The Suzuki Kizashi‘s brief tenure came to an end in 2013. 2014 was the last year Mitsubishi produced Galant sales in the United States. 2015 marked the Dodge Avenger’s terminus. The Chrysler 200’s death was announced in 2016.
Will 2017 be a period of further contraction in America’s midsize sedan market?
This is the eighth edition of TTAC’s Midsize Sedan Deathwatch. The midsize sedan as we know it — “midsizedus sedanicus” in the original latin — isn’t going anywhere any time soon, but the ongoing sales contraction will result in a reduction of mainstream intermediate sedans in the U.S. market.
How do we know? It already has.
If January 2017’s results are anything to go by, it’s going to be a very ugly year for midsize cars in the United States; sales tumbled by more than a fifth in January 2017, a year-over-year decline worth 30,000 lost sales.
Bucking the trend, however, were the two most obvious candidates for extinction, the Mazda 6 and Volkswagen Passat. Every other midsize nameplate on sale in America reported harsh declines.
There were a number of guideposts in January that clarified just how poor a month it was for America’s midsize car category.
- January marked the tenth consecutive month of year-over-year decline; only August’s 26-percent drop was worse than January’s.
- It’s not merely a “car” problem. The overall industry declined by just 2 percent; the passenger car market was down 13 percent. The midsize car category was down by a much more noteworthy 21 percent.
- Only 10 percent of the new vehicles sold in January were midsize cars, down from 15 percent in calendar year 2014.
- In 2016, the midsize sedan category lost an average of 21,000 sales per month. In January 2017, the lowest-volume month on the calendar with the least potential for decreased volume, sales fell by 30,000 units.
- Sales of the best-selling Toyota Camry fell to a six-year low, the second-ranked Honda Accord reported a five-year low, the Nissan Altima was at its lowest point since April 2011, Ford Fusion sales slid to a 50-month low, the Chevrolet Malibu fell into four-digit territory for the first time since October 2012, and the Hyundai Sonata plunged to an 83-month low.
Granted, Volkswagen Passat sales improved. Passat volume jumped 64 percent to 5,887 units. But that year-over-year Passat uptick must be placed in context. At this point last year, Passat sales were in the toilet. Better historical context is provided by previous Januarys. In the first month of 2017, Passat volume was down 7 percent compared with January 2015, down 6 percent compared with January 2014, and 34 percent compared with January 2013.
The Mazda 6, meanwhile, reported a 28 percent year-over-year improvement. But the 6 was still the lowest-volume midsize car in America January 2017, discontinued Chrysler 200 aside. Only 3 percent of America’s midsize volume was generated by Mazda. Sales of the Mazda 6 in January 2017 were down by a third compared with January 2012. Mazda has sold more than 5,000 6s in a single month just twice in the last 18 months.
That’s right. Even the good midsize numbers in January 2017 weren’t that good at all.
And yet, there’ll be new blood in the category soon, prompting some industry insiders to forecast minimal decline in the latter portion of 2017.
The new midsize cars, of course, are replacements for current midsize cars. No automaker not currently participating in America’s midsize car category is about to jump in. That would be silly. Midsize cars aren’t brought to life. Midsize cars, the forgotten and ignored and the poorly executed, simply die off.
Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net, which obsesses over the free and frequent publication of U.S. and Canadian auto sales figures. Follow on Twitter @goodcarbadcar and on Facebook.
Everyone start thinking more practical. Crossover is the next big thing. Comfy n spacious as sedan, not too heavy, taller with slightly better visibility and they improved the handling and fuel efficiency that’s why everyone buy more CUV or crossover. Heck if they put hybrid or clean diesel on SUV ppl will buy SUV cuz gas getting cheaper.
F*ck CUVs.
For some, they are more practical. For many more, they just like “sitting higher” and having some sort of false sense of security.
Most CUVs suck to drive relative to most sedans/coupes/wagons, have higher COG, are mostly hideous and portly/bloated in a fake-styled swoopy and/or edges-everywhere Hyundai kind of way, and are drowning American roads in a ubiquitous, hideous, sheeple-infested new malaise era.
You can get cars that sit higher, but Americans don’t buy them. The C-Max and Kia Rondo are good examples.
At least the C-Max is still available to purchase in the USA. Too bad Kia gave up on the Rondo.
For the average American driver, do you think they get more utility out of being able to haul something bulky 1-2-3x a year, or having a vehicle that’s 10% more fun to drive due to a lower COG and tighter suspension?
Show your work.
Since November I’ve needed the ground clearance and the excellent 4wd/AWD that I’ve had roughly 7 to 10 days for everything from mud to ice to snow. (But then I live out here where there’s more unimproved tribal land and BLM lands than actual taxable property, I’m the exception not the rule.)
I know it’s more wear and tear more maintenance, lower fuel economy, blah blah blah. The times I’ve needed though have been invaluable. I am in education but at my level I get emails like this:
“If school is delayed the 8:30 am meeting will start at 9:30 am. If school is cancelled your meeting will start at 9:30 am.”
This in a district where a majority of the administrators involved will have to drive 30 min to an hour (in normal perfect road conditions) to make the meeting.
People drive what they drive for their reasons.
For the average American driver they certainly get more utility out of being able to haul something bulky than something more cramped and lower. You would be surprised to find out that many people will say their CUV handles better than the sedan it replaced. However the average drive equates handling with how easy it is to park and not how fast it goes around a corner or what the steering feel is like.
I like driving and really I have to push hard to get to the limits of a CUV. The average person it won’t matter. I have had station wagon’s as my last two cars, but I have no issue with a CUV for the next other then I really don’t like the styling of most of them. I really do find the cargo area useful for dogs bulky kids stuff etc. Mine gets used all the time.
I like driving A LOT, and I’m thinking my next DD will be something really terrible at handling, like a 4Runner/GX. I don’t care, because when I want GOOD handling, I’ve got a great handling vehicle in the garage that can handle that activity.
Your compulsion to revert to the abuse of hyperbole is probably the biggest endorsement CUVs can get. That you think CUVs are ugly speaks well of them given what your sense of humor says of your taste. And yes, for anyone who values ease of ingress/egress, visibility and cargo space, crossovers are indeed objectively better without question. Folks who think driving a mainstream midsize sedan makes them more interesting than folks who drive crossovers are only fooling themselves.
You can fornicate CUVs all you want, DW, but they’re selling…and that means that the folks who sell them can build stuff for enthusiasts.
McDonald’s sells billions of grey meat-like filled hamburgers, too.
Yep, and they make billions of dollars doing it.
Not everyone has to go to the party, DW. That’s ok. Personally I love compact crossovers and wholly understand why they’re so popular.
About 75 % of American men are overweight or obese, so I suspect at least 75 % of vehicles sold will eventually be trucks or pseudo trucks before this trend stops.
You have to be REALLY overweight if the only thing you can fit in is a truck. Unfortunately, too many folks fit that bill, and not so long ago, I was one of them. A hundred and fifteen pounds later, I fit in everything. Hell, I can even clamber out of an Alfa 4C easily.
Weight loss is a life changer. I wish more folks would do it.
@FreedMike ….. After about 1000 try’s , some as long as decades . I’ve finally managed to throw cigarettes away for good ( touching wood) ..The other day I had to change the memory , for the seat adjustment in my Mustang. Jeans I’ve owned for years have got a little snug.????
The Doc says drop 20 lbs. , I’m thinking ” that might be a little challenging”…Than I read you dropped 115 !
Kudos to you : )
FreedMike, for many, aging also brings on a lack of mobility, which often results in weight gain.
Taller vehicles with wider doors are easier to get in and out of, and provide better visibility in traffic. Hence trucks and SUVs.
I’m sure no one behind me enjoys the @$$-end view of our Sequoia or my Tundra.
I drove my 1989 Camry behind my wife’s Sequoia one day and I couldn’t see nuttin’!
Except the @$$-end of that Sequoia. Couldn’t see around it. Too wide.
Gave new meaning to keeping one’s distance between cars.
Geez man, I’m built like (and weigh more than) an NFL nose tackle. Got in and out of an Altima without issue the other day. I can’t even imagine actively requiring a truck.
That aside, a lot of cars don’t work due to height. Sat down in a Chrysler 200 and couldn’t reach out to pull the door shut because my head was above the top of the doorway once I sat down, even though the seat was as low as it would go. Had the same problem with a Malibu a few weeks back.
“Than I read you dropped 115 !
Kudos to you : )”
That is excellent! And congratulations and adulations are in order.
But it is the exception. Not the norm.
My Priest has been trying to lose weight for at least the last 37 years I’ve known him, and he has not succeeded.
When you take a vow of poverty, you really can’t afford to pay for all those Nutrisystem and Jenny Craig meals advertised so heavily on TV.
Ask Oprah how she is doing on the Weight-loss roller coaster.
Good job! That is a terrific success story.
Any hints to pass on to the rest of us? I’m only looking to drop another 10 lbs. or so, but man, it’s so much easier to gain than to lose weight, even when you’re doing everything right!
So how’d ja do it?
The overweight trend will never stop in America.
Not only do we eat too much because we have no portion control, but the foods we eat are prone to make us pack on the weight.
I recently spend 6+ months in Europe and lost 6 pounds, without trying, just eating European food.
And I ate a lot of pomme frites! With frite sauce! And a lot of knockwurst, bockwurst, cheese and beer.
Those high fat, high sugar American grease bombs are what is causing America’s fat epidemic.
This lardball trend must make your sneaky upskirt shots less and less rewarding.
OMP, you crack me up!
As you pointed out above, HDC, the population is getting older and less mobile, regardless of the weight they’re carrying. When the boomers have less influence in the market than Gen-X, tastes will change.
But PrincipalDan won’t be the only one who likes higher clearance and AWD – things like the 2015 Boston Snowmageddon did wonders for AWD sales in the Northeast. Unless they build sedans with higher clearance and AWD, CUVs will be preferred.
Lorenzo, I have noticed that after 3-4 hours behind the wheel of even the most super-comfy Sequoia, I’m kinda slow getting out.
And I’m not fat.
Before this trend stops? Why would it do that? At most it will move to a “new” bodystyle. First we had wagons, then minivans, then BOF SUVs, now unibody CUVs. I’m not sure if there is anything left to blend with. We have car-like handling and comfort in a tall wagon thing that can haul some cargo.
A CUV is really not much fundamentally different than the tall upright sedans of the 30s/40s. Those were meant to handle dirt roads but not really be true off-roaders, same with today’s CUVs.
@Manadlorian: Exactly. CUVs are just a return to the era of pre-50s cars, as our population gets older, our ability to own multiple specialized vehicles is reduced, and our infrastructure degrades. I’m not sure how the CUV haters are missing this, or thinking it’s especially “new.”
My sedan can’t climb my driveway when it is even slightly snowy/slippery. My sedan can’t fit my folding bike in the trunk. There are practically no 3-4 bicycle holders for a sedan. My sedan won’t fit family suitcases for Hawaii trip. I could continue…
And basically we could downsize to a single car – and that would be SUV/CUV.
And the drum gets beaten once more…
Yeah. Beaten like a drum.
As long as these trends continue, MSD will continue to exist.
Seems like old news to a lot of us, Adam. Just sayin’.
And I like Tim’s car writeups a lot better.
Old news? This data is from yesterday. Tim isn’t going to stop analyzing sales trends.
So what? It’s still a trend, and one that deserves to be followed.
Mark, a good percentage of the commenters on here is a legend in their own mind. Don’t you realize that? Myself excluded, of course!
Mark, some commenters have no clue about what is involved in selling cars, much less of the corporate decisions behind making them.
Keep up the good work.
It’s the most important trend in the auto market right now. It’s the biggest symptom of the CUV becoming the “car.” Tim and Mark are exactly right to follow it.
Should be some excellent deals on some very nice cars this year.
Around here in Houston the Camry is averaging $4000 off….pretty remarkable….
Value shoppers, hit ’em where they ain’t.
I once bought a gently used Escort wagon after the original boxy Escape was released. The Escort was lot poison, got more than 50% off of new for a car that had less than 30,000 miles on it.
But you also got an Escort as part of that deal, yes? You could get 110% off, you still lose.
I assess you 10 Snooty Turd points for that.
Got $5k off sticker on a new Accord this past November without even trying.
Volkswagen has had some fierce deals for leftover 2016 cars, and even 2017 ones, and the Passat is actually competitively priced and featured now. You also don’t have to step up to the highest trim to get the features you want, as you used to have to do. I’d buy a Passat before I purchased the Sonata, Optima, Malibu and possibly Camry…although I’d place the Accord and Fusion over the Passat.
The V6 Passat SE looks like a pretty sweet deal right now to me.
It is an excellent deal, if you happen to be a VW fan. I don’t see buyers of other brands jumping overboard to buy any VW product.
Now if only there would be a deal on a Golf R. That’s the one VW I would consider buying at the moment. It’s tempting to be able to walk in my garage again (the Golf R is nearly three full feet shorter than my barge).
Just checked out the passat at the DC auto show this week. The SE is definitely a sweet spot, but I can’t get over the hard plastic slab that is the door card.
In all seriousness, I preferred the Jetta, even though I know I probably want a passat-sized car for kid hauling just because of rear-facing car seats.
The fact that you can get a Passat SE (pleather, heated seats, carplay, sunroof) for ~$20k is an insanely good deal though.
That graph should be presented in terms of % lost, not units lost. 1 Camry gained/lost is different than 1 Passat, since they sell at very different volumes, and from this chart I have no idea if 1200 fewer Accords sold is a big deal or a rounding error. They sell, what, 350k-400k Accords a year. 350k/yr * January’s share of 8.5% of the year is 29,750 units, 1200/29,750 = 4.0%. THAT is meaningful data, “1200 less” is not.
Agree!
It cuts both ways. The ideal for me would be to show both. In any case, 21% across the whole segment = a big loss from the top sellers; no way around it.
It would have been nice to see something other than a 200 in the headline photo. Having that there makes the article look out-dated. I almost didn’t read it.
Maybe this has already been addressed, but is anyone else having problems with the home page? Until I went to the TTAC twitter account just now, I was under the impression that no new articles had been posted in the last 24 hours. The last one I see is the Tesla rebranding.
Yes, there are technical issues at the moment.
I had an issue with Safari on my iPad, no issue with Chrome on a Lenovo ThinkPad.
I had a problem too, I logged in on my iPhone this morning and a bunch of articles, including some I commented on, were missing. I haven’t retried on my phone lately, work computer had all the stuff I expected to be there.
If you are logged in, the site works fine. If you are not logged in, it shows the Tesla piece from yesterday as the first story.
But why does it log me out all the time? Other sites don’t. And I tried posting this comment, and the site locked up so here I am posting it again.
I like you guys, but jeez, do you have the world’s worst IT guy, the worst provider, or what?
There were a few issues today. I agree with you about the site though. I know Mark does too. Hopefully, one day, there will be a redesign…
I have to log in about once a month. I don’t find that unreasonable.
I’m logged in and still see the Tesla article. I was able to get back to this article by clicking on the full URL in my history.
Same result in Explorer and Chrome.
So glad you guys posted..I thought it my ancient I pad. So I signed in with my Mac Book and all was well.
Yes, really annoying how often TTAC logs you out after just two or three days. Even email doesn’t do that, and that’s way more private. Well, after the bondage pics were gone anyway.
Bah
All the world over, so easy to see
People everywhere just want CUVs
Listen, please listen, that’s the way it should be
There’s peace in the valley when people have CUVs
I don’t want a CUV, but as long as they sell, they underwrite more interesting cars for me.
Win.
Ha, I have an Accord loaner today. Great timing. Driving it around, I get why the segment is in decline. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad car at all…. but a Civic will do everything an Accord 2.4 does for ~10-20% less money, and a CR-V will be just as comfy/fast/well built and way more practical for the same money.
Plus anyone who thinks these things are canyon carvers is fooling themselves. It’s not bad but it’s hardly a canyon carver… in non-Sport trim the star of the show is the engine, not the chassis like in Accords of old. A FWD CR-V in the same trim only weighs like 50lbs more so dynamically you’re probably not missing out on much. A Civic will definitely be more fun to drive. What exactly is the point?
This. When I was doing the pictures for the piece I wrote on my Jetta, I took some from the back seat, thereby sitting in it for the first time. It’s amazingly spacious back there. Looks like the Civic is similarly blessed.
Family sedans may not be canyon carvers, but they do handle better than CUVs in general.
My wife has a Forester, which has been praised for it’s handling for a CUV, and yet it still feels like a school bus compared to my Camry which itself doesn’t really handle that great.
On the other hand, I found the CRV to have a harsher ride. Inferior to Accord, Camry, Civic, Corolla, old Prius. Maybe it was the tires, but compared all with original tires. CRV would never make me want to carve a canyon. Not bad in ordinary driving though. CRV also has a high sill. Not necessarily higher than a car but more than a minivan which has no sill. Sill height makes entry and exit more difficult. Something to consider if the occupants are very elderly or handicapped.
It all comes down to rear seat space. The larger “compacts” like the Civic and Jetta give you enough rear seat space to fit adults or rear-facing car seats as long as you don’t need to go 3-across in the back. Option-wise, getting a c-segment car stopped being a penalty box around 10 years ago too.
There is no good argument to be made for midsizers anymore unless you want to do the Uber gig and treat passengers to a bigger back seat.
Yesterday, stopped at a light, I watched a new white Corolla turn left in front of me immediately followed by the rotted hulk of a jellybean Taurus.
The size similarity was astonishing as was how much of the Corolla’s was cabin space versus the Taurus’ useless overhang.
One place midsizers have an advantage is in fitting a rear facing infant seat…. but I don’t think they are any better than a compact crossover in that regard.
Who in world of knowledge and comprehensive performance really cares about “sedans” any more?
The future is CUV’s, SUV’s, and pickup trucks.
Three out of five best-selling vehicles in America are pickup trucks!
Are you TTAC guys becoming irrelevant?
=======================
Haven’t 3 of the top 5 vehicles been pickups for the better part of 4 decades now? You didn’t illustrate a trend with that factoid.
The future is CUVs, specifically. Saying “3 of the 5 best-selling vehicles are pickups” is misleading because there are so few pickup models. Pickups will do OK, but once fuel resumes its long-term upward march the segment is not going to boom.
If this trend is really about utility, maybe it’s time for manufacturers to revisit the station wagon?
I don’t want a CUV, but I like the idea of being able to put my bike in my vehicle instead of on a rack.
I want my next vehicle to be a wagon, so far, it looks like I might have to finally take the VW plunge.
I thought the Venza was an apropos product. Basically a Camry on stilts with AWD.
The Venza was very popular in its day, just not profitable for Toyota.
The Venza was some sort of quasi-wagon.
I want real wagons where it looks the same as the sedan except for the back.
Can you imagine an Accord Sport Wagon?
How many people BEGRUDGINGLY buy a CUV because they “need” the utility?
Do these people even know that a Golf Sportwagen has more space than a Tiguan?
I’m thinking that sedans, wagons, and the like are doomed species.
I think they will be completely phased out within 5 years at which time we’ll only have tall versions of available vehicles on the market.
So far the market has not gotten comfortable with tall sedans. I’m not sure why, but whenever one is offered it flops resoundingly.
I think the sedan will stick around for a long time, but steadily become more and more of a niche thing. Look at what has happened to coupes over the past 30 years and you can see the future of sedans.
dal, you’re right. A new niche, like today’s minivan.
My kids are in their forties, and they’re not buying sedans.
My grandkids are in the twenties, and they drive hand-me-down SUVs.
My grandson recently traded his Accord V6 for a 2017 Pilot.
My daughter and daughter-in-law will trade their minivans for…… an SUV, once the kids get bigger.
Even oldsters, my age, choose taller vehicles for ease of entry and exit.
Is that like all the Opel Cadillacs?
If any of your past predictions are anything to go by, I’ll take the “all sedans gone in 5 years” bet.
John, I thought the Opel-Cadillacs were settled issue – Russelsheim, Germany, platforms developed by Opel. Read what 28CL wrote. That describes it best.
The article under discussion today is, “Midsize Sedan Deathwatch.”
Not something I wrote or authored. My comment is ” I’m thinking that sedans and wagons are a doomed species.”
And that is based on this article.
Interesting and timely article based on sales numbers, in spite of detractors and trolls like you.
Accord sport wagon, AKA Acura TSX Sportwagon. Sadly, dead now, but you can still get one used. With a 4-cyl only. With automatic only.
Remind me how this is a sportwagon?
In dreams I find a TSX wagon and shove the drivetrain from a TL SH-AWD into it, manual and all.
Or get a Flex while you can, they may try and call it a CUV but it is a Wagon.
The problem with the station wagon, for the billionth time, is that it does nothing for back seat room. CUVs have much more backseat room for a given footprint because you can sit more upright (chair versus chaise).
I was a huge fan of stationwagons, back when they were the in-thing for families.
Bought a brand new 1972 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser with the rear-facing third seat and the 455, and the vinyl wood-grain on the sides.
Took it to Europe with me when I was stationed in Germany for eight years.
Back seat room was fine. Bench seat up front, bench seat in the middle. Easily fit 6 adults, plus three kids in the rear-facing seat. Did it many times.
But that was a different time. Not at all like today’s times. These days if you need something roomier, you have to buy bigger.
And not everyone can afford that, or has room for it.
Exactly. They actually still have a Civic wagon in Europe (called the Tourer)…. it does best the CRV in cargo space with the seats up or down, but that’s about it. Most people carry people more than stuff in the back seat… particularly families with kids. So a bigger back seat is more valuable than more cargo space.
Suzuki Kizashi – who?
Mitsubishi Galant
Dodge Avenger
Chrysler 200
Nobody will ever miss them, I guarantee it.
The Kizashi was a nice little awd sport sedan burdened by a weird name and a completely unsupported dealer network. There was nothing else like it in its class except possibly a Subaru.
The others, yes, unloved and unmourned.
Gotta love Suzuki for at least trying.
They sold it briefly in the UK – a country which follows the US craze for crossover SUVs (of which Suzuki sells plenty) but sadly not US gas/petrol prices – making a V6 sedan there pretty much unsellable.
BTW, Tim – nice chart!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The 6 isn’t going anywhere. It does well overseas, and it shares a platform with the CX-5, which is Mazda’s biggest seller. They’re not expending much in R&D costs to put the sedan body on the CX-5 platform.
Per goodcarbadcar.net, this generation 6 is still performing better year-over-year than the bloated 2009 – 2012 second generation did. So, that’s good.
Shush – don`t let facts get in the way of Tim and other’s apparent desire and glee in wishing the 6 would disappear. Why they want a handsome, good driving car to go is a mystery to me.
We have a 2013 MB E350 BlueTec for travel and an ’01 Highlander for around town and Home Depot/Ace runs. We’re in good shape.
Mikey, congratulations for kicking the tobacco habit, that is not easy. I bet you will be able to shed a few pounds also.
I don’t like CUVs, but I can understand the appeal.
I drive a large sedan, but I’m constantly having to borrow my wife’ SUV when I need to say go the hardware store, move something big, or when we take the kids somewhere with gear etc. You almost need to have one in the family or extended family.
And then there’s the better traction if you live in weather where AWD comes in handy.
It makes sense, and I’m surprised it wasn’t something that happened a while ago. It’s just a modern interpretation of the station wagon that used to be all over America’s roads.
Not to mention most can tow 3500-5000 pounds. I don’t need a truck to tow our boat, but I do need something. Unfortunately neither my previous sedan (well 2006 wagon A6 Avant but whatever) could do that. My Lincoln MKT EcoBoost does it just fine. I do miss my old wagon, especially the fuel economy and space, but the lincoln does everything the audi did almost just as well.
This article doesn’t seem to take into account the luxury sedan segment. I’m thinking there will always be a market for those.
My wife and I have no kids and no need to haul anything large (we either pay for delivery or just order stuff online). Therefore we have no need for a truck or an SUV/CUV. Still, until last year we had an F-150 and a last generation Jeep Liberty. Go figure.
Last year we rectified that and now I have a sedan and she has a CUV because she likes sitting a bit higher. And we’re both happy.
I’m going to keep beating my drum…. the next or a future QOTD should be “Is The Sedan The New Coupe”? The only things they really have on crossovers is styling and dynamics…. just as coupes did on sedans some years ago.
I think you summed it up perfectly sportyaccordy
…. and fuel economy and price.
Also when you combine the Civic and Accord (or Corolla and Camry) volumes – both sedans for the sake of your argument then they vastly outsell the CUV equivalent.
I wonder how the designers and stylists feel about this trend towards CUVs, which are often built on these mid-sizers? They work like hell to get the center of gravity and drag coefficients down to minimal levels for better handling and CAFE numbers, and then the marketers come in and tell them to jack them up a few inches, square off the body to give it a rugged look, and there goes all that hard work at the skidpad and wind tunnel.
“No automaker not currently participating in America’s midsize car category is about to jump in.”
Except for the Tesla Model 3, with ~400,000 reservations.
Niiiiice!
That’s really more of a compact sports sedan — a 328i/C250/A4 competitor — than a volume midsizer like we’re discussing here.
The Galant actually ended production in 2012. Suzuki did end the sales of the Kizashi in 2013 in US and I believe it lasted until early 2016 worldwide. Still the best car Suzuki has done. (I have a Kizashi 2014 fully loaded, Im very happy with it)
The Galant in 2012 was basically the 2007 model with a slight change in appearance. And it was tolerable, but somehow always less than the sum of its parts.
Someone want to sum up the results of the Subaru Legacy.
CUVs make sedans obsolete,insofar as John Q Motoring Public are concerned.
Why pay money for a low slung, low sightline,hard to see out of sedan when the CUV contemporary sits higher,is easier to get into,and easier to load cargo into and out of?
Those lamenting sedan vs CUV performance are not in touch with the motoring public,for whom “oversteer” sounds like a Christian rock band.
CUVs are just the market going back to what was. A 1950 Chevrolet Styleline Deluxe Sedan was 65.75″ tall. A 2017 Chevrolet Equinox is 66″ tall. A 2017 Chevrolet Malibu is 58″ tall. In the 50’s, when cars got lower, the performance improvement was a significant factor for the average buyer. Now, the performance of a CUV is more than adequate for the average buyer, and the added height makes the car more comfortable.