Movers and Losers: September Top 10

As almost everyone knows, September wasn’t a great month for new car sales or the economy or the local Starbucks. But we still track the cars that did sell at a brisk pace. Not surprisingly, the average number of days it took to sell a new car went up from 70 in August to nearly 73 in September.

This month, many of the new 2009 models sold very quickly, but they didn’t hit a sales target that we impose to make the Top 10 Movers list. A lot of these were 2009 BMWs, Porsches and other low volume or very, very new cars that didn’t have a full supply on lots. And many more cars just didn’t hit our sales target at all. The top 10 lists are below, and it’s not surprising that they’re almost entirely made up of economy-minded cars. We’ve also listed some notable runners-up.

Top 10 Movers

• 2009 Toyota Prius: 4 days
• 2009 Toyota Yaris sedan: 6 days
• 2009 Honda Civic coupe: 7 days
• 2009 Scion xD:  7 days
• 2009 Honda Civic sedan: 8 days
• 2009 Honda Fit: 8 days
• 2009 Mini Cooper coupe: 8 days
• 2009 Audi A4 sedan: 9 days
• 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid: 9 days
• 2009 Toyota Camry Hybrid: 9 days

Notables that met the sales criteria:

• 2009 Dodge Challenger: 12 days
• 2009 Audi A5: 13 days
• 2009 Mazda6: 15 days

Top 10 Losers

• 2008 Dodge Dakota ext. cab: 232 days
• 2008 Chrysler Sebring convertible: 226 days
• 2008 Dodge Durango: 223 days
• 2008 Suzuki XL7: 207 days
• 2008 Dodge Nitro: 198 days
• 2008 VW R32: 193 days
• 2008 Porsche Cayman: 173 days
• 2008 Dodge Ram 3500: 171 days
• 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee: 156 days
• 2008 Jaguar XKR: 149 days

Comments

[Cj]

No surprises on this list.

[Dave T.]

^fastest comment ever?

[Cj]

:D

Not to be a complete idiot, but how does the Top 10 Losers/Movers thing work?

[mike_pereira]

^
These numbers are probably obtained by dividing Sept. 2008 inventory by Sept. 2008 DSR. (Please correct me if I'm wrong). Days supply values based on historical inventory and DSR data are used by ops managers and decision makers at automotive OEMs, suppliers, and dealerships for production planning, inventory management, and forecasting activities for future periods. For automotive retail consumers, I don't see this info as being particularly meaningful (after all, their purchases will take place during some future time period in which inventory and DSR levels for specific products will likely change).

So, this information would be valuable to the typical Automotive News or Wards Autoworld/Wards Dealer Business subscriber, but likely misleading or irrelevant to most Cars.com readers.

[Dave T.]

Mike and others,
We've been doing this list for months now and we've gone through these questions before. From the First post:
"You’re reading the first in a new series of regular posts we’ll bring you ranking new cars according to the time they spend on dealers’ lots. The faster a car moves off the lot, the harder it typically is to find one for yourself. Hot models are also often harder to negotiate on because the dealer knows another buyer will be along shortly willing to fork over full price. Below are the top 10 hottest sellers, followed by a list of what isn’t selling so quickly. The industry average is around 65 days on a lot before selling.

In Top 10 Movers, we only list vehicles that pass a certain threshold of sales in order to weed out models that are being phased out, limited editions or other factors that might skew the numbers or otherwise inaccurately portray popularity. For the Top 10 Losers, we lower that threshold because low sales bolster the Loser claim, though they could also indicate other factors, like a model being phased out."

You can check out the series here:
http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/movers_and_losers/

[Dave T.]

Oh, and no, it has nothing to do with Inventory.

[tran]

woww. Chrysler almost owns the whole top ten losers list.

[kalliope]

I'm ready to buy a new Audi S5 on November 5th of this year, will they be willing to deal based on the state of the economy and car sales in general?

[Bloke]

Fastest comment ever? Maybe. Biggest loser who does nothing but wait for new threads so that he can see what he writes, definitely.

If Chrysler could only get a vehicle that gets over 30 mpg that might be on to something. How are the Hummers faring this time of year?

[DodgeFan]

No surprise most on the list are SUV, and in tough economic times people find out how long SUVs can truly last. The answer is a really long time like most cars. I think Dodge/Chrylser has a problem with a push system that inflats these numbers. Notice how the Jeep Wranglers aren't up there. Not winners and not losers. Convertible is season dependant, although I think the Seabring convertible looks better than regular Seabring.

[valero]

I think the A4 sedan being in the top 10 is a surprise when compared to the other 9. A luxury vehicle amongst the high MPG vehicles.

I think that the number of units has to be taken into account. I'm sure Audi is shipping a lot fewer A4's than Toyota is shipping Prius'.

[Mark]

Mr Thomas,
Can you tell us where this data might be published for public use? For example, say I want to buy a midsize SUV. Knowing that one particular one sits longer than its competitor might help us get a better deal. The top 10s are great, but I would love it if there were a comprehensive list for public viewing.

Thanks! Great blog.