xcel
12-13-2006, 05:28 PM
Tiny cars continue to be big hits even though sky-high gas prices have eased. (http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2006-12-12-small-cars-usat_x.htm?csp=34)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2007_Honda_Fit1.jpgChris Woodyard - USA TODAY - Dec. 13, 2006
Smaller automobiles like the 2007 Honda Fit are so popular they are hard to keep in stock.
Pushed by Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit and Nissan Versa - small, front-wheel-drive, fuel-efficient subcompacts introduced this year - the low-price end of the small-car market is up 42.2% through November compared with a year ago, industry tracker Autodata says.
That's in an overall new vehicle market down 2.5%. Experts aren't surprised.
"You're getting a lot for your money - a great commuter car, a great city car," says Rebecca Lindland, an automotive consultant at Global Insight. "They all have some funky style, a lot of accessories" to "pimp them up."
Discounts on the economy subcompacts are the slimmest in five years - just 1.5% less than the full window-sticker price, according to shopping site Edmunds.com. Average discount for all vehicles: 12.5%
Even without rebates and other sales sweeteners, the low-price little cars aren't idling at dealerships. They're selling in an average 29 days, less than half the time it normally takes to sell a vehicle, Power Information Network says. The three stars of the category, Fit, Yaris and Versa, sell in less than two weeks.
Day on dealership lots.
Vehicles|Days needed to sell
Basic low-price small car|29
Premium midsize car|38
Premium midsize crossover utility vehicle (CUV)|43
Ordinary midsize car|52
Premium full-size SUV|53
Compact CUV|60
Premium full-size pickup|62
Midsize CUV|63
Average for all vehicles|65
Full-size SUV|66
Minivan|68
Midsize sporty car|70
Compact SUV|71
Ordinary full-size car|74
Ordinary full-size pickup|97
Midsize SUV|99
Despite the dramatic growth in their sales, the low-price small cars are only about 2% of U.S. new vehicle sales. Still, that's twice the slice of the market that the smallest cars once held.
The little cars doing so well are the next size down from the compacts that motorists know better, such as Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic. Much to automakers' relief, the economy cars don't appear to be cannibalizing sales from the compacts. Corolla sales are up 13% this year, for instance, Autodata says.
General Motors, seeing a future in small-car sales, introduced a redesigned version of its South Korean-made Chevrolet Aveo earlier this year, but it hasn't enjoyed the success of rivals. Aveo sales are down 16% this year from a year ago. That will change next year when more Aveos are available, says Chevy spokesman Terry Rhadigan.
The auto industry's philosophy long has been, "Small cars mean small profits." Finally, though, car companies have figured out how to develop them to sell, with relatively minor changes, in markets around the world. Otherwise the growing but still modest U.S. sales wouldn't be sufficient to repay the automakers' investments in the vehicles. The global approach also gives automakers a chance to sell the vehicles overseas first, to see what changes, if any, are necessary before bringing them to the demanding U.S. market.
The appeal of subcompacts: They're cheap. Prices range from $12,545 for Yaris to $14,445 for Fit, including destination charges. Some offer amenities usually found on bigger, pricier cars - heated seats and anti-skid control, for instance - and still don't break the $20,000 barrier.
They save gas. They are among the thriftiest non-hybrid cars on the road. Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, found the group has better fuel economy than all vehicles except a handful of diesels and gasoline-electric hybrids. All have a government fuel-economy rating of 30 miles per gallon or more in highway driving. Yaris tops the group at 40 mpg.
They have wide appeal. The market isn't just college students anymore. The median age of Yaris buyers is 40. Small cars are proving popular with solo commuters and frugal seniors who no longer have kids to haul around.
They attract attention. New and different to U.S. eyes, the economy models have the street sizzle owners once got only from bigger, flashier machines.BMW legitimized small cars in the historically resistant USA when it launched its Mini Cooper in March 2002. Ever since, automakers have discovered, a growing number of buyers have decided small cars are desirable, rather than what you drive when you can't afford what you really want.
When gas prices topped $3 last year and this, small-car drivers seemed brilliant.
Regular grade gasoline averages about $2.29 a gallon across the USA, edging up in recent weeks, but far below the $3.04 high recorded Aug. 7 by the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
In Europe, small cars have long been seen as an antidote to average gasoline prices that range from a U.S.-equivalent $5.85 per gallon in France to $6.83 in The Netherlands, according to the EIA.
The challenge now for automakers is to simply get enough of them. "We would like to get more production, but unfortunately for us the vehicle is very successful all over the world," Honda spokesman Kurt Antonius says.
Nissan announced it will open Versa production at a second plant in Mexico. Export begins in April to the USA. "It's helping to drive customers into showrooms, and we're looking forward to its increased availability," says Bill Bosley, a Nissan North American vice president.
Toyota reports having a hard time getting enough of both Yaris and its other small car, the Scion xA. "If we get more Yarises, we get less of something else that's hot," spokesman Mike Michels says.
Kia and Hyundai recently shuffled production among overseas plants to boost production of their two smallest cars for the U.S. market, Rio and Accent, respectively.
"The dealers are screaming for more," says Ian Beavis, Kia's U.S. marketing chief. "People are coming around to the idea that gas is going to be a factor for all time."
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2007_Honda_Fit1.jpgChris Woodyard - USA TODAY - Dec. 13, 2006
Smaller automobiles like the 2007 Honda Fit are so popular they are hard to keep in stock.
Pushed by Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit and Nissan Versa - small, front-wheel-drive, fuel-efficient subcompacts introduced this year - the low-price end of the small-car market is up 42.2% through November compared with a year ago, industry tracker Autodata says.
That's in an overall new vehicle market down 2.5%. Experts aren't surprised.
"You're getting a lot for your money - a great commuter car, a great city car," says Rebecca Lindland, an automotive consultant at Global Insight. "They all have some funky style, a lot of accessories" to "pimp them up."
Discounts on the economy subcompacts are the slimmest in five years - just 1.5% less than the full window-sticker price, according to shopping site Edmunds.com. Average discount for all vehicles: 12.5%
Even without rebates and other sales sweeteners, the low-price little cars aren't idling at dealerships. They're selling in an average 29 days, less than half the time it normally takes to sell a vehicle, Power Information Network says. The three stars of the category, Fit, Yaris and Versa, sell in less than two weeks.
Day on dealership lots.
Vehicles|Days needed to sell
Basic low-price small car|29
Premium midsize car|38
Premium midsize crossover utility vehicle (CUV)|43
Ordinary midsize car|52
Premium full-size SUV|53
Compact CUV|60
Premium full-size pickup|62
Midsize CUV|63
Average for all vehicles|65
Full-size SUV|66
Minivan|68
Midsize sporty car|70
Compact SUV|71
Ordinary full-size car|74
Ordinary full-size pickup|97
Midsize SUV|99
Despite the dramatic growth in their sales, the low-price small cars are only about 2% of U.S. new vehicle sales. Still, that's twice the slice of the market that the smallest cars once held.
The little cars doing so well are the next size down from the compacts that motorists know better, such as Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic. Much to automakers' relief, the economy cars don't appear to be cannibalizing sales from the compacts. Corolla sales are up 13% this year, for instance, Autodata says.
General Motors, seeing a future in small-car sales, introduced a redesigned version of its South Korean-made Chevrolet Aveo earlier this year, but it hasn't enjoyed the success of rivals. Aveo sales are down 16% this year from a year ago. That will change next year when more Aveos are available, says Chevy spokesman Terry Rhadigan.
The auto industry's philosophy long has been, "Small cars mean small profits." Finally, though, car companies have figured out how to develop them to sell, with relatively minor changes, in markets around the world. Otherwise the growing but still modest U.S. sales wouldn't be sufficient to repay the automakers' investments in the vehicles. The global approach also gives automakers a chance to sell the vehicles overseas first, to see what changes, if any, are necessary before bringing them to the demanding U.S. market.
The appeal of subcompacts: They're cheap. Prices range from $12,545 for Yaris to $14,445 for Fit, including destination charges. Some offer amenities usually found on bigger, pricier cars - heated seats and anti-skid control, for instance - and still don't break the $20,000 barrier.
They save gas. They are among the thriftiest non-hybrid cars on the road. Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, found the group has better fuel economy than all vehicles except a handful of diesels and gasoline-electric hybrids. All have a government fuel-economy rating of 30 miles per gallon or more in highway driving. Yaris tops the group at 40 mpg.
They have wide appeal. The market isn't just college students anymore. The median age of Yaris buyers is 40. Small cars are proving popular with solo commuters and frugal seniors who no longer have kids to haul around.
They attract attention. New and different to U.S. eyes, the economy models have the street sizzle owners once got only from bigger, flashier machines.BMW legitimized small cars in the historically resistant USA when it launched its Mini Cooper in March 2002. Ever since, automakers have discovered, a growing number of buyers have decided small cars are desirable, rather than what you drive when you can't afford what you really want.
When gas prices topped $3 last year and this, small-car drivers seemed brilliant.
Regular grade gasoline averages about $2.29 a gallon across the USA, edging up in recent weeks, but far below the $3.04 high recorded Aug. 7 by the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
In Europe, small cars have long been seen as an antidote to average gasoline prices that range from a U.S.-equivalent $5.85 per gallon in France to $6.83 in The Netherlands, according to the EIA.
The challenge now for automakers is to simply get enough of them. "We would like to get more production, but unfortunately for us the vehicle is very successful all over the world," Honda spokesman Kurt Antonius says.
Nissan announced it will open Versa production at a second plant in Mexico. Export begins in April to the USA. "It's helping to drive customers into showrooms, and we're looking forward to its increased availability," says Bill Bosley, a Nissan North American vice president.
Toyota reports having a hard time getting enough of both Yaris and its other small car, the Scion xA. "If we get more Yarises, we get less of something else that's hot," spokesman Mike Michels says.
Kia and Hyundai recently shuffled production among overseas plants to boost production of their two smallest cars for the U.S. market, Rio and Accent, respectively.
"The dealers are screaming for more," says Ian Beavis, Kia's U.S. marketing chief. "People are coming around to the idea that gas is going to be a factor for all time."