Compacts and Hybrids Dominate Top Ten Hottest List
Hardly good news to its competitors, Toyota has swept six of America's top ten hottest vehicles, according to a
CNNMoney.com and Edmunds.com study.
The two publishers analyzed vehicle selling prices, sales incentive programs, and the times models spent on dealer lots, in order to arrive at its ten hottest car list, confirming just how much Toyota currently dominates the market.
Toyota, which was shown to be gaining six new car buyers for every one it loses in a J. D. Power and Associates owner retention study from last year, achieved top marks for its Prius hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), the hottest new car currently available. Prius is currently earning Toyota U.S. dealers 10 percent over its Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $21,725 - $28,615
plus $580 freight USD ($31,280 - $38,710 plus $1,240 freight and PDI in Canada). Also, the Prius spends an average of nine days on a dealer's lot before being purchased.
Toyota's all-powerful totally redesigned RAV4 is third most popular, showing that moving the crossover-SUV up to a midsize layout, introducing an optional third row and an optional 269-horsepower V6 were smart moves.
Toyota's edgy compact division, Scion, not available in Canada except by gray-market importers, enjoyed sixth, seventh and eighth places with its compact xA hatchback, sporty tC coupe and funky xB econo-"box" respectively, while its luxury division, Lexus, performed well by placing its RX 400h midsize hybrid-powered crossover in ninth.
The top ten isn't solely made up of Toyotas, of course, with two domestic models sharing the four remaining spots; a sign
that Detroit still has what it takes to compete when it gets bold and creative. But before the domestics, second on the list is MINI's funky Cooper, still cool after all these years. Pontiac's sexy Solstice is the fourth place finisher amongst America's most wanted while Ford's functional and efficient Escape Hybrid places fifth. Rounding out the top ten is Honda's superb new Civic, available in two body styles, sedan and coupe, the former including a fuel miserly hybrid version and the latter a 197-horsepower Si version.
As a note, the statistics were skewed slightly by Scion's sales approach. Due to opportunities to personalize its vehicles with custom parts and accessories direct from the factory, most xA,
xB and tC buyers order their cars instead of purchasing off the "rack" from dealer inventories, meaning that the brand's "days in turn", or the number of days Scion cars are on the lot before being sold, is extremely short.
Most notable in this study is that only two midsize models and no large vehicles are on the list, the remaining eight compact or subcompact cars. Even more so, the two midsize models are hybrid electric powered; the Prius (with exterior dimensions that border on compact) and RX 400h. Of the three SUVs on the list, two are also hybrid models.
Hardly good news to its competitors, Toyota has swept six of America's top ten hottest vehicles, according to a
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| Toyota swept six of America's top ten hottest vehicles, according to a CNNMoney.com and Edmunds.com study, with the Prius number one. (Photo: Toyota Canada) |
The two publishers analyzed vehicle selling prices, sales incentive programs, and the times models spent on dealer lots, in order to arrive at its ten hottest car list, confirming just how much Toyota currently dominates the market.
Toyota, which was shown to be gaining six new car buyers for every one it loses in a J. D. Power and Associates owner retention study from last year, achieved top marks for its Prius hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), the hottest new car currently available. Prius is currently earning Toyota U.S. dealers 10 percent over its Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $21,725 - $28,615
 |
| Toyota's all-powerful totally redesigned RAV4 is third most popular. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
Toyota's all-powerful totally redesigned RAV4 is third most popular, showing that moving the crossover-SUV up to a midsize layout, introducing an optional third row and an optional 269-horsepower V6 were smart moves.
Toyota's edgy compact division, Scion, not available in Canada except by gray-market importers, enjoyed sixth, seventh and eighth places with its compact xA hatchback, sporty tC coupe and funky xB econo-"box" respectively, while its luxury division, Lexus, performed well by placing its RX 400h midsize hybrid-powered crossover in ninth.
The top ten isn't solely made up of Toyotas, of course, with two domestic models sharing the four remaining spots; a sign
 |
| Pontiac's sexy Solstice is the fourth hottest vehicle available in the U.S. according to the study. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
As a note, the statistics were skewed slightly by Scion's sales approach. Due to opportunities to personalize its vehicles with custom parts and accessories direct from the factory, most xA,
 |
| Scion skewed the results thanks to a majority of factory orders. (Photo: Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A.) |
Most notable in this study is that only two midsize models and no large vehicles are on the list, the remaining eight compact or subcompact cars. Even more so, the two midsize models are hybrid electric powered; the Prius (with exterior dimensions that border on compact) and RX 400h. Of the three SUVs on the list, two are also hybrid models.