Best selling cars of '05 (so far)

The '05 Chrysler 300 made its debut in 2004, and it's been flying out of dealer showrooms ever since.

"It's the star of our line," says Gary Dilts, Chrysler Group senior vice president for sales.

In December, dealers sold a whopping 13,525 units, which accounted for 15 percent of all full-size cars sold in the United States, according to Jesse Toprak, director of pricing and market analysis for Edmunds.com, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based auto price tracking service. What's more, the 300's "days to turn" -- industry lingo for the amount of time a car spends at the dealer until it's sold -- was a very brisk 22 days. The industry average for all cars is 66 days.

The Chrysler corporation's other hot new entry is the Dodge Magnum. The roomy five-passenger wagon looks like a muscle car, but can also help mom get around town.

It's one of Car and Driver magazine's 10 best for '05. The base model's MSRP is $22,020, while the top of the line RT carries a sticker price of $30,070.

Dodge dealers sold 6,260 Magnums in December, a 7-percent increase over November's sales, says Toprak, who says the days-to-turn figure for the Magnum is currently 45.
Honda Accord Hybrid
The all new 2005 Honda Accord Hybrid is a four-door, five-passenger family sedan. It's the world's first V6-powered gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle.



Honda Accord Hybrid

It comes with a standard 3.0-liter, V6 240-horsepower hybrid engine that achieves 29 miles per gallon in the city and 37 on the highway. A five-speed automatic transmission with overdrive is also standard. MSRP is $29,990.

"It's a good choice for families in general, and the Hybrid is an even better choice if you want to do your part to clean up the environment," says Paul Lienert, an automotive writer and columnist for The Detroit News.

The Accord Hybrid made its debut in mid-December and sales figures for the Hybrid are not in yet, says Edmunds.com's Toprak. But dealers report strong interest in the company's third hybrid. Honda expects to sell 45,000 of the gas-saving hybrids -- Accords, Civics and Insights -- in the United States this year, twice the number sold last year.

Cadillac STS
The 2005 Cadillac STS is a four-door, five-passenger luxury sedan, or luxury sports sedan, available in two trims, the V6 and the V8. The V6 is equipped with a standard 3.6-liter, V6 255-horsepower engine that achieves 17 miles per gallon in the city and 24 on the highway.

The V8 is equipped with a standard 4.6-liter, V8 320-horsepower engine that achieves 17 mpg in the city and 26 on the highway. A five-speed automatic transmission with overdrive is standard on both. MSRP is $40,525 for the V6 and $47,025 for the V8.

According to Cadillac spokesperson Deborah Silverman, dealers sold 3,240 units in December. The STS made its debut in November. Days-to-turn for the STS is 29 nationwide, but some dealers are selling them almost as soon as they are delivered.

"We have waiting lists for the top of the top-of-the-line STS V8," says Tony Catalfo, sales manager at Ed Morse's Bayview Cadillac in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Nationwide, the STS's days-to-turn is a vigorous 29 days, but Catalfo says it's only 15 at his South Florida dealership.

I figured the STS would do very well, thought with its price tag I didn't expect this well.

I love how Honda gets press for there "hyrbid" yet they do the same exact thing GM does with there trucks with the motor assist, yet where does the praise go?

Those are not the best selling cars; they're what the author considers (or is paid to consider) as "hot" cars. The best sellers for Jan 05 are still the typical Camry (28k), Accord (20k) and Impala (20k). The Chrysler 300 wasn't even Mopar's best selling car; at 10k units it was outsold by the Neon (11k). The STS sold about 2k units in January.

BTW, for January Chevrolet division outsold Ford division by about 10k units :).

Well with all the old people in Florida, of course the STS is doing well there :lol:

Those are not the best selling cars; they're what the author considers (or is paid to consider) as "hot" cars. The best sellers for Jan 05 are still the typical Camry (28k), Accord (20k) and Impala (20k). The Chrysler 300 wasn't even Mopar's best selling car; at 10k units it was outsold by the Neon (11k). The STS sold about 2k units in January.

BTW, for January Chevrolet division outsold Ford division by about 10k units :).

I'm curious, do you know what followed the Impala? If its not a Taurus or similar, I'd wager it is an import, as the majority of the Impalas sales are most likely fleet or rental cars.

I love how Honda gets press for there "hyrbid" yet they do the same exact thing GM does with there trucks with the motor assist, yet where does the praise go?
Not really...The IMA system uses Nimh batteries which are recyclable. The "Flexpower" system in GM trucks is lead acid which isn't nearly as recyclable. Not to mention the IMA system uses power to help accelerate the vehicle while GM's does not, its just used to save milage during stops and to power tools for longer periods of time.

When GM and Chrysler come out with their electric assist motor for full- and partial-assist hybrids like so many nerds like me are waiting for, then they'll get all the press they need.

I'm curious, do you know what followed the Impala? If its not a Taurus or similar, I'd wager it is an import, as the majority of the Impalas sales are most likely fleet or rental cars.

Not true. While a lot of Impalas are indeed sold to fleets, hardly the MAJORITY of Impala sales are fleet cars. Probably 30% or so are fleet sales.

Not really...The IMA system uses Nimh batteries which are recyclable. The "Flexpower" system in GM trucks is lead acid which isn't nearly as recyclable. Not to mention the IMA system uses power to help accelerate the vehicle while GM's does not, its just used to save milage during stops and to power tools for longer periods of time.

When GM and Chrysler come out with their electric assist motor for full- and partial-assist hybrids like so many nerds like me are waiting for, then they'll get all the press they need.

True. Honda is getting more publicity for a reason. Honda and GM's trucks use different hybrid setups. The Honda is a truer hybrid since the electric motor actually assists the vehicles during acceleration. However niether is a full like the Toyota, and Toyota-derived systems in the Ford.

Also, the Honda system actually improves mpg too by a more significant margin...beyond the simple 1 or so mpg on the Silverado. Civic gets between 45 city and 51 highway. Accord hybrid gets 27city and 37 highway. Noticible improvements over the non-hybrid accord and civic.

interesting how the STS V8 gets better mileage than the V6.

Geez, are those Hybrid gas milage numbers really all that impressive for a compact car with all that marvelous state of the art technology? Seems like a waste of time to me, especially if you don't do alot of highway driving.

Well with all the old people in Florida, of course the STS is doing well there :lol:

Bayview is the closest Cadillac dealer to me, and I can definitly see that its a popular car on the street. I see more of them than probably any of the other newest cars, with the possible exception of Mustang...And Ive yet to see one driven by anyone with gray hair. :p

I'm curious, do you know what followed the Impala? If its not a Taurus or similar, I'd wager it is an import, as the majority of the Impalas sales are most likely fleet or rental cars.

Altima was around 17k, Civic & Corolla 16k, Taurus & Malibu around 14.5k.

2 comments to this thread :

1 . STS is certainly not a grey hairs car

2. I see just as many Toyota Camarys in the rental fleets when I need a car as Impalas , andthe Ultima's to . So lets lay off the rental fleet theory solely on the Impala . The only mainstream HIGH volume car I almost never ever see in a rental fleet is a Honda Accord or Honda Civic . Hell , the Enterprise here is even got a fleet of Maxima's now .

2 comments to this thread :

1 . STS is certainly not a grey hairs car

2. I see just as many Toyota Camarys in the rental fleets when I need a car as Impalas , andthe Ultima's to . So lets lay off the rental fleet theory solely on the Impala . The only mainstream HIGH volume car I almost never ever see in a rental fleet is a Honda Accord or Honda Civic . Hell , the Enterprise here is even got a fleet of Maxima's now .

Rental car doesn't necessarily mean bad. What is bad is when the rental sales are the majority of a model's sales. The Impala is a reasonably successful car, I think, though private sales here in California are not very high. Maybe the new one will do a bit better with the V8.

Those are not the best selling cars; they're what the author considers (or is paid to consider) as "hot" cars. The best sellers for Jan 05 are still the typical Camry (28k), Accord (20k) and Impala (20k). The Chrysler 300 wasn't even Mopar's best selling car; at 10k units it was outsold by the Neon (11k). The STS sold about 2k units in January.

BTW, for January Chevrolet division outsold Ford division by about 10k units :).

Goes to show people have no taste. I went to the Baltimore autoshow this week in a brand new Impala. When the owner sat in the 300c he could not believe how much better it was. The seats alone would make me choose the 300 over them Impala. You have to point your chin to the ceiling to get the back of your head to touch the headrest. Its in another class altogether.

Just an observation, GM had the worst showing of any brand there. Other then the GTO (which I like more now then when I test drove one) and the Corvette they had nothing I wanted. Ford, Chrysler, Dodge and Nissan had the excitement.

Those are not cars that the AUTHOR considers hot cars, they are cars in the industry that sell the quickest. They are considered HOT because it usually coincides with not enough supply for the demand because they are well below the average of how long it takes the average car to sell. You can have a line that sells 500 cars in a year, if they all sell the day they hit the lot, they are Hot cars.

Geez, are those Hybrid gas milage numbers really all that impressive for a compact car with all that marvelous state of the art technology? Seems like a waste of time to me, especially if you don't do alot of highway driving.
:lol: Because we all know the Accord is a compact....
interesting how the STS V8 gets better mileage than the V6.
Not very interesting to me...GM has the V8 market DOMINATED right now in terms of power and fuel economy :bow: . Where-as their V6's are among the worst around.

:lol: Because we all know the Accord is a compact....

Not very interesting to me...GM has the V8 market DOMINATED right now in terms of power and fuel economy :bow: . Where-as their V6's are among the worst around.

That is crazy about the STS V8 & V6, I checked www.fueleconomy.gov to make sure it wasn't a typo.

Whats wrong with GM 6 cyls???? DOHC 3.6L is a great engine. 4.2L I6 is one of Wards top ten since it came out. Both get great reviews. DoD 3.9L is coming out and will have 245HP and class leading fuel economy. Even the old as hell 3.4L OHV still gets some of the best milage on the market for a V6, 3.4L Impala leads its clas for fuel economy. A Turbo 2.8L DOHC is also on the way next year.

An interesting thing about that Accord Hybrid is that while its highway fuel economy number (37 mpg) is certainly good for that size of car, it probably has little to do with the hybrid system - that engine's DoD is what helps out with the highway number. The 29 city number is better than other midsize cars, for sure. The less powerful (but still plenty adequate) 200 hp Malibu is a fuel economy leader in the class, with 24/32 ratings (not sure about the city number).

Whats wrong with GM 6 cyls???? DOHC 3.6L is a great engine. 4.2L I6 is one of Wards top ten since it came out. Both get great reviews. DoD 3.9L is coming out and will have 245HP and class leading fuel economy. Even the old as hell 3.4L OHV still gets some of the best milage on the market for a V6, 3.4L Impala leads its clas for fuel economy. A Turbo 2.8L DOHC is also on the way next year.
Outside of being bulletproof, I really just don't understand why the 3800 is still around. Sure it saves costs, but its been falling behind the competition for half a decade now. And the freak'n 3.4 that was in my '95 Camaro was a POS for even mid early 90's standards and is STILL around?! WTF is that?? Combined with an archaic 4-speed automatic equals :death:

The 3.9 on the other hand.... :thumb: