Motor News

New-vehicle sales were down in 2020 to levels not seen since 2012, but they’re in a recovery mode now that leaves the industry hopeful for next year.
Truck and SUV sales saved the numbers from being much more dire, especially in the last quarter and the month of December.
Dealer inventories are still constrained, and as a result, deals on new vehicles will be hard to come by.
Automakers have emerged from 2020, a challenging and unprecedented year, and some did so on a high note. Eight months weren’t enough for the industry to fully recover from the low point in the spring, but a strong, if somewhat unexpected, recovery began in the summer and continued through December, even as the COVID-19 pandemic has surged across the country.

November New Car Sales Dip, Recovery Continues

October New Vehicle Sales Continue Recovery

Third Quarter New-Vehicle Sales Hint at Recovery

The U.S. market is now estimated to see sales finish around 14.5 million, a much stronger result than the 13 million range that some analysts forecasted earlier this year. Overall, sales are estimated to be down 14.9 to 15.5 percent, bringing sales to the lowest levels since 2012. The decrease was lessened because retail sales were strong, although fleet sales slowed considerably.
Shutdowns earlier in 2020 were part of the reason sales were down, of course. “This year presented the economy and the auto market with incredible challenges. As we close the year, it is remarkable to see how well the industry performed,” Cox Automotive’s chief economist Jonathan Smoke said in a note. “Retail vehicle sales will end the year down less than 10 percent despite losing six weeks of the most important time of the year.”
Fiat Chrysler (FCA)
FCA finished with mixed results across its brands; the automaker saw an 8 percent decline in sales in the fourth quarter and 17 percent decline through the year. Dodge suffered the biggest decline, but that is due to the Caravan going out of production. And while both Ram and Jeep were down for the year, seeing 11 and 14 percent declines, respectively, they improved in the last quarter of 2020.
GM
General Motors finished the year down 12 percent compared to last year after finishing the fourth quarter with a sales growth of 5 percent. Pickups, as has been the case for most of the year, were a bright spot for GM; Silverado pickups saw annual sales increase 3 percent and Sierra pickups by 9 percent. Retail sales for GM were down only 6 percent for the year.
Honda
Honda’s sales in December fell by 0.1 percent based on volume, but 11 percent on a daily selling rate basis. Over the year, Honda’s sales dropped by 16 percent. Across the entire brand, including Acura, truck sales outperformed those of cars, seeing a decline of 12 percent as compared to 22 percent. The Passport was the only high-volume vehicle to end with sales growing from last year, doing so at a rate of 10 percent.
Hyundai
Hyundai sales grew 2 percent in December as compared to last year thanks to its popular—and recently expanded—crossover lineup, including the Kona, Santa Fe, and Venue. Annual sales for the Korean automaker saw a decrease of 10 percent from 2019, a drop largely attributable to reduced fleet-vehicle sales, as retail sales for Hyundai increased by 1 percent this year.
Mazda
Mazda, largely thanks to the new CX-30, which went on sale late last year, saw sales grow by 0.2 percent and 18 percent in December compared to last year. Although Mazda’s most popular vehicle, the CX-5, had sales contract by 6 percent this past year, the automaker’s largest offering, the CX-9, had a sales increase of 2 percent.

Tested: Mazda CX-30 Channels the Mazda 3

Nissan
Nissan’s troubles continued into the fourth quarter with sales falling 19.3 percent. Over the course of the year, Nissan saw a sales drop of 33 percent as its U.S. sales fell below one million for the first time since 2011. Both the car and truck divisions at Nissan saw challenging years, finishing down 39 and 29 percent, respectively.
Subaru
Subaru’s sales declined by 13 percent over the year and in December saw sales increase 2 percent. Both the Crosstrek and the Forester performed better than the rest of Subaru’s lineup, each seeing annual sales declines of 9 and 2 percent, respectively. Nonetheless, the Crosstrek was up 48 percent in December.
Tesla
Tesla, which only reports global—not U.S.—sales numbers, saw considerable growth in its total deliveries, which came in at just under 500,000—CEO Elon Musk’s goal for the year—at 499,550, an increase of 36 percent. The Model 3, Tesla’s most popular vehicle, appears to have seen further growth in sales, but Tesla combines Model 3 and Model Y sales numbers, so it’s difficult to attribute the growth to one vehicle or the other.
Toyota
Toyota saw a strong finish to the year with December sales up 20 percent by volume (that drops to 8 percent on a daily selling rate) and by 9 percent over the fourth quarter. On a volume basis, Toyota trucks ands SUVs, excluding Lexus, finished the month with 32 and 29 percent increases, respectively; those divisions have cushioned Toyota’s sales decreases elsewhere. Annually, Toyota’s total sales shrank 11.3 percent.
J.D. Power estimates that trucks and SUVs are set to make up 79 percent of new-vehicle retail sales, up from 75 percent a year ago. Strong truck and SUV sales have underscored many of the results seen throughout this year, a continuation of a trend seen in past years.
Volkswagen
Volkswagen saw sales jump by 11 percent in the fourth quarter, largely a result of the new Atlas Cross Sport, which went on sale earlier this year. Over the year, sales for VW fell by 10 percent, a decrease which was cushioned by the Tiguan’s—VW’s most popular vehicle—sales decline of 8 percent.
What to Expect Now
GM chief economist Elaine Buckberg said in a statement that the automaker expects the pandemic to continue to put pressure on the auto industry throughout the year, but for that to ease beginning in the spring. “Widening vaccination rates and warmer weather should enable consumers and businesses to return to a more normal range of activities, lifting the job market, consumer sentiment, and auto demand,” she said.
Although the better part of a year now separates the industry from the shutdowns in the spring, inventories haven’t recovered, largely due to pent-up demand. That has translated to early 2021 still not being an optimal time to buy a car, since dealers aren’t pressed to move outgoing model year vehicles off their lots.
“It’s certainly not much of a buyer’s market right now: Inventory is still in short supply in certain areas, and automakers and dealers aren’t faced with the pressure to use big discounts to clear out their lots like they normally do at this time of year,” Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds executive director of insights, said in a note.
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The Singer All-Terrain Competition Study, or ACS, started out as a 1990 Porsche 911 but has been completely overhauled for off-road purposes.
It’s powered by a 450-plus-hp air-cooled 3.6-liter twin-turbo flat-six that can be tuned for higher output, mated to a five-speed sequential transmission that can be shifted manually or via paddles.
As seen in the two examples shown here, it’s set up for rally competition, so there’s a roll cage, oversize fuel tank, and storage for spare wheels and tires.
Singer, a company that is definitely not in cahoots with Porsche and our lawyers advise us should never be remotely represented as such, is building a new model in the off-road idiom. Perhaps you’ve heard of the Porsche 959? Well, forget about it entirely. In fact, think about former Red Sox third baseman Wade Boggs and his legendary appetite for chicken. (Jim Rice called him “chicken man,” because he ate so much chicken.) Did you know Boggs averaged .352 over a seven-year span? Guess that chicken really worked out!

From 2019: Singer Reimagines Classic Porsches

From 2017: Singer’s Detroit Auto Show 911s

Anyway, Singer is building a new off-road-oriented model that might remind you of a certain other famous German machine with a name that began with a “nine” and also ended with “nine.” But if it does remind you of that, that’s your problem.

View Photos

Singer Vehicle Design

The All-Terrain Competition Study (ACS) begins as a 1990 Porsche 911—the 964 model—before getting thoroughly modified and overhauled for high-speed off-road hijinks. Power comes from an air-cooled 3.6-liter twin-turbo flat-six that makes at least 450 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque but can be tuned for higher output. The five-speed sequential transmission can be shifted manually or via paddles, routing power through all-wheel-drive with triple limited-slip differentials. Long-travel suspension with two dampers per corner offers high ground clearance, and BFGoodrich All-Terrain tires reaffirm that this is not a GT3 RS—nor any car made by Porsche AG or any of its subsidiaries, except originally, back in 1990. Bodywork is carbon fiber, with the underlying body-in-white thoroughly gusseted and buttressed against future off-road abuse.

Longtime rally guru Richard Tuthill (who helped prepare the Rothmans 911 SC/RS race cars in the 1980s) was involved in the development of the ACS, which is also designed for competition. Standard features include a full roll cage, oversized fuel tank, and storage for two spare wheels and tires (in the front trunk and behind the seats). The first two cars, both of which were commissioned by the same individual who probably also has a swimming pool filled with gold coins, will be built at Tuthill’s facility in Oxfordshire, England. So will any other ones that get built, should anyone else take a shine to the concept. The white car will be set up for desert events, with the red one optimized for tarmac. Why do you need a jacked-up car for tarmac? Uh, because you like to party?

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Singer Vehicle Design

The price for the ACS will depend on how you outfit yours. It’ll be more than you’d pay for a 1990 Porsche 911 but maybe less than you’d pay for a 959, just to cite two examples of Porsche 911s—not that they’re necessarily germane to this discussion of a project from Singer Group, Inc., of Los Angeles, California. Porsche is very uncool about anyone mentioning its name in proximity to any other company’s name, in case you haven’t caught on.
But it did build some cool cars in, say, 1990. Ones that make an excellent foundation to create something even better. So who’s buying #3?

Porsche’s 959 Accurately Predicted the Future

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The 2021 Ford Expedition is adding a new base model, as first reported by Ford Authority.
Called the XL STX, it ditches the previously standard third row of seats.
The Expedition XL STX starts at $51,690, $2815 less than the previous starting price.
Ford is dropping the starting price for the 2021 Expedition full-size SUV, which gains a new base trim level called the XL STX. It starts at $51,690, a drop of $2815 from the XLT which previously served as the cheapest Expedition. While all other Expeditions come standard with three rows of seats providing space for eight, the XL STX has a two-row setup that seats five.

2020 Ford Expedition Adds Off-Road Chops

Ford Expedition King Ranch Returns for 2020

Standard equipment includes a touchscreen infotainment system and three-zone automatic climate control, but this model does without SiriusXM satellite radio and a few driver-assistance features that are standard on the XLT. It looks a bit different than the XLT, too, with dark 18-inch wheels and black grille trim rather than chrome. The XL STX is available only on the standard-length Expedition; the larger Expedition Max still starts off with the XLT trim and costs $56,505 to start.

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Ford

The XL STX has the same twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6 engine and 10-speed automatic transmission as other Expeditions. Rear-wheel drive is standard with four-wheel drive as a $3050 option. 4WD models offer an electronic limited-slip differential as a $1100 extra, but there are no option packages available for the XL STX otherwise.
Despite the price cut, the Expedition’s base price is still higher than its chief rival’s. The 2021 Chevy Tahoe, which comes standard with three rows of seats, starts at $50,295 for its base LS trim level.
2021 Expedition XL STX models are buildable on Ford’s configurator now and should be arriving at dealerships soon.
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Boutique automaker Jim Glickenhaus wants to pit his Boot SUV against the Tesla truck. Another follower bet Musk $10,000 that Full Self-Driving won’t be ready in a year. More

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A 2007 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722 Edition, once owned by six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan, is for sale.
The SLR McLaren 722 Edition honors one of Stirling Moss’s wins in 1955 and has black wheels, a stiffer and lower suspension, added aero, carbon trim, and a more powerful supercharged V-8.
It’s listed for $695,750 by Crave Luxury Auto in Houston, Texas.
Michael Jordan is widely considered the greatest basketball player of all time (we won’t get into the MJ vs. LeBron debate), and the six-time NBA champion has owned some of the greatest cars as well. A handful of them were shown briefly in ESPN’s The Last Dance, a 10-part documentary about the final season of Jordan’s Chicago Bulls dynasty in the 1990s. One of his cars, an SLR McLaren, which wasn’t shown in the series, is up for sale with just over 1000 miles.

Crave Luxury Auto

The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren was a joint venture between McLaren’s Formula 1 team and Mercedes and was produced between 2003 and 2010. Jordan’s example is a 722 Edition, a limited edition introduced in 2006 that honors the late Stirling Moss and his co-driver Denis Jenkinson’s victory in a 300 SLR with the starting number 722 at the Mille Miglia in 1955. It’s finished in Crystal Antimony Grey with black 19-inch wheels and has a stiffer suspension with a lower ride height plus larger front brakes and upgraded aero. There’s also red “722” badging and tinted head- and taillights, and the interior features carbon-fiber and Alcantara trim.

Michael Jordan’s Cars in ESPN’s The Last Dance

Michael Jordan’s Mercedes S600 Lorinser For Sale

A supercharged 5.4-liter supercharged V-8 is under the hood. In the 722 Edition, it spits out 641 horsepower and 605 pound-feet of torque, increases of 24 horsepower and 30 pound-feet over the standard SLR’s supercharged eight-cylinder engine. At launch, Mercedes touted a 3.6-second sprint to 60 mph in the more powerful 722 Edition, though in our testing, a standard SLR clocked in at the same time and raced through the quarter-mile in 11.6 seconds at 125 mph.

Crave Luxury Auto

An eBay auction for the car ended on January 3 without meeting the reserve; however, the selling dealer told Car and Driver that it’s going live on eBay again on January 4. The asking price is currently $695,750.

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Kia revealed a new ultra-luxury version of its minivan for the Korean market.
Called the Carnival Hi Limousine, it has a plush interior with special features including curtains and an air purifier.
The Carnival should arrive in the U.S. as the 2022 Sedona, but it’s not likely to offer a special version like this.
With #vanlife trending more than ever and luxury automakers like Lexus getting into the van game, it’s no wonder that Kia is going all-out for a new version of the Carnival (a.k.a. Sedona) minivan. The new ultra-luxury spinoff of the Korea-market Carnival is called the Hi Limousine, and we’re intrigued by its lounge-like interior with everything but the kitchen sink.

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The Hi Limousine is based on the recently redesigned version of the van, and it has a high-roof setup and appears to have extra chrome trim on the outside. But the real treats are inside, as it features recliner-style second-row seats, privacy curtains for the rear windows, an air purifier, entertainment screens, and even an LED lamp on the ceiling that’s meant to mimic a skylight.

Kia

When the Carnival eventually makes its way to the States as the new-generation 2022 Kia Sedona, we probably won’t get most of these niceties. But the recliner-style captain’s chairs are possible, as the current-generation Sedona offered them as an option on the top trim level in the past (the lounge seats disappeared from the U.S.-market van after the 2018 model year).
Even if Kia did offer such a van in the U.S., we can’t imagine too many American van shoppers would splurge for the full Hi Limousine package, which starts at the equivalent of around $56,000 in Korea. But every now and then it’s fun to see a van that’s nicer than your living room.

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Let’s make a New Year’s resolution to drive better and keep those around us safe on the roads. More