Interesting

"Jayhawk Jake" (jayhawkjake) 02/17/2014 at 15:44 • Filed to: GOODCARBADCAR

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On an FP article earlier Battery Tender Unnecessary shared a link to !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , a website that tracks US and Canadian auto sales.

You can learn some interesting things. For example, who would have thought that the Chevy Sonic outsold the Ford Fiesta in the US last year?

What interesting numbers can you find?

Velocity- Peuguette Connoisseur > Jayhawk Jake 02/17/2014 at 15:44

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Hey the Dart sold well!

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Jayhawk Jake 02/17/2014 at 15:48

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Why would anyone buy the Sonic over the Fiesta, other that it's cheaper. I know it's a good car.

But the Fiesta is far better .

Sigh...

Stef Schrader > Jayhawk Jake 02/17/2014 at 15:49

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I have an increasingly rare car, it seems: http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2011/01/mitsub…

No wonder the parts sometimes make the 944's seem cheap. :o(

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Jayhawk Jake 02/17/2014 at 15:49

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Yeah, I have this website bookmarked, it can be a lot of fun to click through from time to time.

Victorious Secret > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 02/17/2014 at 15:49

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Because Found on Road, Dead.

/trollolol

Velocity- Peuguette Connoisseur > Jayhawk Jake 02/17/2014 at 15:50

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What. (January numbers)

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Victorious Secret 02/17/2014 at 15:51

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Because a car that might suddenly curl into a ball and roll around collecting golden rings is so much better...

Victorious Secret > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 02/17/2014 at 15:53

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You say that, but have you ever had a little blue fuzzball try and overtake you on the road?

Velocity- Peuguette Connoisseur > Stef Schrader 02/17/2014 at 15:54

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More people bought them in 2013 than 2012 though

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Victorious Secret 02/17/2014 at 15:56

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Can't say that I have, no.

Mostly because my 2002 SVT Ford Focus wins against anything it drag races.

(the sense of sarcasm should be palpable)

ihm96 > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 02/17/2014 at 15:56

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!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 02/17/2014 at 15:56

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Because the Sonic is made in USA not Mexico?

Victorious Secret > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 02/17/2014 at 15:57

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Pfft. I bet you couldn't beat VTAK.

Just come at me brah.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Victorious Secret 02/17/2014 at 15:58

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I've Zetec. No contest.

Stef Schrader > Velocity- Peuguette Connoisseur 02/17/2014 at 15:58

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Hmm. Maybe they covered up the goatee front end with a sweet car mustache made of rich Corinthian varmint.

(I'm not a fan of the revised snout, haha.)

Someone at work has a red '08 and parked on the roof next to where I usually park today. I feel the need to fist-bump him for having the second raddest car in the garage (first is my red '10).

Jayhawk Jake > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 02/17/2014 at 16:00

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The Fiesta is cheaper than the Sonic at the low end.

And how is the Fiesta far better ? I prefer the Sonic to the Fiesta, really the only place they start to differ is at the top end, the Fiesta Titanium is nicer than a Sonic LTZ, but it costs a fair amount more IIRC. The ST performs better than the RS, I'll concede that, but it's not that much nicer, if at all. It's just different.

Jayhawk Jake > Velocity- Peuguette Connoisseur 02/17/2014 at 16:01

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Is the GMC Canyon being produced? It might just be a straggler. The RX8 had one sale last year.

Jayhawk Jake > Velocity- Peuguette Connoisseur 02/17/2014 at 16:02

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Yeah, I was impressed by that. The Sonic and Dart both have bigger numbers than I would have expected, although I'm starting to see more of both on the roads, especially the Dart

Velocity- Peuguette Connoisseur > Stef Schrader 02/17/2014 at 16:03

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I've driven 3 Lancers (because the dealer was desperate to get rid of them so they were like "DRIVE THEM PLEASEEEE"). The first one- CVT, FWD, base model. Nasty car. Underpowered, not fun.

Second one- one trim level up, AWD, heated cloth seats(!), still CVT. Better, but not great. Still underpowered

Third one- the hatchbacky one. Like the first one but the radio didn't work.

Then I sat in a top trim one on the dealer's floor, not bad actually. But still not an Evo. Or even a Rallyart. But the leather was nice and it actually had decent quality, unlike the lesser ones. Oh and they had no manuals.

Velocity- Peuguette Connoisseur > Jayhawk Jake 02/17/2014 at 16:04

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Definitely a straggler.

oldirtybootz > Jayhawk Jake 02/17/2014 at 16:05

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83k Dart sales is what Toyota does in 4 months with the Corolla, even though they cheat and count the Matrix despite the fact that it doesn't wear a Corolla badge, but I digress.

The Dart is an excellent little car, yet people would rather have Elantras and Sentras? Sheep.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Jayhawk Jake 02/17/2014 at 16:07

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Have yet to see a review of the Sonic praising how much fun it is to drive. All you hear about the Fiesta is how well sorted it is, regardless of trim level.

That is not to say the Sonic isn't any good. I know they've made big strides. But it's not at the same level the Fiesta is.

Jayhawk Jake > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 02/17/2014 at 16:09

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There aren't very many reviews of the Sonic out there, frankly.

Here's a review: Having driven the Fiesta (non-ST) and Sonic, the Sonic is fun to drive. In the majority of situations it's just as much fun as the Fiesta.

Jayhawk Jake > oldirtybootz 02/17/2014 at 16:10

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If I was in the market for a compact sedan the Dart would be my top choice.

I don't get why people go for the Elantra over the Forte, and I really don't get why anyone buys a Sentra or Corolla anymore. There are so many better options it's ridiculous. Dart, Focus, Forte, Mazda 3...

Stef Schrader > Velocity- Peuguette Connoisseur 02/17/2014 at 16:12

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Ha, I have the CVT. Hilarious on track unless there are hairpins. Then it takes a looooong time for it to spool back up to speed. Otherwise, WHIIIIIRRRRRR. BEEEEESSSSSS.

Velocity- Peuguette Connoisseur > Stef Schrader 02/17/2014 at 16:14

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Oh man it's so bad to drive normally though...

oldirtybootz > Jayhawk Jake 02/17/2014 at 16:27

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I saw a current Forte this morning and I wad surprised at how good it looks. Easy choice over an Elantra. The Sentra and Corolla are the definition of basic transportation.

Like you said, there are so many better options that the Corolla, Civic, and Sentra should not be selling as well as they are. I'd add the Elantra to that as well, as it's essentially a Hyundai Corolla and the Forte is much more attractive than the melted Sonata look.

All that said, it's incredible how good this segment is now. It wasn't that long ago that you generally only bought a compact because you couldn't swing the midsize or you really needed the fuel economy. Now the entire class is pretty damn good.

And since you said nice things about the Dart, I'd go Sonic over any subcompact save a Fiesta ST. My girlfriend thinks they're ugly but I love those headlights.

Dusty Ventures > Jayhawk Jake 02/17/2014 at 18:28

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I thought the Fiesta (non-ST) felt and performed noticeably better than the Sonic when I drove it, but that's just me.

Jayhawk Jake > Dusty Ventures 02/17/2014 at 18:54

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I suppose I've only driven the RS Sonic, which has different suspension/brakes/steering than the normal Sonic

Jayhawk Jake > oldirtybootz 02/17/2014 at 18:57

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I wouldn't blame anyone for taking the ST over the Sonic on performance. I can't love the Fiesta's interior though, I don't like Ford's interior design language

Team6.1 > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 02/17/2014 at 18:57

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But how many people who buy a cheap no spec hatch care about fun today? My friend traded her Beatle in for a sonic because it was roomy and cheap. That's about all she cared about. Interior is nice enough, folding seats give lots of room, the engine in normal driving conditions is fine, gets good mpg. Personally I think they look better.

Dusty Ventures > Jayhawk Jake 02/17/2014 at 18:59

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That 'splains it

oldirtybootz > Jayhawk Jake 02/18/2014 at 10:19

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I haven't been in a Fiesta lately, but I can't stand the Focus interior, and this coming from someone who owned a 2010. It's enough to turn me away from anything but the STs. The Fusion's interior is very nice though, more conventional than its little siblings.

I love my interior though, the quality and design and great for the segment.

Jayhawk Jake > oldirtybootz 02/18/2014 at 10:24

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The Fiesta interior is literally a smaller and cheaper Focus interior.

I love the ST's as performance machines, but I don't know that I could live with the styling. I mean obviously if someone gave me one, I wouldn't say no, but I had a hard time wrapping my head around buying a Focus ST. The FiST is more appealing, but I hate Ford's center console. I'm sure I'd get used to it, but blegh.

The Dart has a great interior for sure, I was impressed when I looked at one. I'd love to see Dodge take a stab at a hatchback version.

oldirtybootz > Jayhawk Jake 02/18/2014 at 10:34

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I present the Fiat Ottimo, a Dart hatch for China.

I don't like the styling of the Focus ST but I do like the Fiesta. I'm still a pretty big Ford fan and I want to love both the STs, but the Focus is indeed ugly. I'd rather have a Dart SRT or R/T or whatever.

Jayhawk Jake > oldirtybootz 02/18/2014 at 11:17

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That thing is gorgeous. Why can't we have nice things...

oldirtybootz > Jayhawk Jake 02/18/2014 at 12:39

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Because America doesn't like hatchbacks and truth be told I likely would have bought the sedan anyway. Now if they made a proper Dart wagon...

Jayhawk Jake > oldirtybootz 02/18/2014 at 12:41

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I seriously don't get the hatch hate, but I feel like it'll come back eventually.

Someone made an observation once that the reason we like or dislike certain cars is because we perceive our parents as uncool. So our parents had wagons, that means wagons are uncool. Now that a lot of parents have SUVs, they will be uncool, so I think hatches have a chance at a comeback in 10 years or so. The utility of an SUV, without being lame like the cars kids parent's drove.

oldirtybootz > Jayhawk Jake 02/18/2014 at 12:52

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Perhaps it's the fact that SUVs are useful where I live, but I've noticed that new drivers tend to gravitate towards SUVs, older Cherokees and Grand Cherokees in particular. My girlfriend is driving a 98 Accord, but she wants an SUV. For her it's a matter of being up higher off the road, she started driving in her mom's Pathfinder so she's more comfortable in them. She has gotten more used to cars now since driving the Honda, but she wants a crossover or something. When she's ready to buy a new car I'm obviously going to show her all het options(I'm leaning towards a new Cherokee) but it's her money so she can get whatever she's most confortable with.