While You Were Sleeping: Subcompact Crossover Meth, Rare Cars Are a Drug and Saturn Dealer Wants His Money Back

Mark Stevenson
by Mark Stevenson

They’re potent, popular and can’t be stopped. Everyone wants to buy one. Every dealer wants to sell one. Just like the crack-like epidemic of SUVs in the ’90s, the subcompact crossover is the blue meth of today.

Here’s what happened overnight.

Bored Yet? U.S. Subcompact Crossover Sales Jumped 95% In May 2015 (Good Car Bad Car on Kinja)


May was a great month for the HR-V and many of its rivals.

This Has To Be The Coolest, Weirdest Home For A Slant 6 (Jalopnik)


“The 3700 was basically just a slightly modified Spanish Dart (which sounds like a euphemism for something violent or gross).”

Saturn was a loser for years — but who knew? (Automotive News)


Dealer “files suit against Deloitte seeking $13.8 million in compensation for his post-2005 Saturn investments.”

DVLA website crashes on launch day leaving motorists facing car hire fiasco (The Telegraph)


“DVLA tells motorists to destroy the papers from June 8, as they are no longer needed,” but website crashes and leaves license holders stranded.

Costco Sold Nearly 400,000 Cars Last Year (AutoGuide)


“That figure is twice as high as it was back in 2008 and this performance puts them on the back bumper of AutoNation.”

Car Transport Trucks are Big in China (CarNewsChina)


“The enormous vehicle measured at least 25 meters long, and transported only a wrecked Porsche Cayenne when I met it.”

Vauxhall Insignia Country Tourer axed in the UK (Autocar)


“It has been dropped due to high re-engineering costs of fitting the new ‘Whisper’ diesel engine.”

Mark Stevenson
Mark Stevenson

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  • Redshift Redshift on Jun 09, 2015

    People like them because the population as aging. My parents had to sell their Accord because my increasingly arthritic father simply can't get in and out of a modern Sedan. I'm helping them car shop now, and the primary criteria is seat to hip height. He needs to basically be able to open the door and just sit.

  • 210delray 210delray on Jun 09, 2015

    My wife and I are sticking with sedans and hatchback cars. No SUVs/CUVs for us for the foreseeable future. We're empty-nesters who don't camp or tow. Cars get better fuel economy and handle better. We're limber enough to get in and out, and besides, today's cars are taller than they were in the 70s and 80s. Finally we have one of those Clinton-era vehicles -- a 1998 Nissan Frontier for hauling larger loads; with only 86K miles on it and the bulletproof 2.4-liter 4 and 5-speed manual, I expect it to last for a long time.

  • ToolGuy Why would they change the grille?
  • Oberkanone Nissan proved it can skillfully put new frosting on an old cake with Frontier and Z. Yet, Nissan dealers are so broken they are not good at selling the Frontier. Z production is so minimal I've yet to see one. Could Nissan boost sales? Sure. I've heard Nissan plans to regain share at the low end of the market. Kicks, Versa and lower priced trims of their mainstream SUV's. I just don't see dealerships being motivated to support this effort. Nissan is just about as exciting and compelling as a CVT.
  • ToolGuy Anyone who knows, is this the (preliminary) work of the Ford Skunk Works?
  • Kwik_Shift_Pro4X I will drive my Frontier into the ground, but for a daily, I'd go with a perfectly fine Versa SR or Mazda3.
  • Zerofoo The green arguments for EVs here are interesting...lithium, cobalt and nickel mines are some of the most polluting things on this planet - even more so when they are operated in 3rd world countries.
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