On Friday, we took a look at a list of the 15 U.S. states where the best-selling vehicle was not a pickup truck in 2021, if only for the sake of spotting the trends or oddities that defy easy explanation. Sure enough, some states and regions showed surprising results.
Today, we're back at it with a look at the best-selling used vehicles in the United States in 2021.
What is absolutely impressive is that the Ford F-150 was the most popular used model in 38 states in 2021. That is quite simply mind-boggling dominance.
But it’s not that shocking, knowing what we know about Americans’ love affair with the pickup truck in general and the F-150 in particular. Much more fun, in our minds, is to take a look at the 12 states where it did NOT manage to outsell all other models on the used car market.
Meet the vehicles that outperformed the mighty F150, and where they did it. Some of them will surprise you.
First of all, three vehicles managed to make their mark in more than one state: the Honda Civic, Chevrolet Equinox and Nissan Rogue. And by and large, the trend follows what we saw on the new-vehicle best-sellers list.
For example, the Civic was the best-selling used car in 2021 in California, Maryland and New Jersey. In none of those states was a pickup truck the top-selling new model. For new vehicles, in California, the Civic was the most popular, while in Maryland and New Jersey, the Honda CR-V led sales.
New or used, then, Honda has a very strong presence and reputation in those three coastal states.
The Chevrolet Equinox was the best-selling used vehicle in Indiana and in Michigan. In these states, the Chevrolet Silverado and Ram 1500 trucks dominated the new-vehicle market.
In the case of the Nissan Rogue, it led the way in the neighboring Northeastern states of Connecticut and New York.
That leaves five states in which a vehicle other than the F-150 was the best-selling used vehicle:
Florida: Toyota Corolla (RAV4 was the top-selling new vehicle)
Hawaii: Toyota Tacoma (Nissan Frontier for new)
Massachusetts: Ram 1500 (the same model led for new-vehicle sales)
Rhode Island: Jeep Grand Cherokee (Toyota Highlander for new)
Vermont: Toyota RAV4 (Subaru Crosstrek for new).
Two things of note: Hawaiian motorists obviously love their mid-size pickups, which is fairly common on islands. And in Rhode Island, two vehicles that don't appear anywhere else make it to the top of the list, proving that small markets can hold surprises.
The case of the Civic is also notable as it dominates both the new and used market in California.
