The U.S. auto industry once again reported gains in excess of three percent in April 2016, thanks to significant improvements at Honda, Nissan, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
General Motors continued to de-emphasize fleet sales. FCA continued to emphasize incentive spending, with TrueCar pegging their average April incentive per vehicle at a hair under $4,000. Only BMW’s was higher.
BMW is at the forefront of the luxury downturn — sales at the namesake brand slid seven percent in April and are down 10 percent through the first one-third of 2016. Mercedes-Benz led all premium brands in April and in year-to-date terms.
Ford’s F-Series produced its second consecutive 70,000-plus sales month, and truck sales jumped at General Motors and Ram, too. Sales of smaller trucks were up at Toyota and Nissan, as well. The pickup truck market rose 12 percent to 232,647 units in April. The Honda Civic was America’s top-selling car. Toyota’s RAV4 led the SUV/crossover category for a sixth consecutive month. Totals below for Porsche, and thus the Volkswagen Group and the overall market, have yet to be finalized.
| Auto Brand | April 2016 | April 2015 | % Change | 2016 YTD | 2015 YTD | % Change |
|
Acura
|
16,206 | 14,874 | 9.0% | 54,081 | 54,518 | -0.8% |
|
Alfa Romeo
|
60 | 38 | 57.9% | 229 | 255 | -10.2% |
|
Audi
|
17,801 | 16,827 | 5.8% | 59,761 | 56,925 | 5.0% |
|
BMW
|
24,951 | 26,952 | -7.4% | 95,564 | 105,444 | -9.4% |
|
Buick
|
17,720 | 18,224 | -2.8% | 72,007 | 68,721 | 4.8% |
|
Cadillac
|
11,236 | 15,801 | -28.9% | 46,869 | 52,976 | -11.5% |
|
Chevrolet
|
183,442 | 187,837 | -2.3% | 656,172 | 664,393 | -1.2% |
|
Chrysler
|
22,843 | 27,704 | -17.5% | 88,349 | 109,637 | -19.4% |
|
Dodge
|
43,575 | 44,906 | -3.0% | 184,084 | 168,417 | 9.3% |
|
Fiat
|
3,045 | 3,756 | -18.9% | 12,054 | 14,794 | -18.5% |
| Ford | 219,963 | 213,518 | 3.0% | 836,645 | 783,940 | 6.7% |
|
GMC
|
47,159 | 47,194 | -0.1% | 168,207 | 167,005 | 0.7% |
|
Honda
|
132,623 | 115,194 | 15.1% | 452,451 | 409,493 | 10.5% |
|
Hyundai
|
62,213 | 68,009 | -8.5% | 235,543 | 240,038 | -1.9% |
|
Infiniti
|
10,432 | 9,979 | 4.5% | 43,092 | 43,821 | -1.7% |
|
Jaguar
|
1,087 | 1,079 | 0.7% | 6,084 | 5,415 | 12.4% |
|
Jeep
|
84,298 | 71,759 | 17.5% | 293,895 | 250,508 | 17.3% |
|
Kia
|
56,508 | 53,282 | 6.1% | 202,829 | 194,382 | 4.3% |
|
Land Rover
|
5,188 | 5,311 | -2.3% | 25,993 | 22,287 | 16.6% |
|
Lexus
|
24,882 | 25,876 | -3.8% | 99,103 | 103,056 | -3.8% |
|
Lincoln
|
9,776 | 8,134 | 20.2% | 34,681 | 29,612 | 17.1% |
|
Maserati
|
1,066 | 1,060 | 0.6% | 3,316 | 2,989 | 10.9% |
|
Mazda
|
26,195 | 24,123 | 8.6% | 90,838 | 102,165 | -11.1% |
|
Mercedes-Benz °
|
29,236 | 29,184 | 0.2% | 105,005 | 107,340 | -2.2% |
|
Mercedes-Benz Vans °
|
2,589 | 2,764 | -6.3% | 9,829 | 8,323 | 18.1% |
|
Total Mercedes-Benz °
|
31,825 | 31,948 | -0.4% | 114,834 | 115,663 | -0.7% |
|
Mini
|
4,796 | 5,476 | -12.4% | 15,635 | 18,253 | -14.3% |
|
Mitsubishi
|
9,674 | 8,216 | 5.6% | 34,866 | 32,006 | 8.9% |
|
Nissan
|
113,429 | 99,869 | 13.6% | 480,973 | 433,655 | 10.9% |
|
Porsche
|
5,410 | 5,217 | 3.7% | 17,648 | 16,647 | 6.0% |
|
Ram
|
45,810 | 40,864 | 12.1% | 172,123 | 151,270 | 13.8% |
|
Scion
|
6,640 | 4,309 | 54.1% | 24,882 | 16,287 | 52.8% |
|
Smart
|
466 | 480 | -2.9% | 1,766 | 2,013 | -12.3% |
|
Subaru
|
50,380 | 47,241 | 6.6% | 182,777 | 178,522 | 2.4% |
|
Toyota
|
179,603 | 173,144 | 3.7% | 656,219 | 659,606 | -0.5% |
|
Volkswagen
|
27,112 | 30,009 | -9.7% | 96,426 | 109,248 | -11.7% |
|
Volvo
|
6,169 | 4,636 | 33.1% | 22,530 | 18,358 | 22.7% |
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
|
BMW-Mini
|
29,747 | 32,428 | -8.3% | 111,199 | 123,697 | -10.1% |
|
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
|
199,631 | 189,027 | 5.6% | 750,734 | 694,881 | 8.0% |
|
DaimlerAG
|
32,291 | 32,428 | -0.4% | 116,600 | 117,676 | -0.9% |
|
Ford Motor Co.
|
229,739 | 221,652 | 3.6% | 871,326 | 813,552 | 7.1% |
|
General Motors
|
259,557 | 269,056 | -3.5% | 943,255 | 953,095 | -1.0% |
|
Honda Motor Co.
|
148,829 | 130,068 | 14.4% | 506,532 | 464,011 | 9.2% |
|
Hyundai-Kia
|
118,721 | 121,291 | -2.1% | 438,372 | 434,420 | 0.9% |
|
Jaguar-Land Rover
|
6,275 | 6,390 | -1.8% | 32,077 | 27,702 | 15.8% |
|
Nissan Motor Co.
|
123,861 | 109,848 | 12.8% | 524,065 | 477,476 | 9.8% |
|
Toyota Motor Corp.
|
211,125 | 203,329 | 3.8% | 780,204 | 778,949 | 0.2% |
|
Volkswagen Group *
|
50,433 | 52,295 | -3.6% | 174,207 | 183,602 | -5.1% |
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
|
Industry Total
|
1,506,431
|
1,455,468
|
3.5%
|
5,593,611
|
5,412,621
|
3.3% |
Source: Manufacturers
[Image Source: General Motors]
* Volkswagen Group includes sales figures for Audi, Bentley, Porsche, and Volkswagen brands
° Mercedes-Benz USA releases sales figures for the Mercedes-Benz brand in the conventional sense, vans excluded, as well as totals for the Metris and Sprinter vans. The complete picture is included here.
** Industry total takes into account Automotive News figures/estimates for brands such as Tesla (2,250 April units) and other low-volume, high-priced manufacturers.
Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net, which obsesses over the free and frequent publication of U.S. and Canadian auto sales figures.
Get that W/T poor people stuff off’a here! F150 Limited (in pearl white, no bed liner) or nah!
That is one fugly truck.
+100!
The gaping corners of the square wheel wells aren’t helping it.
But given that remorselessly Soviet front end, what could?
I guess I’m weird, but I prefer the look of the GM half tons, particularly the reg cabs, to all the others. When thickened and jacked up for HD duty, they do look a bit like they are pre-rolled and had their cab roof crushed down a foot or two. But in the halftons, the whole low and wide look works well.
Looks like it got punched in both eyes and they swelled shut. Not a big fan of the re-style either. That’s what GMC is for. Or if the GMC is ugly, that’s what Chevy is for!…….LOL
That’s the TTAC Managing Editor Special Edition Silverado.
These pickups have so many trim levels and special editions these days, it’s ridiculous.
Brougham is back.
The luxury truck really is what we have in place of the Olds Ninety-Eight LS.
I don’t know the headlights on the new 150 ruin it for me I would much rather have the homely Chevy.
Interesting happenings at Lincoln… up 17% year over year, AND they are moving almost 10K cars a month now. I am feeling like that is all the MKC and new MKX, but it works. New Navigator looks like a fighter that should bring the noise to Cadillac, who is looking awful right now at a 12% drop. Surprised to see so many big luxury brands down. I guess the $70K work truck is the new status symbol. Down here a huge boat, a pickup truck and some semblance of a contracting company = you made it.
Jeep up 17.5% YoY. I have visions of a bolder, more confident, Sergio emerging into public view.
Get your spot on the Lincoln bandwagon while there is still room.
Cadihack couldn’t move more than 200 some new Seedy Sixes! ROFL!
Cadihack is doing so bad these days that pretty soon Lincoln will rise up and smack that smirk of that ugly Arts and Scientology face of Cadihack!
I wouldn’t read too much into 1 month’s numbers for Cadillac – they are in the process of rolling out the CT6 and XT5. Once they are at full production, we’ll have a better sense for how the brand is really doing.
They aren’t doing great sales wise, but the idea that Lincoln deserves, or would somehow gain, whatever sales Cadillac has seems absurd to me. Lincoln doesn’t make cars that compete with the best. They make acura, buick, cheap-lexus and loaded mainstream equivalents, and then they make sure to use a sexier spokesperson than ford does to sell them. It’s fine to be in that market, but it’s not the top tier.
There’s so much Cadillac hate in the comments on this site that I’m starting to wonder if it even has anything to do with product anymore. I read more about melody and Johan or whoever than I do about anything car related.
“Lincoln doesn’t make cars that compete with the best.”
And what is “the best”? Whatever Germany dictates?
I agree that Lincoln is still at Acura/Buick/Genesis level, but I believe it is smarter to compete at that stage first (with smaller investment) and to polish the brand’s reputation as premium marquee before going Mercedes fighting. If they even ever decide to go that far upmarket.
I also personally like that they are giving their vehicles actual names again and aren’t put driving dynamics above all else with these new products.
I think if Lincoln ever does make it back to the “top tier” it’ll be on their own path, not slavishly trying to convince people they were bred in Munich.
So, you are correct that my present dislike for Cadillac isn’t solely due to their products. I have some disgust that (other than the Escalade) they’ve abandoned their old loyalists and that they got rid of the wreath and that they moved to New York and that they slobbed like drunk groupies all over Audi and BMW.
The worst thing is that it isn’t even working! The cars that were supposed to usher in the New Cadillac are flops and the few that sell require 5-figure incentives. They sold out for nothing. At least Porsche’s SUVs are money machines.
>>There’s so much Cadillac hate in the comments on this site that I’m starting to wonder if it even has anything to do with product anymore. I read more about melody and Johan or whoever than I do about anything car related.<<
Not really. People "hate" the idea that moving Cadillac to Manhattan was somehow a stoke of brilliance when it was really a stroke of stupid done by the vapid.
Americans want Cadillac to succeed as American luxury, not an American version of German luxury. Cadillac looks to be chasing rather than leading. The vapid in Manhattan don't seem to get it and probably never will.
I’ll respond to both with one. I’m not really sure that ny was a bad move for Cadillac. That is The Market for premium branded cars, probably for the hemisphere. Soho in particular I think was a very poor neighborhood choice, a nyc satellite city would have been better (and not just from a cost perspective). So, partial agreement.
As to Cadillac following the Germans…well yeah, they are the current standard bearers, to do anything else would be foolish. People throw around lines like, “the Cadillac of is now the Lexus of (greatness)” but I’m not buying that. All of the references I hear to idealized greatness are bmw, merc and some audi. The money is there along with customer preference. They can still make transverse platforms like everyone else to sell alongside the longitudinal products right? Again I don’t entirely disagree worth you though, I think the cts should be less of a set up for an m5 competitor and more of a luxury device, while the ats should be harder than it is and an absolute 3 series slayer (and they got really really close on the first gen product).
The transverse premium product has its own problems. Namely, it will always be vulnerable to challenge from below. I think that 100% of rs and r customers for instance, would have been premium brand intenders. It’s not a sales problem at those low volumes, but a major optics issue when those cars have equal or greater performance than their upmarket peers, along with very nice interiors and features. This isn’t a problem so much for merc and audi, but should be giving Lincoln and Acura fits. How can they compete against cars with far greater volume and r&d weight? Gone are the days when ford’s rs grade product was sold as volvo, now it’s same brand, and without a badge premium at all.
If the problem is art and science design I wholeheartedly agree. It looks cheap and tacky to me on the detail side.
doesn’t most of Manhattan walk or poke a saddle up the bum? Not much for a luxury car brand to learn there.
The Tesla balance sheet ain’t strong but the new standard of the world beckons.
Nah, most of the Manhattan work force lives in cars not an option suburbs. Really the market is several counties large and extends past ny state’s borders. Plenty of semi suburban corporate hq’s and satellite cities (like white plains, Yonkers etc…). There are plenty of suburban areas in the country where 3 series sedans are ubiquitous, the ny area just has more density but it’s the same idea.
“Competing with the best” is irrelevant. Look where it got Jaguar. The whole Jaguar BRAND is outsold by 3 of the 6 Lincoln MODELS. Lincoln is in a better position and generates more profit. Lexus’ top sellers are the ES and RX. The GS & LS- 2 of the 3 Lexuses that “compete with the best”- have ranged from a big decline in sales to all out freefall over the last ~15 years. It’s only in the compact luxury class where there is any life, and even that is shifting in a way that favors Lincoln. Consumers are less concerned about sportiness and dynamics and want roominess and tech- things gussied up Fords have no problems providing.
We need to shake this baseless notion that luxury brands have to make bold statements. Luxury brands have to MAKE MONEY,.. for some brands, that means making $100K S-Classes. For some brands, that means making $100K Tahoes. For Lincoln, that means making $40-60K Fords. Success in the luxury realm in NOT a 1 size fits all strategy, and I think that kind of thinking has been the undoing of a lot of brands.
Sportyaccord
It is relevant. Cadillac is still paying penance for pursuing exactly Lincoln’s business model. Lincoln is selling cars sure, but it’s selling Mercurys, and that downward move comes with a steep cost as far as winning back the consideration of higher average transaction customers. Lincoln will face the exact same uphill that Cadillac is now on when and if it wants to reenter is traditional role. It’s fine if that’s never the plan.
Going from down to up is a lot easier when you haven’t publicly fallen first.
Lol at Lincoln outselling Mitsubishi.
SportyAccordy- Ive been seeing quite a few MKZs out there, I parked between two at the mall yesterday, and saw a third on my way to the entrance. I see them more often than the MKC or MKX, but of course that doesnt indicate the actual numbers.
I showed John the new MKZ (with the Conti-like front), he loved it. He’s certainly not a typical Lincoln customer, he’s 22 and his choice of new cars are more along the lines of Civic or Focus, or a Corvette if money were no issue. But, he was really taken with those images of the new MKZ, said he’d certainly roll in one if it were in reach.
Here’s a 20-something buys a Lincoln (albeit a used one and in 2008). http://reallifecomics.com/comic.php?comic=title-2027
Good to see Honda succeeding. Once they get the 1.5T into the HR-V and ramp up production, they’ll be in great shape.
I was going to say “poor Honda”! Now that Nissan has passed them, Hyundai/Kia seems next. Amazing how many models h/k can put out, while Honda struggles to enter any new market niches….
Except that Nissan’s products are all more or less the bottom of their respective classes and sold on price while Honda’s best sellers are at the top of their respective classes and not sold to fleets like Nissan commerce.
Honda sells fewer models but they are or near the best sellers in their class because they are or near the best products in their class.
If there were any justice in car sales Mazda would be selling at Nissan levels and Nissan would be selling at Mazda levels. But in America so often the cheap drives out the good.
I loathe Nissan because the overwhelming majority of their products are absolute garbage.
Nissan is a Japanese manufacturer that’s managed to do the unthinkable; allow every U.S. based (even if by HQ only) automaker surpass them (by a wide margin in many segments) in terms of build quality, interior trim quality, NVH, exterior and interior aesthetics, and….
…drum roll…
….reliability.
Altima, Versa, Sentra, Maxima, Pathfinder, Armada, Cube, Rogue, Murano, Xterra, Frontier, Titan, Juke, Quest, 370Z –
– all garbage and segment laggards.
Nissan is literally on a Mitsubishi level of quality & refinement, and will soon be king of fleet, rental, and BHPH lots, as their volume of production in terms of U.S. sold vehicles is 12x what Mitsubishi’s ever was.
You just included the Versa in your rant? The best selling and best regarded car in its’ class by a huge margin? BTW, last I checked, they don’t sell nor make the Cube anymore.
Don’t let reality get in the way of your personal bias and agenda.
The versa has good packaging and a great price but doesn’t drive with the best.
Even if you like comfort over engagement, which is legitimate, the drivetrain is kind of crap because it is sharing with all the other 2nd world offerings that Nissan sells at its price point.
The versa would be a great foil for Toyota in my opinion. The rear of the Nissan car lineup would be best left in south america.
Lincoln up 20%, Cadillac down 29%, Subaru almost matching all of VAG, and struggles for the Ultimate Leasing Machine?
This is a solid news item.
Fiat, Mini and Smart – all down big – is this a pattern?
They are all lacking product, but not for the same reasons.
The new Smart is just coming out. They stopped making the old one a year ago, so I don’t imagine there’s much stock out there.
Fiat has one aging model (original 500) which is still doing OK, but not as well as when it was fresh. The 500L is and has always been a bust in the US, they should just cancel it. That leaves them with the 500X as their only “growth model,” but it competes in the same showrooms with the cheaper Renegade. The 500X seems like a nice car, but it’s priced like an Audi Q3 after you throw-in a few necessary options.
Mini doesn’t have anything exciting. They released a new car last year, but nobody can tell it apart from the previous one, so there’s no reason to buy it. The Countryman should be doing better, but it never connected with American buyers (too ugly?).
These three brands do have one common trait: they are sold in the US only because they can piggyback on a much bigger distribution networks. They probably couldn’t make it as stand-alone brands, but they are just Jeep/BMW/Mercedes models with different badging.
Correction on your MINI “wisdom”:
MINI has the new Clubman, which is selling very well. The Coutryman is MINI’s oldest model now, and which is based on the previous platform. Only a fool would buy one until the new version is released this fall, which is a mechanical twin to the X1.
VW is somehow just surviving on Tiguan sales it seems. Although the Golf R did have its “best April ever”. Passat sales were below 6000 in April.
I’ve noticed that Golf (hatch and wagon) inventory is extremely low at the dealers near me. So along with the TDI scandal, VW seems to be having some difficulty screwing cars together for some reason. Maybe it’s something to do with TSI production at the Silao plant?
http://media.vw.com/release/1182/
The brands that are down – Hyundai, Dodge, VW and Chrysler – are the ones that SHORT BUS SERIES REVIEW is always hawking. Coincidence? I think not.
good catch! iPhone sales are down too. I think you might be on to something.
Are shares of Denver down?
We’re not buying enough HELLCATS, obviously.
(I wouldn’t mind a sedan with a v8, in principle, but I don’t know that I actually want 700 horses.
400 would be more than enough.)
I keep on hoping I’ll wake up one day and that new Chevy truck face will have grown on me and not be so ugly..no such luck so far. Looks especially bad configured like it is up there, single cab, steelies, 2wd, w/t.. oh well. Say what you will about the “boring” ’14-’15 faces they at least weren’t ugly.
Hey, cheer up – at least the GM/Chevy “Jay Leno chins” – those ugly, mostly body-color painted front bumper corners have been history for a while now!
Anything other than those is a great improvement, don’cha think?
Too true. & I’ve never heard them called that, but that’s a perfect description for them lmao.
I can’t decide what’s wrong the the new fronts, but I think it must the DRL strips that awkwardly line the underneath part the real headlights ‘eye’ like the trucks tired or something.
But hey, what do I know? I really love the way the new F-150’s look, and am still a fan of the cat-eyed 03-06 Chevys, and so many more possibly ‘ugly’ vehicles, maybe I just have bad taste.
Now they’re forced, but “base” GM trucks were supposed to deleted the chrome grill and cat-eye headlights that made/make the SLT+ trucks hideous.
If you got a dark metallic or black “base” truck, it looked meant-to-be, and 1000X better than the normal or luxury editions. Tint the windows “Limo” and you were all set, steel slotted wheels and all. Real pickups don’t have carpet floors anyway.
Although “poverty spec” edition continues through the extended cab and “crew”, rwd or 4X4.
I can’t remember the last time I saw a new regular-cab truck on the road. The paradigm has completely shifted.
Back as far as 08, my dad had a hard time finding one (used) for his work/business purposes. He insists on single cab, long bed 4×4 configuration (he hauls things and has a big toolbox). And he doesn’t like red, which is what he says all the ones he sees in said configuration are.
So he’s got a Harvest Almond (or w/e light gold) Ram 1500.
I love the elegance of a regular-cab’s roofline. They’re Man-Coupes. All other pickups are mutants.
https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2014/01/piston-slap-dat-whining-azz/
Or in my case I made it a “reverse mullet” as the B&B informed me.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Pickups.
Holy God, Dan. You still got that?
Respect!
Exactly 2 types of people drive regular cab long bed trucks:
1. Business/Work fleets
2. 50-90 year old cheapskates
I would if I was on regular lease/trade cycle and could change it when/if needed in the future. However if I was getting into the truck game, it would be a buy & hold which dictates an extended cab at the minimum.
I have an extended cab long-bed.
Because locking interior storage is good, and *regular cabs suck* – especially on road trips.
Yeah, the whine even mysteriously went away…
I’m barely putting enough miles on it per year to justify annual oil changes but when I drive it it always gets to operating temp.
But it is long since paid for and dang handy to keep around.
“But it is long since paid for and dang handy to keep around.”
Sounds like us “50-90 year old cheapskates”.
It’s nice to have an old pickup at your disposal.
But once you get an old *passenger van* at your disposal, you’ll be forgetting about said pickup.
Just remove all of those bench seats, and you’ll have a metric sh*t ton of space. Covered space, that is… protected from the elements.
Just sayin’.
That being said, ye old church van looks even more wretched in your driveway than that old beater pickup you’ve managed to keep around for years. Lol
Pros and cons, kids.
I love the look of a poverty pack truck, with steel wheels, white paint, regular 2 door cab…. so much more honest than the mainstream bling spec.
Wow! The car company that has gained the highest percentage year-over-year is … Scion! Congratulations, Scion! You have a bright future ahead!
;)
But, the monthlies!
Alfa Romeo is up 57.9% last month!
They can never fail!
Acura up 9% with a roster of beak-nosed, bland, boredom-mobiles ! There goes any chance that the management will finally see the light and bring back cars that kindle any sort of excitement (or even a single solitary car with a stick shift).
DAMN YOU CUVs, DAMN YOU TO HELL !
Jeez how long is it going to take before someone gives GM some competition on fullsize SUVs, $45k for a base 4×4 SUV is out of the reach of a lot of Americans, this isn’t a luxury vehicle it’s something one must have to go places.
You take a truck, you cover the bed, you trade the leaf springs for coil if 1/2 ton, you sell for 2-3k more than the non-covered bed pickup, is this so hard?
I think one of the reasons why there are not affordable competition to the GM body on frame GM SUVs is that they do not sell in the volume that they did 20 years ago. Toyota Land Cruisers, Toyota Sequoia, Nissan Armada, Ford Expeditions, and Lincoln Navigators all come fully equipped. GM and the other manufacturers figure that those who want a large body on frame suv will be willing to pay for the fully equipped ones. The closest body on frame suvs that are more affordable are the Toyota 4 Runner and the Nissan Hardbody which is in its last year. Much easier to sell crossovers.
The manufacturers have even made it harder to get a basic pickup truck. It is easier and more profitable to sell a full size crew cab pickup with all the bling. Also many more buyers are leasing instead of buying new vehicles and typically they lease a more expensive vehicle than they could afford to buy.
Anecdotally, it seems a fair share of the traditional work-pickup market, have been moving to the new crop of vans, and/or to more specialized aftermarket bodies. The ones that still stick with pickups, still remember how they could pick leftovers up for a song in 2009-11. Hardly the most profitable customers, IOW.
Nissan Hardbody? That pickup hasn’t been around for almost 20 years.
LOL, Scion up 50+% .
>> @wallstreet LOL, Scion up 50+% .
My son was part of that! They seem to be trying to purge them from Toyota dealers. He got about 20% off of the sticker on the rebadged Mazda2 4 door sedan, the iA. It’s not a bad car for the $13k he ended up paying. It was the end of the month and the car was a 6-speed manual, so they were ready to deal. It has the Japanese/European Miata’s 1.5L, a decent interior for the price with fake stitched leather (black with blue stitching) on the dash. Power windows, power locks, cruise, push-button start, keyless entry, bluetooth, backup camera, 2 years maintenance, and automatic braking. It seems to be fairly quiet too. The front isn’t quite as ugly in person when you’re looking at it from standing height.
The real kicker was the financing. Their college/trade school grad program offers automatic best rate financing, so he qualified for 60 months 0% or a low lease rate with no security deposit. The pre-collision system seems to have helped with the insurance rate. Not bad for a 23 year-old.
They finally might have the right cars and may have figured out how to sell to youth just in time to shut things down. The little sedan is going to get tagged with the Yaris name, so good luck with that.