Movers and Losers: October 2009

This month’s list of the fastest- and slowest-selling models reflects how the 2010 model year turnover can skew things. However, a majority of the vehicles in the top 10 are extremely popular models. Obviously, all of them meet our sales threshold to make the list.

Losers don’t have to make any threshold and their ranks are filled with nearly all luxury nameplates. It might be a good time to scour our listings for some 2009s that are still around. The lists and rules are below.

Movers and Losers: September 2009

While September sales took a step back from the August sales frenzy fueled by the Cash for Clunkers program, they didn’t fall off a cliff like some predicted they would. Many new 2010 models were just arriving at dealerships, which is shown in our top 10 Movers list. But the 2010 Toyota Prius and 2010 Chevy Equinox had been on sale for a number of months.

Losers include a number of luxury cars and convertibles, not likely to be lusted after in fall. There’s one poor Saturn on the list, too.

The average number of days it took to sell a new 2009 or 2010 model was 80 days, which is two days better than in August and the second straight decline of the year.

Movers and Losers: August 2009

The Cash for Clunkers program was in full effect in August, and I thought we’d see cars bought through the program fly up the Movers chart and big SUVs fall away. In some ways, the cars on the top 10 were Clunker favorites, but Ford’s new Taurus and its Flex crossover made the list, too. Ford had four models on the list and Toyota has five.

The Toyota Prius stays on the Movers list for the third month in a row; it’s the only car that can make that claim.

It was a bit difficult coming up with losers because so many models have turned over to the 2010 model year, which disqualifies their 2009 counterparts from making the list. Chrysler and Volkswagen take it on the chin because many of their models have not turned over, and it seems they aren’t selling quickly either. If you’re a performance fan, the Audi TTS is selling very slowly. Maybe there’s a deal to be had at your local Audi dealer.

Overall, the average number of days it took to sell a new 2009 or 2010 car declined in August, as you’d expect with the Clunkers incentive. It dialed back from 83 days in July to 82 days in August, the first decline of the year. The full lists are below.

Movers and Losers: July 2009

Fooled again. That’s how I feel.

I thought for sure that this month would see inexpensive, fuel-efficient cars flying off lots faster than anything else — tied in to the Cash for Clunkers phenomenon, of course. Yet the fastest sellers this month had a definite luxury bent to them, with the Audi Q5 topping everyone. Audi’s smallest SUV was released a few months ago and is picking up steam, as it now sells about four days after hitting lots.

While new models make up most of the Movers list, the Cash for Clunkers program did impact sale times. The Ford Focus, one of the most popular Clunker purchases, went from 128 days to sell in June to 121 days in July.

However, cars didn’t move faster overall. The average time for all cars increased from 79 days in June to 83 days in July. I fully expect next month’s numbers to be more slanted for Clunker models, but I could be wrong yet again.

Movers and Losers: June's Top 10

As I anxiously awaited data for this month’s Movers and Losers to come in, I wagered as to which highly anticipated new model would top the Movers list, the 2010 Toyota Prius or the 2010 Chevy Camaro? Turns out I was wrong on both counts. Mercedes-Benz’s redesigned E-Class tops the list, followed closely by the Prius, with the Camaro tied for third with … the 2010 Honda Pilot and Toyota Sienna?

Yep, it’s that time of year when new 2010s are just reaching lots, making their time-to-sell quite short. That helped stagnant sellers like the Toyota Tundra also make the list.

Making up the Losers list is a group of the usual suspects, including six Chrysler products.

The average time it took to sell a new 2009 or 2010 model increased only slightly to 79 days in June, up from 78 in May. Include new 2008 models being cleared off lots, and that number is 166 days in June, down from 167 in May. 

Check out the full lists and our methodology below.

Movers and Losers: May Top 10

The list of last month's fastest- and slowest-selling models is quite revealing in terms of the current automotive landscape. Usually, the fastest sellers are just brand-new models that are hotly anticipated, while the losers are tired old models no one particularly wants.

That holds true, but now Chrysler holds five of the Loser spots with some of its most affordable vehicles. Pontiac's dying G6 and the soon-to-be-replaced Cadillac SRX are GM's only entrants, but other SUVs from the company weren't far behind.

The good news for GM, though, is that its new Camaro is highly sought-after … but only after the all-new Toyota Prius, which tops the Movers list for May. You may think the recent spike in gas prices is the reason for the Prius' top ranking, but Honda's Insight hybrid dropped off the top 10 Movers list altogether this month, coming in at No. 17.

The average time it takes to sell a new car is also increasing. For 2009 and 2010 models — which is what we looked at to compile May’s lists — the number has grown to 78 days, up from 72 in April. If you include new 2008 model sales, the number would be 167 days, up from 158 in April.

The full lists and our methodology are found below.

Movers and Losers April 2009

This month’s list of the fastest-selling cars is almost entirely made up of all-new or redesigned models. Nine out of the top 10 and 14 of the top 20 were all-new for the 2009 or 2010 model year. Ford will be the happiest, as its new Fusion and Fusion Hybrid took the top two spots.

On the negative side, we’re again surprised to see the redesigned — and well-liked around the Cars.com office — Infiniti FX50 among the slowest sellers, at 185 days. Its less-expensive counterpart, the FX35, takes 105 days to sell. The rest of the bottom 10 is more understandable, made up of lackluster or outdated models.   

For 2008, 2009 and 2010 models, the average number of days to sell for new cars was 158. For 2009 and 2010 vehicles, the number drops to 72 days. That average is longer than last month’s 68 days and February’s 63 days.

The Movers and Losers list reports the average number of days it takes to sell a model from the day it arrives on the lot until the final paperwork is signed by a buyer. This is not a days of inventory list like you may find on other sites. We’re now focusing on only the 2009 and 2010 model years.

The full lists are below.

Movers and Losers: March 2009

March may not have been the best month for car sales, but there was a decent rebound from a completely moribund February. Sales were definitely helped by all-new models, as our Movers and Losers list clearly shows. Six of the top 10 are brand-new models with only one or two months of sales under their belts.

Two new models that barely missed the list’s sales threshold were the 2010 Honda Insight and 2010 Volvo XC60. Both were only on sale during part of March, so their days-to-sell numbers were artificially high. We expect both to make the top 10 Movers list in April.

The Losers list is pretty understandable, containing many outgoing models that will soon be replaced.

The average selling days for new 2008, 2009 and 2010 models was 152 days. For 2009 and 2010 models, the average was 68 days. These numbers are higher than they were in February, which were 110 and 63 days, respectively.

Remember, the Movers and Losers list reports the average number of days it takes to sell a model from the day it arrives on the lot until the final paperwork is signed by a buyer. This is not a days of inventory list like you may find on other sites.

The full lists are below.

Movers and Losers: February 2009

While the economy has few success stories, new models are moving quickly in the automotive industry, which can be seen as good news. People might not be lining up for them like they do for new iPhones, but people shopping for new cars like the Nissan 370Z, Toyota Venza and Lexus RX 350 aren’t letting them sit on lots too long.

There were some surprises, though. Both the new Ford F-150 and the not-so-new Toyota Tundra are selling at a brisk pace.

Like we did last month, we’re just including 2009 and 2010 models, not new 2008 models. There are many new 2008s still for sale, but most automakers have gone through the entire 2009 model year and the 2010s are rolling out.

The average time 2009 and 2010 models spent on lots was 63 days, but factor in the 2008s and that number increases to 110 days. That’s down 17 days from last month’s 127 days it took to sell a new car on average. Yet another sign of incremental progress.

Remember, Movers and Losers takes into account how many days it takes to sell a model from the time it comes onto the lot until the papers are signed and it rolls out in an owner’s loving hands. This is not a “days of inventory” list. 

The full top 10 list is below.

Movers and Losers: January 2009

It’s been a while since we cracked out the Movers and Losers list, mainly because of the disruption of the economy and auto market, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t hot cars out there. In January, when most of the market was flat, certain luxury and sports cars did just fine. We track how many days it takes to sell a car from the moment it hits the lot until the buyer drives it off. The average for January was a whopping 127 days, including new 2008, 2009 and 2010 models. That’s by far the longest since we started keeping track. In September, the average was 73 days.

January’s losers were a bit of a surprise, including the once-hard-to-get Pontiac G6 convertible, but we excluded 2008 models because typical leftover vehicles skewed the results, and many models have already gone to 2010 model years. However, we do realize some current models haven’t shifted to a 2009 model year at all yet, like the Saturn Astra. Still, seeing which 2009 vehicles took so long to sell was surprising, and may prove helpful if you’re looking for a deal. We should also note that some of the top movers — especially the luxury nameplates — might have moved so quickly because of large discounts and because buyers with money in a down market were looking for deals on big-ticket items.