2011 Kia Soul 4u Driven

2011 Kia Soul 2.0L 4u

One long, looping off-ramp is more than enough to alert a driver to the truth that the Kia Soul handles well. Follow that with a steep, meandering on-ramp and the Kia Soul will make another thing clear: this 4-speed automatic's death knell should have sounded before the Soul entered production. With those two brief explanations, the on-road dynamics of the 2011 Kia Soul 4u have been summarily construed. But let's broaden our understanding.

Rather than delve into the spec sheet of the now well-known Kia Soul, a vehicle that's already won and lost membership in The Good 12, we'll find it much easier to consider the Soul on its driving merits rather than on style alone. While this isn't to say Kia is no longer entitled to mad love for the Soul's styling success, it shouldn't be judged as a passionate embrace of the Soul's design, at least not as passionate an embrace as once was true. On average, 6414 Souls were sold in North America every month in 2010. Though it's better to look fashionable than frumpy, with this sort of omnipresence even the Soul's handsome jib has become a touch inconspicuous of late.

We're likely in agreement. The Soul is a looker, but not as flashy and fresh as it was in early 2009. With more radical cars on the market now, particularly the Fiat 500 and Mini Countryman, do the Soul's more tangible elements add up to a sum worthy of consideration? The Good Car Guy drove a $21,795 (CAD) 2011 Kia Soul 4u to find out. Uncover the answer after the jump.

All Photo Credits: Timothy Cain ©www.GoodCarBadCar.net 

Before the key is turned or a gear is tortuously shifted, the Soul projects upon all passengers a surprisingly strong whiff of space. It's a tall hatchback, right? So you expect to find a hockey arena when the rear seats fold. Yet with the front seats installed in a chair-like fashion, the driver and shotgun holder enjoy that feeling of range North Americans have come to expect in large cars or SUVs. Reach out and touch the attractive interior and you won't be disappointed. Don't be fooled, these are average small car materials here, but it all looks nice and is arranged conveniently. In the rear, legroom stands at a pleasing 39 inches, but the seats have a strangely hollow sensation which will provoke complaints from the buttocks.

All Photos Captured By The Good Car Guy's
HTC Desire Camera Phone

Back to the turning of the key and the shifting of gears we should go, however. Why does the Soul's automatic transmission keep coming up as a subject of consternation? Outside of the 4-speed autos in subcompacts like the Toyota Yaris and Chevrolet Aveo, few if any automatics have ever led to such discontent. Clearly not as awful as the slushboxes in the aforementioned avoid-at-any-cost cars, the Soul 4u's auto manages to come across worse because moderate expectations in simple circumstances aren't met. The 2.0L 4-cylinder in the Soul sends 142 horsepower to the front wheels in a car that weighs a little more than 2855 pounds. There's no reason for this car to feel twice as slow as it is; no reason for it to be as slow as it truly is; no reason to sound like the love child of an MRI and a Magic Bullet. Yet the Soul 2.0L 4u does feel slow, it isn't as quick as it could be, and it does sound like multiple pieces of metal attempting to out-squawk one another. Blame the tranny.

Then you finally reach fourth gear, and though the engine is making its presence known with remnants of opprobrium, it's time for that off-ramp. The Soul looks tall (it's 5.9 inches higher than the Kia Forte) but that height isn't manifested with a painful sense of lofty CoG. Body roll is limited. True, the steering wheel won't ever be whispering sweet nothings, but what the wheel will do is weight up nicely and react with consistency. Despite the big 18" 5-spoke alloys the Soul 4u's ride is never disruptive. When hustled through the corners the Soul reveals a different.... er, soul; a whole bunch of inherent personality traits that remain hidden when accelerating in a straight line.

Potential Soul customers are left with two options at present. Stick with the 5-speed manual transmission - now there's a revolutionary alternative - or wait for the 2012 Kia Soul's optional 6-speed automatic. Along with an obvious fuel economy improvement, the rumoured 6-speed won't suffer from rev drop-offs and the highest gear should bring down engine noise on the highway. 

2011 Kia Soul SX

What the complaints and praise in the preceding paragraphs ignore is the Kia Soul's value equation. Rare is the car, small or not, that offers this much for this much. Kia.ca's Price Your Kia section generates a taxes-in monthly payment of $436.84 CAD for the 2011 Kia Soul 4u like the one Driven by The Good Car Guy. This price includes a sunroof, leather-wrapped shifter and wheel, sport-tuned suspension, and premium audio with mood lamp speakers, features not found in the Soul 2u. This is in addition to the Bluetooth connectivity, heated seats, keyless entry, steering-wheel mounted audio controls, and cruise control you'll find in lesser Souls. Perhaps the Soul 4u's fiercest competition is the special edition Soul SX. For an extra $1800, the SX adds super flashy wheels, an impressive bodykit, a rearview camera, metallic pedals, and a proper centre console.

Missing from the 2011 Kia Soul 4u yet present in the 2011 Nissan Juke SV is a healthy measure of pace and the distinction of being, shall we say, abloom. Present and accounted for in the Soul are several other endearing qualities, the kind you'll experience while driving and simply owning. Best of all, Kia expects very little from your bank account in order to put you in their Soul. 

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Watch Kia's First Soul Commercials
2012 Fiat 500 Sport Automatic Driven
2011 Hyundai Elantra GL Driven

2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Driven
2011 Nissan Juke SV AWD Driven
2012 Kia Sorento LX 2.4 Driven

Kia Soul Reviews From Other Sources
Autoblog
Car And Driver
Edmunds Inside Line
Cars.com Kicking Tires
evo

Fuel Economy In Car And Driver May 2011

The Good Car Guy has already published the 0-60 times of cars tested by Car And Driver for their May 2011 issue. Of greater importance to real world drivers are the real world fuel economy figures put up by these cars. Keep in mind, C/D's writers are of the hard-driving variety - you can expect to put up better numbers than the 16 mpg you see below when you buy your $84,000 Audi A8L, $88,375 as tested.

The Volkswagen Touareg TDI's combined EPA mileage rating is just one up on the Touareg Hybrid's, but in C/D's hands, the diesel returned four extra miles per gallon. Its base price is also $12,615 less than the Touareg Hybrid's, though the less expensive Touareg TDI was a second slower to 60 miles per hour.

Audi's TT RS accelerated to 60 mph nearly four seconds quicker than the Mazda 3 but used a similar amount of fuel. Another interesting comparison of performance and economy involves the IPL G37 and Boss 302 Mustang. With two fewer cylinders, 96 fewer horsepower, 104 fewer lb-ft of torque, and a 0-60 time more than a second slower, the Infiniti should possess greater efficiency, right? Both cars were fitted with a 6-speed manual; the Infiniti carried only 54 more pounds; yet each car achieved 15 miles per gallon. Victory to the American V8.

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Ford Focus SEL: 21 miles per gallon
Volkswagen Touareg V6 TDI: 21 miles per gallon
Hyundai Elantra Limited: 20 miles per gallon
Volkswagen Jetta 2.5 SEL: 20 miles per gallon
Chevrolet Cruze LT: 18 miles per gallon
Mazda 3 s Sport: 18 miles per gallon
Audi TT RS: 17 miles per gallon
BMW 1-Series M Coupe: 17 miles per gallon
Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid: 17 miles per gallon
Audi A8L: 16 miles per gallon
Ford Mustang Boss 302: 15 miles per gallon
Infiniti G37 IPL: 15 miles per gallon
Jaguar XJL Supercharged: 15 miles per gallon
BMW 750Li: 14 miles per gallon

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
0-60 In Car & Driver May 2011
Fuel Economy In Car & Driver December 2010
Toyota Hybrid Sales In Canada - February 2011
Official Scion iQ Fuel Economy Ratings

13 Manual Transmission Only Cars In 2011

The automotive enthusiast world was aghast when Ferrari decided that manual transmissions would die off as models were replaced. Ferrari wasn't lying: the only new Ferrari model available with a clutch is the 599 GTB Fiorano. Praise has been heaped upon Lamborghini for its ingenious independent shifting rod transmission, the clutchless device that'll send power to the wheels of the new Aventador. Porsche and BMW, meanwhile, two former bastions of manual transmission glory, now seem to believe Doppelkupplung and M DCT Drivelogic are routes to the future. Perhaps the sweetest shifting car known to man, the 2011 Mazda RX-8, is available with a 6-speed automatic that saps 20 horsepower from the rotary engine. Sucky.

This isn't about saving the manuals à la Car And Driver, however. There remain plenty of manual transmissions on the market, particularly if you're willing to accept base models which sometimes aren't even available without a clutch. Setting aside such models, there are only 13 cars on sale in North America right now* built exclusively with a manual transmission. 

Before you assume The Good Car Guy despises any vehicle that forbids the driver from operating a clutch, be mindful of a few sports injuries (skiing, then tennis, eventually basketball) that have forced automatic transmissions into the family. Oh, rowing your own is a blast, a blast generally enjoyed by this left ankle for no more than three or four days. This is only mentioned so you don't mistake this post for a dose of ridicule aimed at automakers who only celebrate the arrival of new clutchless technology. No, interpret this list as a celebration of inevitably rare cars, specific models that don't take kindly to the phrase, "Can I get it with an automatic? I have a long, high-traffic commute and my ankle swells up."

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BMW 1-Series M Coupe
Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Chevrolet Corvette Z06
Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
Ford Mustang Boss 302
Ford Mustang Shelby GT500
Honda Civic Si
Lotus Elise
Lotus Exige
Mazda MazdaSpeed 3
Porsche 911 GT3 / Porsche 911 GT3 RS
Porsche 911 GT2 RS
Subaru Impreza WRX / Subaru Impreza WRX STi
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Know of other non-base model cars that are always built with a foot-operated clutch? Leave a comment and the list will be upgraded immediately.

* Honourable Mention: The Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X GSR  is sold exclusively with a 5-speed manual. Thing is, the GSR is actually the basic Lancer Evolution - we decided to exclude base models from this list, remember? -  and the up-market MR is sold without a clutch. Also, at least initially, we're led to believe the 2012 Ford Focus ST will be fitted with a 6-speed manual transmission only.

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
BMW 1-Series Evolution Over The Years With M Coupe Gallery
Porsche 911 Sales Data In Canada - February 2011
Sports Car Sales In Canada & The USA
Premium Sports Car Sales In Canada & The USA

Charting Honda U.S. Sales Failures

Honda builds two of America's best-selling cars. The Accord and Civic finished 2010 ranked second and fourth, respectively, in total U.S. car sales. As for SUVs (or crossovers or CUVs or whatever you want to call them), the Honda CR-V was America's most popular in 2010. The Honda Pilot ranked eighth. Among minivans, the Honda Odyssey was America's third-favourite in 2010.

Honda, having proven that the company's design departments resides in the outhouse, is still a wildly popular brand in the United States. In fact, Honda sold 1,096,874 vehicles in America last year to finish fourth behind Ford, Chevrolet, and Toyota in overall volume.

However - you knew some bad stuff was coming - Honda has brought a few dogs to market in the last couple years. Most notable among them is the Accord Crosstour. From the first day it appeared on Facebook to a dreadful response, the Accord Crosstour was in tough. That said, in the Graph below where the Accord Crosstour sees its sales compared with those of the Nissan Murano, Subaru Outback, and Toyota Venza, pay close attention to the numbers on the left side. These are U.S. monthly sales. 

So while you see the Crosstour treading water in the chart below, as not a single month measured up to the Venza's volume, do remember that Honda's been selling a couple thousand of these ugly carish things each month. You say the Honda Accord Crosstour is ugly, and so do I, but Suzuki only sold 351 of the pretty Kizashi in February 2011. Mazda only sold 2258 copies of the handsome 6 in January 2011. And sales of the swoopy Volkswagen Passat CC totalled just 1781 in October 2010. Is the Accord Crosstour unsuccessful? Moderately so, but considering the fact that Honda's getting pretty decent extra volume off an ugly jacked-up V6-only Accord wagon, the Crosstour's success isn't lacking nearly as much as we thought it would.

The Honda CRZ's story isn't all that dissimilar. Initial reviews were more often hate-it than love-it. Not only was the CRZ perceived as a slow sporty car, its hybrid powertrain didn't generate the sort of fuel economy figures critics expected. Then insulting cries about the CRZ's poor sales caused consumers and automotive industry observers to wonder if Honda would pull the plug on the CRZ. 

But the CRZ was a hit in Japan, and, a look at the chart below would lead you to believe the CRZ wasn't faring all that badly in the U.S. either. In three of the seven months since the Honda CRZ went on sale it out-sold the Volkswagen GTI. In its second month on sale the CRZ topped the Scion tC. And not once has the Mazda MX-5 Miata come close to matching the CRZ's volume. True, the MX-5 isn't exactly a direct rival for the CRZ (what is, after all?) but we've long since accepted the fact that the Miata is a niche market car; that Mazda will stick with the Miata for ever and always. So how can distinctly greater volume from a car priced not that far beneath the Miata be considered so terrible? Sporty coupes are almost always hit-and-miss, yet it's best we acknowledge the CRZ's placement is somewhere in between.

Now the Insight, yes, here's a different story. As one of America's top-selling cars, the Toyota Prius appears to be a natural target for the second-generation Insight. They're both available exclusively with hybrid powertrains, they're both five-door hatchbacks, they're both Japanese, they both wear the badges of the planet's two most famous early hybrids. But the Insight's fuel economy doesn't measure up. It's also the dowdier of the two. And memories of the sweet first-gen Insight linger. We all would've said Honda was crazy if the company decided to bring back a tremendously aerodynamic lightweight two-seater, but then we would have driven it and love it. Perhaps with gas prices rising, Honda would have looked intelligent rather than unfashionable had it rebirthed the first Insight.

The Acura ZDX Concept sucked. Sadly, the production version wasn't much better. One of those rare machines a company determines is a must-have because another company is building one, even though that other company isn't really building very many of them and most people really don't like the other company's version, the ZDX tops that by being worse in every way than that other company's version. Styling is subjective, sure, but the numbers manifest agreement, so let's run with it. The ZDX is uglier than the BMW X6. It's not as fun to drive. Visibility is worse. The ZDX's interior is wickedly complicated; the X6's isn't. The X6 is also available with some rockin' wheels and some honkin' engines. The ZDX isn't. Throw the GoodCarBadCar.net-recommended Infiniti FX into the mix and the ZDX starts to look worse, as evidenced by sales figures that started in the toilet before progressively being flushed deeper into the sewer system.

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
2011's The Bad 8 v4.0 Part 1 - Acura ZDX
2011's The Bad 8 v4.0 Part 3 - BMW X6
U.S. New Vehicle Market Share By Brand - February 2011
U.S. Auto Sales By Brand - February 2011
Top 20 Best-Selling Cars In America - February 2011

Toyota Hybrid Sales In Canada - February 2011

Before you jump too far into the theory that says Toyota hybrids are failing, keep a few things things in mind. Overall, Toyota brand car sales were down 42.4% in February 2011, Toyota sales overall were down 28%, and Lexus was down 7.2%. 

Sure, Camry Hybrid sales dropped 33.6%, and that's not good, but the regular Camry was down 63.8%. Prius sales were down 38% in February, but the Yaris fared even worse. The point: yes, Toyota and Lexus are struggling to sell hybrids these days, but Toyota and Lexus are struggling to sell regular cars in Canada these days, too.

Toyota/Lexus sold 551 hybrids in Canada in February 2010. This February, hybrid sales fell 37.2%. In what segments did Toyota Canada do well? RAV4 sales were up 6.6%. Sales of Highlanders which lack electric assist were up 33.3%. Sienna sales rose 238.3%. Lexus sold 153 IS sedans and convertibles (ISF sales totalled 3, down from 5 at this time last year) up from 131 in February 2010. Overall, the Lexus RX enjoyed its best February ever in Canada.

However, Prius sales have been cut in half in 2011 so far. Lexus sold only 1 GS450h in the first 59 days of 2011. Despite intended exclusivity, the wild ISF has sold four times more often than the GS450h "performance luxury sedan" that is supposed to appeal to both sides of the brain. For every Camry Hybrid sold in Canada in 2011, Volkswagen has sold more than 2 Passats, a vehicle line that's forged along without a 2011 model year edition. 

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Canada Auto Sales By Brand - February 2011
New Vehicle Market Share By Brand - February 2011
Luxury Auto Market Share In Canada - February 2011
Top 20 Best-Selling Cars In Canada - February 2011
Top 30 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In Canada - February 2011

Porsche 911 Sales Data In Canada - February 2011

Porsche 911 sales were up 3.1% in Canada in February. That's an increase of one unit over February 2010. Through the first two months of 2011, 911 sales are down from 54 to 45. In 2010, Porsche sold 525 911s, up from 495 in 2009.

But which versions of the 911 manage to sell best in a country where the most popular car has a base price of $14,990 and the best-selling luxury car starts at $37,650? After all, one would assume the 911's $189,400 price range would have the majority of Canadian 911 buyers gravitating toward the lesser models.

As in November when GoodCarBadCar.net first published a Graph like this, the basic 911 Carrera went unsold in Canada in February 2011. The most popular 911 was the 911 Carrera S, basically your everyday 911 with an extra 40 horsepower and another $14,800 on the pricing manifesto. Porsche.ca currently lists 22 911 variants for sale in Canada. The Carrera S, representing 4.5% of those models, formed 27.3% of all 911 sales in Canada in February.

More exciting to enthusiasts and track day fans is the relative popularity of the most extreme 911s. 18.2% of the 911s sold in Canada in February 2011 were RS models: three each of the $154,600 911 GT3 RS and $279,500 911 GT2 RS. There were also five 911 Turbos sold: one traditional Turbo hardtop, two 911 Turbo Cabriolets and two 911 Turbo S Cabriolets.

In other Porsche sales news, the most popular Boxster/Cayman in February was the base Boxster, five of which were sold. Porsche Canada sold 8 Cayenne Turbos and 10 Cayenne S Hybrids. No base Panameras were sold in February but 3 Panamera Turbos did find homes, taking 2011's Panamera Turbo total to 7, down from 10 in the first two months of 2010.

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Porsche 911 Sales Data In Canada - November 2010
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Sporty Car & Premium Sporty Car Sales In Canada - February 2011
Porsche Canada 2010 Sales Figures

Luxury Auto Market Share In Canada - February 2011

9078 luxury-branded vehicles were sold in Canada in February 2011. 21.7% were affixed with the three-pointed of Mercedes-Benz. 2 - that's 2 as in one-two, not 2% - were Saabs. 

7.8% of all luxury vehicles sold in Canada last month were one variant or another of the BMW 3-Series, Canada's 18th-most-popular car. Just about four in every ten BMWs sold in February were 3-Series sedans, coupes, convertibles, or wagons. 

Canada's #3 luxury automaker in February 2011 was Audi. Sales increased by 39.1% as luxury market share climbed to 13.3%. For perspective on all this, Ford alone out-sold all luxury brands in February, despite the Blue Oval's 10% year-over-year sales decline. In fact, Dodge out-sold the whole luxury market by 3467 units, too. As for the U.S. luxury auto market situation, three automakers out-sold the luxury fleet: Ford, Chevrolet, and Toyota.

* indicates Automotive News estimate

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Luxury Auto Brand Market Share In Canada - February 2012

Luxury Auto Market Share In Canada - March 2011
Canada Auto Sales By Brand - February 2011
Luxury Auto Market Share In America - February 2011
Top 30 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In Canada - February 2011
New Vehicle Market Share By Brand In Canada - February 2011

Luxury Auto Market Share In America - February 2011

Much could be said about the chart you see below. Much of it has already been said, and you can read that stuff by looking at all the posts GoodCarBadCar.net has filed in the U.S. February 2011 category. 

Comparing the success of luxury automakers by referencing total sales, often labelled as volume, is a little bit narrow-minded. Imagine for a second you have a luxury car manufacturer that was selling 100,000 cars each month in 2008. In 2009, the automaker ran into some issues and sales dropped 70% to 30,000. Sales plummeted 70% in 2010 to just 9000. We know that In 2011, despite the manufacturer's 2700 sales, the company is almost dead. Sure, 2700 sales would put this imaginary automaker ahead of Land Rover, but the trend says things will be awful in 2012. 

With this in mind, a handful of luxury automakers jump to the forefront of this February 2011 market share chart, not because of their total sales (the company's volume) but because of the trend. Compared with February 2010, Jaguar sales were down 9.1%. That's not good. But compare Jaguar's current volume with February 2002: sales are down 87.4%. Sales of Saab, though sort of in recovery, are down 84.8% compared with February 2003. Volvo sales have declined 45% since February 2003. On the flip side, Bentley's gain over February 2010 was just 6.3%, but those 101 sales compare favourably with the 26 in February 2003.

As for market share numbers in the luxury car market sector, enlarge the Graph and check things out. PR representatives in automaker HQs the world over will talk your ear off about overwhelming volume or percentage gains, but deep down inside the belly of the office two things matter most: the size of the market, and how much of the market share was yours. 

* indicates Automotive News estimate

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Luxury Auto Market Share In America - March 2011
U.S. Auto Sales By Brand - February 2011
New Vehicle Market Share By Brand In America - February 2011
Top 30 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America - February 2011
Luxury Auto Market Share In Canada - February 2011

Small Luxury SUV Sales And Midsize Luxury SUV Sales In Canada - February 2011

If Acura ZDX sales remained level with February 2010's level, the Acura ZDX would still possess the shortest bar in the midsize luxury SUV chart below. But, well... um, Acura ZDX sales dropped 63.6% from February 2010 levels. Toyota sold more Land Cruisers in Canada in February, and Toyota doesn't even try to sell the Land Cruiser in Canada. Seriously. BMW X6 sales were up 32.1% in February; Infiniti FX sales were up 13.1%.

Among more conventional luxury utility vehicles, the Lexus RX350 had its best February ever as sales rose 3.6%. 41 of the RXs sold were hybrids. Sales of the RX450h were down 33.9% in February.

The Audi Q5, already well-established at this time last year, saw sales rise 183% in February 2011. That was enough of an increase to see the Q5 rise to fourth on the list of Canada's best-selling luxury vehicles, right behind the Lexus RX. Thanks to the introduction of the second-generation X3, BMW was served a 74.5% year-over-year sales increase of its small SAV.

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Small & Midsize Luxury SUV Sales In Canada - February 2012
Small Luxury SUV & Midsize Luxury SUV Sales In Canada - March 2011
Small Luxury SUV & Midsize Luxury SUV Sales In Canada - January 2011
Large Luxury SUV Sales In Canada - February 2011
New Vehicle Market Share By Brand In Canada - February 2011
Small, Midsize, Large SUV Sales In Canada - February 2011

Small SUV Sales, Midsize SUV Sales, Large SUV Sales In Canada - February 2011

GM market share in the large SUV segment in February 2011 was 36.8%. Throw the Ford Expedition into the mix and the domestic share of the Canadian large SUV market was 67.9%. Toyota Sequoia sales rose 23.3% in February, however, and Nissan Armada sales jumped 300%. (Kia Borrego sales fell 35.3%.) Thus, compared with February 2010 when GM large SUV market share stood at 69.3% and domestic market share was 86.4%, all is not sublimely well.

In the loosely defined mainstream midsize SUV category General Motors is a far greater force in the U.S. than in Canada. In the Graph below - a Graph filled with many vehicles that don't compete with another, mind you - GM market share stands at just 13.2%. Compare that with the equivalent U.S. chart and you'll see a huge difference: GM market share in the category was 22.7% south of the border in February. Back to the Canadian story, have a look at Ford: despite faltering Edge and Flex sales, the new Explorer helped Ford remain dominant with 31.1% market share last month. 36.7% of the midsize SUVs in the chart below wear Japanese badges.

Way down below in the large volume small SUV category, a classification used mainly to signify pricing competitiveness, there were 19,975 vehicles sold in February 2011. That's up from 18,275 in February 2010, an increase very attributable to the Dodge Journey's 63.2% year-over-year increase. Speaking of Chrysler, their four least expensive utility vehicles made up 19.5% of all sales manifested in the small SUV chart below. 41.8% of all sales shown in the small SUV sales chart were from the Detroit Three.

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Canada Small, Midsize & Large SUV Sales - February 2012

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Small & Midsize Luxury SUV Sales In Canada - February 2011

Minivan Sales And Truck Sales In Canada - February 2011

With a 13.6% gain the Dodge Grand Caravan greatly out-performed the overall Canadian new vehicle market in February 2011 which fell from 100,352 sales in February 2010 to 96,112 this year. Chrysler's Town & Country lost five sales, the Volkswagen Routan was down significantly, and the Kia Rondo fell 10.8%. At the same time, Honda Odyssey sales rose 61.7%, Mazda 5 sales increased by 82.7%, Kia Sedona sales nearly doubled, and the Sienna bucked Toyota trends by posting a 238% jump. Did Swagger Wagon advertising work? One would imagine.

We've already covered Canada's 5 Best-Selling Trucks, so now's a good time to look at the slow sellers. Honda Ridgeline sales fell from 175 in February of 2010 to just 77 last month. The Nissan Titan, though inflicting no damage to Ford's F-Series, did post a 95.4% increase in February 2011. Frontier sales also increased for Nissan, up 54.3%. Combined, the two General Motors small pickup trucks posted a 25.3% decrease in volume from February 2010.

Surprised by the Dodge Ram's gains? Up 41.5% in February, the Ram trailed the Ford F-Series by "only" 1156 units in February. The Dodge Ram owned 25.1% of Canada's pickup truck market in February. Ram market share in the United States in February was just 14.2%.

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Canadian Minivan & Truck Sales - February 2012

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Sporty Car Sales And Premium Sporty Car Sales In Canada - February 2011

Accentuated by the severely declining sales of BMW's Z4, the Mercedes-Benz SLK, and Porsche's Boxster and Cayman, the Audi TT's halfway decent 23 sales (down 14.8% in February) were class-leading in the second month of 2011. The 2011 Audi TTS starts at $57,900.

Talk about serious declines: Ford Mustang sales fell 63.1% in February to 79. That's some way below the Chevrolet Camaro. The Camaro was down 58.4%. These two events opened up the way for the Dodge Challenger and its 150 sales to lead the way among American muscle, despite the Challenger's 24.2% decline from February 2010. Other than the Mitsubishi Eclipse, Mazda RX-8, Chevrolet Corvette, Audi A5, and two cars that weren't on sale in February 2010, every sporty car in the first Graph you'll see below suffered from falling sales in February 2011.

Declines weren't the story of the month among the more premium machines. Although gains were generally slight (and nonexistent in the case of the Audi R8 and BMW 6-Series), the segment didn't endure, in the manner of Ford Mustang sales, a disappearing act in February. Because of incomplete sales reports we can't take into account the wide-ranging set of competitors with which the Porsche 911... er, competes. That said, based on the information we have, the 911 was worth one in every two premium sports car sales in Canada last month.

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Sporty Car & Premium Sporty Car Sales In Canada - February 2012

Sporty Car Sales And Premium Sporty Car Sales In Canada - March 2011
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