2010 FORD MUSTANG CONFIGURED #1 - DESIGNER EDITION

Ford's Configure-Your-Own Mustang website allows muscle car lovers to reproduce the image dreamt about last night. Paint it however you like. Aim for simple; end up with gaudy. Go for go-faster; finish with class and panache. The Good Car Guy has naturally spent some time on the Mustang Customizer and the first result is the 2010 Ford Mustang pictured here. We'll call it the Designer Edition. (Click either image for a larger view.) Check out a multitude of customized Volvo C30's in the C30 Configured section of GoodCarBadCar.net.

TOP 10 BEST-SELLING AUTO BRANDS IN AMERICA FOR AUGUST OF 2009

Kia and Subaru sales shot through the roof in the United States in the month which ended Monday. August buyers were aided by Cash For Clunkers and thousands of dollars in incentives provided by the manufacturers to go along with the government's rebates on trade-ins. A quick look at August/2008's Sales Stats will show Subaru to be the eighteenth-ranked brand in sales totals - here Subaru's perched inside the top 10 best-selling brands in America.

Manufacturers not listed here which managed to post sales increases over that which was achieved in the eighth month of 2008 include: Audi, Volvo, Mazda, Volkswagen, Porsche, and Mercury. Saturn sales spiralled down more than 58%. Buick sales were not half of last August's total. GMC's total went from 42,194 last August to 23,145 last month.

Check out August 2010's U.S. auto sales data here

LUXURY CAR SALES IN AMERICA FOR AUGUST OF 2009

Of the nine automakers listed below, only Audi and Volvo improved upon their August of 2008 Sales Stats last month in America. Porsche managed to do so, as well, going from 1,404 vehicles sold in the eighth month of 2008 to 1,526 last month. Combined sales of Porsche, Saab, and Hummer were fewer than 2,800 in August. Jaguar and Land Rover fail to report their American sales totals. Bear in mind the Canadian figures for August in which Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Acura, Lexus, Volvo, and Porsche all posted notable increases over August of 2008. Check out July's luxury sales chart here.

CANADA AUTO SALES AUGUST 2009

The German luxury trifurcate we know as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi combined for remarkable sales figures in Canada last month. What was 4,113 sales last August turned into 5,342 Bimmers, Benzes, and Audis sold in the 31 days ending Monday. That's just one out of many notable statistics from last month's Sales Stats, all of which you can read about below. Overall, the Canadian automobile market shrunk by 7.9% compared with August of 2008 though light truck sales increased to the tune of 1.4%. Check out July's totals here. For a closer look at Hyundai's increases in Canadian sales, click here.

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General Motors: -27.5% to 23,018

Ford: +7% to 22,166

Toyota: -24.2% to 16,707

Chrysler: -6.8% to 14,393

Honda: -21.8% to 10,574

Hyundai: +38.4% to 10,418

Nissan: +4.2% to 7,071

Mazda: -10.7% to 6,880

Kia: +20.6% to 4,672

Volkswagen: -5% to 3,605

BMW: +20.5% to 2,292

Mercedes-Benz: +20.5% to 1,992

Subaru: +4.2% to 1,940

Mitsubishi: +24.9% to 1,860

Acura: +26.4% to 1,644

Lexus: +31.3% to 1,532

Suzuki: +1.3% to 1,315

Audi: +89.6% to 1,058

Infiniti: -13.6% to 604

Volvo: +16.3% to 527

Mini: -9.5% to 457

smart: -30.4% to 268

Land Rover: -27.2% to 134

Porsche: +7.1% to 120

Jaguar: -18.1% to 68

Saab: -79.8% to 36


Check out Canada's auto sales data from August 2010 here

HONDA GETS THE WHOLE CROSSOVER THING TERRIBLY WRONG WITH THE ACCORD CROSSTOUR

Looking back on the good ol' days of domestic dominance in the automotive industry, some analysts point to certain global economic and manufacturing factors as the reason behind the Big Three's market share. Those in the know suggest that GM's supremacy; Ford's control; and Chrysler's command of North America had much more to do with product - good product.

What led to their collective downfall? Why, the lack of good product of course. Don't shout anything from the mountaintop relative to GoodCarBadCar.net and the demise of Honda (the world's largest proprietor of internal combustion engines), but let this still be said: one would think Honda could have learned from these historical events and not produced something as calamitous as this Honda Accord Crosstour you see here.

Is the Civic about to lose its crown as the best-selling car in Canada? Not likely. Will the Accord still sit at the top of the heap with Toyota's Camry as the best-selling cars in the USA? Rest assured. Is the CR-V suddenly not the best-selling SUV in America? Last I checked, CR-Vs still sold like popsicles on a hot summer day in Toronto. Nevertheless, this Accord Crosstour is ugly enough to do three things.

Firstly, vehicles this ugly run the risk of appearing in The Bad 8 or The Bad 8 Supersize. After that, the Accord Crosstour is unattractive to the point where customers will struggle to see its merits as one of the best sedans but with more space. Finally, the Accord Crosstour is so misshapen and disfigured that it could hurt the image of the other vehicles in Honda's showrooms.

And I ain't joking.

CADILLAC CHARGES LARGE PREMIUM FOR CTS SPORT WAGON

Over the next few days and weeks, Cadillac's CTS wagon will begin appearing at Canadian General Motors dealers with a sticker price of $44,325. All-wheel drive versions have a base MSRP of $46,950. Compare this with a CTS sedan's base price of $40,485 and you'll come up disappointed.

Like the CTS you know and admire (somewhat), the "Sport Wagon" is available with 270 or 304 horsepower. Some would argue that the wagon provides more stunning visuals - nobody can argue with stats that say the wagon is nearly twice as cargo-carrying capable. Without taking into account slight changes in standard equipment lists or the "dealer may sell for less" nature of the present economy, the CTS Sport Wagon's surcharge stands at $3,850; a sum not at all unlike that charged by a few competitors listed below.

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$4,400 - extra cost consumers pay for an Audi A4 Avant 2.0T Quattro over and above the $38,300 Audi charges for the A4 2.0T Quattro

$1,600 - extra cost consumers pay for a BMW 328i xDrive Touring over the MSRP of a $42,500 price of the BMW 328i xDrive sedan

$1,500 - extra cost Volvo buyers pay for a Volvo V50 2.4i beyond the $31,695 Volvo charges for the S40 2.4i

$1,500 - extra cost in the MSRP of a Volkswagen Passat TrendLine wagon over the that of the Passat Trendline sedan

-$850 - savings produced by the MSRP of the Hyundai Elantra Touring L under and beneath the $15,845 Hyundai charges for the Elantra L sedan

$500 - extra cost Mitsubishi charges for the extra capacity of the Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback GTS above the $22,998 MSRP of the Lancer GTS sedan

HYUNDAI'S ROCKIN' AND ROLLIN' IN CANADA LAST MONTH

Hyundai's trek toward the top of the automotive selling heap continues with an amazing month of August in Canada. The only bad news revolves around the Sonata and the Azera, both of which suffered tumbling sales compared with August of 2008. For all the Numbers regarding Hyundai Canada's month of August, keep reading. Check out other Sales Stats posts here and read everything there is to read on Hyundai here.

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2,888 - total jump in Hyundai sales this August over August of '08, a 38.4% gain which produces 10,418 vehicles sold and Hyundai's best August in Canada ever

2,667 - total Hyundai Accent sales in Canada for August, a slight drop from 2,866 Accents sold in the same period of 2008

19.2 - percentage gain in Hyundai Veracruz sales, marking the difference between 104 sold last August and 124 sold last month

75.8 - percentage drop in sales of the Hyundai Azera - down to just 8 sold in total - while the Genesis sold in numbers greater than combined Azera/Genesis sales from last August

630 - total Hyundai Sonata sales in August, barely more than half the number of Sonatas Hyundai managed to sell in Canada last August

9.1 - percentage drop in Tucson sales in August, down from 766 to 696, not bad considering the Tucson's replacement is on the horizon

2,540 - total Hyundai Santa Fes sold in August of 2009; an 84.1% leap from the 1,380 sold in August of last year

91 - total Hyundai Genesis sedans sold in August; favourably contrasted with the 30 sold by Hyundai at the end of the summer break last year

286 - total Hyundai Genesis coupes sold in August; more units pushed than the combined total of Hyundai's three other "high-end" vehicles: the Azera, Veracruz, and Genesis sedan

124.1 - percentage increase in sales of the Hyundai Elantra sedan; 1,231 more Elantras were sold this August than last

3,325 - total sales of the Elantra nameplate include the sedan and the Elantra Touring

5,992 - combined sales totals for the Elantra, Elantra Touring, and Accent in the month of August 2009, more than the whole of Hyundai sold in Canada in January and February of 2008 and January of 2009