Top 10 Best-Selling Cars: January 2012

After capping 2011 with four decent months, the auto industry hit 2012 running. Analysts expect auto sales to outpace 2011 figures anywhere from 6% to 10%, which could make 2012 the best sales year since 2007.

January enticed consumers with total incentives — including financing offers, automaker and dealer cash, and trade-in bonuses — amounting to 16% off the average car’s MSRP, CNW Marketing Research reports. That beats January 2011, when shoppers saw only 13.5% off the average MSRP.

Shoppers took advantage. January sales jumped 11%, beating Tuesday’s expectations. This marks the best annualized month since 2009, Automotive News reports. Chrysler, Nissan and Hyundai-Kia saw double-digit sales gains, with GM the only top-seven automaker to post a loss.

Full Ford Hybrid Credit Expires March 31

The hybrid tax credits that have already expired for Toyota and Honda are still in effect for other automakers, including Ford — but not for long. Ford, which just celebrated the production of its 100,000th Escape Hybrid, is seeing its full credit expire at the end of the month.

Until then, tax credits of $3,000 for the two-wheel-drive Escape, Mercury Mariner and Mazda Tribute hybrids, or $1,950 for four-wheel-drive versions, will still be available. Ford’s all-new 2010 Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrids are eligible for a $3,400 tax credit. Those two new hybrids might not be on lots today, but they should arrive before the end of the month. The Fusion and Milan hybrids get 41/36 mpg city/highway. The Fusion Hybrid starts at $27,270, while the Milan Hybrid starts at $27,500.

The credit will be cut in half for vehicles purchased after March 2009, and then in half again for ones bought after Sept. 30. Starting April 1, 2010, the automaker won’t get any more tax credits.

Unlike other Ford Escapes, the hybrid version does not have any incentives on it.

2010 Ford Escape Adding New Safety Features

Ford is using its Escape SUV as the first example of how it can add a bevy of its latest high-tech safety features to an existing model. Safety options like the teen-monitoring MyKey system and Ford’s automated parking system will be available as options when the 2010 Escape and Escape Hybrid go on sale this summer.

These features were announced on newly launched models like the 2010 Ford Taurus, but Ford is making a concerted effort to add them across the board, even on models that aren’t due for a redesign or even a mild mechanical update.

The Escape will be the first SUV on the market with an automated parking system. Other cars from Lexus and Toyota feature similar systems, but SUVs are prone to having less visibility, so this system could be seen as more advantageous than one on a Toyota Prius.

Ford’s latest Sync system with real-time traffic updates will also be available. For the first time, the Escape will feature an optional rearview camera when equipped with a navigation system.

The Ford Escape is already an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Top Safety Pick.  

Discount-Club Challenge: Compact SUVs

Every few weeks, I get to shop at the local discount club and load up on 20-packs of paper towels, a few dozen chicken breasts and all those other essentials that cost less when you buy them in bulk. Chances are many of you also share in this routine, shopping regularly at Costco or Sam’s Club, but then have issues getting all your purchases — along with family members — into your car. Besides testing the fit of child-safety seats, this is one of those “you have to do it yourself” requirements in new-car shopping. Unfortunately, while dealers will usually let you install a seat into a prospective new car, they won’t let you run errands.

So we’ve done that for you in four compact SUVs: the 2009 Mitsubishi Outlander, 2009 Ford Escape, 2009 Nissan Rogue and 2009 Volkswagen Tiguan. We didn’t fold the second-row seats down, as any compact SUV would be able to handle the load doing that. We also wanted to show how capable these vehicles are as family cars. When you have to tow children with you to the store, you can’t fold down seats filled with booster, convertible or infant-safety seats buckled in. Even a family of four with teenagers still needs somewhere to sit.

Check out the video below and see how the four contenders managed.

Ford Offering Deals for Two Weeks

According to Ford’s consumer website, its latest incentives are good only through Nov. 17 or 18, depending on the region. This is an unusual amount of time for rebates to run, so we’d expect bigger discounts or a specific themed sale later in the month that will last through the holidays. For the next two weeks, though, there are some decent savings on 2009 and 2008 models. The new 2009 Ford Flex is still carrying $2,500 cash back. A new 2009 Ford Fusion — you can read about the upcoming 2010 Fusion here — has up to $3,500 cash back depending on your region. We list the top cash-back deals below. Check out Ford’s site to see the latest deals in your area. 

Cars.com Reviews the 2009 Ford Escape

Ford has been slowly but surely making improvements to the Escape, its compact SUV offering, since it entered the market years ago. For 2009, Ford gives the Escape new drivetrains and an improved ride. Can these incremental changes convince Cars.com senior editor Joe Wiesenfelder that the Escape is worthy of shoppers’ consideration?

2009 Ford Escape Expert Review

Cars.com Reviews the 2009 Ford Escape Hybrid

The price of gas is crunching your budget, yet you have a decent-sized family and need the room and utility of an SUV or crossover. What's a car buyer to do? As a potential answer to this conundrum, we turn to the Ford Escape Hybrid and its fuel economy rating that’s in the 30 mpg range. Does the vehicle make up for its price in fuel savings? Minus its hybrid drivetrain, how do its features and design match up with competitors’? Cars.com reviewer Mike Hanley weighs in on the Escape Hybrid. Click below to read his full review.

2009 Ford Escape Hybrid Expert Review

Filling Up a Ford With No Gas Cap

Ford is rolling out its new 2009 lineup, and most models are getting a gas-cap-less tank. Ford calls this “EasyFuel,” not to be confused with "FlexFuel," which means the car can run on E85. In fact, when I went to fill up a 2009 Ford Escape with the EasyFuel system, I saw Ford’s warning that E85 would not flow easily into the tank.

When I first heard about this idea, I thought, “Are people so lazy that they’ll want to skip screwing a gas cap on and off?” but then I also remembered that while I’ve never run out of gas, I have forgotten a gas cap on top of a pump more than once. My wife also pointed out how annoying it was to remember if you clicked your cap closed properly. Was I supposed to wait for one click or three?

The actual process of taking the pump in and out and placing it back on its hook with no other step seemed a bit wrong, though. Like I was forgetting something. I wonder how long that lasts if you own one?

Ford Improves Gas Mileage

Fueleconomy.gov continues to release 2009 EPA estimates as we inch toward the new year. On average, we’ve seen slight gains from many existing models and larger ones for new models. Automakers are making modest changes to carryover models because buyers are demanding more fuel-efficient vehicles, and all-new models aren’t in the immediate pipeline for every car out there.

We’ve already mentioned fuel economy increases for GM, Chrysler and Hyundai products; now it’s Ford’s turn.

Four Small SUVs Get IIHS Top Safety Pick

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released its latest round of crash tests, and this time the safety group took on the small SUV segment, one of the most popular in the market. 

Four out of the eight small SUVs tested earned the IIHS’s Top Safety Pick status, meaning they received top scores in front, side and rear crash tests. All eight SUVs came with stability control standard. Who were the winners? Keep reading for more, along with the IIHS’ chart of how all eight did.