Experts speculated that the downward slump for luxury cars could be attributed to the housing slump as well as high fuel prices which are causing consumers to be more wary of spending money on luxury goods. Even Ford’s F-Series, while maintaining top spot, was still dropping in terms of the amount of units sold compared to last year.
In fact, nearly all segments of vehicles fell this year, including luxury cars and pickups. The only segment that seemed to experience any success was the burgeoning crossover segment, or CUV, which experienced a 24% growth in sales over last year.
This trend reveals how consumers are remaining wary of buying gas guzzlers but still want the utility of an SUV and are thus turning to the crossover market for an answer. Honda’s CR-V crossover was able to take advantage of this trend and featured as one of the year’s top sellers.
Unfortunately for American automakers, the ‘Big Three’ of Ford, GM and Chrysler were down 7.5 percent in sales this year, a slide the companies seem to be facing in most segments. Experts suggest the reason is due to consumer perception of low quality and reliability in American makes compared to their international competitors - this despite most quality surveys suggesting that U.S. automakers are now on-par with their foreign counterparts.
These are the lists:
Best-Selling Vehicles Of 2007
1. Ford F-Series
2. Chevrolet Silverado
3. Toyota Camry
4. Honda Accord
5. Toyota Corolla/Matrix
6. Honda Civic
7. Chevrolet Impala
8. Nissan Altima
9. Dodge Ram
10. Honda CR-V
Worst-Selling Vehicles Of 2007
1. Cadillac XLR
2. Mazda B-Series
3. Isuzu Ascender
4. Jaguar X-Type
5. Jaguar S-Type
6. Audi A8/S8
7. Porsche Boxster
8. Lexus SC430
9. Isuzu i-290/370
10. Jaguar XJ