July Sales: Toyota Corolla Leads Compact Cars
By Michelle Krebs August 4, 2010
Toyota sold more Corollas than Honda did its Civics. In fact, Toyota sold more Corollas this July than last, whereas Honda sold less this year than last. The Hyundai Elantra, due for replacement in the coming months, came on strong in July. The current Ford Focus is winding down to pave the way for the new one. Similarly, the Chevrolet Cobalt is making way for the all-important Chevrolet Cruze. The Nissan Sentra helped the division achieve across-the-board increases this July.
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Click here to comment on this entry.So, you run out of colors after one (blue), tell you a sectet there is also green and red sh......, dont tell any one.
I really have to wonder how many people drove off in an Elantra after finding the Tucson or Sonata they came to see just wasn't available. Now it looks like Elantra supplies are short, so it'll be interesting to see what its sales look like next month.
Why oh why does the Corolla sell so well. Virtually every car on that list and many not on there (Golf, Mazda 3 etc) are superior in so many ways - whether it is external/internal design, ride/handling, fun, fuel economy, price, quality.
The Corolla is old technology in an old body shape that changes marginally. I really hope the new Cruze and Focus are successes.
Because it is Toyota. There is no other reason for that. It is quiet, smooth, looks like Camry, traditional conservative interior and exterior, does not offend anyone, women like it. What else do you want? Fun, style, handling - who cares. In America car is another appliance, like oven or BD player. Europeans commute in public transportation so if they decide to buy a car it is more than just moving from A to B in comfort.
Dealers in my area (Atlanta) are selling new Corolla LEs for under $14k (over $4,000 under sticker). That includes A/T, PW/PDL, keyless entry, CC and CD. A Civic with similar features (LX) sells for closer to $17k. The "bargain bin" pricing obviously moved a lot of Crapolas last month. I wonder how many Corolla buyers considered a competing make/model other than Honda? Very few of them, I'm guessing. Because I can't fathom anyone test driving a Hyundai Elantra and a Toyota Corolla and NOT choosing the Elantra, which is currently selling for well under $15k!
I've been stuck with a 2010 Corolla LE rental car for the last three weeks and can't wait to dump it early next week. My Mazda3 was in a nasty accident and the at-fault driver's insurance is paying for the rental, so I didn't have much choice. Enterprise gave me two choices- the Corolla or a Dodge Avenger! Now I'm wondering if the Avenger might have been the better choice???
If I was in the market for a compact car, the Corolla would be at the very bottom of my list (tied for last place with the Chevy Cobalt)! The Mazda3 would be my top pick followed by the Elantra and Civic, but the Focus, Kia Forte and even the wonky-looking Suzuki SX4 are better cars than the Corolla.
Final thought- I wonder how many of the July sales were to fleets? At least four of the six best sellers are rental fleet darlings (Corolla, Focus, Sentra and Cobalt). If retail customers are getting $3-4k discounts, the bulk discount would even greater...
Toyota
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