2009 YEAR END SALES STATS FROM DIRECT RIVALS IN CANADA - 370Z vs RX-8, 911 vs R8 & MORE

Direct competitors in the automotive arena are often manufactured by the same company. For instance, the now-defunct Pontiac G5 and the Chevrolet Cobalt were both relatively strong sellers in Canada during the twelve months of 2009. Yet the profit earned as a result of those two cars goes back to the same conglomerate, General Motors. Now, even the cash earned from a sale of a Porsche Boxster and Audi TT is wired through to Volkswagen's account.

Nonetheless, we've separated each and every model for comparison's sake. The categories listed below skip over potential cross-shopped vehicles and strike right at the heart of the matter: Civic vs. Corolla, Z4 vs. SLK, Fit vs. Yaris.... and a whole bunch more. These are Sales Stats from Canada's 2009 Year End figures. Click here for a similar story from south of the border.

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CANADA'S CORE SEGMENT

Honda Civic: 62,654

Toyota Corolla: 53,933

Mazda 3: 46,493

Hyundai Elantra: 30,675

Ford Focus: 21,831

Chevrolet Cobalt: 14,350

Volkswagen Golf/Rabbit/GTI: 13,770

Nissan Sentra: 13,431

Pontiac G5: 10,085

Dodge Caliber: 9,802

Mitsubishi Lancer: 9,446

Subaru Impreza: 9,126

Kia Forte/Spectra: 7,761

Suzuki SX4: 7,081

Saturn Astra: 4,066

MINI-MINIVANS
Kia Rondo: 9,835

Mazda 5: 8,638

FRONT-ENGINED GERMAN SPORTSTERS
BMW Z4: 486
Audi TT: 406

Mercedes-Benz SLK: 371
Porsche Boxster/Cayman: 362

BIG 'MERICAN CARS
Chrysler 300: 5,234

Pontiac G8: 2,171

Ford Taurus: 2,035

JAPAN'S ROAD RACERS
Nissan Z: 567
Mazda RX-8: 310

GM'S LIVING LAMBDA

Chevrolet Traverse: 4,351
GMC Acadia: 4,197
Buick Enclave: 3,854

BABY LUXURY:

Mercedes-Benz B-Class: 2,865

BMW 1-Series: 2,533

Acura CSX: 2,526

Audi A3: 1,245

Volvo C30: 906

FEISTY RUNABOUTS
Hyundai Accent: 25,220

Toyota Yaris: 23,773

Nissan Versa: 20,097
Kia Rio: 10,287

Honda Fit: 9,553
Chevrolet Aveo: 7,486

Pontiac G3: 5,686

UBER-LUXO SPORT

Porsche 911: 495

Mercedes-Benz SL-Class: 268

BMW 6-Series: 165

Audi R8: 152

Nissan GT-R: 133

Jaguar XK: 123

Cadillac XLR: 16

2009'S YEAR END COMPARISON OF ENTRY-LUXURY CAR SALES IN CANADA

The Good Car Guy is nothing like the frequently read BMW 3-Series boosters from mainstream publications. Sure, the BMW 3-Series is in The Good 12 v3.0, the highest honour for a car at GoodCarBadCar.net. Yes, the BMW M3 and BMW 2002 can be found in GoodCarBadCar.net's 100 Favourite Cars list. And about twice a month, in posts like this, the BMW 3-Series is exalted for its Marketplace domination while its competitors are... well, teased.

One would safely assume that hundreds, if not thousands of the 12,610 residents of Canada who purchased or leased a BMW 3-Series in 2009 did so for the wrong reasons. I'll admit that readily. They purchased or leased a BMW 3-Series because it's a symbol of attaining goals; of arriving. These people might not even understand the concept of sublime rear-wheel drive dynamics, or even that the BMW 3-Series is a rear-wheel drive car.

Regardless, 12,610 3-Series variations were sold in Canada last year, way more than any of its competitors. Way more than any other luxury car. Way more than the vast majority of mainstream cars, too. No two other cars in the Graph below can be combined to topple the 3-Series. If you were somehow able to merge Mercedes-Benz and Audi, then buy out Saab in order to put the C-Class, A4, and 9-3 on the same platform; their sales still wouldn't reach the levels of the BMW 3-Series.

The BMW's competition isn't far from reaching its levels of dynamic prowess. But they still seem quite a ways off from attaining its sales success. Check out the equivalent U.S. Graph here.

CLICK GRAPH FOR A LARGER VIEW

2009'S BEST-SELLING SMALL LUXURY SUVs IN CANADA

Helped by a complete twelve months of selling time, the BMW X3 and Acura RDX appear as though their sales were decent in 2009. Indeed, Acura had a fairly good month in December. Take into account the shortened season of the Volvo XC60, Audi Q5, and Mercedes-Benz GLK350. Now you see how different things could have been. Perhaps 2010 will bear this out; or perhaps the Canadian love of Acura will propel the RDX past the increasingly ubiquitous Mercedes-Benz GLK350.

One way or another, the GLK took off like a herd of turtles and never looked back. Based on personal experience only, an inordinate number of people are even choosing their red paint, not the most Benz-like of colours. Keep this fact in mind: though the Mercedes-Benz GLK doesn't make a stand in The Good 12 Supersize v2.0 (and the Audi Q5 does), the GLK has a place in the heart of The Good Car Guy; as proven by the 100 Favourite Cars list. Moreover, the BMW X3 has an award to its discredit, The Bad 8 Supersize v2.0 welcomed back the X3 this year.

Curious about other vehicular categories? 2009's Canadian best sellers can be seen in segments including cars, trucks, and SUVs here. Scroll down for a look at the best-selling luxury SUVs from 2009. Take a look at the equivalent U.S. Graph here.

CLICK GRAPH FOR A LARGER VIEW

2009'S TOP 5 BEST-SELLING SUVs IN CANADA

Canadians flock to the Ford Escape as though the small Ford SUV comes with free tickets to an NHL Stanley Cup playoffs game. In truth, if everybody who bought a Ford Escape in 2009 showed up to any of the NHL's six Canadian arenas, there wouldn't be enough space to hold 'em all. The next-best seller in Canada from last year was more than 11,000 sales behind, and America's best-selling SUV sold at just half the rate of the Ford Escape.

Ford generates activity in the Escape section of their showrooms with attractive pricing and a vehicle that was, when it debuted, superior dynamically. That may not be the case anymore, but the Escape isn't as antiquated a vehicle as many decade-old designs. Are there better options for Canadian cute-ute buyers? Oh yeah; whether it be the Hyundai Santa fe, Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, or the Subaru Forester. You can still count on huge Ford Escape sales next year, however.

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2009's TOP 5 BEST-SELLING TRUCKS IN CANADA

Like the McDonald's french fry or Apple's iPod, there are certain consumer items so pervasive we stop taking notice of their excellence. McDonald's knows how to salt a fry, no? The iPod is universally accepted as wonderfully simply. And the Ford F-Series pickup trucks are ten times more capable than necessary for 90% of the population. In Canada, the Ford F150 and its clan sold over 80,000 units in 2009, a much-improved Sales Stat compared with the drop below 70K in 2008.

Canada's 5 Best-Selling Trucks In 2010

In the United States, Ford's home market, the F-Series was the best-selling truck nameplate in 2009 but actually fell below General Motors tag-team of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra. Not so north of the border where Canadians favour Ford to such great lengths that the antiquated Ford Ranger sneaks in to the Top 5 Best-Selling Trucks of 2009 list, too.

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TOP 10 BEST-SELLING CARS IN CANADA : 2009 YEAR END EDITION

Four direct competitors took home the top four spots in Canada's best-selling cars list for 2009. After those first four, two more direct competitors of one another - one size class down - grabbed hold of the fifth and sixth spots. In eighth position, a direct competitor for the first four appears in front of two mid-size contenders.

So which segment dominated Canada Auto Sales figures in 2009? The Graph below clearly shows C-Segment cars, compacts as we call them, as a force to be reckoned with. If volume is your goal, offer an automobile in the $15-$24K range somewhat smaller than the typical American best-seller, Toyota's Camry. Despite calls for a reinvigorated model range, the Honda Civic is once again the best-selling car in Canada. Toyota managed to stuff three cars into the pie chart; Hyundai and Ford each managed two. Honda book-ended the Top 10 Best-Selling Cars list for 2009 with the Accord while Mazda's desirable 3 landed easily in bronze medal position. Have a look at the best-selling cars in the USA here.

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Canada's Top 10 Best-Selling Cars In 2010

CANADA AUTO SALES 2009 YEAR END

*Updated 01/22/2010*

2009 ceased to exist nearly five days ago. Over the course of the previous 365 days, automakers competing in Canada sold 1,460,581 vehicles. 747,497 were officially "passenger cars". The other 713,084 were classified as "light trucks". Compared with 2008 sales were down 10.7% across the board. General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler combined to sell about 10,000 fewer vehicles than the combined totals of European and Asian nameplates.

Although more detailed Sales Stats will be posted in the next couple weeks (separating GM's sales, for instance, brand-by-brand), the figures you see below show which manufacturers struggled mightily in 2009 and which struggled just a little bit. And some, in fact, which struggled not at all. Here's the rundown on Canada's Auto Sales figures for the whole calender year of 2009. For a look at December's Sales Stats click here.

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Ford: +7% to 218,559

Toyota: -9.5% to 189,313

Chevrolet: -22.5% to 127,720

Honda: -19.1% to 122,918

Dodge: -19.7% to 116,788

Hyundai: +28% to 103,233

Mazda: -13.3% to 73,672

Nissan: -4.5% to 71,936

GMC: -1.9% to 52,179

Pontiac: -47% to 49,624

Kia: +22.9% to 46,118

Volkswagen: +0.1% to 40,059

Jeep: -40% to 30,181

BMW: +6.4% to 24,724

Mercedes: +19.2% to 24,276

Subaru: +15.8% to 23,034

Mitsubishi: +6.2% to 19,786

Acura: -11.8% to 17,088

Chrysler: -40.2% to 16,197

Lexus: +5.3% to 15,802

Suzuki: -8.5% to 12,303

Audi: +22% to 11,310

Saturn: -53.5% to 8,759

Buick: -50.5% to 8,438

Infiniti: -13.2% to 7,081

Volvo: +0.5% to 6,542

Lincoln: + 8% to 6,174

Cadillac: -38% to 4,724

Mini: -13.3% to 4,251

smart: -28.9% to 2,667

Land Rover: -12.5% to 2,006

Porsche: +0.4% to 1,689

Jaguar: -13.5% to 804

Saab: -50.4% to 777

Hummer: -39% to 494

Mercury: -87% to 126

Maserati: -33% to 104

Ferrari: -19% to 94

Bentley: -53% to 69

Lamborghini: -24% to 55