SMALL SUV SALES IN CANADA - MARCH 2010

The fourth best-selling car in Canada for the month of March was the 2010 Hyundai Elantra. Sales of the Elantra reached 3,118 last month. Were The Good Car Guy to allow small SUV sales to compete for the title of Best Selling Car In Canada, the Honda CR-V would have nudged the Elantra toward the back of the pack and taken over fourth spot. Moreover, the Ford Escape (without the Mazda Tribute's help), Dodge Journey, Toyota RAV4, and Hyundai Santa Fe would have knocked a bunch of cars out of contention, as well.

The point? Small SUVs are selling like proverbial hotcakes in Canada right now. Call'em what you want - crossovers, CUVs, cute-utes, glorified minivans - these vehicles are the fastest route to success in 2010. 

Even the wildly less successful models are selling at a decent clip. The 2010 Hyundai Tucson is popular. All-new from Kia is the remarkably low-priced 2011 Kia Sorento - people love it. So if it seems like drivers all around you are also driving small vehicles but appear to be looking down on you; it's probably 'cuz they are. The proof is in the Graph below.

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TOP 10 BEST-SELLING CARS IN CANADA - MARCH 2010

Were other vehicle types to be classified as "cars", this list would look a little different. But the fact that the four best-selling cars in Canada come from the exact same vehicle segment is beyond telling. In fact, the 6th and 8th and 10th best-selling cars from March of 2010 also hail from the compact car class while a couple other vehicles on the list are only a bit smaller. That leaves the oft-maligned-but-still-wildly-successful 2010 Toyota Camry and the Good 12-winning Ford Fusion Hybrid (and its more common stablemates) to fill in the gaps.

This won't surprise anybody who closely follows GoodCarBadCar.net's Best Sellers Graphs. Those more acquainted with Sales Stats from south of the border are likely surprised to see the 2010 Volkswagen Golf playing so well in Canada. In the States, the Jetta is Volkswagen's strong performer. For the record Jetta sales reached just 870 in Canada last month. Keep in mind, however, that the wagon bodystyle on that platform is sold in Canada as the Golf Wagon while Americans see it under the Jetta badge as a SportWagen.

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THE TEN WORST SELLING CARS IN AMERICA - MARCH 2010

There will be times in your life, young one, when the most bucolic setting is full of loneliness. One of those times could be when owning a vehicle from the Graph below. This is Sales Stats in Jerry Seinfeld's Bizarro World: cars, the ones nobody want. 


In fairness, one car is here because it runs on hydrogen and isn't widely available. At all. Another makes an appearance in the birthing phase of its life. I haven't even seen it yet. Numerous others appear on the list of Worst-Selling Cars In America circa March 2010 because they've been replaced or are about to be. Or should be. And a couple cars.... well, we love'em, but the market segment in which they compete is tiny. 


For the record, premium automobiles weren't considered as candidates. They're supposed to be exclusive. Also, SUVs, vans, and trucks were left off, at least for the time being. We'll see what the cat brings in come April.

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U.S. SALES OF SUBCOMPACT CARS - MARCH 2010

Spy shots of the next Hyundai Accent have leaked. The social media ramp-up to the launch of the 2011 Ford Fiesta has been something to behold. It's possible that the 2011 Chevrolet Aveo will be downright wicked. Yep, the subcompact class of vehicles could be quite desirable before the clock strikes 2012. We North Americans will feel downright European when small cars start to look appealing.

In March, the rather horrifically ugly Nissan Versa is the best-selling car in the class, at least in the United States. Take a look at the Graph below for all the details. And don't forget to keep in mind 677 sales of the smart fortwo and 3,610 sales of the Mini Cooper; the Mercedes-Benz and BMW answers to the usual half-dozen.

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U.S. SALES OF COMPACT CARS - MARCH 2010

Selling small cars in the United States is a challenge fit for a company built to withstand rejection and tolerate small profit margins. But a rough domestic economy and gradually rising fuel prices have combined to force many Americans into a downsizing situation. Fortunately small automobiles - commonly known as compact cars - aren't the punishing transportation devices they were in decades past.

Equipped properly, compact cars of 2010 do a very credible impression of a midsize car. You want leather interiors? You can have'em. Multi-speaker stereo systems? Of course. Space to stretch out? In some cases; yes. A serene driving experience? Quite possibly.

Most famously, the 2010 Toyota Corolla (and its more desirable Matrix hatchback equivalent) and 2010 Honda Civic fit the role of a small family car. But with impressive fuel economy and a lower MSRP, the Corolla and Civic make the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord look bloated and overpriced. Sales Stats from the month of March for the vast majority of compact cars can be seen in the Graph below. 

Vehicles like the Kia Soul, Nissan Cube, Chevrolet HHR and Scion xB have been left out mainly for space considerations. If desired by The Good Car Nation, The Good Car Guy can find a way to squeeze vehicles of their ilk into the Compact Car Sales Graph for April or a separate version next time around.

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U.S. SALES OF MIDSIZE CARS - MARCH 2010

With the advent of a handsome new Suzuki midsize sedan and an attractive Hyundai Sonata, the time seems right to start including a midsize sedan Graph in the monthly Sales Stats rundown on GoodCarBadCar.net. It'll take time for the Suzuki Kizashi to get in to the swing of things. March's Graph, as you'll see below, isn't kind to the swoopy Suzuki. Still, the bigger story remains that which was described here on April 8th. Amidst talk of the populace turning against Toyota, the Camry reacquired its title as the best-selling car in America. 

One thing to keep in mind when viewing the Midsize Car Sales this month and in future months, on both the American and Canadian versions, relates to absent vehicles and those which are included. For instance, the Volkswagen Passat CC would add 1,994 sales to the Passat's total. Meanwhile, the Honda Accord's total includes Crosstour sales. The Volkswagen Jetta will be seen on a Graph with compact cars, despite its sometimes lofty price scheme. Some vehicles, the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan for example, are joined. Why? Simply as a space-saving technique. 

The Good Car Guy makes these arbitrary decisions either because the automaker already tabulates sales a certain way, or because of space concerns, or as a result of perceptions relating to "direct competitors", or because a line has to be drawn somewhere. Live with it, but feel free to leave your comments arguing for or against the format.

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2010 DODGE RAM HEAVY DUTY WEIGHS AS MUCH AS...

Fuel economy wonks and Car & Driver subscribers know better than to go searching FuelEconomy.gov for the EPA ratings of very heavy vehicles. One such unsearchable vehicle would be the 2010 Dodge Ram 2500 Laramie Mega Cab 4x4. Now Dodge.... or Ram, whichever happens to be the title of the day over at Fiat-run Chrysler, goes out of its way to share provisional estimated Environmental Protection Agency mpg figures with the public even though the Ram 2500's GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating, the maximum allowable weight of the vehicle when loaded) is above 8,500 pounds. See, the EPA's mandate doesn't include testing (or forcing manufacturers to test) heavy-duty vehicles.

How does the EPA draw the line between light-duty and heavy-duty? Since 1990, vehicles not required for testing are those with GVWRs above 8,500 pounds. The 2010 Dodge Ram 2500 Laramie Mega Cab 4x4 has a minimum GVWR of 8,800 pounds.

That being said, Dodge - or is it Ram? - says the Ram pickup, with the 2500 chassis in Laramie trim and Mega Cab 4x4 configuration, should get between 13 and 18 miles per gallon. In the May issue of Car & Driver, the 2010 Dodge Ram achieved 14 miles per gallon. And though the 2010 Dodge Ram 2500 Mega Cab 4x4 has a base curb weight of 6,683 pounds, in Laramie trim with a handful of options the Ram Mega Cab 4x4 weighs 7,560 pounds. Hole. Eeee. Jump. Ins.

Ford and General Motors aren't about to share fuel economy estimates on the heavy-duty versions of the Ford F-Series, Chevrolet Silverado, and GMC Sierra, at least not on their websites. Not that Dodge is owed any applause for equipping a gigantic truck with an enormous inline-six diesel and finding out that said vehicle will travel 14 miles on a gallon of gasoline in "mostly urban driving".

In truth, any paragraph in this article consumed by talk of fuel economy is off subject anyhow. No, you ought to take another hard look at the potentially planet-shattering curb weight of a 2010 Dodge Ram. Hitting the scales at 4,519 pounds, the 2010 Dodge Ram 1500 is a comparitively gentle beast. That's a basic regular cab with a shortish box and no options. I mean, a Maserati GranTurismo Convertible weighs 4,600 pounds. 

But 7,560 pounds? 3,429 kilograms? 540 stone? 3.78 short tons? 3.43 metric tons? What other object could possible weigh as much as the 2010 Dodge Ram 2500 Laramie Mega Cab 4x4 ? Find out in the Numbers after the jump.

14,592 bags of Lays regular potato chips

2 Chrysler Sebring Convertibles with a couple spare doors on the side

25,200 Apple iPhones

3.85 Scion iQs

2160 pet Chihuahuas

56 Klippan sofas from IKEA

1/7th of a Caterpillar 3612 engine

6,109 Nikon D5000s

46 Honda Metropolitan scooters

2.5 Ford Ranger Regular Cabs

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