Chart Of The Day: Compact Cars In July And Year-To-Date

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

Chevy’s Cruze dominated the compact segment last month, racking up a 7k unit advantage over its next-closest rival, the Corolla. Corolla and Civic were the two biggest losers year-over-year, as tsunami related supply issues hold them back. Civic even dropped to sixth in its class, while Jetta (which could almost be classified as midsized) and Elantra snuck past it and towards the falling Corolla. Mazda3 beat Sentra, which in turn beat the Forte… so all in all, a strange month for a class that seemed to be lacking a real leader in the early months of this year. But if you look at the YTD numbers in the second chart (see gallery below, sadly not in “old codger-friendly” format), you’ll find that the Corolla is hanging onto first (for the moment), Civic is about 6k units behind the second-place Cruze and Elantra in fourth place. So there’s some familiarity left in the class that was once ruled by the Corolla and Civic… but don’t expect it to last too much longer, unless a lot of people are simply waiting for their Japanese brands to get restocked. In any case, the competition has never been more fierce.


Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • GarbageMotorsCo. GarbageMotorsCo. on Aug 11, 2011

    The rental agencies seem to think the Snuze is an "intermediate". http://www.avis.com/car-rental/content/carGuide.ac?navId=T4M01S00 Get on them Pintofan!

  • Dave M. Dave M. on Aug 11, 2011
    Have you personally sat in the new Jetta? There is nothing “classy” about Tupperware shiny interior bits, hard plastic where your elbows go, visible casting edges on plastic trim pieces, flimsy levers for the seat recline, etc… I meant exterior and interior design, certainly not the 'bits'. For reference, I have a Trooper and Saab, so 'upgrade' interior parts are beyond my realm of knowledge. Both my cars are highly functional for what I need, and have classy, understated exterior designs.
  • Dave M. Dave M. on Aug 11, 2011
    Btw, how many rental cars are being pumped out of Obamas baby, a la Government Motors? I'm assuming you were old enough to read when the bailout started. I'm assuming you remember the President before Obama. I didn't support the bailout (still don't), but I'm not the President, nor do I have his responsibilities. No, it’s depressing because Volkswagens have always been bad cars, will probably continue to be bad cars, and are only selling because of a media blitz, a dirt-cheap price, and probably a lot of subprime financing. I believe millions upon millions of Type 1, Rabbit, and Scirocco owners would disagree with you. There was a time (albeit long ago) when VW was more reliable than a Japanese car. Recently (the past 10 years or so), VW has had a respectability 'cache' to it with the younger folks. Toyota and Honda not so much. It's all cyclical.
    • Stuntmonkey Stuntmonkey on Aug 11, 2011

      > believe millions upon millions of Type 1, Rabbit, and Scirocco owners would disagree with you. There was a time (albeit long ago) when VW was more reliable than a Japanese car. As a previous owner of a Mk1 GTi, I can tell you that I don't miss paying for a repair every six months, or for 50% more for the equivalent part in a Toy-onda. One day some guy approached me out of nowhere one day and I thought I was being jumped... until he identified himself as a fellow GTi owner... we spent the next ten minutes running down all of the things we needed to get fixed. Great seats in those cars, though.

  • Dave M. Dave M. on Aug 11, 2011
    Great seats in those cars, though. And they're generally much more fun to drive, have a solidity only German cars have a reputation for, and again, have a "European" cache. Only individual people can decide if those attributes are worth the trade-off in reliability and parts prices. Acura got so close with excellent road feel, incredible engines, upscale interior and classic Honda reliability. And then took their eye off the prize. Mazda too. Should Kia or Hyundai get there first, Toyonda is in deep shit.
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