Best-Selling Cars of 2006

A few readers recently asked when someone would release the list of last-year’s best-selling cars. The answer, it seems, is now. MSN Autos tracked down the top 10 best-sellers of 2006 using data from Automotive News, and there are few surprises. The Ford F-150 still tops the list, and the Chevy Silverado comes in second despite a 6.7% downturn in overall truck sales last year. The full list including total sales is below.

Comments

1. Ford F-Series (796,039)
2. Chevrolet Silverado (636,069)
3. Toyota Camry (448,445)
4. Dodge Ram (364,177)

In Europe sales of pick-up trucks are almost zero. In contrast, in the US 3 out of 4 top selling cars are pick-ups (and not even small pick-ups). Are pick-ups useful? Sure, but the utility is only justified at a very low gas price (like the US price at the moment). How do I know? Well, in Europe (and many other countries) there are no pick-ups.

This also points to the vicious circle of having low gas prices and how hard it is politically to increase gas taxes.

Also call at sheep a sheep. Silverados and Sierra are the same truck. Add them together.

Tor,
Remember MANY U.S. companies and small businesses buy these vehicles for work purposes. In fact if you took out fleet sales these truck figures would drop significantly. It doesn't really have anything to do with gas prices. plus the last significantly redesigned light truck, the Chevy Colorado has sold poorly. Everyone wants big trucks.

I have to agree with Tor. Gas prices have a lot to do with it. If gas were $4 or $5 a gallon you wouldn't see so many non-farmers/ranchers driving around cities in their trucks with 20 inch wheels.

I don't think it would be such a bad idea to see the govt tax gas to that point. The taxes could be used to improve transportation infrastructure, develop more mass transit options, and subsidize alternative fuel development and cost at the pump.

I've lived in Korea for five years, and they have a great national train and bus network established. It's actually cheaper to use mass transportation than it is to drive yourself due to the cost of fuel (about $6 a gallon) and the cost of tolls on the freeways.

Also, I think the Colorado sells poorly due to its lack-luster interior. My friend has one, and the interior reminds me of the Mitsubishi MightyMax pickup I drove 15 years ago...

On a positive note, 7 of the top 10 get over 30mpg on the highway (hint, they're not trucks).

The Colorado/Canyon twins are ugly,plain and simple.Those goofy shaped wheel housings and phoney fender bulges brings back memories of Aztek.Same designer? Even the first generation S trucks were/are more photogenic than those weird pieces of work.And dont forget,GM is dilluting the mix even further by offering the same truck thru (remaining) Isuzu dealers.
Sorta like the Trailblazer/Envoy/Saab/Isuzu SUV thing...(dilluted).

Hey Tor, I assume you’re somewhere in the central or southern parts of Europe. I am currently living in Paris, France and I know exactly what you mean. I think I’ve seen two pickup’s here. I visited Sweden and Norway this Christmas though, where I discovered a totally different car park. Pickups seem to be big business up there. Since the Scandinavian countries pay just as much at the pump as the rest of europe, I think this is more of a lifestyle than a gas price adjustment.

I agree,I don't understand the need for Chevrolet and GMC truck's/SUV's.what makes one different from the other? and yes we have plenty of americans who drive full size pick-up's for power trips.of cours thay have to pay for that status at the pump.better them than me!

Before this becomes a full-fledged flame war I'd like to point out the obvious. There are only six choices for full size trucks. The three on the list must make up over 80% of all full size trucks sold. The fact that their all in the top five doesn't really mean much.

Dave, how about the Ranger, Frontier and Tacoma, do they sell poorly like the Colorado/Canyon?

BTW, if we start to put Silverado and Sierra together, than we might need to put Mark LT and F150 together, Camry and ES, Accord and TL, Impala and Bonneville(Whoops...GM had already killed the Bonneville, right?), Cobalt and G5.
Heck, maybe Caravan + Grand Caravan + Town and Country can outsell Cobalt + G5. ;)

Cody, please keep to topic and leave the socialism for political forums. I'm happy for Korea having a nice mass tranisit system, but Korea is about the size of Indiana not America. Mass transit works well in our cities where it makes sense but the country was built around the interstate highway system. If farmers want to drive trucks with 20-inch wheels that's their business. We don't need the goverment inflating the price of gas any more than they do in order to entice (force) us to drive vehicles they (liberals) would like us to. Sorry, now I'm getting political. I'll stop now.

"Dave, how about the Ranger, Frontier and Tacoma, do they sell poorly like the Colorado/Canyon?"

Compared to what they did ten years ago and compared to fullsizes yes they sell poorly. Nissan would've phased out the Frontier had the titan sold the way they thought it would. The tacoma could as well. There isn't enough profit in building new small trucks so don't expect to see new versions anytime soon, except for dodge...

That P/U's are in the #1 and #2 spot mean either a lot of people haul things, or there are a lot of obese drivers that need bigger vehicles.

"In fact if you took out fleet sales these truck figures would drop significantly."

That is exactly my point. Fleets want them because gas prices are low. If gas prices where at levels that reflected the cost to society, fleets would seek more rational alternatives. There are plenty of alternatives in Europe including small pickups, Sprinter-type vans and delivery vans based on compact cars.

"It doesn't really have anything to do with gas prices. plus the last significantly redesigned light truck, the Chevy Colorado has sold poorly. Everyone wants big trucks."

You miss the main point. People here buy the big truck precisely because gas prices are low. If gas prices where low the utility and comfort of a big truck would be outweighed by the additional cost of fuel. Look at auto-markets around the world. Where do big trucks sell in significant numbers besides the US? Nowhere really besides places with really low gas prices.

Does the US need big trucks? Does industry need big trucks? No, they buy them because they can get away with it.

Witness the fall in pick-up trucks this year. This reflected the increase in gas prices. What if gas prices went closer to the European level (which prices the cost of society of global warming and local pollution costs), what would happen to big trucks?

"Hey Tor, I assume you’re somewhere in the central or southern parts of Europe."

I actually live in Madison, Wisconsin and have been for almost seven years. Plenty of pick-ups here.

"I visited Sweden and Norway this Christmas though, where I discovered a totally different car park. Pickups seem to be big business up there. Since the Scandinavian countries pay just as much at the pump as the rest of europe, I think this is more of a lifestyle than a gas price adjustment. "

But I am Norwegian. Norway's pick-ups reflect a tax anomaly. Big-trucks are so big that they are classified as work trucks and they do not pay Norwegian car taxes.

Norwegian car taxes are exorbitant and more than double the price on the average car. Since pick-ups are not subject to this tax they have a huge price-advantage. Besides they are all diesel and therefore sell despite their horrible fuel economy. norway was also the only European market for the Excursion and Suburban - because of the same tax loophole.

Sweden only has a small numbers of pick-ups - and they are mostly small. Just look at the statistics for top-selling cars.

Just to compare:

http://cars.uk.msn.com/News/Top_ten_article.aspx?cp-documentid=2620300

If gas prices were higher everyone would switch to the new powerful diesel engines...which they might anyway. These trucks will sell and there will always be a place for them. America is a country where you actually pull tree stumps out of the ground, haul large boats, horses etc etc. It just is.

Sure, Korea and Japan and Europe have nice train and bus systems, but have you ever tried to haul a stack of plywood, sheetrock, and bags of Quik-Crete home on them?

"These trucks will sell and there will always be a place for them. America is a country where you actually pull tree stumps out of the ground, haul large boats, horses etc etc. It just is. "

This misses the point. It just 'is' because gas price allows it to. Europeans don't pull tree stumps, haul boats and horses? Of course they do. They simply use smaller more sensible vehicles. They do buy powerful trucks if one is absolutely necessary (or you just rent one).

Higher gas prices make the trucks much harder to justify. There is a basic trade-off between utility, comfort and power on one hand and fuel costs. This trade-off motivates vehicles purchases (and especially fleet buyers). If Europe had American gas prices, pick-up sales there would be much higher.

My main point is that claim that pick-ups are somehow needed is mostly a myth. If gas prices are higher people adapt and manufacturers provide more sensible vehicles. The rest of the world has the same need as the US, but somehow gets by without so many pick-ups.

"ever tried to haul a stack of plywood, sheetrock, and bags of Quik-Crete home on them?"

Buses etc are for people so this is irrelevant. I am comparing the utility vehicles in Europe to pick-up trucks. European utility vehicles can haul all this stuff at significantly higher MPG than pickups (especially the huge US pick-ups).

I don't believe higher gas prices would have much effect on what vehicles commercial organizations buy. There aren't many businesses that have a philosophy of "Waste money: but not too much." If vans are more efficient and cost effective than pickups business will use them whether they're saving $10 or $10000. I see plenty of Ford Econolines used for commercial purposes and I see plenty of regular cab, two wheel drive, V6 F150s. According to EPA estimates those pickups are using less gas than the vans.

Of course gas prices affect consumer decisions, but it's not a perfect correlation. In Iran gas costs next to nothing and people drive eastern European economy cars; whereas Australians pay high prices yet tend to share American preferences for big powerful cars. It's all about the culture. Americans aspire to be Wichita County lineman or to conquer the frontier. Europeans are more aristocratic. If gas were free in Europe they still wouldn't be driving pickups.

Tor!

I am a Swede living in Sweden (half Norwegian actually). what Paul wrote is correct. Pickup trucks are selling very well here, and they are becoming more and more popular every year. But!!! they are mosly imported from the states and therefore not a number in the statistics (was that correct english? ah.. you know what I mean)But even smaller pickups from nissan and toyota and mitsubishi which are sold here are becoming very popular too, and they should be in the statistics for top selling cars, commercial vehicle sales. It´s the same story with Chevrolet suburban and other big american SUV´s. So many of them... and we have that volvo vagon too..plenty of them lol ,hade Rasmus

the decline of the small pickup is a pain. I've been looking to buy my first new car ever, and I wanted to buy a small 4wd pu -- they just aren't made anymore. Something the size of the old Toyotas or D50s of yesteryear. They just aren't made. The new Tacomas and Nissans are the size of an early 90s F150, I don't trust Chevy ever since their 2.8 V6s (which were so weak they were practically disposable), and it's hard to find a Ranger that's not a supercab model. Do they even make a small Dodge pu anymore? What happened?

WANT TO KNOW THE ADDRESS OF SALE POINTS IN EUROPE OF THESE CARS SO AS TO PLACE ORDERS.

seems to me there are a bunch or poor or just plain old sport compact lovers on here i have a car and a truck and i bought both or them because tey offer the things i need in a country where there is snow and lotts of it in edmonton alberta canada and i just see alot of haters who wish they could afford a pick up or the gas or insurance for one so let others buy what they want u buy what u want or can! worry about yourself not others

"If Europe had American gas prices, pick-up sales there would be much higher."

Well, I think you are forgetting there are virtually no towns and cities in the U.S. that have small, tight roads. In the European countryside the roads probably accommodate large vehicles like full size pick-ups, but the ancient cities and towns, less so. Go find the BBC "Top Gear" segment where they drove a Hummer, and you will see they had to use both lanes to drive through town.

Now, I will agree that gas prices affect what people drive. And I agree it is cultural--I have family in Texas and they want a full size pick-up regardless of the gas prices and they really don't need it.

My folks owned a small pick-up and it is nice to have a vehicle where you don't need to plan ahead on how to get bags of mulch or a piece of furniture. Just toss it in the back and drive home. They don't have a truck anymore and just use a trailer attached to their Buick. I drive a sporty hatchback and hate being stuck behind pick-ups, SUVs, and minivans.

Is it gas prices? Cultural? The lay of the land? The answer, my friend, is Yes.

tu connais mon chien est tres beau mais tres gai. Je suis american. Je manger beucoup. mon boules est tres grand. haw haw haw

Go to hell you damn frenchman

Does anyone know where I can obtain more precise data - statistics of top selling cars in the US, with a clear division by type and region? The Ford F series is clearly a truck, not a passenger car, thus to include it in the list renders the numbers useless and inconclusive and in effect a statistical error.