outpacing Archives

Filed under: Car Buying, Convertible, Coupe, Performance, Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford, Earnings/Financials

2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS

2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS – Click above for high-res image gallery

The 2011 Chevrolet Camaro is still outselling the Ford Mustang, netting 19,972 sales through March compared to the Mustang’s 15,419. Both cars handily outsold the Dodge Challenger, which itself is selling fairly well with 9,742 units through the same period. This is the second year running (well, so far this year at least) that the Camaro has managed stronger sales figures than the Mustang, having overtaken it last year for the first time since 1985.

GM figures the Camaro’s success could be attributable to its relative newness in the pony car stable, having debuted in 2009. The Mustang has only undergone slight changes to its outward appearance since its 2004 redesign, though it’s been kept well freshened in the engine bay. To help boost Camaro sales, Chevrolet says the V6 will get an 11-horsepower bump by this summer, taking the base Camaro to a total of 323 horsepower.

With such a big sales head start, it seems unlikely the Camaro will be caught before the end of the year, despite Ford’s revised powertrain options for 2011 and the limited-production Mustang Boss 302 hitting dealerships soon.

Gallery: Review: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS

[Source: The Detroit Free Press]

Chevrolet Camaro sales still outpacing rival Ford Mustang originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Car Buying, Budget, SUV, Crossover

2011 Infiniti QX56 – Click above for high-res image gallery

Finally, after years and years of stagnation and painfully slow sales, small cars are starting to take a foothold in the United States. Or are they? While conventional wisdom makes us believe that Americans are ready to take the downsizing plunge in the face of – or at least the threat of – high fuel prices and environmental concerns (we’re all still watching the Gulf Coast, right?), it seems that reality may once again set us straight.

Automotive sales watchdog Autodata has found that the gas-swilling large SUV segment is growing at a faster pace than the America’s small car segment. Like statistics? Here we go: With a 19-percent jump over the first six months of 2010, large SUV sales have outpaced small cars (14 percent). Critically, they’ve also outpaced the overall market (17 percent).

Now, before we get our feathers riled up too much, realize that sales of large SUVs still lag way behind small cars – 974,000 to 121,000 through the first half of the year. Further, large crossovers like the Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, Ford Flex, GMC Acadia and Lincoln MKT are included in those figures right alongside traditional behemoths like the Chevy Tahoe, Ford Expedition, Infiniti QX56 and Toyota Sequoia.

We also expect that small car sales will continue to climb with new models coming to market, such as the upcoming Ford Fiesta, Mazda2 and Hyundai’s Accent and Elantra. That said, there’s always going to be a demand for large and powerful SUVs that can haul people and stuff while towing a boat or camper in cool, air-conditioned comfort, and automakers will be only too happy to provide the thick-margined vehicles for their consumption. For better or for worse.

Gallery: First Drive: 2011 Infiniti QX56

[Source: USA Today via Kicking Tires]

Report: Large SUV segment outpacing small car sales growth in America originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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