Cars that are not Selling or is it my locale

[rjundi]

I live in Coastal New England.

With all the hoopla around the Chevy Cruze and Ford Fiesta I see very few on the roads here. There are plenty of Focus, Civic's, Hyundai's, Subaru, Corolla's. But little of those. The FIT seems to be doing well.

Is it just a local thing, how is it in your area?

 

[eljefino]

You forgot to mention the nearly invisible Smarts.

My pun was intended.

 

[Burt]

They are posting good sales numbers. Give them time to get some product out there.

 

[KrisZ]

I see the Cruze every once in a while on the road, but Fiesta is a rarity.

All the hoopla and media frenzy will not change the way people think in a blink of an eye. It takes time to build up a positive image, and it take even longer to RE-BUILD a tarnished image.


Toyota and Honda took years to build up their image and now they are cruising. There are very few people that would not consider them when shopping for a small car, even though Toyota and Honda doesn't offer anything different or better than the competition.

 

[addyguy]

It's the Versa that sells well here (Ottawa)...roads are thick with them.

 

[tommygunn]

yea, not too many Smart cars here. I think it all depends on area....we have many large Honda, Hyundai dealers around, so yea, the majority of the cars on the road here match that

 

[SLCraig]

Originally Posted By: addyguy
It's the Versa that sells well here (Ottawa)...roads are thick with them.


Probably because its a Renault and you're right beside Quebec

(I drove and liked the Versa myself)

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: tommygunn
yea, not too many Smart cars here. I think it all depends on area....we have many large Honda, Hyundai dealers around, so yea, the majority of the cars on the road here match that


I see a couple smart cars on my commute, but I think they are the old ones with the turbo diesel. Getting 60+mpg for commuting on light traffic 50mph roads isn't too dumb in my book and they seem to do fine on snow...
I don't see many Cruze's yet, I think many small chevy buyers bought with all the deals on the left over Cobalts, which I see a lot of.
I don't see many new Ford pickups, but tons of Rams.

 

[kkreit01]

Same here. I noticed all winter, our local (large) Ford dealer had tons of Fiestas in their "back 40 lot". Now that Spring hit, and gas is high, they are all out front. I've still only seen 2-3 on the road. I'm starting to see a few Cruzes, but still not many. I've probably seen more new Elantras, and they've been out far less time?

 

[PF52]

Originally Posted By: rjundi

With all the hoopla around the Chevy Cruze and Ford Fiesta I see very few on the roads here.


I've seen a few Cruzes but its only been in the past few weeks. They are VERY new to the market.

I've yet to see a Fiesta other than the ones sitting out in front of the dealer.

One car that should be everywhere but isn't, is the Taurus. I see about one a week, at most. Lots of Fusions, but the Taurus is invisible here in the Chicago area.

 

[Spazdog]

I'm seeing more Fiestas and it's Mazda2 sister around, but I have yet to see one of either that is not colored like an Easter Egg. Do they all have to be yellow or that metallic snot green color?

 

[ryansride2017]

Originally Posted By: css9450

One car that should be everywhere but isn't, is the Taurus. I see about one a week, at most. Lots of Fusions, but the Taurus is invisible here in the Chicago area.


If the price of gas wasn't an issue, this is one Ford vehicle I wouldn't mind owning. Some are just incredibly sharp.

 

[whip]

I see lots of Fiestas, and a few Cruzes.

 

[rpn453]

I haven't noticed either on the streets of Saskatoon yet, but that doesn't mean much because people around here don't seem to buy many new vehicles. When I got my Mazda3 in 2004, I felt like I was the only person in town with one. Whenever I'd go down to Regina, I'd see a few. They're common now, of course. Smart cars are also common.

 

[fdcg27]

More than likely because the Cruze and the Fiesta are new to the market.
Given the price of gas (high) and the retail price points at which these cars will actually sell once production and sales reach a stable level (low), I would expect to see lots of them in time.
Give it about eighteen months, and they'll be everywhere.

 

[Mr Nice]

Originally Posted By: kkreit01
Same here. I noticed all winter, our local (large) Ford dealer had tons of Fiestas in their "back 40 lot". Now that Spring hit, and gas is high, they are all out front. I've still only seen 2-3 on the road. I'm starting to see a few Cruzes, but still not many. I've probably seen more new Elantras, and they've been out far less time?


I was wondering why has the Fiesta been such a slow selling car. Its a nice looking car with good gas mileage.

Why aren't more people interested in this car ?????

 

[01rangerxl]

I think they just need time to sell. Cars are a little too expensive to get the frenzy reaction that happens with consumer electronics.

I've seen a couple new Fiestas, and a Cruze or two.

I remember when the 1997 F-150 came out in 1996...it was a groundbreaking, highly promoted vehicle, but they were not all over the place. By 1998 it seemed like every other vehicle on the road was a newer F-150.

 

[MONKEYMAN]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
You forgot to mention the nearly invisible Smarts.

My pun was intended.

I was hoping to post my observation regarding Smarts. One dealership I pass had a half a dozen on the lot in one corner of the lot last year. Today I saw a half of dozen golf carts in the same area. Or, maybe they were Smart Carts???

I saw one Smart in the passing lane the other day. One Green Fiesta around town. I think once gas is over $4.00 a gallon some SUV's will be traded in for something that gets better gas mileage.

 

[bretfraz]

I've had a couple people ask me about the Fiesta, but no requests for the Mazda 2. Both cars need to get into used car inventories so shoppers can check them out next to a Versa, Fit, Yaris, etc.

Sonatas went into fleet service right away so we have several in inventory. That plus the positive press have shoppers asking for them. I usually have a new Sonata on our showroom for shoppers to see up close.

Not too many Taurus' around, but like the Fiesta, I don't think many are being sold into fleets. That means Ford is selling them one at a time, and owners are not trading them in. It will take awhile for enough of these cars to make a noticeable impact when the rate of sale is retail only.

 

[stubbakatt]

Lots of Fiestas around here, but I haven't seen a Cruze yet.