Cain’s Segments: Muscle Cars Weak, Challenger Dodges The Trend

That sound you've been hearing for nearly two decades is the weeping and gnashing of teeth roused by the Chevrolet Beretta's demise. Oh, Ford Probe, we hardly knew ye. Whither the Dodge Daytona? Let's look at the continuing decline of an empire, formerly ruled by the American Muscle Car. At Chevrolet, SS is not the oft-used badge that AMG is at Mercedes-Benz. Ford's ST and SVT branding aren't used to form an overwhelming BMW M-like presence. You can buy big V8-engined Chryslers, but many of Chrysler's higher-volume products – 200, Avenger, Dart, Journey, Wrangler – go without sporting iterations. Detroit's three automakers don't even sell coupe versions of their mainstream sedans these days. There is plenty of sporting heritage present in GM, Ford, and Chrysler showrooms, of course. Iconic nameplates sell at a level normally associated with moderately successful midsize cars. And even in 2013, a year in which muscle car sales have fallen, the Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang are America's 29th and 30th-best-selling passenger cars, ahead of the Ford Taurus, Subaru Impreza, and Buick LaCrosse. Although we're also showing results for two higher-end cars, two veritable sports cars, a more accurate reflection of the muscle car marketplace is made more apparent when you leave out the Corvette and Viper. Sales of America's muscle car trio are down 4.6% through five months. May sales of the Camaro, Challenger, and Mustang fell 8.3% in the United States. Those declines haven't occurred because of the lowest-volume member of the group. Dodge Challenger volume is up 28% this year, rising 15% in May. Its market share in the three-car category grew to 24.9% in May, up from 19.8% a year ago. That market share was obviously stolen from the Camaro and Mustang, whether there are any prospective Challenger buyers who would have actually chosen the Chevrolet or Ford. It's bit of a Sox or Cubs; Manchester United or Manchester City world. Of the 22,263 American muscle cars sold in May, 35.6% were Camaros, down from 37.2% in May 2012. The Mustang's share slid from 43% in May 2012 to 39.5% in May 2013. Year-to-date, the Camaro and Mustang have lost nearly four and three percentage points worth of market share, respectively. In a market which enjoyed an 8% year-over-year increase in May, the fact that the Camaro and Mustang could be struggling to match last year's pace shouldn't come as a surprise. Whether you're selling a German roadster, a driftable Japanese sports car, or an outrageously powerful Detroit pony car, the number of customers is likely to shrink as the launch date becomes a distant memory. Dodge Challenger sales figures must then be the exception that proves the rule. Auto May 2013 May 2012 May % Change 5 mos. 2013 5 mos. 2012 YTD % Change Chevrolet Camaro 7929 9023 - 12.1% 35,076 40,574 - 13.6% Chevrolet Corvette 905 1219 - 25.8% 4820 5547 - 13.1% Dodge Challenger 5537 4816 + 15.0% 24,881 19,442 + 28.0% Ford Mustang 8797 10,427 - 15.6% 33,868 38,361 - 11.7% SRT Viper 65 — — 129 20 + 545% — — — — — — — Total 23,233 25,485 - 8.8% 98,774 103,944 - 5.0% Independent analyst Timothy Cain is the founder and editor of GoodCarBadCar.net. His look at the important segments will be a permanent fixture at TTAC, along with a  look at the market up North.       from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com

Put the internet to work for you. via Personal Recipe 680102