Six of the Ten Hottest Cars in U.S. are Toyotas
And what’s not so hot?
Interestingly, while Pontiac’s Solstice achieves top-ten placement in both lists, Chrysler’s Crossfire roadster and coupe, which derive much of their parts from Mercedes-Benz’s previous generation SLK, are dead last averaging 302 days on dealer lots. While there’s little wrong with the Crossfire, Chrysler needs to replace it with something closer to its HEMI V8-powered Firepower concept if it hopes to move up the list. On the positive, Jeep’s new Commander rates above average lasting only 48 days on dealer lots; better than average but not top-ten material. Back to the bad, Land Rover’s Freelander is second least interesting to new car shoppers, lingering around dealer lots for an average of 248 days, while Ford’s Taurus, now replaced by the Fusion on the retail sales floor, rarely moves off the floor before 246 days. Surprisingly, Suzuki’s largest SUV, the XL-7 averages 245 days, Pontiac’s soon to be axed Montana SV-6 averages 217 days, Suzuki’s Verona 216 days, Mercedes-Benz’s CL-Class 214 days, Mazda’s MPV 206 days, and Chevy’s SSR rounding out the bottom feeders at 197 days on the dealers lot before a sale.
A quick overview shows that most of the “not” cars are in their last year of production, with some soon to be cancelled, for good reason. On the other hand, there are no Toyotas, Hondas, Nissan, Hyundai, and, believe it or not, Mitsubishi within the bottom ten. Actually, only two of these brands appear in the bottom twenty, Hyundai with its soon to be replaced Santa Fe, a much-improved version already shown in Detroit and therefore well worth waiting for, and the Mitsubishi Endeavor, which is one of the best crossover SUVs currently available, soon to be enhanced with a five-speed automatic transmission. The fact that the Endeavor has Mitsubishi’s slowest turnover rate is strange, actually, as it might be its best model - EVO aside.
Important to note, vehicles on the “not” list shouldn’t necessarily be overlooked in your quest for a new car, as they are often stylish, reliable, and, thanks to being neglected, ripe for a sweet deal. Chrysler’s Crossfire can be bought for thousands less, and when compared to a Solstice could represent a better value, depending on the sale price. If you’re looking for a good deal, remember that with most of the models on the “not” list in their last years of production before being updated with all-new replacements, their 36-month residual values will be low thanks to greater depreciation. If you plan on keeping your car beyond the average four to five year model update cycle, then the depreciation won’t be as noticeable.
The opposite side of this scenario is to purchase a car on either top-ten list, all of which should achieve higher than average resale values when it comes time to trade up or sell.