What Can The Fiat 500L Do For Fiat USA?

Let's assume for a moment that the new Fiat 500L will undercut the Mini Countryman in price, just as the 500 undercuts the Cooper. With that assumption in mind, we'll assume that the stylistically-challenged Fiat 500L might sell at least as often as the Countryman. 

The 500L is only available with front-wheel-drive. Even the Mini is only available with all-wheel-drive at the top of lineup. Neither car is a faithful design follower of the iconic original; the Fiat less so. Neither car is particularly quick. Both cars feature highly stylized interiors, neither of which is roomy like a proper SUV. By Mini standards, the Countryman isn't pretty. By car standards, the Fiat is ill-proportioned.

Regardless of their stark differences and apparent similarities, it's safe to project approximately 20,000 annual U.S. sales for the 500L, based on the Mini Countryman's total. Fiat USA will likely sell around 43,000 500s in 2012.

If the 500L can find 20,000 buyers in 2013 while selling another 43,000 500 hatchbacks, where does this position the Fiat brand?

Strictly judged by volume,  Fiat would only barely be trailing Mini. Fiat would be selling nearly as many cars as Volvo and would be selling twice as many vehicles as Porsche. 

Even if the 500L becomes a 20,000-units type of vehicle, Fiat won't sell 20,000 in what will be an abbreviated 2013 launch year. Yet we can still expect to see Fiat's 2013 year-end volume climbing at least 40% even if the 500 posts no year-over-year sales increase.

Check out historic monthly and yearly sales figures for the regular Fiat 500, Mini Cooper range, Mini Countryman, and any other vehicle or brand by making your selection at GCBC's Sales Stats home. U.S. brand rankings, where Fiat ranked 29th in October and Mini ranked 24th, can be accessed here.

Breaking News - Ferrari Ownership Isn't Getting Easier

We're accustomed to paying a little bit more for consumer goods than we did five years ago. We've all heard the stories from our parents who bought a Coke for ten cents when they were kids and then bought their first house for $25,000. For the gainfully employed, the annual differences - not the comparisons with 1970 - are annoying but generally manageable.

Then again, the teenager who loved the Ferrari F355 in 1998 and thought he could get a good tech job and save like mad and buy a new Ferrari in 2012 was terribly, outrageously, embarrassingly wrong. He's $58,000 shy of the total he needs. And yes, he had compensated for inflation.

The Ferrari F355 was priced at $121,495 in 1998. Who knows what Ferrari clients actually paid once they optioned their cars, but that's the USD price as Cars.com quotes it. Expecting the price of the F355's great-grandson to simply be $121,495 plus inflation proves to be silly. Inflation only takes the total up to $171,717. In fact, the 458 Italia costs $229,825, an 89.2% jump from the F355's price; a 33.8% jump above inflation.

Objectively, the 458 Italia is a far more impressive car. But we expect improvements from every new car introduction, so the 458's ability to accelerate faster than the F355, its ability to outcorner the 360 Modena, and its ability to outpretty the F430 aren't representative of something Ford hasn't also been able to achieve with the Mustang.

Speaking of which, Mustang GT prices have risen just 47.4% from 1998 to 2012. Adjusted for inflation, the 1998 Mustang GT's price would be $28,479 in 2012 dollars, just under the $29,710 Ford actually charges. And the 1998 Mustang GT sucked. It sucked so bad. 

Adjusted for inflation, the 1998 Mazda MX-5 Miata would cost $27,030 in 2012 dollars. The MY2012 MX-5 Miata only costs $23,470, just a 22.7% jump from the MY1997's actual price. The 2005 Miata would cost $26,067 in 2012 dollars, a veritable rip-off compared to the current car.

From the 1998 F355 to the 2000 360 Modena, entry-level Ferrari V8 prices jumped 13.8%. Understandable, maybe. The 2005 F430's price was 23% higher than the 360's, also understandable. After all, the Mustang GT's price jumped 18.6% during that period. But the mid-engined V8 Ferrari's base price jumped 35% in the next seven-year period, while Mustang GT prices climbed only 18.2% and MX-5 Miata prices moved up only 6.2%.

Ferrari's controversial FF is actually quite a bit cheaper than the 1998 Ferrari 456 would cost in 2012. Prices of the four-seat grand touring Ferrari V12 have only risen 35% since 1998. The 456 would cost $308,256 in 2012; the FF is priced from $295,000.

When it comes to the two-seat Ferrari V12 family, increases have been 458 Italia-like in their ferocity. Estimated to start at $330,000, the F12 Berlinetta will be 68.1% more expensive than the 1998 550 Maranello. That Maranello would cost $277,444 in 2012 dollars, the 2002 575M would cost $274,905 today, and the 599 GTB Fiorano of 2007 would cost $293,370. F12 prices are likely to be 25% higher than 599 prices from its first year on sale. 

Meanwhile, Porsche 911 prices have risen rather slowly by comparison. In 2002, the base price of a 911 was only 6.5% more than the base price in 1998. 2007 base prices were only 6.6% higher than the 911 of five years earlier. And the basic 911 of 2012 costs $82,100, just 28.8% more than the basic 911 cost in 1998. The gorgeous old school 1998 911, with its comparatively anemic 282-horsepower engine and atrocious 14-mpg city fuel economy, would cost $90,102 in 2012. The current 911 Carrera is priced from $82,100.

So with Ferrari's "basic" car being even more out of reach than it was 14 years ago, sales have likely dwindled to nothing, right? 

Very, truly, wonderfully wrong.

Ferrari doesn't release monthly U.S. sales reports like Honda or General Motors or even Porsche, so we don't have exact numbers. But Automotive News estimates that total Ferrari sales last year were the best on record. (Records go back ten years.) Moreover, AN estimates that Ferrari sales are up 6% through the first three quarters of 2012. The totals, shown in the table below, suggest Ferrari USA volume climbed 36.2% between 2002 and 2011. This is a period during which the overall market recorded a collective decline of 24.2%.

September 2012 YTD - All 265 Vehicles Ranked

The rich get richer, don't you see? And when they get richer, they buy more Ferraris. At the same time, you and I lose all hope of ever owning one. Because we all know our financial advisors would have encouraged us to spend $121,495 on an F355 in 1998 if only we'd had the money.

Year	ANDC Estimated Ferrari USA Sales Volume	Year-Over-Year % Change
2002	1204	n/a
2003	1350	+ 12.1%
2004	1176	- 12.9%
2005	1225	+ 4.2%
2006	1392	+ 13.6%
2007	1584	+ 13.8%
2008	1602	+ 1.1%
2009	1500	- 6.4%
2010	1440	- 4.0%
2011	1640	+ 13.9%
* 2012 YTD	1350	+ 5.9%

* January-September 2012 compared to January-September 2011

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Historical Monthly & Yearly Porsche 911 Sales Totals
Historical Monthly & Yearly Ford Mustang Sales Totals
Historical Monthly & Yearly Mazda MX-5 Miata Sales Totals
U.S. Auto Sales Brand Rankings - September 2012 & YTD

Chrysler Town & Country Cancelled - Will The Grand Caravan Pick Up The Slack?

Chrysler boss Sergio Marchionne has decided that Chrysler and Dodge don't need two nearly identical minivans competing with one another. The minivan that will cease to exist in 2014 will be the slightly higher-end Chrysler Town & Country, the second-best-selling minivan in the United States this year and the second-best-selling minivan in Canada in April.

The Dodge Grand Caravan Will Live On After 2014. 
The Chrysler Brand Is Done With The Town & Country Minivan. 
The T&C Nameplate May Live On As The Chrysler Brand Plans 
To Sell A Large Crossover Instead Of A Grand Caravan Clone.

On the surface, this sounds like the equivalent of Nissan deciding to cancel the Altima, America's second-ranked midsize car or Mercedes-Benz determining that the C-Class, America's second-best-selling premium car, is failing. 

But remember, the Chrysler Town & Country is a Dodge Grand Caravan. The grille is different. Some interior textures have been altered. But this is very much a Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra situation here; so much more than even a Hyundai Sonata/Kia Optima cooperative. The Altima and C-Class, on the other hand, are twinless.

This minivan cancellation isn't a Chrysler first. The Plymouth Voyager ran its course as a minivan between 1984 and 2000, at which point the Plymouth brand disappeared. One can assume the Lancia Voyager that Chrysler's Fiat bosses created for European consumption won't last long, either. This Town & Country cancellation is a whole 'nuther matter. The Chrysler Group's headline brand will no longer sell a minivan.

Not that it matters from a showroom perspective. Canadians have long been acquainted with the notion of joint Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep dealers (which now often include Fiat), and Americans are now accustomed to seeing Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram-Fiat stores. So if a customer can walk into the very same showroom, trade in their old Town & Country, and buy a new Dodge Grand Caravan, is there any reason to believe that the Italian-run bosses in Auburn Hills will be disappointed by their 2014 minivan volume?

Canada provides a good example of how thoroughly the Grand Caravan can dominate the minivan market with little help from the Town & Country. 60% of the minivans sold in Canada during the first four months of 2012 have been Grand Caravans and Town & Countrys. But even as Grand Caravan sales have slid 10% and Town & Country sales jumped 12%, the Grand Caravan's market share alone stood at 55.2%. Yes, absent the Town & Country, Chrysler Canada still owns more than half the minivan market. The best-selling non-Chrysler minivan, Toyota's Sienna, owns just 11.2% of the Canadian minivan market so far this year.

18,442 Grand Caravans and Town & Countrys were acquired in Canada between January and April 2012. It's reasonable to assume that some of the 1485 Town & Country clients aren't willing to slum it in a plebeian Grand Caravan, but it's just as reasonable to assume that, if the Town & Country wasn't for sale at the very same dealership, some Town & Country buyers would be interested in the Grand Caravan. They're not all going to flock to a Sienna XLE.

For the record, 2011 ended with the Chrysler and Dodge owning 61.4% of the Canadian minivan market, the Dodge outselling the Chrysler 12-to-1. In 2010, the two combined for 62.9% market share in the segment, the Dodge alone grabbed 58.5% of all minivan sales. The Grand Caravan was the fourth-best-selling vehicle in Canada in 2011 but, had each and every Town & Country buyer been directed to the Grand Caravan, it would have ranked third, ahead of the Honda Civic.

That's what Chrysler can accomplish when the Town & Country is a bit player. Move south of the border, however, and the Grand Caravan's 2011 finish slotted it in at the 32nd position, as the second-best-selling minivan, behind the Toyota Sienna. But unlike the Canadian strategy, Chrysler USA emphasizes the Town & Country and it therefore sells in large numbers, as well. Together, the Chrysler/Dodge pair would have ranked 14th.

In market share terms, the Grand Caravan and Town & Country ended 2011 with 41.8% of the minivan segment, the Dodge a little more than three percentage points ahead of the Chrysler. That's down from 2010 when the Town & Country was America's best-selling minivan and the two combined for 45.3% of the market and the Chrysler was two percentage points ahead of the Dodge.

Even if Dodge doesn't manage to conquer each and every potential Town & Country customer once the Town & Country departs, there will be some manufacturing and marketing savings provided by its cancellation. Volume is not the only key to profitability. 

What about the minivan segment as a whole? Are minivans really a dying breed? General Motors ignores the category in the U.S. and only offers Canada a quasi-minivan, the Orlando. Ford's Transit Connect is not the successor to the family's old Aerostar. Will Volkswagen build the small Bulli, and will the Chrysler-based Routan be cancelled along with the Town & Country when the new models come out in 2014? There's no Mercury Villager. The Mazda 5 is small and fading. The Kia Rondo is no longer built for U.S. consumption. The Kia Sedona is going on what we believe will be nothing more than temporary leave. Given its seat count and powertrain configurations, the Ford C-Max will be more of a Toyota Prius V rival than a potential Sienna competitor. 

Minivan sales in America improved 3.4% from 2010 to 2011. But the market improved far more significantly year-over-year. Minivans accounted for 4.1% of all vehicles sold in 2010, a figure which fell to 3.9% in 2011. Only 3.8% of all new vehicles sold in America during the first four months of 2012 have been minivans.

Meanwhile, north of the border, minivan volume slid 0.2% from 2010 to 2011 as the market grew 1.9%. Minivans accounted for 6.1% of all new vehicle sales in Canada in 2010, 5.94% in 2011, and 5.90% in the first four months of 2012.

Source: Automotive News

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Historical Monthly & Yearly Chrysler Town & Country Sales Figures
Historical Monthly & Yearly Dodge Grand Caravan Sales Figures
Top 255 Best-Selling Vehicles In America - April 2012 YTD - Every Vehicle Ranked
Top 250 Best-Selling Vehicles In Canada - April 2012 YTD - Every Vehicle Ranked
U.S. Monthly Minivan Sales
Canada Monthly Minivan Sales

Mercedes-Benz R-Class Cancelled (In The U.S.)

The Alabama-built Mercedes-Benz R-Class will, for the time being, continue to be assembled in Alabama. Mercedes-Benz will not, however, be selling the R-Class in Alabama, nor will Mercedes-Benz sell R-Class wagons in any other part of the United States. There are surely a handful of R-Class variants on dealer lots across the U.S., so the rare R-Class fanboi can now be seen negotiating a rip-roaring good deal with a Mercedes sales manager somewhere.

The R-Class's demise was as anticipated as the rising sun. From the beginning, it wasn't a popular car. 2006, its second year on sale in the U.S., was its best. 18,168 were sold, or 7.3% of all Mercedes-Benzes sold in America that year. The very next year, sales fell 28.3% to 13,031 as the R-Class accounted for just 5.1% of all Benz sales. By 2011, when R-Class sales had fallen to 2385 units, its worst year on record, the tall wagon registered only 0.9% of all Mercedes-Benz USA sales. Click the chart below for a larger view in order to track historical R-Class sales.

According to Yahoo Autos, the R-Class will continue as part of Mercedes-Benz Canada's lineup. As it was in the U.S., 2006 was also the R-Class's best Canadian sales year. But in 2011, though sales were down 46.1% from the 2006 high, sales had risen 26.2% from 2010. And in 2010, sales had risen 32.5% from 2009, the worst Canadian R-Class sales year since its inaugural outing. Still, it's strange that Mercedes-Benz Canada is forging ahead with the R-Class given that it made up just 1.7% of the company's volume last year. Through the first two months of 2012, Canadian R-Class sales are level, having grown 16.7% in January before falling 14.3% in February. Conversely, in the U.S., R-Class sales slid 44% in January and 8.4% in February for a year-to-date plunge of 28.5%.

Mercedes-Benz USA sold 25,139 GL-Class SUVs in 2011 along with 24,310 GLK350s and 35,835 M-Class utility vehicles. Through 1/6th of 2012, GL-Class sales are up 6.5%, the GLK is up 3.7%, and a new generation of mid-range SUVs have seen M-Class sales shoot up 68.1%. Mercedes-Benz still sells a version of the E-Class should wagon lovers require a three-pointed star on their grille. That's actually a surprising fact given the number of cool station wagons not available for sale in the United States. But the GL, GLK, and M are the real reasons Mercedes-Benz can afford to strip the R-Class from their lineup. They may also be the reasons Mercedes-Benz extinguishes the CLS Shooting Brake a few years after introducing that beastly beauty, too.

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Monthly & Yearly Mercedes-Benz R-Class Sales Figures
U.S. Auto Sales By Brand - 2011 Year End
Top 30 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America - February 2012

Image Comparison: Hyundai Elantra GT vs. Mazda 3 vs. Volkswagen Golf

It was only two days ago that GoodCarBadCar showcased the Hyundai Elantra Coupe in an image gallery ripe for perusing, although the Elantra Coupe's party was rained on by the presence of Honda's Civic Coupe and the Kia Forte Koup. Now, all attempts to shower praise upon the hatchback Hyundai Elantra GT, another debutante from the Chicago Auto Show, has been tainted by the allure of an iconic German and a fun-to-drive Japanese hatch.

Replacing the Elantra Touring in Hyundai's lineup will be this, the handsome Elantra GT. While the motoring press has been heaping praise upon this five-door Elantra, I've been wondering if it's maybe not quite as drop-dead gorgeous as they'd have you believe. It's nice. We know the insides will be nice from our experience with the regular Elantra. But are we all so completely convinced that when this hatchback Elantra drives past us - something it'll be doing quite frequently in Canada - we'll be wonderfully shocked and awed? Not so much.

You can check out the full Gallery of images at the bottom of this post along with the Elantra/3/Golf comparo going on throughout this post, but first, some impressions, impressions which you're allowed to dismiss at will. The Elantra GT appears to be a bit stumpy from some angles. It's hard to deny the front end is busy. The intersection of rear doors with rear wheelarch creates a weighty look that swallows up the wheels, making them look smaller than they are. And the level space underneath the rear glass might be unique now but will probably annoy me more and more as time goes by. 

Style is subjective, and despite these niggling design issues, the Elantra GT looks terrific. Great though the Elantra sedan may be, sleek as the Elantra Coupe is, this is the Elantra I'd buy if it were my own money.

Ah, but would I be buying an Elantra? Apart from the Mazda 3's awful schnoz and the fact that it still looks too much like the first-gen Mazda 3, the hatchback 3 lacks any glaring design faux pas. The Elantra GT should drive with a bit more verve than the regular Elantra sedan, but will it be as fun as the Mazda? There's something about the 3 that simply begs to be driven harder than it should be, and that's something that can't be said of very many Hyundais, certainly not the Elantra sedan.

Yet there's another reason the Elantra GT purchase might be a hard one, and that's the 29th-generation Volkswagen Golf. Okay, it's actually just the sixth-gen car, but it's been around forever and there's already a clear path laid out for the seventh-gen Golf: lighter weight, better engines, nicer interior and all that. Currently, the Golf isn't a design hero - this is no Lamborghini Aventador or Ferrari 458 Italia. It's not adventurous like a Hyundai Veloster, it doesn't emanate power like a Ford Mustang. But it's clean and classy. Put simply, the Golf just looks right. It also feels right, both to the touch and when pushing it hard on a long drive.

Unfortunately, the Golf is priced wrong. Finance rates are typically too high. Options are, well, options. Stuff that should be standard isn't. And the glorious TDI diesel costs a bundle. 

Which brings us back to the Elantra GT. Is ever a car priced more properly than when it's a Hyundai? In this case, as in many cases lately, it also looks good. The 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT will be a handsome, efficient, zippy, comfortable car. Betting against its success wouldn't be wise.


Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Image Comparo: Hyundai Elantra Coupe vs. Honda Civic Coupe vs. Kia Forte Koup
Image Comparo: Hyundai Accent vs Kia Rio
Image Comparo: Ford Escape vs. Honda CR-V
Driven Review: Hyundai Elantra GL

Image Comparison: 2013 Hyundai Elantra Coupe vs. Honda Civic Coupe vs. Kia Forte Koup

There was little doubt that official images of the 2013 Hyundai Elantra Coupe were going to be tasty. The Elantra sedan has always looked like the kind of good-looking sedan that was originally designed to be a two-door con trunk. Now the Hyundai compact has simply ended up at the point where it always needed to be.

From a Canadian Sales Stats perspective, the things Hyundai will be able to achieve with a three-bodystyle Elantra range are great and noble. Will the Honda Civic, 10K units better than the Elantra in 2011, be a more frequent sale than the Elantra when the Elantra also has a coupe, low volume though the configuration may be? Will the Civic sell better than the Elantra now that the Hyundai is available as a sedan, coupe, and hatchback? 

This particular post doesn't deal with those matters. For one thing, because most manufacturers, (including Honda with the Civic) don't separate their coupe and sedan numbers when the models share a name and differ only by the number of doors, there's not too much point getting all het up about future sales figures. More importantly, coupes are all about style. There is no other reason to sacrifice rear entry. So let's examine the style. We've thrown the Kia Forte Koup into the mix for a more thorough look at the segment: two-door cars based on mainstream compact siblings.

The (rare) customer who buys the Honda Civic Coupe because it's supposedly the best-looking car in the class is entitled to do so, but one must wonder, do they base that decision on what the Civic Si Coupe looks like? A basic version of the two-door Civic is awkward where the previous-gen car was inventive; elongated where it should be shortened; tucked where it needs to be stretched. That said, the Civic is wheel-sensitive and light-sensitive. If only Honda's press photographers pushed company bosses for more creative sets, the Civic would instantly shine brighter. 

The Kia Forte Koup has strong shoulders and a muscular stance, but that rear diffuser is an inside joke that lets you in on the fact that the Koup doesn't offer the driving experience it should. By design terms, the Forte is an impressive feat. To change so few parts on the humdrum average-looking Forte sedan and produce a two-door that looks this good isn't easy, and Kia should be congratulated.

So, better-looking than the Civic the two-door Kia Forte may be, but does it measure up to the Elantra Coupe? In certain cases - and it appears as though the Elantra may be one such case - it takes a few drive-bys to determine how a car rests on its wheels, whether it will be capable of engaging the public when a very similar looking sedan has become normal. The Elantra Coupe seems much more delicate than the Forte Koup, all curves where the Koup is hard lines. Flowing lines are not to be faulted, however, particularly when they're cohesive, linking the back end to the front with the sort of consistency that's been sorely lacking in small car design for... most of our lives.

Stripping the Elantra of its rear doors will not turn this Hyundai into a sports car. Even the Veloster isn't a sports car. One place Honda easily beats Hyundai is at the upper level. Honda has the zippy Si. Hyundai has nothing in the Elantra Coupe with which to beat the rev-hungry Si. Nevertheless, if this coupe isn't a huge benefit to the Hyundai Elantra range I don't know what is. Of course, the Elantra GT will likely be the bigger seller in practical car-friendly Canada, where the outgoing Elantra Touring sold frequently enough to be Canada's 22nd-best-selling car on its own. And that was late, very late, in its lifecycle.

Style, of course, is subjective. So this time, and just this time, ignore the words and start looking at pictures. Each set of images show, from top to bottom, the Civic, Elantra, and Koup. Click any picture for a larger view. The Gallery below showcases the new 2013 Hyundai Elantra Coupe. Links below the gallery will direct you to other GCBC image comparisons.

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
2012 Hyundai Accent vs. 2012 Kia Rio In Pictures
2010 Hyundai Tucson vs. 2011 Kia Sportage In Pictures
2013 Ford Escape vs. 2012 Honda CR-V In Pictures
2011 Hyundai Elantra GL Driven Review

2013 Ford Escape vs. 2012 Honda CR-V - Concept vs. Production

We've all learned to hate how auto manufacturers release stunningly finished concept vehicles. We know the themes will hold fast, but the end result won't be half as fascinating.

Now, to be honest, the 2011 Honda CR-V Concept wasn't fascinating, but it did have presence. Did anybody actually believe those wheels would be on the production 2012 CR-V? Of course not.

The 2011 Ford Vertrek Concept, a preview of the 2013 Ford Escape, was indeed a stunner. It wasn't just the wheels, it was the well-defined character lines, aggressive front end, and squat stance. Make no mistake, the 2013 Escape is rather handsome for a small crossover, but notice how the two bulging lines on the hood are perched rather closely together? On the Vertrek Concept, those two lines formed the edges of a freaking hood bulge. Did anybody think the bulge would make production?

No, but it was part of what made the Vertrek an eye-catcher, and now that it's gone, the production Escape is without a design feature that made its inspiration so visually arresting. Same goes for the line near the door handles - it's there on the production vehicle, but not nearly as there as it was on the Vertrek. Strangely, the Escape's front end lost little of the Vertrek's OTT nature, lending an air of cartoonishness to the production vehicle, an accusation that couldn't be leveled at the cohesive Vertrek Concept.

Again, the production Escape didn't stand a chance of looking exactly like the Vertrek, and we've all come to understand the nature of these preview concept vehicles. We're not talking about pie in the sky stuff that never makes it to production. 

But if you call something the Jaguar C-XF and we end up with the XF, well, we're disappointed, handsome though the XF may be. We thought there'd be a little more C in the production Jag. In the case of the new 2012 Honda CR-V and 2013 Ford Escape, the disappointment is not so keenly felt, but it still seems like an odd strategy to release an impressive concept so soon before releasing the less impressive production vehicle. These images prove it.

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
2013 Ford Escape vs. 2001-2012 Ford Escape Image Comparison
Top 10 Best-Selling SUVs In America - October 2011
Top 10 Best-Selling SUVs In Canada - October 2011

2013 Ford Escape vs. 2001-2012 Ford Escape Image Comparison

When does a company need to replace their compact SUV? After four years; maybe five? What if the company's compact SUV is the best-selling SUV in North America? In that case, are new engines, a revamped interior, and additional features enough to let it linger?

These are difficult questions to answer given that the Ford Escape is indeed the best-selling SUV in both the United States and Canada and therefore, in a manner of speaking, doesn't need replacing. But in all honesty, the Escape is no longer competitive. Oh, it competes for sales rather well, but that's mainly because of its low price point. Surely there hasn't been a respectable comparison test in the last five or six years in which the Escape was at the top of the heap. After all, driving the 2012 Ford Escape is a lot like driving the 2001 Escape. Meanwhile, driving the 2013 Mazda CX-5 will not feel like driving a 2001 Ford Escape.

Regardless of the company's reasons, Ford has finally decided to replace the first-generation Escape for model year 2013. Thankfully, the 2013 Ford Escape is all-new, and first impressions suggest the 2013 Ford Escape is all good.

The 2013 Ford Escape will be offered with a base 2.5L which generates 168 horsepower and 167 lb-ft of torque. Upgrading to the 1.6L EcoBoost turbo nets 173 horsepower and 177 lb-ft of torque. Finally, the fun will be in Escapes equipped with the 237-hp 2.0L EcoBoost turbo which twists out 250 lb-ft of torque. All three powerplants operate with four cylinders and six-speed automatic transmissions. Of course, all-wheel drive is optional. Images and more details are viewable after the jump.

In each of these image comparisons - front, rear, profile, interior,
and cargo area - the old Escape is on top. Click any image for a larger view.

Ford has been issuing press releases over the last few weeks detailing some of the 2013 Escape's innovative features. The Escape can be outfitted with Ford's park assist, which you've seen before on the Focus. The liftgate can also be (optionally) opened by simply waving your foot under the rear bumper. Safety features are built in which should stop your Schnauzer from perpetually opening your rear hatch when he's out doing his business. Drivers and passengers who hate modern headrests may be happy to find that they're adjustable in the new Escape, not just up and down but forward and back. On a more practical note, the cargo area has grown slightly, from 31.4 cubic feet to 34.3 cubic feet with the rear seats up and from 67.2 cubic feet to 68.1 cubic feet with the seats folded.

There's a full gallery of photos below the comparison images of the first-gen Escape with this new 2013 model. You'll likely agree that the 2013 Ford Escape isn't as masculine as the Ford Vertrek concept which previewed the production model's look. Though the 2012 Ford Escape's design had long since grown dull, it was a true SUV shape. The 2013 Escape is more clearly a crossover, an effect which is particularly visible when looking at its profile view from a slightly elevated position. The 2013 Escape's more aggressive stance should make for no mistakes in the real world, but there's a hint of minivanishness visible from some angles, just as there is with the Mercedes-Benz M-Class. That's partially the fault of the sloping hood.

Styling is patently subjective, but the 2013 Ford Escape is wonderfully cohesive, strikingly modern and as eye-catching as its best competitors. Yes, things get a bit funny where the body seems to narrow just as it rises to the rear windshield. On shinier wheels the 2013 Escape seems a little toy-like. The gaping grille is a bit much when viewing the 2013 Escape directly from the front. And the hood strakes are calling an awful lot of attention to the spray nozzles. 

All in all, from the design to the engines to the improved cabin, Ford's 2013 Escape is exactly what Ford needed it to be, a totally modern reincarnation of a now archaic vehicle. Admittedly, figuring out what Ford "needed" when the current model remains a rip-roaring success isn't the easiest task. But it seems likely that, with the right price and yet-to-be-tested-but-undoubtedly improved dynamics, the Ford Escape should be the best-selling SUV in America in 2012, just as it is in 2011.

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Top 10 Best-Selling SUVs In America - October 2011 & YTD
Top 10 Best-Selling SUVs In Canada - October 2011 & YTD
2013 BMW 3-Series vs. 2006-2012 BMW 3-Series Image Comparison
2012 Hyundai Accent vs. 2012 Kia Rio Image Comparison
2013 Ford Escape vs. 2012 Honda CR-V - Concept vs. Production

What Canadians Pay For A New 2012 Hyundai Veloster

The number of Canadians searching, and finding, the price of the 2012 Hyundai Veloster has been startling. This unique and inexpensive sporty hatch has caught the attention of a wide range of buyers. There's proof in the numbers:  Hyundai sold 997 Velosters in the first two months it was on sale in Canada. Four at the tail end of August, 568 in September, and 425 in October. 

The Good Car Guy will be spending some quality time in one of Hyundai Canada's Velosters next week, so now seems like as good a time as any to get down to the nitty-gritty of the Veloster's Canadian pricing structure. Hyundai is obviously gearing the Veloster towards a younger generation, a group of people unlikely to walk in and plop down $23,700 (including delivery, fees, and taxes) or $29,335 (for the top-of-the-line Veloster) in cash. 

Granted, swiping your points-registering Mastercard on a purchase of such magnitude would likely earn you 2000 AirMiles, but you probably don't have the coin. And if you do, with Hyundai's low interest rates, you're better off using your cash as a down payment on a home in Canada's healthy housing market.

Priced from $18,999 to $23,899, the Veloster lines up well against the $23,490-$24,290 Honda CR-Z and the pre-accessorized $20,490-$21,990 Scion tC. The price you pay for a car has as much to do with interest rates as it does with MSRP, however. So what will you actually pay to get a Veloster off the Hyundai lot and into your driveway?

For the purposes of this exercise we'll assume Nova Scotia's 15% HST and use www.HyundaiCanada.com's fairly faithful Build & Price calculator.

Starting with a basic Veloster and its 6-speed manual transmission, a 60-month purchase with zero dollars down nets you a $424.81 payment. Hyundai will gladly fit you in to a biweekly payment schedule, which would drop your payment to about $196 every two weeks. Hyundai's 60-month interest rate on the Veloster is currently at 2.9%

Now, if you want the basic Veloster but require Hyundai's DCT automatic, your monthly payment rises to $453.67. Paying over 48 or 36 months doesn't allow your interest rate to drop (at the moment) so the payment rises rapidly to $559.11 or $734.94, respectively.

With the Veloster's tech package and a manual transmission, 60 payments of $496.96 can be expected. Finally, expect to pay $525.82 for a fully outfitted 2012 Veloster with the tech package and the Ecoshift DCT automatic. 

Compare these payments with those for the CVT-equipped Honda CR-Z and you'll find that Honda's 5.9% interest rate drives the rare CR-Z up to $572.82 over 60 months. Equip the CR-Z with a manual transmission and the monthly payment drops by $17.74. Stick with the CVT but add the style package and the essentials package and the CR-Z's monthly payment shoots up to $650.72. The same CR-Z could be leased for 48 months at $473.03.

An automatic-equipped Scion tC will run you $496.38 with Toyota Canada's 3.9% 60-month rate. The $474.20 of the manual-tranny Scion tC is an easier pill to swallow.

Term	Veloster  6-Speed  Manual	Veloster Ecoshift DCT	Veloster 6-Speed Manual w/ Tech Package	Veloster Ecoshift DCT w/ Tech Package
36 Months	$688.19	$734.94	$805.07	$851.82
48 Months	$523.54	$559.11	$612.46	$648.02
60 Months	$424.81	$453.67	$496.96	$525.82
72 Months	$359.04	$383.43	$420.01	$444.40

Purchase payments are based on Hyundai Canada's current 2.9% rates, $0.00 down, and N.S. residency

Don't take these prices as nails in a coffin. Dealers may have room to negotiate, and rates (Hyundai's in particular) are likely to fall over time. For example, Hyundai's turbocharged Sonata 2.0T can be paid interest-free over 72 months.

It's a useful guide, however, and it goes a long way to explaining why the newest Hyundai has been so popular from the get-go. Though the Veloster accounted for just 4.1% of all Hyundai Canada sales in October, it was more than twice as popular as the Genesis Coupe despite the rear-wheel drive Hyundai's 31% year-over-year increase. The Veloster out-sold the Elantra Touring by five units. With 425 sales, the Veloster was responsible for 38.5% of Hyundai's 12.1% year-over-year increase. 

Moreover, the Veloster's 425 October sales were 208-units stronger than Chevrolet's Camaro total, 296 greater than Ford's Mustang total, and 344 better than what Chrysler managed with the Challenger. Scion sold 143 copies of the tC in September. Sales of a GoodCarBadCar favourite, the Volkswagen GTI, topped out at 160. Finally, another possible rival, the Fiat 500, found 405 buyers in September. 67 of those Fiat 500 sales were actually for the 500C.

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Sporty Car Sales In Canada - September 2011
Official Canadian Hyundai Veloster Pricing Released
2011's The Good 12 v4.0 Part 4 - Fiat 500