Compact car sales interesting figures

[Hokiefyd]

Motor Trend WOT

Funny, we were collectively talking about how Honda generally failed with its 2012 Civic redesign, but wouldn't you know, they sold more Civics than any other manufacturer's compact car. The closest competitor was the Corolla, then further down the Cruze, Elantra, Focus, and Jetta.

The new Civic may not necessarily be what an enthusiast wants, but it might be what the buying public wants. Who knows, sales could have been propped up by rebates or by pent-up demand from the natural disasters from earlier this year.

 

[Nick R]

Interestingly, I know 4 people who have bought Cruzes in the past month (Seriously) and one who bought a Civic.

 

[91344George]

The latest Civic is not a bad car, it is just not up to the Honda standards of old as is the case with many of their models over the past decade.

Honda needs to look at its products from the 80s to the mid 90s and recapture what made them great. Great hard part quality and durability, simplicity, very good handling for ordinary passenger cars, reliability, and overall design excellence at a reasonable cost. ALSO STOP MAKING EVERY THING SO DARN LARGE!

 

[rjundi]

I think the Cruze newness,buzz,hype of a new model has worn off. Its a top choice for sure but the elation at Chevy may be over.

Boring cars like Corolla and Civic sell clearly. VW took the same route and is doing well.

 

[Nick R]

Originally Posted By: rjundi
I think the Cruze newness,buzz,hype of a new model has worn off. Its a top choice for sure but the elation at Chevy may be over.

Boring cars like Corolla and Civic sell clearly. VW took the same route and is doing well.


Well the Cruze is still outselling it's predecessor by miles, so it's still good news.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd


The new Civic may not necessarily be what an enthusiast wants, but it might be what the buying public wants. Who knows, sales could have been propped up by rebates or by pent-up demand from the natural disasters from earlier this year.


Or blind allegiance and being upside down (so they cant get out of it) because most people cannot afford to even buy an econobox cash anymore, their financial skills and planning is so poor.

Many buy an appliance to commute in, and will buy the same appliance they bought last time and the time before.

 

[sciphi]

Apparently the Civic is good enough for most folks, us Internet armchair debaters be darned.

Chevy still doesn't have any rebates/cash on the Cruze, as far as I know.

 

[Dave Hess]

Lets not forget that the Honda Civic has and will always be a Point A to Point B type of car. A simple yet boring low frills vehicle (same goes for Corolla). I own a 2007 Civic EX and its a great car... probably will keep it another 7-8 years.

Now if you want something special then you need to buy a Lexus, BMW, Benz, Audi or some other fancy car.

 

[Lead Shoes]

Honda needs to take a look back at what they were doing in the 80's and 90's and start doing it again, they are just riding on the history of their own name now, producing the same stuff as everyone else now..

 

[OtisBlkR1]

I wish i had all of everyones knowledge on Hondas, im one of the blind sheeple that keeps buying them as my wife drives them.. what i know is i do normal maintence on them and they just keep going, and going, and going..... as long as normal maintence is performed its almost never in the shop, as a matter of fact her 07 has never been in the shop.. (unless you call my garage a shop)...

I should add her first was a 96 accord ex.. we bought it used and in 5 years of ownership it got tires, brakes, and a alternator.. in addition to regular maintence..

her second the 07, accord 6cyl ex was purchased in early 09.. its gotten regular maintence and tires.. not a hiccup..

 

[kozanoglu]

Originally Posted By: Nick R
Originally Posted By: rjundi
I think the Cruze newness,buzz,hype of a new model has worn off. Its a top choice for sure but the elation at Chevy may be over.

Boring cars like Corolla and Civic sell clearly. VW took the same route and is doing well.


Well the Cruze is still outselling it's predecessor by miles, so it's still good news.


Good news for who?

 

[kozanoglu]

Originally Posted By: Brenden
Honda needs to take a look back at what they were doing in the 80's and 90's and start doing it again, they are just riding on the history of their own name now, producing the same stuff as everyone else now..

+1

 

[Nick R]

Originally Posted By: kozanoglu
Originally Posted By: Nick R
Originally Posted By: rjundi
I think the Cruze newness,buzz,hype of a new model has worn off. Its a top choice for sure but the elation at Chevy may be over.

Boring cars like Corolla and Civic sell clearly. VW took the same route and is doing well.


Well the Cruze is still outselling it's predecessor by miles, so it's still good news.


Good news for who?


GM. They have a good, competetive entry in the compact market for the first time... Well, probably ever.

 

[sciphi]

GM having a competitive small car is unheard of in the US. The Cavalier and Cobalt were outdated at launch.

 

[Spazdog]

Originally Posted By: Nick R

GM. They have a good, competetive entry in the compact market for the first time... Well, probably ever.


Nahhh. They've been competitive before. It's just been a LONG time.

By itself, the Corvair couldn't get close to Plymouth's Valiant or Ford's Falcon, but add in the Chevy II to the Corvair sales and GM's ahead.

...of course, No one in the US was buying Toyota and the only Hondas they were buying were the two wheeled variety that you "met the nicest people on".

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: sciphi
GM having a competitive small car is unheard of in the US. The Cavalier and Cobalt were outdated at launch.



Eh...the cavalier wasn't bad..at first.

 

[SteveSRT8]

No matter how it compared to the market in general the cavalier was a great little car.

Sometimes it's better to be a bit back from the 'cutting edge'.

 

[Spazdog]

Originally Posted By: daves87rs
Originally Posted By: sciphi
GM having a competitive small car is unheard of in the US. The Cavalier and Cobalt were outdated at launch.



Eh...the cavalier wasn't bad..at first.


Meh...

it was priced better than the similarly sized (circa 1982-85) Accord and it was way better looking than the ugly 1st gen Camry.
Sure, the Camry and Accord were more refined cars, but they cost quite a bit more.
The problem was the Mazda 626 which was priced just a bit higher than the Cavalier and was far more sophisticated and refined than the Accord and Camry.

What about the Europeans? A Peugeot 305 cost nearly as much as an Audi 4000. The attractive but boxy new Jetta wasn't being made in Mexico yet so same problem there. It was quite a bit more expensive. The Renault Alliance was made in Wisconsin, but it was a bit smaller than the Cavalier....plus it's a Renault. Who wants that? Fiat had already exited the United States.

What about the Domestics? Ford had the Tempo. It's OHV engine was bigger. Yeah, that's all I got. They took the perfectly good 200 6 cyl, sawed two cylinders off of it and ruined the fool thing. Chrysler? The K-cars were bigger mid-size cars. The French derived Omnirizon was smaller.

So based on price, performance, and size? Yeah, it wasn't that bad. The 626 was leagues better for a few hundred dollars more. But in the early '80s there were still a lot of people who would not buy a relatively unknown Japanese brand. A brand that made a rotary engine that a friend of a friend of a friend had neglected and assasinated in the '70s.
You can make a case for the Tercel or Civic (or 323) against the Cavalier, but they were at the time smaller subcompact cars.

 

[sciphi]

I'm dating myself by doing amending my statement, and here it is anyhow. The Cruze is the first competitive small car that Chevy has had in my lifetime!

 

[hattaresguy]

Older people are downgrading to smaller cars. Seems to be a trend in my area. Once the kids are gone, the SUV or van gets traded for a Mini, or a Civic, or a little SUV.

My moms doing the same thing, her next car is going to be a Mini.

Honda saw this ahead of everyone, so they are cashing in on it. I think the average age of a Civic buyer is close to 50, they are fast approaching Buick territory!