Small-Car Leases on the Rise, Lease-Swap Company Says

Leases are gaining traction in an unlikely area: the small-car class. This is according to Swapalease.com, which released a report on Thursday that said small-car leasing swaps boomed 33% in 2012, outpacing 2011's 18% growth. The Cincinnati-based website counts everything from entry-level runabouts to traditional non-luxury subcompacts and compacts in the group, whose growth exceeded trucks (up 26%) but not luxury cars (up 38%).

Small cars took up a bigger piece of Swapalease.com's pie, but overall inventory increased just 9%. Spokesman John Sternal told us midsize cars, by contrast, were the big loser.

Does that mean actual leasing among small cars has improved? It's hard to say. The increase in overall small-car popularity in 2012 could be responsible for some of the leasing gain. New-car sales for all traditional non-luxury small cars improved 17.2% versus 2011, according to Automotive News data. Leasing overall continued to grow in 2012; CNW Marketing Research reported year-over-year leasing gains every single month.

Toyota, Ford Duke It Out in Sales Number War

Ford said Tuesday that the Focus was the world's No. 1 best-selling car in 2012, with 1.02 million sales — a healthy lead over the second-place Toyota Corolla's 872,774. The automaker cited registration data from well-known consulting firm R.L. Polk.

Now Toyota begs to differ, and it's making the rounds today to tell its side of the story.

"Toyota sold 1.16 million Corolla vehicles globally in 2012, compared to 1.02 million Focus nameplate registrations recently attributed to R.L. Polk by Ford Motor Co.," spokesman Mike Michels said in an emailed statement. "Corolla sedan alone sold 1.08 million. Corolla registrations attributed to Polk come up short by nearly 300,000 units. This discrepancy is glaring, and we have requested clarification."

America's 11th Best-Seller Was World's No. 1

The Ford Focus may not have made America's top 10 best-selling cars of 2012 list — it ranked 11th — but Ford says its compact car was No. 1 globally last year. Citing registration data from industry forecaster R.L. Polk, the automaker said it sold 1.02 million Focuses worldwide. One in four were sold in China, the world's largest passenger-car market since 2010. The Focus became China's best-selling passenger car for the first time in 2012, Ford says.

Another quarter of sales came from the U.S., where Focus sales rocketed 40%. Ford adds that among global sellers, the F-Series pickup — America's perennial best-seller — ranks third. The Fiesta subcompact, meanwhile, ranks sixth.

But the Focus stole the show. And, we should note, it's the same car worldwide. That wasn't the case with the prior Focus, which Ford reworked twice to keep in U.S. showrooms through the 2000s while Europe got a bona fide second-gen car. What are the other 2012 global best-sellers? USA Today reports the list:

March Sales: SUVs Gained, Cars Fell

March was a decent month for the auto industry. New-car sales improved 3.4%, riding a trend that began in late 2012. Since last November, auto sales have reached annualized rates not seen since early 2008, according to Automotive News data. Still, car sales fell 1.2% as popular nameplates — the Nissan Altima, Ford Focus, Chevrolet Malibu and Hyundai Sonata — saw double-digit drops. In fact, sales for seven of the top 15 best-selling cars fell.

What propped up the industry in March? SUVs.

Light-duty trucks — a group that includes SUVs, pickups and minivans — gained 9%. If you drill it down to just SUVs, including car-based crossovers, sales grew a significant 11.2%. March opened with gas prices nearing a five-month high but colder temperatures than 2012's unseasonably warm March — dueling factors for SUV sales, it would seem. But a renewed consumer advance toward SUVs, especially small crossovers, drove overall gains.

Cars.com Reviews the 2013 Ford Expedition EL

Suburbanites looking to shuttle families and groceries around without resorting to a minivan will find a suitable alternative in the crossover. But when your honey-do list also includes heavy hauling, towing and terrain conquering, Cars.com reviewer Aaron D. Bragman says accept no substitute for the 2013 Ford Expedition EL. The SUV is old school in every way: old-school V-8 power and fuel economy, deliberate acceleration and numb handling. Heck, even interior and tech features are still partying like it's 2007. The big-SUV market ain't what it used to be, but the Expedition doesn't know or just doesn't care.

2013 Ford Expedition EL Review

Top 10 Best-Selling Cars: March 2013

With the top seven automakers reporting numbers — which account for the vast majority of new-car sales — March sales have crept up around 3.2% over year-ago levels. Honda, GM and Ford saw the largest gains, but no major automaker saw a double-digit increase.

The top sellers are a reshuffle from February's list; all 10 are back. The Nissan Altima jumped three spots from February, and despite an 8% sales drop, it's the best-selling sedan by just 100 cars in March. Madness? Not really. Look back at March 2012 and the Altima even beat out the Chevrolet Silverado for a podium finish in monthly sales.

Lower year-over-year incentives played against Nissan's redesigned sedan as surging competitors — the Honda Accord and the Ford Fusion — saw larger gains. Ford says the Fusion had its best sales month in the nameplate's 7 1/2-year history, and this happened with fewer incentives than on last year’s outgoing model. The Escape hit its highest monthly total in its 12-plus-year history. Those two cars — and rising Explorer and F-Series sales — overcame falling Focus, Edge and Mustang sales to drive Ford to a 5.7% year-over-year increase.

Ford Faces Class-Action Lawsuit Over Unintended Acceleration

Consumers in 14 states have filed a class-action lawsuit against Ford over unintended acceleration in cars built between 2002 and 2010. The suit, which was filed in a West Virginia U.S. District Court on March 28, alleges that Ford models built between 2002 and 2010 with electronic throttles can allow unintended acceleration. The vehicles in question, which include nearly three-dozen Ford, Lincoln and Mercury nameplates, lack a brake override system. Ford began installing the system in its U.S. cars in 2010.

Plaintiffs want compensation for lost resale value as well as brake-override retrofits, according to one of several law firms representing the plaintiffs. Ford began installing brake-override systems in certain European vehicles as early as 2005, the suit claimed via the Detroit News.

Unintended acceleration from electronic throttles raises a familiar storyline. From September 2009 through December 2010, Toyota recalled some 12 million cars over unintended acceleration, eventually spending well over $1 billion to settle lawsuits and pay civil fees associated with the recalls. The automaker's electronic throttles encountered heavy scrutiny, but a government panel later found that driver error, stuck gas pedals and bad floormats were to blame.

Recall Alert: 3,037 Ford and Lincoln Sedans and SUVs

Ford is recalling 3,037 model-year 2012 Taurus and 2012 Lincoln MKS sedans and 2013 Ford Explorer SUVs due to leaky fuel tanks, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The affected vehicles were manufactured between July 19, 2011, and March 15, 2012, and their fuel tanks may have a marginally sealed side seam, which may not be strong enough in an impact. This could cause the tanks to leak, increasing the risk of a fire.

Ford will begin notifying owners on April 22, and dealers will inspect the fuel tanks and replace them as necessary for free. Owners may call Ford customer service at 866-436-7332 or NHTSA's vehicle safety hotline at 888-327-4236; for more info, go to www.safercar.gov.

Related
Recall Alert: 2011 Ford Explorer
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Shelby Raptor: Photo Gallery

If the Ford SVT Raptor pickup is too mild for you, Shelby American has just the truck: the 575-horsepower Shelby Raptor. Shelby calls it the ultimate monster truck and our friends at PickupTrucks.com agree — it's the perfect truck for a zombie apocalypse. 

More 2013 New York Auto Show Coverage

Click here for their coverage of the truck and check out our photo gallery below. Cars.com photos by Evan Sears.

Most-Watched Videos of the Week

PickupTrucks.com Editor Mark Williams is no stranger to our most-watched videos list, though this week his presence is downright ubiquitous. Williams appears in four of the top five videos, including this week's No. 1, a newcomer showcasing a trio of Mercedes-Benz heavy-duty vehicles from The Work Truck Show 2013 in Indianapolis. Check out what was popular this week:

1. Mercedes-Benz Platform Works Like a Pickup
2. Road Test Review: 2013 Ram 1500 V-6
3. 2013 Toyota Avalon
4. 2014 Toyota Tundra
5. Ford Atlas Concept