GOOD CAR STATISTICS

Statistics posted here yesterday were, as I remember, discouraging; depressing; and disgusting. You can read the bad car statistics with clicks here or here. But all this negativity... man, it's getting me down. It's past time that we improve the mood. Focus on the positive. Embrace that which is right, strong, and good. 

Considering the lofty numbers that AutoEnergy has been posting recently - where owners of relatively normal cars are forced to spend hundreds more than expected just for commuting - it's not surprising to discover that cars with 4-cylinder engines are selling rapily while the V8 trucks and SUVs you read about yesterday sit on dealer lots with hundreds of identical models. Here are the Numbers you need to know.

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40 - percentage of General Motors cars sold in June of 2008 with 4-cylinder engines, up from 22% in June of 2007

70 - percentage of Ford Fusions sold with the 4-cylinder engine option in June, rather than the V6 that found homes 43% of the time in June of 2007

28 - estimated percentage increase in Ford Focus production for 2008 

45.6 - percentage increase in the sales of Chevrolet's Malibu for the first half of this year compared with the first half of 2007

39 - percentage jump in Toyota Yaris sales comparing the first half of '08 with the first half of '07

61,978 - total sales for the Hyundai Elantra from January through June of this year, up from 49,932 in the first half of '07

14,620 - total June/2008 sales of the Pontiac G6, up 32.4% compared with June/2007

5.1 - percentage drop in Chevrolet Cobalt sales in 2007 compared with 2006, before jumping 18.5% through the first six months of '08

204,961 - total Honda Civic sales during the first half of 2008, up from 173,800 during 2007.5

16.9 - percentage increase in the sales of the Ford Edge, the only exclusively V6-engined vehicle in this article

25,369 - increase in sales of the Honda Accord comparing 2007.5 with 2008.5, while still trailing the Toyota Camry by 34,000 conquests

12.7 - percentage increase in Nissan Altima sales in the first half of 2008, driving its total to 158,006