And Now For Some Less Depressing News: Hyundai And Subaru Sales

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

If you’re looking for uplifting, feel-good news about the auto biz, this is about as good as it gets. Subaru sales edged up about 1 percent compared to February of last year, carried by a staggering 101 percent increase in Forester sales. Subaru sold 5,978 of the recently redesigned, Impreza-based utes last month. All other models were down month-on-month, with Tribeca (−58 percent) and Outback (−37 percent) faring worst. Hyundai sales were down compared to last February, but only by 1.5 percent, a hell of an accomplishment in this market. Genesis is chugging along with 1,263 leaving dealer lots in February, but bread-and-butter Sonata sales are at about half of 2008 levels. Elantra sales are up by over 2k units though. SUV sales are taking an wholly unsurprising beating, while the Entourage sold nearly 2,500 units. Kia (via PRNewswire) is up a whopping .4 percent, with Sedona, Sorento and Amanti all seeing increases over last February. First-ever Kia Soul sales hit only 34 as the newest Kia hits dealerships.

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Grog Grog on Mar 04, 2009

    I purchased an 09 Forester at the tail of last June. And yes, it has a manual transmission (the 4-speed auto really does suck). If I watch my speed, I can get 31mpg on the highway. The thing is huge on the inside. And despite what everybody seems to think, it's not that plasticy-cheap on the inside and we bought the absolute rock bottom model/trim line. And no, I'm not a Subbie fanatic. I owned a crappy one back around 1984-5 and haven't had any interest in them sense. It's a really good vehicle. My only complain is the angle of the accelerator. It's too vertical so your foot/lower leg gets cramped on long trips (I'm not a big cruise control person). So, again, it's selling well because word's getting around that it's an affordable, nicely done, incredibly spacious small SUV.

  • R H R H on Mar 04, 2009

    I am not sure why there is so much complaining on the subie interiors. My uncle came for a visit last weekend and he wanted to see my car (on March 15 it turns 4!). He asked me if it was brand new. He absolutely couldn't believe it was 4 years old...and he made the comment after looking at the interior. YMMV I guess. For me the interior really has 2 purposes: 1) Be intuitive. Steering wheel, shifter, etc should be in the "normal" spot. I really don't want a start button or any fancy gimmicks. I want the tach & speed over the wheel like a normal car. 2) It shouldn't fall apart in a short time. Pretty much everything else is secondary. I haven't yet found car I have not been comfortable in for a long drive (I have taken the STi on 3 & 4 hour trips just fine).

  • Wsn Wsn on Mar 04, 2009

    SherbornSean said: Subaru is doing well because they are at the sweet spot in their refresh cycle. The Impreza is a year old, and the Forrester new. That’s 2 of their 3 mainstream models. That's not a sound reason. Honda Accord is new and very competitive too, but its sales tanked.

  • Mart_o_rama Mart_o_rama on Mar 04, 2009

    It's been mentioned several time but it should be put forth: Subaru cars are "nicely done": that means that they are putting their manufacturing money where it counts for the market that they've targeted. Subaru is a Japanese company, where design philosophy has "practicality" over "feeling", in a "reasonable" way. That's why their car have solid/proven drivetrains (where the money counts) and so-so interiors (where "nice" means costly to manufacture, instead Subaru uses proven but dated components). They've targeted customers that wants a vehicle that's convenient and don't care about gimmicks. That's probably also why their Sales are keeping up a bit longer than the others, because the "feeling" part of their sales (the potential customers that buys on an impulse, or buys because of that special something they liked. Hint: there's none of that in a Subaru, as depressing as it is, notwithstanding the marketing objects that are the STi for example) couldn't not leave when the overall economy slows down because they were not even there in the first place. One could say the same of Honda and Toyota, but they went slightly upscale on most of their model, so that doesn't match well with an economic downturn. The next monthly sales report will be interesting to see if the trend keeps up. Martin

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