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Friday, March 27, 2015

The 26 Best Auto Show Concept Cars Of The 21st Century

Are auto shows dying? Many auto journalists think so. Do new vehicles all look the same? Perhaps to you, a consumer in the compact car category. Are concept cars with no future as a production vehicle annoying? In a sense.

But as art, concept cars serve a purpose as examples of what an automakers design department can do when given a huge budget, few parameters, and no practicality or production concerns.

We can hope automobile manufacturers will be able to keep a few secrets in the lead up to January 2015s North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan. Maybe there will be something special, not just production versions of upcoming luxury crossovers and flashier potential versions of existing cars, but truly special design.

Interesting surfaces. Inventive detailing. New ideas.

If so, this list will be in need of an update. Heading in to the Detroit auto show, however, these are our 26 favourites of the 21st century. You will disagree. Wholeheartedly, we suspect.

26. Dodge Kahuna

Both ahead of and behind the times, the Kahuna is just one of a dozen or more Chrysler Group concepts we could have placed on this list if we werent interested in spreading the wealth around.

25. Lexus LF-LC

The LF-LC is an opinion divider, but it signaled that Lexus could break free from convention. Quite nicely.

24. Jeep Willys 2

Is it easier for Jeep to impress us with something crazy because the core elements never change? Or is it more difficult because there are untouchable elements?

23. Volvo T6 Roadster

Some concepts are great because they fit the image of the company. Others, like the T6 Roadster, are perfect because they come completely out of the blue.

22. Mazda Ibuki

This is not what all Miata enthusiasts wanted to see, but it was a whole new take, vital for a car that could have devolved into a painfully slow evolutionary process.

21. Hyundai HCD-14

The HCD is a little bit crazy. OK, its a lot a bit crazy. Its very, truly, overwhelmingly crazy. But it works.

20. Ford Bronco

Ford has introduced a number of brutish, silver truck concepts. This is the best of the bunch.

19. Chevrolet Nomad

It mixes retro and originality rather than just relying on the work a designer completed 40 years ago.

18. Volvo 3CC

Blissfully abnormal, but with a purpose.

17. Lamborghini Estoque

Yes, the modern Miura concept is more eye-catching, but its not original. This sharp-edged knife of a sedan is modern Lamborghini at its best.

16. Infiniti Essence

Its very curvy and flowy and long and low and wide.

15. Chevrolet Code 130R

This is perfect for making auto writers say, "But Chevy, there really is a market for this." Probably not.

14. Buick Velite

Theyll give us a version of the Opel Cascada. This would be so much more in keeping with Buicks premium history.

13. Ford Interceptor

Should we be surprised that a traditional American automaker can design an impressive, classically American full-size sedan?

12. Dodge M80

Itd be a Ram if they introduced it now. Regardless, it strikes a nice balance between outlandish and realistic.

11. Dodge Hornet

Its not pretty, but its a Dodge subcompact with proper Dodge attitude.

10. Kia GT4 Stinger

On a list full of stuff that wont or didnt or cant happen, the GT4 Stinger might have a future.

9. Mazda Shinari

The production 6 looks good. But with no limitations, Mazda can do way better.

8. Volvo Coupe

Classic proportions mix with Volvos classic and modern flavours.

7. Toyota FT-1

When TVR takes over Toyota.

6. Ford Start

Smooth like a beautiful bubble.

5. BMW X Coupe

Bangle themes - on the right day, in the right light, in the right mood - pleased the right (or wrong?) person.

4. Volvo XC Coupe

Just not quite as good as #3.

3. Volvo Estate

Nobody does wagons like Volvo. Volvo, unfortunately, doesnt do wagons like this.

2. Cadillac Sixteen

Why is the Escalade SUV left on its own to be a big, bold, high-priced Cadillac?

1. Volkswagen Bulli

Take my money.

Pickup truck sales in Canada jumped 15% in November 2014, a gain of 3415 units compared with November 2013.

Full-size pickups accounted for 94.6% of all truck sales in Canada last month, up from 93.7% in November 2013 as their collective volume rose 16.4%.

• Canada Vehicle Sales Rankings By Model - November 2014 YTD

Small/midsize pickups, a sub-segment which once again includes two GM nameplates, were up just 1% as sales of two continuing nameplates - Nissan Frontier and Honda Ridgeline - nosedived and the segment-leading Toyota Tacoma was level.

The Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon combined for 16.1% market share in the category; 0.9% of all pickup truck sales.

As always, the Ford F-Series was Canadas best-selling pickup truck, outselling the second-ranked Ram P/U range by 2419 units and the surging GM full-size twins by 1835 units. The twins, GMCs Sierra and the Chevrolet Silverado, combined to outsell the Ram by 3556 units through the first eleven months of 2014.

You can click any model name in the table below to find historical monthly and yearly Canadian sales data. You can also select a make and model at GCBCs Sales Stats page. This table is now sortable, so you can rank pickup trucks any which way you like. November best seller lists for cars and SUVs will be published soon.

Click Column Headers To Sort • December 2014 • October 2014 • November 2013

Rank	Best-Selling Truck	November 2014	November 2013	% Change	2014 YTD	2013 YTD	% Change
#1	Ford F-Series	9278	7868	17.9%	115,890	114,729	1.0%
#2	Ram P/U	6859	5761	19.1%	80,125	74,702	7.3%
#3	GMC Sierra	4065	3645	11.5%	44,752	43,151	3.7%
#4	Chevrolet Silverado	3378	2603	29.8%	38,929	34,906	11.5%
#6	Toyota Tacoma	811	811	0.0%	9361	9767	-4.2%
#5	Toyota Tundra	653	845	-22.7%	9183	6896	33.2%
#7	Nissan Frontier	255	339	-24.8%	3346	2715	23.2%
#8	Nissan Titan	190	264	-28.0%	2840	3137	-9.5%
#10	Chevrolet Colorado	114	---	---	137	101	35.6%
#11	GMC Canyon	109	---	---	143	33	333%
#9	Honda Ridgeline	99	224	-55.8%	1689	1950	-13.4%
#12	Chevrolet Avalanche	---	21	-100%	11	2541	-99.6%
#13	Cadillac Escalade EXT	---	15	-100%	6	206	-97.1%
---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---
---	Total	25,811	22,396	15.2%	306,412	294,834	3.9%

Source: Automakers

RECOMMENDED READING
Top 13 Best-Selling Trucks In Canada - December 2014 & Year End
Top 13 Best-Selling Trucks In Canada - October 2014 YTD
Top 13 Best-Selling Trucks In Canada - November 2013 YTD
Canada Auto Sales Brand Rankings - November 2014 YTD
Top 20 Best-Selling SUVs In Canada - November 2014
Top 20 Best-Selling Cars In Canada - November 2014

The Ford F-Series was Americas best-selling vehicle in October 2014, although the Fords main rivals - full-size truck twins from General Motors - outsold the F-Series lineup for a third consecutive month.

• U.S. Vehicle Sales Rankings By Model - October 2014 YTD

USA best selling autos market share chart October 2014

Click Chart To Expand

Overall new vehicle sales grew 6% in the United States last month as vehicles like the Chevrolet Silverado, Ram P/U, Toyota Camry, and Honda CR-V threw up big increases to overcome smaller losses from vehicles like the F-Series and Ford Focus, and bigger decreases from the Hyundai Sonata and Honda Civic.

Compared with October of last year, new entries in this Octobers list of the 30 best-selling include the Jeep Cherokee, Nissan Sentra, Subaru Outback, and Toyota Highlander. They knocked out the Kia Optima, Dodge Grand Caravan, Chevrolet Impala, and Chevrolet Malibu.

Compared with last months edition of this list, September best sellers that are no longer here include the Nissan Versa and Chrysler Town & Country, vehicles which were replaced by the Highlander and Outback.

Weve already published October lists for the 20 best-selling cars, 20 best-selling SUVs and crossovers, and complete figures for every pickup truck, links to which youll find below. Throwing all those vehicles into one group results in this list of the 30 best-selling vehicles overall. We end up with five pickup trucks, 14 cars, and 11 utility vehicles.

Historical monthly and yearly sales figures for any of these top-selling vehicles can always be accessed through the dropdown menu at GCBCs Sales Stats page, and for those not viewing the mobile version of this site, near the top right of this page, as well.

November 2014 • September 2014 • October 2013

Rank	Vehicle	October 2014	October 2013	% Change	2014 YTD	2013 YTD	% Change
#1	Ford F-Series	63,410	63,803	-0.6%	620,447	623,309	-0.5%
#2	Chevrolet Silverado	46,966	42,660	10.1%	429,119	403,435	6.4%
#3	Ram P/U	39,834	29,846	33.5%	359,702	292,633	22.9%
#4	Toyota Camry	33,164	29,144	13.8%	368,142	348,134	5.7%
#5	Honda CR-V	29,257	22,554	29.7%	270,272	251,636	7.4%
#6	Honda Accord	27,128	25,162	7.8%	331,510	307,264	7.9%
#7	Toyota Corolla/Matrix	24,959	23,637	5.6%	283,764	257,184	10.3%
#8	Ford Escape	24,919	22,253	12.0%	255,081	250,543	1.8%
#9	Chevrolet Cruze	24,289	16,087	51.0%	232,403	211,862	9.7%
#10	Honda Civic	24,154	27,328	-11.6%	277,584	280,889	-1.2%
#11	Nissan Altima	23,544	21,785	8.1%	280,479	271,303	3.4%
#12	Ford Fusion	22,846	21,740	5.1%	263,431	248,033	6.2%
#13	Toyota RAV4	21,524	17,590	22.4%	223,593	177,832	25.7%
#14	GMC Sierra	18,564	16,503	12.5%	165,853	152,173	9.0%
#15	Chevrolet Equinox	17,603	17,163	2.6%	202,408	202,583	-0.1%
#16	Ford Explorer	16,496	15,288	7.9%	175,148	161,222	8.6%
#17	Jeep Cherokee	15,715	579	2614%	143,848	579	24,744%
#18	Hyundai Sonata	15,563	19,872	-21.7%	180,497	172,574	4.6%
#19	Jeep Grand Cherokee	14,993	14,263	5.1%	151,303	142,960	5.8%
#20	Nissan Rogue	14,685	12,919	13.7%	169,253	137,588	23.0%
#21	Volkswagen Jetta	14,607	11,710	24.7%	129,662	135,983	-4.6%
#22	Ford Focus	13,733	15,108	-9.1%	189,889	203,762	-6.8%
#23	Jeep Wrangler	13,665	11,780	16.0%	147,733	131,721	12.2%
#24	BMW 3-Series & 4-Series *	13,621	11,715	16.3%	108,066	89,636	20.6%
#25	Nissan Sentra	13,129	8399	56.3%	154,345	106,680	44.7%
#26	Toyota Tacoma	13,010	12,351	5.3%	127,739	134,123	-4.8%
#27	Subaru Forester	12,971	12,581	3.1%	130,911	96,953	35.0%
#28	Hyundai Elantra	12,758	14,876	-14.2%	189,161	209,469	-9.7%
#29	Subaru Outback	12,624	8122	55.4%	109,890	98,195	11.9%
#30	Toyota Highlander	12,106	9323	29.9%	117,632	103,684	13.5%

Source: Automakers
^ Prius breakdown by variant
* BMW USA, not GoodCarBadCar, chooses to combine the 3-Series and 4-Series, the latter of which was formerly a 3-Series.

RECOMMENDED READING
Top 30 Best-Selling Vehicles In America - November 2014
Top 30 Best-Selling Vehicles In America - September 2014
Top 30 Best-Selling Vehicles In America - October 2013
U.S. Auto Sales Brand Rankings - October 2014 YTD
Top 20 Best-Selling Cars In America - October 2014
Top 20 Best-Selling SUVs In America - October 2014
Top 13 Best-Selling Trucks In America - October 2014 YTD

Top 30 Best Selling Vehicles In America February 2015

In February 2015, for the first time since August, the Ram P/U wasnt one of Americas three best-selling vehicles.

• U.S. Vehicle Sales Rankings By Model - February 2015 YTD

USA best-selling autos market share chart February 2015

Click Chart To Expand

Toyota Camry volume jumped 14% from 28,998 in February 2015 - when the Ram was 305-unit more successful - while Ram volume improved by just 7%.

That Ram increase was better than the industry average but not as healthy as the improvement in the overall pickup truck market, nor the full-size pickup truck market.

Neither was Ford 1% F-Series decrease in keeping with the health of the overall industry. Until we see improved inventory for the all-new 2015 F-150, its difficult to judge the F-Series 2015 start.

Compared with February of last year, the Jeep Wrangler, Honda Pilot, Nissan Versa, and Subaru Outback are all new entries. They stepped in to fill voids left by the Ford Edge, Kia Optima, Volkswagen Jetta, and Chevrolet Impala.

Weve already published February 2015 lists for the 20 best-selling cars, 20 best-selling SUVs and crossovers, and complete figures for every pickup truck, links to which youll find above. Throwing all those vehicles into one group results in this list of the 30 best-selling vehicles overall. We end up with five pickup trucks, 15 cars, and ten utility vehicles.

Historical monthly and yearly sales figures for any of these top-selling vehicles can always be accessed through the dropdown menu at GCBCs Sales Stats page, and for those not viewing the mobile version of this site, near the top right of this page, as well.

January 2015 • February 2014

Rank	Vehicle	February 2015	February 2014	% Change	2015 YTD	2014 YTD	% Change
#1	Ford F-Series	55,236	55,882	-1.2%	109,606	102,418	7.0%
#2	Chevrolet Silverado	45,395	36,584	24.1%	81,501	65,510	24.4%
#3	Toyota Camry	32,942	28,998	13.6%	59,705	52,330	14.1%
#4	Ram P/U	31,298	29,303	6.8%	59,916	54,374	10.2%
#5	Nissan Altima	28,474	30,849	-7.7%	54,882	53,364	2.8%
#6	Toyota Corolla	27,839	25,299	10.0%	55,196	48,052	14.9%
#7	Ford Fusion	22,732	23,898	-4.9%	42,426	44,615	-4.9%
#8	Honda CR-V	22,298	20,759	7.4%	45,509	38,991	16.7%
#9	Toyota RAV4	21,943	16,451	33.4%	41,767	33,331	25.3%
#10	Chevrolet Equinox	21,723	21,587	0.6%	41,278	36,134	14.2%
#11	Honda Accord	21,616	24,622	-12.2%	42,627	45,226	-5.7%
#12	Nissan Rogue	21,419	17,197	24.6%	37,068	31,028	19.5%
#13	Honda Civic	21,038	21,575	-2.5%	39,737	43,399	-8.4%
#14	Ford Escape	20,915	23,145	-9.6%	40,969	42,604	-3.8%
#15	Ford Explorer	18,613	13,924	33.7%	35,649	26,734	33.3%
#16	Chevrolet Cruze	18,301	21,836	-16.2%	36,994	38,664	-4.3%
#17	Chrysler 200	15,805	12,046	31.2%	29,962	22,958	30.5%
#18	Hyundai Elantra	15,708	16,393	-4.2%	27,948	31,719	-11.9%
#19	Nissan Sentra	15,354	12,339	24.4%	29,749	21,466	38.6%
#20	GMC Sierra	15,157	14,232	6.5%	27,778	25,350	9.6%
#21	Jeep Cherokee	14,026	11,795	18.9%	29,180	22,300	30.9%
#22	Ford Focus	14,019	15,926	-12.0%	32,497	27,929	16.4%
#23	Hyundai Sonata	13,987	11,190	25.0%	26,350	21,005	25.4%
#24	Chevrolet Malibu	13,971	17,448	-19.9%	25,849	29,270	-11.7%
#25	Jeep Grand Cherokee	13,756	12,691	8.4%	26,562	24,898	6.7%
#26	Jeep Wrangler	12,911	10,640	21.3%	24,594	20,193	21.8%
#27	Honda Pilot	12,629	6913	82.7%	24,944	13,137	89.9%
#28	Toyota Tacoma	12,372	10,942	13.1%	23,781	20,784	14.4%
#29	Nissan Versa	11,909	10,280	15.8%	22,455	18,804	19.4%
#30	Subaru Outback	11,632	8967	29.7%	22,983	17,197	33.6%

Source: Automakers

RECOMMENDED READING
Top 30 Best-Selling Vehicles In America - January 2015
Top 30 Best-Selling Vehicles In America - February 2014
U.S. Auto Sales Brand Rankings - February 2015 YTD
Top 20 Best-Selling Cars In America - February 2015
Top 20 Best-Selling SUVs In America - February 2015
Top 13 Best-Selling Trucks In America - February 2015 YTD

Specs and Review

Friday, March 27, 2015

The 26 Best Auto Show Concept Cars Of The 21st Century

Top 13 Best Selling Trucks In Canada November 2014 YTD

Top 30 Best Selling Vehicles In America October 2014

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Top 30 Best Selling Vehicles In America February 2015