Movers and Losers: December 2011

Fueled by holiday-themed sales events and bullish shoppers, December sales helped the U.S. auto industry sell 12.8 million light vehicles in 2011 — up 10% from 2010 and the best year since 2008. Not surprisingly, cars sold fast in December as dealerships opened 2012 with a 52-day supply of cars. That's the lowest January inventory on record, Automotive News reports.

Days-to-turn average measures how long it takes a car to go home with a new owner relative to when it arrives at a dealership. For December's list we looked at 2012 models, as dealers had cleared out most of the 2011 inventory. That trend usually makes December's average plunge, but even then it's low at 29 days to turn versus 35 days in December 2010. That's dramatic. If you include 2011 models, the days-to-turn average comes in at 86 days, which is closer to November's 75 days.

Movers and Losers: November 2011

November's sales pace, the best since Cash for Clunkers-fueled summer 2009, had 2011 and 2012 models averaging 75 days to sell, which is down from October's 93 days and November 2010's 83 days. Typical of year-end months, the gulf between 2012s and 2011s has increased. In November, it took just 23 days to sell the higher-demand 2012s, but 133 days for the 2011s. That's a bigger divide from October's 15/93 days (2011s/2012s). Not surprisingly, dealers sold more than two 2012s for every 2011 in November.

November's movers were an eclectic bunch. Hot nameplates included new or redesigned models — the Toyota Camry Hybrid, Land Rover Range Rover Evoque, Hyundai Veloster and Toyota Prius V — alongside popular nameplates like the Subaru Forester, Honda Fit and Kia Soul. Falling gas prices and cooler weather made SUVs a hotter ticket, with the Toyota 4Runner and BMW X3 selling fast. In all, eight of November's top 15 movers were SUVs, up from six in October.

Movers and Losers: October 2011

Fall is turning quickly into winter, and the 2012 model year is making a big impact on the movers and losers list. In October there were still more 2011s sold versus 2012s, but it took much longer to sell them.

The average for both 2011 and 2012 new models was 60 days, but the 2011s took 93 days on average to move off lots. The new 2012s were obviously in more demand, moving on average in just 15 days. The slowest 2012s were the Nissan NV cargo van at 69 days and the Fiat 500 hatchback in 66 days.

That's not good news for the just-introduced Fiat brand.

Movers and Losers: September 2011

Practicality and value remain common threads for the fastest-selling cars over the past few months. September’s Movers' list is similar to August's Movers, with some newcomers like the 2012 Toyota Camry and 2012 Hyundai Veloster at the top. Those that fell off September's Movers’ list from last month like the GMC Terrain are still selling at a fast clip — 14 days for the Terrain.

September’s average time it took a model to sell ticked up from 60 to 61 days for a new 2011 or 2012. That's the same amount of time it took in September 2010.

Losers are spending much more time on lots than last month, though, with the worst sellers sticking around for a whopping 282 days. Last month, the worst-selling car was at 208 days.

Our picks for deals are 2011 models that have new 2012s on lots competing for sales. That means dealers should be motivated to unload these slow-selling cars. We made sure to select models that showed relatively healthy inventory levels on Cars.com. Check out the full list of Movers, Losers and our Picks as well as info about how we select the lists below.

Movers and Losers: August 2011

I recently went car shopping, looking for an inexpensive second car to replace an aging station wagon. I knew the Kia Soul would be the least expensive option for us, and it can fit two child-safety seats in the back with space to spare. When I went to the local Kia dealer they had exactly one Soul on the lot. It was a 2012 base model with a manual transmission, which luckily was what I was looking for.

My wife and I decided to hold off on the purchase, but the fact that there was one silver-colored car to choose from in a busy suburban Chicago dealership illustrates how tight supply is for affordable new cars. The 2012 Soul tops our Movers list this month, tied with the 2012 Hyundai Elantra sedan, 2012 Nissan Versa sedan and 2012 Toyota Highlander.

Besides the Highlander, those are three of the most-affordable cars a shopper can possibly buy.

There are more expensive vehicles that are moving quickly, but overall, the Movers are affordable options in their respective segments and all are moving in less than 10 days.

At this time of year it’s difficult to come up with Losers using our guidelines as most 2012s are now appearing on lots. That has kept the average time a car spends on a new-car lot to 60 days despite many 2011s lingering for more than 200 days and a few close to 400 days.

It’s no surprise that Saab, with its uncertain future, has the two top … err, bottom spots on that list. We’d expect the now officially discontinued Mazda RX-8 to have attractive discounts as well.

Movers and Losers: July 2011

Despite some pessimistic reporting earlier last month, July turned out to be a good recovery month for the auto industry. More than 1 million new vehicles were sold, and sales were up 4.7% from a year ago. Despite the rosy sales figures, the average time it took a model to sell increased slightly in July to 58.8 days from June's 58 days.

This month’s Movers and Losers list shows that many of the fastest-selling vehicles once again come from Hyundai. The 2012 Hyundai Elantra remained one of the fastest-selling volume vehicles in July, taking just six days to sell. You could say everything at Hyundai is a fast-seller: The 2012 Sonata and Tucson also took six days to sell. The new 2012 Hyundai Accent sedan (10 days) and hatchback (seven days) also sold like hotcakes. Overall, the Tucson, Accent, Sonata and Elantra represent roughly 80% of Hyundai’s sales for the month.

This month’s Losers list includes the addition of two hybrids — the 2011 Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid (159 days) and 2011 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid (150 days). The Toyota Yaris sedan (165 days) also merged on to the slow lane, though that model is due to be replaced.

Movers and Losers: June 2011

Hyundai is on a roll lately. The company has seen success with new products starting with the Sonata, then the Elantra and now the Accent. The company holds two of the top three spots on this month’s Movers’ list with 2012 versions of the Elantra and all-new Accent subcompact. Even the 2011 Elantra is one of the fastest-selling cars in the country.

Overall, fuel efficiency is pushing cars out the doors of dealerships as 11 of the top 20 movers are miserly at the pump … or electrical outlet.

The Losers’ list looks awfully familiar with a few Jaguars and other luxury nameplates making the rounds.

Overall, the average time it took to sell a car ticked upward to 58 days from 54 in May, but it’s only slightly higher than the 55 days it took in June 2010.

You can see our full lists below as well as our picks for slow sellers that don’t deserve to sit on lots, but could have more negotiation room.

Movers and Losers: May 2011

May sales marked the first decline in total car sales in the past eight months. This is mainly a result of inventory shortages due to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, high gas prices and low retail incentive offerings. Cars took slightly longer to move off lots, too. The average number of days it took to sell a new vehicle went from 48 days in April to 54 days in May. That number was at 50 days in May 2010.

Despite the lull, there were winners in May, most notably the Hyundai Elantra. The redesigned model has been a hot seller for some time — a member of the Movers’ list since December 2010 — and it’s now the fastest-moving model, taking just three days to sell. That rate is actually for the 2012 model that went on sale recently. The 2011 was the first year of the redesign, and it also made the Movers’ list this month. We can’t recall two model years of the same vehicle ever making the Movers’ list in the three years we’ve been publishing it.

Movers and Losers: April 2011

High gas prices and a crop of newly redesigned models are moving cars at the exact same rate as in March. The average number of days it took to sell a new car in April was 48 days. That’s up only two days over the April 2010 average of 46 days.

The fastest time it took for a vehicle to come off a truck and into the hands of an owner was four days, the 2012 BMW X5. This isn’t the first time the X5 has been in the top spot; it also reigned in October 2009.

Luxury vehicles made up more than half our movers list, while three fuel-sippers took up the top five. And nearly all of the 18 movers (if we had moved to the next slate of 19-day sellers, we would have had well over 20) are significantly revised for their respective model years. Only the Audi Q7 and A5 seemed to buck that trend.

Check out the poor performers and the five models we picked as potential steals because they’ve withered too long on lots.

Movers and Losers: March 2011

March was a record sales month for many automakers. They saw vehicles of every type fly off lots. This month’s Movers include a wide variety of body styles from hybrid hatchbacks to minivans to large SUVs to a rare convertible.

The average time it took to sell a car increased slightly to 48 days from February’s 47. That’s a good sign of a healthy car market.

The Losers list looks familiar, and we found some good luxury and economy buys in our own picks. It’s odd to see a once white-hot car like the Volkswagen CC cooling down just a year or so after it debuted.

Our full lists and methodology are below.