By Haddon Libby
Like the start of a new school year and the fall television season, the 2016 models of your favorite vehicle have hit the lots.
Nearly fifty vehicles are considered all-new and redesigned this year. Some of those with the most buzz include Acura’s NSX sports car, the Cadillac CT6 sports sedan, a smaller and lighter Chevy Camaro, the 35mph Honda H-RV compact SUV, an new entry level Jaguar XE, a restart of Mazda’s two-seat Miata, a Tesla SUV (Model X) and the Toyota’s compact pickup truck, the Tacoma.
Despite the buzz surrounding new offerings, old stalwarts like the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord were the top selling vehicles for September.
Through September 30th, Ford was the most popular vehicle manufacturer having sold 1.89 million vehicles, up 4.5% from last year. Second is Chevrolet at 1.60 million followed by Toyota with 1.58 million, Honda at 1.06 million and Nissan in fifth with 1.03 million.
Of the 36 top brands, Alfa Romeo had the lowest sales this year at 497 followed by Bentley (1,796), Smart (5,432), Maserati (8,378) and Jaguar (11,216).
Land Rover sales have grown the most this year, up 26% to 48,403 followed closely by Mitsubishi which is up 25.5% to 73,257 and Jeep (up 22.6% to 632,910). For all of their troubles, Volkswagen sales matched last year. Smart Car sales fell one-third to 5,432 while Scion, Dodge, Fiat and Bentley saw sales decline 10% or more.
For 2015, the ten most popular cars by sales in the United States were the Toyota Camry (326K), Toyota Corolla (279K), Honda Accord (265K), Nissan Altima (262K), Honda Civic (250K), Ford Fusion (231K), Hyundai Elantra (194K), Chevy Cruze (178K), Ford Focus (164K) and Hyundai Sonata (158K).
When looking at pickup trucks, three controlled nearly two-thirds of 1.86 million vehicles sold – the Ford F-Series (564K), Chevy Silverado (441K) and Ram at (331K).
Minivan sales are down 12.4% to 375K with the Toyota Sienna (105K) and Honda Odyssey (99K) duking it out for the top spot.
There were 303,543 commercial vans sold so far this year with the Ford Transit dominating the space with 86K in sales.
Looking at the crossover/SUV vehicle type, 4.5 million vehicles were sold, up 14% from last year. In this crowded segment, the Honda CR-V led the pack by selling 259K units followed by the Ford Escape (233K), Toyota RAV2 (228K), Chevy Equinox (214K) and Nissan Rouge (213K).
When buying a car, remember to do your homework. Sites like Kelly Blue Book and Edmunds give you good comparison information to help you know what price you can expect to be paying. For most vehicles, manufacturer’s suggested retail price is too high. By doing research at home away from the dealership, you can understand what a fair price is for the vehicle you want.
After you have decided to buy, remember to pay close attention to all of the items that the finance department will try to sell you. Go in knowing that most add-on options have high profit margins that should be negotiated to a lower price.
If leasing a car, do your homework. Besides knowing the underlying price of the car and its residual value, you need to know the finance fee, money factor, depreciation fee and net capital cost. Leaseguide.com is one place to learn whether you are getting a fair price or not.
Like any major purchase, be prepared to walk out the door if you feel that sales tactics are leaving you uncomfortable. Like grocery stores, car dealerships are everywhere and you should only frequent those that treat you the way that you want to be treated.
