Vehicle Sales

The Dodge Viper is one of the most distinctive sports cars ever made. It started in the 1990s, with the idea of recapturing the spirit of the 1960s Shelby Cobra and Carroll Shelby, himself, was attached to the Viper’s development. Sadly, the last Viper rolled off the production line in August 2017, and it doesn’t look like there’s going to be a new one. And while prices have remained steady, one question remains: is it worth it? YouTube channel Raiti’s Rides gives a good answer.

Bigben Interactive has been hard at work bringing WRC 8 to life, and we were lucky enough to get an early look at the game before it actually launches. How does it compare to other car games? Has Bigben and developer, Kylotonn, held true to the promise of improved graphics, physics, and overall gameplay? What about the redesigned career mode? Well, we’re here to tell you that WRC 8 is a huge departure from the last game, and I mean that in a good way. With that said, let’s take our first good look into WRC 8.

Cadillac was one of the first companies to offer a subscription service. But it looks like General Motors is not interested in the idea anymore, and is planning to wind up the service by the end of this year. According to the Wall Street Journal, the automaker will shut down the service from December 1 this year.

Osaka-based car manufacturer Aspark exhibited its Owl EV Hypercar at the Paris Motor Show. While the car in the City Of Light was actually only a show model without a propulsion system or even a fully sorted interior, Aspark announced that it is opening preorders for the hypercar. How much do you need to deposit? Try a cool 1 million euros ($1.15 million)! That is just the deposit, mind you. Once the car is ready for delivery by mid-2020, you will have to churn out a few more million, rounding up the price to $3.6 million. Yup, crazy!

Despite nagging production issues, the Tesla Model 3 is fast becoming one of America’s best-selling sedans. Monthly and quarterly sales totals in the last three months ending in September revealed that the Model 3 outsold all but four of the top sedans sold in the U.S., regardless of their size and price. In that time span, Tesla sold around 55,800 units of the Model 3, outselling far more established models like the Nissan Sentra, Hyundai Elantra, Ford Fusion, and Chevrolet Malibu. The only four models that outsold the Model 3 are the Toyota Corolla, Toyota Camry, Honda Civic, and Honda Accord.

Mercedes-AMG’s promise to keep sales of the Project One hypercar exclusive is taking shape after reports that prospective buyers will have to sign contracts that include clauses preventing them from flipping their vehicles in the second-hand market immediately. Apparently, Mercedes-AMG is making it crystal clear to people with build slots for the Project One that the practice of flipping won’t be tolerated. It’s a move that other automakers have done in recent years, including Aston Martin and Ford, both of whom included similar clauses to customers of the Valkyrie and GT, respectively.

Ferrari is known for being a purveyor of some of the finest performance cars the world has ever seen. That much is true. It’s also known for being particularly picky to whom it sells, particularly those limited-edition versions with a specific numbered quantity. Not everyone can get their hands on one, even if they distinguish themselves for being hardcore supporters of the Italian brand. The late Preston Henn found that out first hand when he was denied a Ferrari LaFerrari Aperta last year. Now, noted watch and jewelry entrepreneur David Lee has found himself in that list too… for the exact same reason.

Yes, Ferrari is shutting the door on the possibility of Lee ever scooping up any one of the 209 LaFerrari Apertas the Italian automaker plans to build. According to the LA Times, Maranello won’t give the exact reason why it’s giving the cold shoulder to one of its most esteemed collectors, but Lee himself sees it as a possible punishment for all his perceived grand-standing on social media. The man is known to have social media accounts that prominently feature his Ferraris. He might say it as helping the company get more exposure than it already has, but for an automaker that prides itself on being far removed from all the flashy self-promotion that has inundated social media these days, Lee’s constant habit of flaunting off his Prancing Horse models (he even owns one of Michael Schumacher’s Formula One\ cars from the 2002 season) likely runs counter to what the Italian automaker stands for.

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As Honda deals with the growing discontent among its consumer base on the aggressive mark-ups dealerships are putting on the Honda Civic Type R, Dodge is determined not to irate its consumers by instituting a unique dealership ordering process for the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon. The process itself was designed to prevent the experience prospective Civic Type R customers are going through as they see the prices of the hot hatch skyrocket to almost double Honda’s own asking price.

A big part of Dodge’s allocation plan for the Challenger Demon is to place priority on dealerships willing to sell at or below the automaker’s suggested retail price. Specifically, these dealerships stand to get priority scheduling and receive lower serial-numbered cars as opposed to those who are putting mark-ups on the price of the highly sought-after muscle car. On top of that, dealerships who have sold more than one SRT Hellcat in the last 12 months are the only ones who are eligible to receive a Challenger Demon. And to make it in even more difficult for these dealers, those who meet the previous requirement will be allocated a certain number of models depending on how their sales performance for the Charger, Challenger, and SRT Hellcats are. As for those dealerships planning to sell the SRT Demon above the automaker’s MSRP, they’ll get theirs “after priority production is completed.”

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In case you’re in the final stages of formalizing a payment plan to pay for the $1.9 million Koenigsegg Regera supercar, you might need to call a halt to the proceedings. Your luck just ran out. See, Koenigsegg only produced 80 examples of the Regera, and all are now accounted for. Word of the “disappointing” development comes straight from Koenigsegg, with a post on the company blog. The car Koenigsegg describes as a “tour de force of technology” is officially sold out.

It’s an impressive achievement to sell $152 million worth of Regeras in such a short amount of time. Remember, the 1,500-horsepower supercar was introduced just 15 months ago at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show. Considering its price and outright exclusivity, it’s amazing to think that all 80 units now have buyers. There is some good news, though, if you’re still in denial about missing out on the cars. Koenigsegg didn’t identify those who scored one, but it did indicate the possibility of finding any of the 80 Regeras in local dealerships. That could mean that an unspecified number of these supercars were bought to be resold. You’ll definitely have to pay a bigger premium for these cars than you intended, but hey, that’s the price you have to pay for waiting longer than you should have to get yours.

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The Barrett-Jackson auction recently went down in West Palm Beach, Florida, and while the auction of the first-ever 2018 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was my main focus, there were plenty of other vehicles that fought for my attention. For two days I walked the 100 acres of the South Florida Fair Grounds looking at iron from every decade in motoring history. There were old Rolls Royces, Mercedes, and even a few Ferraris. Just feet away were iconic American muscle cars with hot-cammed V-8 thumping out unburned hydrocarbons and more than a few classic pickups and SUVs.

Of course, you know Barrett-Jackson is one of the largest traveling auctions in the country. It hammers bids on thousands of classic vehicles every year, some with million-dollar price tags. Barrett-Jackson visits locations including the Northeast, Las Vegas, Scottsdale, and obviously West Palm Beach, each year. The auctioneers, staff, and equipment all travel. The vehicles are generally more regional, with tons of locals and residents of nearby states looking to sell their stuff. The variety is nearly limitless.

Also limitless is my taste for history and cars. Combine the two, and I’m lost in a dizzying whirlwind of want and desire. Sadly, I wasn’t registered to bid (my wife might say thankfully). That didn’t stop me from looking, though, and look I did! Here are my five favorite vehicles from the auction.

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Have you noticed how today’s automotive strategy is built around gibberish? I swear cars are more about PR talk than anything else. Take Cadillac, for instance, which spent recent years blabbing about how it will get back on the horse in the luxury market with new vehicles with better everything. Well, it’s 2017 and Cadillac still sucks. It sucks so bad that the XT5 crossover outsells the company’s entire sedan lineup. In march, it sold 5,280 XT5 crossovers compared to 4,701 ATS, CTS, XTS, and CT6 sedans combined.

Yeah, I know, crossovers are a big deal now. But you know what? The XT5 isn’t much of a Cadillac. It’s just a bigger hatchback Chevrolet thingy with fancier styling and extra features inside. The CT6 is a true Cadillac, but 1,000 units a month ain’t gonna cut the mustard. But hey, 1,000 CT6s sold in the U.S. in one month is definitely better than sales of 761 examples in Europe in 2016. Even Lamborghini sold more cars on the old continent. A better chance of running into a Lambo then a Cadillac in Europe, now that’s how you know you have a problem buddy!

Another thing that grinds my gears these days is the hypocrisy surrounding Ferrari. Just a few days ago Sergio Marchionne said an all-electric Ferrari may become reality in the future, with the brand looking to join the Formula E series. This comes from the same man that labeled the Ferrari EV as an "obscene concept" a while back. He also said "you’d have to shoot me first" before such a supercar would be developed. Well, he just pointed a shotgun at himself. It goes to show that you can no longer trust company executives these days. And what’s the deal with banning the pink color from the lineup? It’s not fitting for your "whole ethos" you say? What does that even mean? Are you talking about the same ethos that sold Ferraris to Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton? In that case, pink would definitely hurt the ethos. And a few butts...

Speaking of which, what’s the deal with the new Civic Si? Is this thing supposed to fill the gap between the regular model and the Type R? Sounds like a fine idea, but this isn’t something you can do with 205 horsepower. Especially when the Type R has 306 horses. The really annoying thing is that the new engine is only as powerful as the one in the previous Si. And we’re talking about a turbocharger here. Yeah, so the new Civic is lighter and performance is better, but come on Honda, give people that can’t afford the Type R something to work with. It’s like the executives voted to frustrate Civic Si owners with just a mild improvement on a car that’s significantly better chassis- and tech-wise. For the first Si to use turbocharging, this car is a big disappointment. I don’t know about you, but I’m fed up with this strategy of keeping things tempered. A 250-horsepower Si wouldn’t kill the Type R, but it would make customers happier and render the Golf GTi and Fiesta ST useless.

If I wouldn’t be so lazy in the morning I’d definitely accept heading Honda’s market strategy department.

You know what else seems cool but we won’t get to enjoy it to its full potential? Lynk & Co.’s new concept sedan. Lynk & Co. is a Chinese brand own by Geely, the same firm that acquired Volvo a few years ago, and it’s about to unveil this crazy four-door. When it comes to Chinese products I’d rather stick to Zhajiangmian (Google it!), but this concept sedan is one I’d very much like to drive. Just look at it! It’s got so much muscle, suicide doors all around, and a sporty silhouette. And it’s all built around Volvo’s latest architecture. But you know what? I won’t get to drive this thing and neither will you. Because concept cars either remain concepts or go into production looking like crap. And like Trump likes to say, you can’t trust the Chinese anyway!

Finally, the healthy discounts that Chevy is offering for the SS nowadays remind me that the sedan has been discontinued and there won’t be a successor since the Holden Commodore it is based on is dead. Well screw you Chevrolet! You finally had THE performance sedan and you just screwed things up. "But, but Holden is no longer building cars in Australia," you might say. Shut up, that’s a lame excuse! There’s plenty of ways to develop one here in the States, but no, GM would rather do a Corvette SUV instead. And don’t get me started on the new front-wheel drive Commodore... It’s a good thing Dodge keeps milking the Challenger and Charger to deliver no-nonsense muscle cars.

Electric cars have technically been around since 1837 when a chemist named Robert Davidson built an electric car that was powered by galvanic cells. But, the first highway-legal electric vehicle didn’t hit the market until 2008. Since then, interest in electric vehicles has increased slowly but steadily, and in 2017 there are at least 25 PEVs now available on the market. This includes models like the Tesla Model S and X, Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid, Mercedes C350E, and the Volvo XC90 90 T8 PHEV, among others.

So, what is a PEV, really? A PEV is a subset of electric vehicles that includes all-electric or battery electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs), and electric vehicle conversions of hybrid electric vehicles and conventional internal combustion engine vehicles. But, are PEVs actually taking a hold in the automotive market or are they set to see a decline as they did in the early 1900s? Well, we’ve put together an infographic to detail the electric vehicle market statistics here in the United States for the year 2016, including market growth, most popular models, and the number of sales by state. So, let’s take a look at the infographic in detail and talk a little more about it.

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Ford Motor Company’s president of the Americas, Joe Hinrichs, says Trump’s presidency could spark big growth in sales for the pickup truck segment. Hinrichs cites Trump’s pro-growth and promise of extensive infrastructure revitalization as factors, which could spark truck demand.

“If the infrastructure investment in the United States takes off as part of the conversation with the new administration, that certainly could help the industry and the business,” Hinrichs said at the Automotive News World Congress.

Ford sold an impressive 820,000 F-Series trucks in 2016. That marks the F-Series’ highest sales since 2005. Ford is currently chasing the 1 million annual sales mark for the F-Series, having almost reached the goal in 2004 with more than 930,000 units sold in the U.S. Adding the 145,409 F-Series trucks sold in Canada that year technically pushes Ford to its goal, but Ford undoubtedly wants to claim the title for sole U.S. sales.

While Hinrichs’ optimism is well founded in an a-political statement regarding economics, it just seems odd for a Ford executive to be commenting positively about a Trump administration after the flack Trump gave Ford on the campaign trail over its plan to relocate small car production from Michigan to Mexico. As we reported, Ford canceled the plans after Trump’s November victory, vowing to invest in American manufacturing.

Part of that boost will come with the upcoming 2019 Ranger pickup and 2020 Bronco SUV. Both were officially announced at the 2017 Detroit Auto Show, though no concept vehicles or even renderings were shows. Ford is also divulged it will bring five new utility vehicles to the U.S. by 2020, including the Bronco. And though initial speculation pegged the iconic nameplate as being a rebadged Ford Everest, Hinrichs said the Bronco will be “true to its heritage” and “you’ll recognize it as a Bronco.”

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