regfootball

exactly. no doubt even with all these decent models, you can't help but think that 'the reputation' is gonna hold them back. Who knows though, Toyota built and sold cars that kill recently, and that didn't seem to wipe away their golden rep. The next upsized Passat should be better competition in the midsize arena, but it's not gonna go from 10k sales to 100k in one year. Each and every one of VW's models needs to become a fixture in a mainstream customer's mind. Thing is, VW has played the German engineering, designer car thing so long, I don't think the customer will shift gears so fast. And truth is a lot of VW's offerings right now are often too pricey for their segment. VW's lineup is not diverse, either. Mostly just cars. I know they have the Tiguan and whatits name. But Tiguan seems to only be niche so far. Toureg need serious price drops to compete in the volume arena with the Edges of the world. And cars like the Eos are nice but they really don't gain you much overall. VW's is simply absent in a lot of segments too. Trucks, etc......large markets that you cannot ignore if you wanna be a playa.

the forester i think is still not worth getting pumped over. what is nice about the new legacy and outback is that they are more mainstream. they don't seem as much like the old subies as much as they feel like nice larger functional, American market cars.

wow, i thought Kia was selling more. But still good gains. Watch that Optima number start to go through the roof soon.....

valid points. I am just saying that despite their aging core models, they still seem to be able to sell them. What exactly is the attraction? Cheap leases and new Altimas for 16, 17 thou..... despite the aging material, Nissan still seems to have brand cred and traffic from the street. Even with all the excellent new competition. The Rogue is doing insane business around here.....i bet its cannibalizing the RAV4 and CRv, finally.... I am not sure I equate the Genesis and M. First off, the Genesis is nice, but it still is not on the same level as the Infiniti M. Infinitis new M is a really well executed piece, and has none of the discount aura that the Genesis has. The M is REAL luxury. The Genesis still has a faux feeling inside. But consequently, the M is priced so much higher and that I think affects sales. You also need to note that Hyundai has MANY dealerships and the Infiniti dealer count is small. It does affect sales volume, how many dealers there are. Another factor is that people get upsold to the Genesis from the Sonata and Azera more frequently than from the G to the M. The actual price diff from a high end Sonata to the base Genesis isn't as steep as from the G to the M's.

outlander sport, small but kinda neat, should become Mitsus best seller

Equinox and Terrain are on fire. I'd like better Regal and CTS numbers. Cadillac Vue is on fire. Nice how a tarted up fwd Vue can outsell a homely old RWD one......chick cars sell......

in some insane way, Nissan is gaining sales on old junky models. Versa, Sentra, Altima. The Altima can be had for like 16,500 new, and the Sentra and Altima are whored out on leases. The Rogues I have seen all over the place now and it seems the Juke is off to a fast start. Their core models are strong and they are doing well with ancient models. Not sure why.

Suzuki badly needs a new SX4 and Grand Vitara. The Kizashi needs a godly marketing job supplemented by insane leases. What could help so much here is the Swift. Sad to see this drop.

9 arguably excellent vehicles and yet they can only manage like 1k per model per month. sort of inefficient.

VW is Jetta plus cast of characters. No wonder VW wants to add more models, they don't want to be so reliant on the Jetta. Regular Passat is almost a non factor. Its a good car, but the CC clearly shows that the added style can sell for them. VW really needs to build awareness of each model in their portfolio. Print ads aren't enough. They need to do tv blitzes to make each model name relevant.

Subie, gaining ground. Stick a fork in the Tribeca, though. outback and legacy are really good appliances, they are a nice ride....

all of Hyundais volume models are posting momentum. The Azera even was flat! I love the -2 Entourage the year before. I have to make a point of looking at a new Elantra this weekend. If the Cruze had a decent backseat, I wouldn't need to. At least there are no handling and soundproofing sacrifices on the Elantra to get that 40mpg.... maybe it was their 'best month evah'

wow, aside from the van, chrysler is pretty much a forgotten brand! challenger almost outsells the 300...... why did the task force get rid of pontiac? they should have gotten rid of chrysler instead....

lincoln really needs a boost

Cruze is lucky it has a nice interior. It has some stiff competition here. The one metric here that may make me choose an Elantra over a Cruze is simply that the back seat in the Elantra looks and probably is much more commodious than the Cruze. The Cruze really should have at least 2 more inches of room in the back seat and IMO its an epic fail where that is concerned. Cruze headroom is tight to me also, if this has an airier feel it may be the way to go also. The new Jetta looks like an even more ridiculous joke in comparison to the Cruze, Focus, and this Elantra. Yet it will still have its fans. 29/40? insane, but i hope the tires are not $h!ty tires with that mpg. And i hope the car has some engine, at least it won't have turbo lag. No doubt Hyundai will bring it with warranty and price. The only real deal breaker for me here is the silly dumbass center console and stack. But who knows, maybe one could get used to it in time. This is the sort of car the government wants us all driving soon. Look hard, this will be your next car, and it will probably seem like a luxury car when all is said and done with the economy and fuel regulations. Hyundai really has their game on. Wow.

keep in mind used car values have gone through the roof. what you paid for something 2 years ago is likely 3-5 grand higher for the same thing. bailouts and cash for clunkers and a slow new sales pace have made used vehicles a goldmine for the auto cartel.

nice ride! congrats!

is there HUGE "Denali" stitching on the front seat seatbacks?

what will actually happen...... midyear when they really start discounting the Cruze, you will find that the LT1 with turbo will have deeper discounts than the LS most likely. The price difference between the LS (no cruize) and the LT will not be quite as much. The extra benefit of the turbo mill and other LT goodies will be much less a step up. LS exists only so Chevy dealers can print loss leader prices in the paper.

Chevy should have made a true to concept Aveo hatch with the doors redone as suicide 3 door coupe style on that concept hatch design, and then made an option of rear seats optional like the old Chevette Scooter. Except, turbo 4 and 6 speed manual. That is one car I could accept without cruise control if it meant keeping the price low. The Cruze is different though, on the LS they should give you the option.

that too! a 5 cyl jetta with auto and anything resembling well equipped is either 21k USD or 23K USD. i actually have sort of come around on the notion of the Cruze's MSRP's in lower equipment levels really not being that far off base. Still too pricey when you can get a deeply discounted Mazda6 or Altima for 16-17k with more equipment or the same equipment. (pricking all the manufacturer voodoo dolls in the car shrine) its a criticism that is valid for all the cheapskates. Chevy's box though, is if you want an LS the cruise is not even an option. What if some folks are turbo leery? And just want the base model? I'd like a Cruze Eco myself but I would want to swap the tires for something more sticky.

YEAH, THIS HAS BEEN BROUGHT UP!!!!!!!!! CHEVY DOESN'T WANT YOU TO BUY THE CHEAPER MODELS (LS)! I had to pull teeth and run a triathalon just to find a manual trans Cobalt with ABS and cruise, PW PL and keyless this last year. Had to go all the way up to an LT. Apparently GM still thinks car drivers don't value cruise control. Or, they simply are trying to extort more cash out of you by forcing you to go to a more expensive model. THIS IS 2011! CRUISE CONTROL SHOULD BE STANDARD ON ALL CARS!!!!!!!!! just like ABS / stability control / PW PL PM / keyless entry. this is just an example of decontenting and some of GM's residual epic fails that are still around. I would love for someone to explain any good reason or apology for GM why this is.

that doesn't make sense, many reviews I have read on the Camaro have not mentioned refinement issues, in fact, it often says the Camaro is too quiet.

WHen i test drove the LaCrosse, it seemed to me to be just about perfect ride and handling compromise for someone who is not interested in a 'sports sedan' and wanted a quiet car, but had good enough steering so there was no mush and no float in the ride. The LaCrosse is tuned, IMO to what a large chunk of the market would consider 'perfect'. I am convinced if you could put people's buts in the LaCrosse they all would be greatly impressed with the civility of the car and the mature liveliness of the chassis, so perhaps Albert is on to something.

can you see out the back WELL? does the car handle or is it a cruiser dumb question - back seat comfort?