LOW VOLUME AUTOMAKER SALES IN THE USA (JANUARY 2010)

Establish the context first, The Good Car Dad always says. This is the domain of ultra-low volume automakers. For better understanding, take the number 43 into account. That's how many Audi R8s were sold in January in the USA. 67 people bought a Nissan GT-R in January. 503 people took possession of some version of the Porsche 911. (Porsche USA lists 14 unique 911 variants at present).

The best-selling car in America in the first month of 2010 was the Honda Accord. Honda managed to push 20,759 of those. As far as sales of Aston Martin, Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lotus, Maserati, Maybach, and Rolls-Royce go; their Numbers would be deemed irrelevant if their respective asking prices weren't so high; if their allure wasn't so strong.

And what's Lotus doing in this group, you ask? Supercars, mega-luxury, ultra-luxury, tier two premium, and.... low volume manufacturers fit nicely in this Graph. Low volume means Lotus.

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VOLKSWAGEN USA CRACKS TOP 10 - HOW'D THEY DO IT?

Not in any month during the second half of 2009 did Volkswagen of America sell enough vehicles to be a Top 10 automaker in the USA. Kia made it onto the list in July, August, September, October, and November. Lexus found its way into the Top 10 from September through to the end of the year. Even Pontiac managed to land inside the Top 10 in the two summer months. Truck-and-SUV manufacturer GMC is a regular. The automaker formerly known as niche, Subaru, routinely topped Volkswagen in 2009.

Yuppers, Volkswagen is Europe's largest automobile manufacturer, one of the planet's biggest overall, but selling cars in the United States? Mucho problemo. Tres difficile...... until January of 2010, at least. Although just a scant loss of sales could have knocked Volkswagen out of contention, the iconic German badge was front and centre on the grilles of 18,019 vehicles registered in the United States last month, a number smaller than that generated by just nine other automakers. Will that trend hold true in February? It remains to be seen. Judging by the year-over-year jump in sales (scroll down for deets) of multiple VW models over the course of January's 31 days, February could be another good month for Volkswagen of America.

But first, how did Volkswagen turn the boat around? The Good Car Guy has been forthright in declaring some Volkswagen importing decisions as poor. In other words, vital additional models haven't been part of VW's method. Pricing? Uh, not so much - most VeeDubs are still in an awkward place between their mainstream rivals and upmarket luxury cars.

Compared with January of 2009, Volkswagen's U.S. sales rose 41.4% to January 2010's total of 18,019. Diesel-powered cars helped out. A rehashed Volkswagen GTI played a part. Sales of the Volkswagen New Bettle hardtop more than trebled. The Volkswagen Passat CC and Volkswagen Tiguan also produced greater Numbers this January than last.

For greater detail, check out all the Sales Stats from Volkswagen of America's report below and check back in a couple weeks to see if VW can pull off the feat again to remain on the Top 10 Best-Selling Auto Brands in America list.

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41.4 - percentage year-over-year increase in Volkswagen of America's February sales, to 18,019 from 12,744

321 - difference in sales between the Volkswagen GTI and the rest of the Volkswagen Rabbit/Volkswagen Golf family with the Volkswagen GTI coming out on top of the Volkswagen Golf with 933 sales in February

43.2 - percentage increase in VW's February U.S. sales of the Volkswagen Jetta sedan

38.9 - percentage increase in VW's February U.S. sales of the Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen, totalling 1,324 and helping the Volkswagen Jetta nameplate to 8,893 sales in all

2,167 - total sales of the Volkswagen New Bettle in February, a 172.9% increase over February of 2009's total

3 - total models unable to post increased sales in February with the Volkswagen Eos tumbling 11.9%, the Volkswagen Passat dropping 33.2%, and the Volkswagen Touareg remaining level at 314 sales for the month

1,891 - total sales of the Volkswagen Passat CC, up 76.4% from February of '09

86.9 - percentage increase in sales of the Volkswagen Tiguan, to 1,424 from 762 in the same period last year

6.2 - percentage increase in sales of the Volkswagen Routan, VW's Dodge Grand Caravan-based minivan, to 704 in February

LARGE MAINSTREAM SEDAN SALES IN THE USA (JANUARY 2010)

In the relatively recent past, Toyota discovered how to build the perfect American sedan. They called it the Avalon. Unfortunately, over time the Toyota Avalon became one of the ugliest vehicles on the market.

Nissan never decided to build the perfect Buick, but its Maxima has steadily gained weight and lost appeal, despite fond memories of the old 4-door sports car. Hyundai is competing with Lexus and Mercedes-Benz, in one measure or another, with a rear-wheel drive luxury sedan. Nevertheless, "Hyundai" is a terrifically mainstream name and will be so long as every other car in its lineup competes with Ford instead of Lincoln.

Which leaves the quintessential American sedans. The new Buick LaCrosse is wonderfully executed, and consumers are agreeing with their wallets. Over at Chrysler, the 300 isn't as appealing as it was a few years back but still looks like nothing else. Then there's the Ford Taurus, covered more than adequately here on GoodCarBadCar.net. This is likely the surplus Sales Stats Graph for the month - the goal is to cover a semi-forgotten category along with the midsize luxury sedans and small SUVs.

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MIDSIZE LUXURY CAR SALES - JANUARY 2010

Last year, The Good Car Guy provided extensive coverage of small luxury car sales in the United States and in Canada. With the BMW 3-Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, and Audi A4, Germany was, and will remain, the dominant player. Move up a category to "midsize" luxury cars - midsize only because there's one size class above - and Mercedes-Benz takes over from BMW as the preeminent mover and shaker.... at least in January of 2010 in the United States.

The Mercedes-Benz E-Class is the brand's bread & butter automobile. Customers pay huge money for an E-Class sedan, wagon, coupe or cabriolet; perhaps optioning up further to the AMG version. Even in relatively small Numbers, the Benz E-Class earns monstrous sums for Daimler AG and isn't about to slow down. As for the competition, the BMW 5-Series remains a decent seller even with a new generation on the horizon. Honda's Acura TL is on the low-end side of the segment but never seemed a fitting member of the small entry-luxury club, so here it be. And as can be clearly deciphered in the Graph below, the new Lincoln MKS is doing alright, thanks.

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U.S. SALES OF SMALL SUVs - JANUARY 2010

Qualifying statements first, shall we? Yes, we shall. The GMC Terrain and Chevrolet Equinox are all but identical vehicles. For the sake of brevity, their sales are combined in the Graph below. Although the profits for the Mazda Tribute don't return to Ford Motor Company, the Mercury Mariner and Ford Escape join the Tribute in what's labelled below as the Ford Escape Trio.

Based on the less expensive naturally-aspirated 4-cylinder now available, the Mazda CX-7 makes an appearance here, too. Reintroduced as a completely new model, the Kia Sorento is viewed as a direct competitor for the likes of the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 as a result of its low price. That puts the Sorento in the sights of Kia Sportage customers, to boot.

Anything missing? Anybody with sales info on the Mitsubishi Outlander ought to share. Graphs just like this one should be displayed all year on GoodCarBadCar.net; Mitsubishi shouldn't leave itself out. Here now are the U.S. sales of cute-utes, aka small CUVs, aka soft-roaders for the month of January.

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CHEVROLET vs FORD : BOWTIE vs BLUE OVAL : JANUARY 2010 IN THE USofA

You've already scrolled down to the Graph to see the comparison of January Sales Stats from America's two strongest automotive brands. In the first month of 2009, no brand - not even Toyota - came close to touching the selling force of these two Michigan-based behemoths in U.S. sales. Inspired, The Good Car Guy has decided to showcase select groupings of Chevrolet and Ford vehicles throughout 2010. You can see this as the end of CubeSoul comparisons. You should see this as evidence of the rebirth at both Ford and Chevrolet. Good product sells. In some cases, so does bad inexpensive product.

Before long, the Chevrolet Cobalt (seen below in comparison with the Ford Focus) will be replaced by the Chevrolet Cruze. Ford will deliver to us the new and improved Focus, as well. Inserted somewhere in the Graph will be the Ford Fiesta and Chevrolet Aveo. Sometimes, room will be afforded to Chevrolet's Silverado and the Ford F-150. And perhaps GoodCarBadCar.net will even display this Graph in a prettier finish. (Any ideas? Leave a comment.)

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TOP 10 BEST-SELLING CARS IN AMERICA (JANUARY 2010)

Shrinking Toyota Camry sales paved the way for rival automakers to sell their midsize sedans in huge Numbers last month in the United States. Taking over the top spot was Honda's Accord. Both the Nissan Altima and Chevrolet Malibu surged past the Toyota Camry, as well. Toyota lists the Corolla and Matrix as a single nameplate in Sales Stats info - their combined status may be exposed to more suffering when we look back on February a month from now. Be ye mindful, Honda Accord figures below include the Accord Crosstour.

Take your pick from one of the two following scenarios: by March or April, Toyota Camry manufacturing returns to normal and sales pick up where they left off in 2009, in which the Camry was once again the best-selling car in America. Or, consider the possibility that the February Graph has no mention of Toyota in the Top 5 and Toyota searches for recovery for the next five years. For now, the incentives provided by competing automakers generate unanticipated sales glory.

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BEST-SELLING LUXURY AUTO BRANDS IN AMERICA - JANUARY 2010

Lexus was nowhere nearly as harmed by the Toyota fiasco in January as Toyota itself. Sales of Lexus cars and SUVs were actually up 5.4% compared with January of 2009. Perhaps more telling is the fact that Lexus remains atop the luxury heap even in a month where Mercedes-Benz was too close for comfort. Traditional players like Cadillac and Lincoln are consistently out of contention. Check all the details in the Graph below. 2009 Year End figures are here. You'll find December's Sales Stats on luxury brands here.

TOP 10 BEST-SELLING AUTO BRANDS IN AMERICA (JANUARY 2010)

Large recalls are disastrous. No surprise there. Somewhat alarmingly, Toyota can't know what the long-term impact will be on the minds of North American (or global) buyers for Toyotas of any stripe, regardless of whether they were involved in the latest recall or not. What's more, Toyota is also forced to watch as consumers hear smatterings of the story - Toyota, recall, unintended, acceleration, floormats - yet understand little of its seriousness, or lack thereof.

Regardless, Toyota took a whipping in auto sales this past month. Much of this is due to the sales suspension of some of the brand's most popular models. The Good Car Guy has already gone in-depth to explain how much this recall affects Toyota day-by-day. The brand's placement below Chevrolet and Ford, way below Chevy and Ford, is a sure sign of what's going on in Toyota showrooms right now.

Volkswagen makes a strong surge in to the Top 10 this month. Hyundai's push continues but can be seen more clearly in the Canada Auto Sales post from yesterday where Honda fell behind the Korean giant. Take a look at the Graph below for full Numbers. Check out December's figures here or the 2009 Year End Sales Stats here. Keep in mind, this is the first month where "Ram" was listed separately from "Dodge". Ram was responsible for 11,032 sales in January.