for various families...

-J-P-L-

Yeah, the Prius is useless.

Standard Prius



"Tiny" Prius C



Not to mention the cargo hauling V....

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

I saw a new white Prius V on the road yesterday.
Somehow to the wife and I it looked so much nicer than the smaller Prius.It looked less Prius like and more station wagon like.We like it a lot.Well worth a few less MPGs.

GS69

April's Fastest & Slowest Selling Cars

Plugging in seems to be popular for at least one automaker. Toyota's Prius Plug-In was the 3rd-fastest-selling car in the U.S. in April. In March, it was the 2nd-fastest. We reported last week that Prius Plug-In sales bested those of the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf, and if it keeps selling at this pace, we could see even larger sales numbers in the future.

The average time it took to sell a new 2012 or 2013 model — from the time it arrived on dealer lots until the paperwork was signed — increased to 45 days in April from 41 in March. But March was and is traditionally a busier sales month. The 45-day mark bested April 2011's 48-day average.

Luxury SUVs also were hot. BMW has turned over to the 2013 model year for the X3 and X5 and that propelled the newcomers to the top of the Movers list, selling in just 4 days. The all-new Infiniti JX and redesigned Acura RDX also moved quickly at a rate of 6 and 7 days, respectively.

The slowest-selling cars aren't really a surprise in April except for 1. BMW redesigned its 6 Series convertible and coupe for 2012 and overall, they're excellent machines. Here the story seems to be the engine and drivetrain selections.

While the turbocharged 6-cylinder 640i isn't selling quickly in the coupe body style, it is as a convertible with a stark difference of 111 days versus 43 days.

Folks who want the robust power of the twin-turbo V-8 in the 650 didn't want it in the droptop. It took 128 days to sell it. The coupe, however, was a different story, selling in just 34 days. The selections make sense to us with convertible buyers looking for style over performance and coupe buyers going after power above all else.

Our picks for potential deals are varied, so if you're looking for a sporty convertible it might be a good time to look at the Ford Mustang — unless you can afford a BMW 650i. Luxury sedan shoppers also could find dealers wanting to move the outgoing Lincoln MKZ and the current Infiniti G37 sedan.

Movers

2013 BMW X3: 4 days
2013 BMW X5: 4 days
2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In: 5 days
2013 Hyundai Sonata: 5 days
2013 Hyundai Elantra: 6 days
2013 Infiniti JX: 6 days
2012 Toyota Prius c: 7 days
2013 Acura RDX: 7 days
2012 Hyundai Azera: 8 days
2012 Subaru Impreza: 8 days
2013 Hyundai Genesis coupe: 9 days
2012 Porsche Cayenne: 10 days
2013 Lincoln MKS: 10 days
2012 Kia Soul: 11 days
2013 Ford Mustang coupe: 11 days

Losers

2012 Porsche Boxster: 250 days
2012 Infiniti M35h: 174 days
2012 Infiniti EX35: 134 days
2012 BMW 650i convertible: 128 days
2012 Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet: 120 days
2012 Volkswagen Eos: 115 days
2012 Mitsubishi Outlander: 115 days
2012 BMW 750Li xDrive: 114 days
2012 Nissan NV cargo van: 113 days
2012 BMW 640i coupe: 111 days

Cars.com Recommends

2012 Volkswagen Golf 2-door: 60 days
2012 Nissan Maxima: 62 days
2012 Lincoln MKZ: 67 days
2012 Infiniti G37 sedan: 74 days
2012 Ford Mustang convertible: 79 days

About the Lists
The Movers and Losers list reports the average number of days it takes to sell models from the day they arrive on the lot until the final paperwork is signed by a buyer. This is not a days-of-inventory list like you may find on other websites. We're now focusing on only 2012 and 2013 model years.

For Movers, we only list vehicles that pass a certain threshold of sales in order to weed out limited editions, ultra-high-performance cars and others that might skew the numbers or otherwise inaccurately portray popularity. For Losers, we have removed any threshold to reflect 2012 models that may have the greatest incentives.

We changed the headline of our Movers and Losers starting this month. But will continue to call the lists themselves Movers and Losers.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Audi narrowly beats BMW in April to take premium sales crown

The global luxury war has three fierce combatants, all German, all producers of amazing vehicles, and all serious about besting their two other rivals. While BMW has been winning as of late, the latest battle goes to Audi.

The Volkswagen luxury brand sold 125,200 vehicles in April, topping BMW's 121,476, according to Reuters. It was the first time Audi outsold BMW since January 2011. BMW still holds the year-to-date lead with 478,030 units sold, compared to 471,300 for April's champ, according to the report. BMW sales are up 10.1 percent for the year, while Audi's have risen by 11.7 percent.

Mercedes-Benz sits over 50,000 units behind at 418,246, according to Automotive News. Sales of Mercedes vehicles are up 9.7 percent on the year.

Audi's ascendency can be traced to China, where sales rose 44 percent in April, according to AN. European sales, by comparison, were only up 4.9 percent, with U.S. sales rising by 15 percent.

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/05/10/a...m-sales-crown/

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

2012 U.S. auto sales on pace to be best in five years

Bloomberg reports that if U.S. auto sales continue at their current pace, 2012 will mark the best year for the industry since 2007. The news comes after word that both Ford and Chrysler have slimmed or entirely eliminated the traditional summer shutdown at their manufacturing facilities to keep pace with demand.

All told, sales may reach 14.3 million cars and light trucks, according to analysts, thanks to factors like a gradually improving economy and easier credit. If the pace continues, 2012 will mark the third year of 10-percent gains, which marks only the fourth time that's happened since the Great Depression.

Car sales stalled in 2008, and 2009 saw manufacturers move just 10.4 million units. As Bloomberg points out, that's the lowest number since 1982, but buyers took home 11.6 million vehicles in 2010 and 12.8 million in 2011. The industry saw a 10.3-percent increase through the first four months of this year. As a result, General Motors, Ford and Toyota have adjusted their yearly sales forecasts accordingly.

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/05/10/2...in-five-years/

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Ford to boost production by 40,000 units, shorten summer plant shutdown

The Detroit Free Press reports Ford is set to boost production by 40,000 units. The company plans to half its summer shutdown to just one week at 13 plants this July. Ford says that it is already operating most of its facilities at maximum capacity, and adding a week of production is a good way to balance manufacturing with demand. The automaker is also adding extra shifts at three of its production facilities this month. Overall, Ford will increase its production this year by a whopping 400,000 units to three million vehicles by October.

But Ford isn't the only domestic manufacturer to step up production. Chrysler is also skipping the summer shutdown at four of its plants and idling two more for one week instead of two. General Motors, meanwhile, will continue its summer plant stops as planned.

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/05/11/f...ummer-plant-s/

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Digging Deeper: April 2012 sales figures

1. DETROIT'S ACHILLES HEEL: TRUCKS

The recovery in Detroit is real. Both General Motors and Chrysler continue to show appeal and profits post-bankruptcy. Ford, which leads Motor City's renaissance, also continues to blaze ahead. But there's an underlying weakness that all three have: An unbalanced portfolio of vehicles.

Ford and GM both saw sales drop in April – 5.1 percent and 8.2 percent, respectively. Chrysler, meanwhile, saw sales soar 18 percent. But really, all three carmakers really should be called truckmakers. And Chrysler, which is the most dependent on trucks, is the only Detroit-based company to narrow its gap between trucks and cars sold – 67 percent of its vehicles sold in April were trucks, as opposed to 70 percent in April 2011. Ford saw its percentage of trucks sold grow from 61 percent to 63 percent, and GM from 53 percent to 58 percent. That means they're losing business in the car section of sales.

No other automaker sells more trucks than it does cars and that leaves them better prepared for spikes in high gas prices, growing CAFE standards and other perils along the way.


2. SMALL CAR LEADERSHIP: THE HONDA CIVIC?

Was anyone else surprised to see that the top-selling small car (compact and below) was the Honda Civic? If you read most reviews, the Civic falls somewhere around fifth place in the segment, behind the likes of the Ford Focus, Hyundai Elantra, Chevy Cruze and upcoming Dodge Dart. And the Civic wasn't even the top-selling compact in April, with the Toyota Corolla beating it out 24,804 units to 24,423 units. But through April, the Civic, at 101,592 units, is the top-selling compact car in the United States. No other vehicle has topped 100,000 units.

What do consumers know that critics don't? Maybe it's just that Civic just keeps going down the road. Other cars can speed past for a while, but the Civic catches up and rolls on by, just like it always does.

3. ONE IDEA, ONE VEHICLE, ONE BRAND: RAM

I still have a hard time seeing Ram as a brand. The word "Dodge" just seems to go in front of the word "Ram." But Chrysler Group wants it to be seen as a brand, so I'll honor its request and point out that even losing Ram 1500-3500 pickups from Dodge's roll, Dodge stacks up well against other brands in April.

By volume, Dodge – sans Ram – falls from the No. 5 to the No. 8 selling brand in the U.S., right above Jeep.

Meanwhile, Ram does pretty well, too, selling 21,126 units and landing at No. 16 for U.S. brands in April, right between Mazda and BMW.

4. LINCOLN'S NUMERICAL PERSPECTIVE

Ford's luxury brand, Lincoln, continues to struggle, even as the Blue Oval tries to revive it. And while I really like the looks of the new 2013 MKZ, I'm not sure how much it will help the brand, which is the worst-selling mainstream luxury brand in America – behind Infiniti, Cadillac, Audi, Buick, Lexus, BMW and Mercedes Benz for the month of April and for the year.

Just look at these completely unfair apples to bananas comparisons.

Total Lincoln vehicles sold in April: 6,308.
Total BMW 3 Series sales in April: 6,581.

Total Lincoln vehicles sold this year: 27,144.
Total Toyota Prius sales in April alone: 25,168.

5. ELECTRICS SAPPED OF ENERGY

I still can't make sense of electric vehicle sales. The Nissan Leaf sold 370 units in April, down 35.4 percent compared to last year. The Chevrolet Volt sold 1,462 units, up 197 percent compared to last April, but down nearly 1,000 units compared to last month. The Mitsubishi i sold 79 units, which may have created 79 disgruntled greenies. Tesla doesn't release its numbers through AutoData Corp., though its monthly sales figures are bound to be in the tens of vehicles, maybe.

There is room for electrics in the U.S. market, but a more telling sign is that the best-selling electric-ish vehicle was the all-new Toyota Prius Plug-In hybrid. This car can travel about 11 miles on electric power before its Wonder Twin powers evaporate, and it reverts to the shape of a regular gas-electric hybrid. Toyota sold 1,762 units in April.

6. AMERICANS WHO PREFER HYBRIDS, PREFER TOYOTA HYBRIDS

Speaking of hybrids, it appears that Americans love only Toyota hybrids. The Prius, with its three new additions to the family, the Prius V, Prius C and Prius Plug-In, sold more than 25,000 total units – making it the third best-selling car in the U.S. during April. Sales are up 55.7 percent for the year. (Though some of that increase could be attributed to the post-tsunami times of last year.)

All of the other hybrids pale in comparison. The second highest-selling hybrid sold in April was the Toyota Camry hybrid, hitting 4,406 units. The Hyundai Sonata hybrid was No. 3 at 4,104 units. All told, there were 42,116 hybrids – 3.6 percent of the car market – sold in April. Of all hybrids sold in April, Toyota accounted for 77 percent of them. In the coming years, it's likely to lose share, but not any time soon.

Of course, one little known secret is that currently, GM offers the second-most hybrid models at eight (many are mild hybrids), not including the Volt. Toyota currently offers nine.

7. EARLY LEAD FOR THE DODGE GRAND CARAVAN

While Toyota may own the hybrid segment, it is losing its grip on the one with minivans, after becoming America's No. 1 minivan maker last year. Through April, the Dodge Grand Caravan has taken a big lead, selling 45,645 units. The Chrysler Town & Country is No. 2 at 38,507, Honda's Odyessy is No. 3 at 38,133 and the Toyota Sienna has sold 33,651 through the year.

Overall, minivan sales are up nearly eight percent for April and 10.6 percent for the year. While the race is still too close to call, Toyota has fallen nearly a month behind in sales, which makes it difficult to catch up.

8. SOME SEGMENTS ARE JUST GIVEN AWAY

American truck makers may have a stranglehold on the fullsize pickup segment, but they've given away the small truck pickup group. In fact, the Toyota Tacoma is the biggest of the little trucks, selling 10,901 pickups in April. The Nissan Frontier was a distant second at 4,148 pickups sold in April.

For the year, Japanese pickup makers have outsold American small truck builders two to one. And as the supply of leftover Ford Ranger trucks dwindle down, as it was discontinued in December, that gap is only going to widen.

9. DISCONTINUED BUT NOT UNSOLD

The Ford Ranger is not the only discontinued vehicle that continues to sell. Ford also sold 372 Crown Victoria sedans in April (as well as 74 Lincoln Town Cars). Cadillac sold 39 DTS models and 20 STS models. Chevy sold a single Cobalt. Buick sold 60 Lucernes. Mazda sold 18 RX-8s and 16 Tribute hybrids. Mitsubishi sold 103 Eclipses and 45 Endeavors. And it appears someone returned a Volvo S40. No one bought a Mercury or a Saab in April.

10. DODGE CALIBER VS. DODGE DART

The accolades continue to race around the web about how good the 2013 Dodge Dart is. And, really, it is a good compact car. It's so good, I think when the Dart goes on sale, it's going to crush Dodge's compact car sales.

Currently, the Dodge Caliber has sold 6,646 units this year. In April, it sold 1,408 – meaning the Chevy Volt outsold it at nearly double the price.

Judging by how poorly the Caliber is performing – both on the road and at dealerships – I think Dodge will sell more Darts in July than Calibers for the year.

But we'll have to wait and see. Until then, remember, numbers don't lie, but people with numbers can.

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/05/11/d...sales-figures/

ydooby

Funny how Acura is ignored despite the inclusion of Buick.

GS69

WorldWide Sales of Toyota & Lexus Full Hybrids Top 4 Million

EPSOM, UNITED KINGDOM – May 23, 2012: Total global sales of Toyota and Lexus full hybrid vehicles have topped the 4 million mark as of April 30. Cumulative sales of full hybrid vehicles in Europe reached 423,000 units. In the UK the number is 94,000.

Toyota became leaders in the development of hybrid cars as a response to environmental issues, the company believing that low emission vehicles can only have a positive impact if they are used widely.

It Started with a Bus
The Toyota Prius, famously the world’s first mass-produced hybrid passenger vehicle, was launched in December, 1997 in Japan, but the 1st hybrid vehicles was actually a bus, the Toyota Coaster Hybrid EV which was introduced to the Japanese market in August, 1997.

Sales of the Prius began in Europe,North America and elsewhere in 2000. The 2nd generation Toyota Prius was launched in 2003 at which point the company expanded the use of its full hybrid technology to vehicles such as minivans, SUV’s, luxury saloons and family hatchbacks. The 3rd-generation Prius launched in May 2009 and was a hit with customers around the world, leading to global cumulative sales of Toyota hybrid vehicles topping 3 million vehicles by the end of February, 2011.

Different Shapes and Sizes and Made in Europe
As Toyota’s hybrid range expanded so came localised production such as the UK built Toyota Auris Hybrid and upcoming Toyota Yaris Hybrid which will be built in France. Later this year, the range will appeal to an even wider audience with the launch of the seven seat Prius+ and Prius Plug-in Hybrid.

Globally, Toyota currently sells 19 full hybrid passenger vehicle models in approximately 80 countries. This year, hybrid vehicles have accounted for 15% of Toyota’s global vehicle sales.

Saving for the Future
Toyota estimates its full hybrid vehicles have led to a saving of approximately 26 million tonnes1 in CO2 emissions compared to what would have been emitted by petrol or diesel powered vehicles of similar size and driving performance.

Having positioned hybrid as a key technology, Toyota plans to continue working to further raise performance, reduce costs, and expand its product line-up, including that of non-hybrid environment-friendly vehicles, to create vehicles that are popular with consumers.

spwolf

p.s. did people know that LS600h has outsold GS450h worldwide? That they sold 450k hybrids in 4 months of 2012? :-)

mordecai

Clarification please. The LSh sold 450k? Or the entire Lexus hybrid line?

spwolf

sorry... LS600h outsold GS450h worldwide despite the price, and in first 4months Toyota sold 450k Hybrids total, similar to BMW/Audi sales :-).