Midsize sedans become new hot car
2012 Honda Accord
Assembled: Marysville, Ohio Credit: Handout
If you had to guess, which type of vehicle would you pick to be the strong seller in the tepid waters of the U.S. car market? Sports cars or family cars?
The winner is the midsize sedan -- Camrys, Accords, Ford Fusions, Hyundai Sonatas, and, the redesigned Subaru Legacy, according to Edmunds' AutoObserver.com.
Sports cars? Well, AutoObserver.com says, that market is stuck in neutral with a little movement in muscle cars.
Could this indicate the rise of the comfort car? American car buyers given the choice apparently are opting for models with reputations for reliability and reasonable, if short of spectacular, gas mileage.
Apparently Edmunds.com finds this surprising. "Speculation has long held that crossovers would cause serious erosion of the midsize sedan market, but sedans are remarkably popular with car-buyers today," said Edmunds' AutoObserver.com senior editor Bill Visnic in his full report on the subject. "April and year-to-date sales show the segment on its way to perhaps some of its best results in a long while."
Data from the Santa Monica, Calif.-based website indicate that midsize cars currently account for 17.8 percent of total U.S. market share. It had been as low as 13.3 percent in 2005, and has gained every year since, in part because of compelling new offerings in the segment.
Honda Accord and Toyota Camry retain their positions as best-sellers, but much of the segment's largest gains came from two less-established models: the 2010 Ford Fusion is up over 50 percent over last year and the 2011 Hyundai Sonata is up 34 percent over last year.
The redesigned Subaru Legacy is perhaps the most remarkable contributor, with an 87 percent increase over last year. Chevrolet Malibu, Nissan Altima and Volkswagen Passat are also generating relatively strong sales results.
And what about the sexier sports car segment? "Muscle cars are moving OK, but the rest of the sports car market is stuck in neutral," Visnic said in his report. "A 1,000-unit-per-month pace for a given sports car is becoming the norm, leaving some to wonder how long some automakers will - or can - support such frivolities, the cost-saving advantages of increased platform-sharing notwithstanding."
On the bright side, the Chevrolet Camaro and the Ford Mustang are in a healthy sales race, and the Dodge Challenger had a record sales month in April.
But far more common are stories of challenging days. In 2009, Chevrolet's Corvette endured its worst sales year in 50 years, and so far this year, sales are down even further. Mazda Miata is experiencing among the lowest sales in the brand's 20-year history and the barely-selling Mazda RX-8 may soon be discontinued. Sales of the Mercedes-Benz SLK roadster, the Nissan 370Z and the Nissan GT-R are down over 40 percent year-over-year - and 2009 is a terrible point of comparison. Every Porsche is down from last year as well.
