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Wow, and finally, U.S. dealerships started selling the 2011 Audi A8, and did so with some umph. Although low in the context of its competitors, 333 sales in a month is a figure so unlike previous iterations of this Graph that it seems barely believable.CEOs and Vice-chairmen with the sort of money required to buy a full-size luxury car want the latest and greatest. And why wouldn't they? Regular folk like you and me want the latest iPhone or Gran Turismo edition; large luxury car buyers just happen to be disposing their income on more prestigious and conspicuous gadgets. So, the outgoing Audi A8 had been around for a while.For whatever reason - it was gorgeous and high-tech - the A8 was never popular. At all. In November 2010, however, Audi A8 sales jumped 220% as, Audi USA says, 310 A8s were "sold in the month's final days." 23 of the A8s sold were Typ 4E generation A8s, the old car. 32.7% of all A8s sold in the United States in 2010 were sold in November. 50% of the Audi A8s on their way to the United States have already been sold. But.... the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and Lexus LS were between three and four times more popular in November, so Audi still has some work for itself if the U.S. market is going to be kind to the A8.Among large luxury SUVs, the Mercedes-Benz GL-Class continues its surge toward conquering larger slices of the pie. Mercedes-Benz says GL sales were up 47.9% in November and are up 36.6% year-to-date. Although not able to surpass the 3-pronged Cadillac Escalade lineup in November, the GL-Class trails the Escalade by only 4693 sales. At this time last year, the GL was behind the Caddy by nearly 9500 units. Get up to speed on the whole large luxury automobile sales story by perusing the data below.Related From GoodCarBadCar.netLarge Luxury Car Sales & Large Luxury SUV Sales In America - November 2011Large Luxury Car Sales & Large Luxury SUV Sales In America - December 2010Large Luxury Car Sales In America - October 2010Large Luxury SUV Sales In America - October 2010Top 10 Best-Selling European SUVs In America - October 2010U.S. Auto Sales By Brand - November 2010Small & Midsize Luxury In America - November 2010
In an effort to clarify matters after The Good Car Guy transferred American Muscle Car Sales data into the two Graphs below, the first group of vehicles separates German sporting cars (black) from American (red) and Japanese (blue). This still doesn't isolate cars by their competitive sets, but at least it offers further definition in what is otherwise a terrifically crowded category. The Chevrolet Camaro's 71-sale victory over the 2011 Ford Mustang in November 2010 expands the Camaro's year-to-date lead on the Mustang to 7421 units. By the end of December, GM could be looking at launching its target="_blank"2011 Chevrolet Camaro 11-month sales total of 75,685 to nudge up against the 80K mark, an impressive feat for the former F-body nameplate.If there weren't other clues to the comparitive personal wealth advantage many Americans hold over Canadians, the Porsche 911 makes a decent case. 911 sales reached 476 in November 2010, up 20.5% from November 2009. 911 sales are down 17% this year, but selling 5228 copies of a high-end sports car ain't bad. Meanwhile, Porsche Canada, competing in a market seven times smaller, has sold 1873 vehicles overall; 500 911s in total. If Porsche USA followed Porsche Canada's lead, there'd only be about 3600 911s sold in the States so far this year. Find all the pertinent sports car sales data in the accompanying Graphs.Related From GoodCarBadCar.netSporty Car & Premium Sporty Car Sales In America - November 2011Sporty Car Sales & Premium Sporty Car Sales In America - December 2010Sporty Car & Premium Sporty Car Sales In America - October 2010German Luxury Vehicle Market Share By Vehicle Type - November 2010U.S. Auto Sales By Brand - November 2010Top 10 Best-Selling European Cars In America - November 2010
Which sort of German luxury vehicle sells best? These are the sort of questions The Good Car Guy routinely finds answers for, not always sharing the research with GoodCarBadCar.net's audience due to time constraints. This time, you're in for a treat, an especially purple treat.No surprise, the volume leader is the smaller luxury cars of Audi, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW's fleets. Though not necessarily number one with each respective fleet, the combined sales of the Audi A4, BMW 3-Series, and Mercedes-Benz C-Class represented 32.3% of the German luxury vehicle market in the USA in November 2010. And then it gets interesting. Considering the complete lack of available utility vehicles from German luxury automakers in the mid-90s, it's amazing to see how the Audi Q7, BMW X5 and BMW X6, Mercedes-Benz GL and M-Class (and even the G-Wagen) owned more than a fifth of the German luxury vehicle market in the United States last month. Yes, this means the larger end of the German luxury SUV market in the USA is of numerical equivalence to the filling in any German luxury auto discussion sandwich: the Mercedes-Benz E-Class (and CLS), BMW's 5-Series, and the Audi A6. This leaves a little more than one-fifth of all German luxury vehicle sales for sportier models, smaller SUVs, and large sedans like the very popular Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Of course, the small SUV segment will improve when the new BMW X3 can do something about abysmal totals like November's 91 sales. Plus, all of this excludes high-end Volkswagens like the Touareg and the $40K Passat CC VR6 4Motion Executive. Check it all out in the Graph below or find regularly-scheduled Sales Stats info here.Related From GoodCarBadCar.netTop 10 Best-Selling European Cars In America - November 2010Top 10 Best-Selling European SUVs In America - November 2010U.S. Auto Sales By Brand - November 2010New Vehicle Market Share By Brand In America - November 2010Entry/Small Luxury Car & Midsize Luxury Car Sales In America - November 2010
The Good Car Guy doesn't profess to be an expert on the British car market, but it doesn't take a genius to see that small cars, even smaller luxury cars, are the most popular cars in the UK. From the absolute best-seller's class there are four members of the Top 10 Best-Selling Cars In The UK list. The 2011 Ford Fiesta is obviously popular just by its very existence as a Fiesta, always a favourite in the UK. But Ford didn't rest on laurels with the current car - it's a looker inside and out and the driving experience is very mature.Of course, the Ford Focus which landed as #2 on the list of the most popular cars in Britain shares only a badge with the Ford Focus which landed at #9 on the American list of best-selling cars. Be careful to consider the might of the Focus in the UK despite its total being 7500 sales weaker. The UK new car market was worth 139,875 vehicles in November 2010, a drop of 11.5% from November 2009, a reflection of the market adjustment required after the UK's own Cash For Clunkers program. The U.S. car market was up 17% to 873,407 vehicles in November 2010.General Motors is represented by three cars, the smallest being the Corsa, the furthest Vauxhall down the list. And the oddball of the group? That'd be the Nissan Qashqai, both more attractive than North America's Rogue and more successful, too. That's saying something, the Rogue is one of America's ten most popular utility vehicles. Apologies for the missing details in the table below: information on the UK car market isn't quite as easy to locate as it is on this side of the pond. Rank | Car | Status | November 2010 | Last Month | November 2009 |
#1 | Ford Fiesta | ↔ | 6488 | 6024 | 8028 |
#2 | Ford Focus | ↑ | 5537 | 3888 | 5646 |
#3 | Volkswagen Golf | ↓ | 5220 | 5230 | 3491 |
#4 | Vauxhall Astra | ↓ | 4700 | 4472 | 4803 |
#5 | Vauxhall Insignia | ↑ | 3915 | 3811 | n/a |
#6 | BMW 3-Series | ↓ | 3890 | 3955 | 3718 |
#7 | Vauxhall Corsa | ↔ | 3684 | 3574 | 5433 |
#8 | Volkswagen Polo | ↑ | 3421 | n/a | n/a |
#9 | Peugeot 207 | ↑ | 3086 | n/a | 3582 |
#10 | Nissan Qashqai | ↓ | 2555 | 3175 | 3127 |
*Source: MTI, Automotive News, SMMTRelated From GoodCarBadCar.netTop 10 Best-Selling Cars In The United Kingdom - November 2011Top 10 Best-Selling Cars In The UK - December 2010Top 10 Best-Selling Cars In The UK - October 2010Top 10 Best-Selling Cars In The UK - September 2010Top 10 Best-Selling Cars In America - November 2010Top 10 Best-Selling Cars In Canada - November 2010
Finally Kia dealerships who've been needing an Optima replacement for years have gotten one. The 2011 Kia Optima is a looker, a prime candidate for a sales boom not unlike that which has gone on with the 2011 Kia Sorento in the past year or so. But where's the Kia Cadenza? The Kia Amanti, one of the ugliest cars of all time, is still languishing on dealer lots. Be gone with you, Amanti. Long live the Cadenza.If the 2012 Hyundai Accent is anything to go by, the next Kia Rio has a lot of potential. Kia has quite a small car portfolio to begin with. The Kia Forte (and new Forte 5-door) and Kia Soul combined for nearly 11,000 sales in America last month, a figure unmatched by Mazda's small car team of the 2 and 3. A revitalized Rio could really launch Kia to the next level.Autoblog has driven the 2011 Hyundai Elantra and came away really impressed. Unlike Canada, in which small cars are the best-sellers and the Camry/Accord/Fusion/Sonata sit further back, the Elantra's segment in the United States is more appreciated when gas prices rise and the economy is in a weakening rather than strengthening state. That said, with that smokin' hot body and the distinct possibility of a Touring model in the near future, the Elantra will climb up the Best Sellers list, but probably not as far as Hyundai supporters would like it to.What of Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, and Dodge? Dodge Caliber sales shot up 666% in November 2010. But is that a story of fervent Caliber-directed desires? Probably not. Caliber sales were only 412 units strong last November, so a return to proper sales levels sounds like huge gains, but Caliber sales were still just 3154 in November 2010, placing the Caliber 17th in its Graph below. Buick LaCrosse sales remain steady even as GM brass get excited over increased Regal sales which, to be honest, are a lot lower than they should and could be. Ford Taurus sales fell back 10.6% in November but are up 64.8% on the year.Check out the full slate of small car sales, midsize car sales, and large car sales below.Related From GoodCarBadCar.netSmall, Midsize & Large Car Sales In America - November 2011Small, Midsize & Large Car Sales In America - December 2010Small, Midsize, And Large Car Sales In America - October 2010U.S. Auto Sales By Brand - November 2010New Vehicle Market Share By Brand - November 2010Top 10 Best-Selling Cars In America - November 2010Entry/Small Luxury Car & Midsize Luxury Car Sales In America - November 2010
The tell-tale sign of dominance is market share. 'Twas quite a day when GM's market share was 41% in 1941 and then soared to 54% in 1954. As the Graph below manifests, General Motors market share in November 2010 in the company's home market was better than that of any company, but below 20%.Times change. Suck it up. With increased competition comes..... increased competition. On the luxury side, GM's Cadillac brand must face off Mercedes-Benz and BMW - and their umpteen different models - as well as Lexus and its sterling solid reputation for quality. Lower-priced luxury vehicles from Acura, Volvo, and Saab joined high-priced mainstream cars from Honda and Toyota to make life miserable for Buick. Chevrolet's been forced to fight for sales against an onslaught of product from all over the world. GMC's truck portfolio can't exactly fend off the rights of rival automakers who started playing the small and midsize SUV game first and with more skill. Of course, GM sales were up 11.4% in November compared with November 2009. Sales of Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac were up 20.8%. Not surprisingly, a somewhat revitalized new vehicle market cooked up sales increases at other brands, too. Thus, new car market share in America looked like this in November 2010.Related From GoodCarBadCar.netU.S. Auto Brand Market Share Chart - November 2011American New Vehicle Market Share By Brand - 2010 Year EndU.S. Auto Sales By Brand - November 2010Top 10 Best-Selling Cars In America - November 2010New Vehicle Market Share By Brand In Canada - November 2010Small Car, Midsize Car, Large Car Sales In America - November 2010U.S. Sports Car Sales Data For November 2010
