Toyota 18.5%
Honda 11.7%
Chrysler 10.7%
Nissan 7.3%
Hyundai 2.9%

In California Toyota had 28.4% retail share.

I knew a woman who was car-jacked in a Lexus. After that, she bought a Toyota Camry, which she thinks is more low-key and less likely to be a target.

With the price of gas being what it is, it will be interesting to see if thieves start stealing more economy cars. It seems like Civics and Corollas are already popular with thieves.

Thanks for the uplifting and positive news stories. IF a meteorite is heading for Earth I’m sure you’ll be first to tell us.

But behind the glossy images, Loginova had another profession: She was an experienced bodyguard, trained in martial arts, commanding high prices to protect Russia’s wealthy elite.

It seems that fearlessness may have gotten her killed. On a busy street in southeastern Moscow on Sunday night, police say they recovered her battered body after she tried to prevent her Porsche Cayenne from being stolen — clinging on to the high-end SUV as it sped away.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/02/01/russia.killing/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

Pretty girl, but driving a Porsche in Moscow was asking for trouble.

Careful with your generalizations. As far as quality and reliability, the statistics prove you wrong.

For example, remember that in JD Power’s latest VDS (Vehicle Dependability Study) 3 of the top 5 brands were domestic (Buick, Cadillac, and Mercury).

As far as resale value is concerned I’ll say what I always do: purchasing a new car is, for the most part, a horrible financial decision regardless of the origin of the brand. If you lose $13K on a Mustang after a year or $10K on a Camry, either way you are still losing your a$$!! It doesn’t make sense, and that is why I have stopped doing it.

I don’t think your example is all that revealing. It would not surprise many of us here to find that she overpaid when she bought, and the second dealer was lowballing her because they smelled a sucker. She probably told them it was falling apart.

That being said, the depreciation on Ford cars is terrible. Caveat emptor.

Example of Fords terrible resale value: A woman i work with purchased an 2006 Mustang. She paid in the area of $23,000 for it, had it about a year, was unhappy with it’s terrible bulid quality and decided to trade it in. She went to another dealer(non-Ford)to inquire about a trade and she was told the Mustang had a value of $10,000. A $13,000 depreciation!!!!!!!! All because of the simple fact the blue oval boyz built it !!!!!! You do get what you pay for, learn that lesson people !!!!!!!!!

Ford is sinking and sinking FAST !!!!!!!! Man the life boats now, Women and children FIRST !!!!!!

Within the next ten years the size, shape, efficiency, fuel and numbers of private automobiles is going to undergo a radical change. The nine million barrels of gasoline we currently use in the U.S. each day simply will not be available in the quantities desired at any price. …

The solution to this problem is likely to be a much more diverse set of vehicles and modes of transportation than we have become accustomed to in the last 100 years of the automobile age. Despite their terribly low efficiency, the automobiles we now enjoy are incredibly flexible machines that can take us comfortably and inexpensively down the block or across the country in nearly all kinds of weather. …

http://www.fcnp.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2465&Itemid=35
h/t Energy Bulletin

Whipple addresses the fueling issues, but for how much longer can we depend on having safe, adequately-paved roads? A recent TTAC post noted that state and local governments are not exactly rushing forward with funds to repair the highway infrastructure. Will 4WD SUVs be a necessity for long trips?

Also, will drivers continue to be safe from the growing non-working class? Even in the US carjackings are not exactly unknown and bold thieves are stealing anything made of copper that is left unsupervised. A Mexican exchange student told me that in his area it was often too dangerous to drive at night. I’ve read accounts of the Argentine economic crisis of only a few years ago, and driving without loaded weapons was considered folly.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentine_economic_crisis_(1999-2002)

Toyota was up for the year but down for the last 3 months: It is notable, however, that Toyota’s retail share slipped one-tenth of a percentage point in the fourth quarter — a rare setback for the automaker.