2009 YEAR END SALES STATS FROM DIRECT RIVALS - PRIUS vs INSIGHT, S-CLASS vs 7-SERIES & MORE

Over the last couple weeks The Good Car Guy has been releasing a steady stream of Sales Stats info based on 2009 Year End figures provided by the manufacturers. Although there are a few comparisons thrown in for good measure (see CubeSoul, for instance), the vast majority of posts revolve around products you know all too well. Did you hear, did you hear... the Toyota Camry is America's best-selling car. Yippee.

The Numbers you'll see below relate to specific duos, trios, and quartets, and quintets which battle one another for every sale. So while indirect opponents like the Camry and Honda Civic compete for the best-selling crown in this Graph, the Numbers you'll see here relate purely to rivals. It's like the Habs versus the Leafs; the Celtics and Lakers, the BoSox and the Yankees.

-----

HYBRID EXCLUSIVES

Toyota Prius: 139,682
Honda Insight: 20,572

MINI-MINIVANS
Mazda 5: 18,488

Kia Rondo: 14,206

PREMIUM BARGES
Mercedes-Benz S-Class: 11,199
BMW 7-Series: 9,254

FRONT-ENGINED GERMAN SPORTSTERS
BMW Z4: 3,523
Mercedes-Benz SLK: 2,566
Audi TT: 1,935

BIG 'MERICAN CARS
Ford Taurus: 45,617
Chrysler 300: 38,606

JAPAN'S ROAD RACERS
Nissan Z: 13,117

Mazda RX-8: 2,217

DOMESTIC LUXURY CROSSOVERS
Lincoln MKX: 21,433

Cadillac SRX: 20,237

JUMBO SUVs
Chevrolet Suburban/Tahoe: 114,309
GMC Yukon/Yukon XL: 46,230
Ford Expedition: 31,655
Toyota Sequoia: 16,387
Nissan Armada: 9,903

LUXURY JUMBO SUVs
Cadillac Escalade & ESV: 23,461

Mercedes-Benz GL: 15,012

Lincoln Navigator: 8,057
Infiniti QX56: 6,440
Lexus LX460: 3,616

GM'S LIVING LAMBDA
Chevrolet Traverse: 91,074
GMC Acadia: 53,820

Buick Enclave: 43,150

FEISTY RUNABOUTS
Nissan Versa: 82,906

Honda Fit: 67,315

Toyota Yaris: 63,743

Hyundai Accent: 50,431
Chevrolet Aveo: 38,516
Kia Rio: 34,666

2009'S YEAR END COMPARISON OF SALES OF ENTRY-LUXURY CARS IN THE USA

With an almost innumerable variety of configurations, the BMW 3-Series has become a gigantic success for the Munich-based purveyor of luxury automobiles. No direct competitor comes close to attaining Sales Stats like that of the 3-Series in the United States. Graphs like the one below have been available on GoodCarBadCar.net since August, inclusive of September; October; November; and December. In September, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class almost came within 1,500 units of the BMW. That's as close as anybody's gotten since the end of the summer.

BMW isn't riding a magic carpet. The 3-Series sells like hotcakes because it is a hotcake. Thankfully, the Marketplace is full of other hotcakes, too. The Good Car Guy heartily recommends the Infiniti G37. The aforementioned C-Class is a handsome alternative. Audi's A4, especially in Avant format, is beguiling. The Cadillac CTS offers bucketloads of fun and can be had in wagon form now. The Good Car Guy has even enjoyed the wonders of Volvo's little S40, in both 2.4 and T5 spec. Don't let the popularity of the 3-Series deter you from the BMW itself... or any of its rivals.

Do impress your friends by educating yourself with facts and figures from the 2009 Year End Graph below.

CLICK GRAPH FOR A LARGER VIEW

2009'S SALES OF SMALL LUXURY SUVs IN THE USA

Even restricted to less than a full year on sale, the Mercedes-Benz GLK still comes out on top of America's small luxury SUV sales for 2009. Indeed, though similarly restricted to an unfavourable on-sale date (at least for consideration in yearly best-seller lists), the Audi Q5, a Good 12 Supersize member, drives into slot number two.

Globally, the Mercedes-Benz GLK is fitted with a few different powerplants. For North America, the GLK is a GLK350 4Matic only. It's a blissful V6 which sits underneath a muscular front end; part of an overall package that, quite honestly, looks worthy of a higher pricetag. Of course it's not that spacious - that's what the M-Class or GL-Class is for. The Benz GLK is gorgeous, powerful, luxurious, and - in case you hadn't noticed - a Mercedes-Benz. That's why it takes up the largest chunk of the pie chart below. December's monthly Graph of Sales Stats from this segment was just posted here.

CLICK GRAPH FOR LARGER VIEW

2009 SALES - CAMARO vs. MUSTANG vs. CHALLENGER vs. CORVETTE vs. VIPER

With only three-quarters of the year under its belt, the Chevrolet Camaro wasn't able to topple the Ford Mustang off the highest perch of the muscle car podium in 2009. If Camaro sales momentum continues, Chevy will have no trouble beating the Mustang next year. It's hard to predict how many more people want the newest, most stylish example of the breed; especially with a stronger V6 and V8 heading the Mustang's way.

As you can see in December's Sales Stats, the Camaro had no trouble seeing off the Mustang and Dodge Challenger in U.S. sales. The Ford, however, had the full calendar year on its side. Check the Graph below for details on sales of America's five domestic "sports cars" and find more 2009 Year End sales info here.

CLICK GRAPH FOR A LARGER VIEW

2009'S TOP 5 BEST-SELLING TRUCKS IN AMERICA

It's not clear to me how General Motors would go about phrasing it - I haven't Googled anything to see if they already have - but one way or another, GM sold more full-size pickup trucks in the USA than Ford did in 2009. The year ended well for Ford, but overall, sales of the F-Series were off by nearly 20% compared with '08. Sales of Chevy's Silverado plummeted 31.9%. GMC's Sierra total was down 33.6%. Combine those two vehicles, however, and the Ford F-Series isn't #1.

For official reasons, Ford will still say they have the best-selling truck in America (which they do) while also possessing, in the F-Series, the best-selling vehicle of any kind in America. Keep in mind, sales of the Toyota Camry reached 436,617 in 2008. In other words, the Camry sold at a greater rate in '08 than both the F-Serie and GM's pickups did in '09. In the Graph of Sales Stats below you can check out the Year End figures for the Top 5 Best-Selling Trucks in the USA. Car and SUV figures can be analyzed here and here.

CLICK GRAPH FOR A LARGER VIEW

TOP 5 BEST-SELLING SUVs IN AMERICA - 2009 YEAR END EDITION

As a vehicle rather than something purely SUV/CUV/crossover specific, the Honda CR-V is #8 in U.S. sales in 2009. That Ford Fusion everybody keeps talking about, the one with the hybrid derivative that The Good Car Guy chucked into The Good 12 v3.0? Behind the CR-V. Sales of the Honda CR-V were actually down 3.1% from 2008. Plus, the Ford Escape actually ended the year selling at a quicker pace than the Honda.

Honda's sales dominance is nothing new. What about the Lexus RX, a true luxury crossover, throwing 93Ks worth of sales down the gauntlet? The RX's donor vehicle, Toyota's Highlander, obviously doesn't sell as well. It's also ironic that the new darling of the American media, Ford Motor Company, places two vehicles in this best-seller list but misses out on the Top 5 Best-Selling Cars pie chart. Cars, you know... those fuel-efficient low-riders. The Ford Edge does no better than 17mpg in the city, but that didn't stop residents of the USofA from buying nearly 90,000 Edges in 2009. Keep in mind that sales of the Chevrolet Equinox, if married to the GMC Terrain, top 100,000 and knock the Edge right off the.... er, edge.

CLICK HERE FOR A LARGER VIEW

TOP 5 BEST-SELLING CARS IN AMERICA - 2009 YEAR END EDITION

Remember the old Nissan Altima? You might'nt, since very few people actually bought one. The current Nissan Altima, edition number two of the enlarged Altima, is very familiar to more than 200,000 Americans who bought one in the last twelve months. Truthfully, 203,568 Altimas is nothing compared with nearly 357K Toyota Camry sales in '09. Which, truthfully, is not all that close to the 436,617 Camrys Toyota managed to sell in '08.

Nevertheless, Toyota leads the way in both the #1 and #2 spots in the Best-Selling Cars of 2009 - U.S. Edition. You'll have to wait a couple weeks for all the details on year-end Canadian Auto Sales figures. More 2009 Year End Sales Stats info is available right here.

CLICK GRAPH FOR A LARGER VIEW

*Accord sales include the Crosstour. Corolla sales include the Matrix.

2009'S BEST-SELLING LUXURY AUTO BRANDS IN THE USA

Week after week, month after month, Lexus sells more luxury automobiles than anybody else in America. Big-name players like BMW and Mercedes-Benz come close. Japanese rivals Acura and Infiniti? Tens of thousands of sales behind, in fact. For a peek at Porsche, Saab, and Hummer sales steer your eyes towards the bottom of this Graph.

Proving Ford's momentum is its Lincoln subsidiary which managed to sell more cars to the inhabitants of the United States in 2009 than did Audi, Infiniti, or Volvo. Cadillac, meanwhile, fared decently thanks to the new SRX and Escalade figures which, though lower than in '08, are still shockingly impressive.

CLICK GRAPH FOR A LARGER VIEW

RANKING U.S. AUTO SALES BRAND-BY-BRAND : 2009

Google may rule the world, but the giant search engine company hasn't yet invaded the automotive universe. Thus, Toyota remains at the top in U.S. vehicle sales. In the Graph below you'll see Toyota at the very top of the best-selling 33 auto brands in the United Stats from the year ending December 31st. However, 2009's totals, if calculated based on conglomerates, would prove a different story. General Motors sold over 2,000,000 automobiles in the United States in 2009. Toyota, with Lexus and Scion's help, was closer to 1.8 million. Fun facts from this heaping tablespoon of Sales Stats include Buick's victory over rival Mercury; BMW edging out Mercedes-Benz; and GMC and Jeep sticking to their guns in the top ten.

CLICK GRAPH FOR A LARGER VIEW