Fun With 2021 U.S. Auto Sales: Who Beat Who?
The mighty rose and fell in the auto industry in 2021. A critical shortage of microchips helped determine winners and losers in U.S. sales for the year more than any other factor. Aberration or not, the surprises are worth noting when companies deemed too-big-to-fail fall off their long-held perches and underdogs ascend to new heights.
Business publications have splashed plenty of ink in the annual presentation of final U.S. auto sales as another year came to a close. We won't go all corporate and financial here at MotorTrend but there were some unexpected plot twists that deserve to be pointed out—regardless of any asterisks due to chip shortages.
Toyota Topples GM For the First Time
The biggie: after decades of U.S. sale supremacy, Toyota beat General Motors in 2021. GM sold 2.2 million vehicles, but Toyota had about 114,000 more for a total of 2.3 million.
Toyota executives were quick to say the lead is not sustainable. GM will be back on top as chip supplies normalize. The semiconductor shortage hurt all automakers, but some were hit harder than others. GM and Ford were among the more heavily pummeled. Toyota was the poster child for how to—almost—survive the chip crisis.
Toyota is no stranger to pinchpoints from key parts shortages. After the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, Toyota put an early warning system in place to monitor its supply chain. The result is that the inventor of the concept of lean manufacturing and just-in-time delivery became a hoarder. Once warned, the Japanese automaker stockpiled chips and was able to keep building and selling vehicles full steam while the competition was playing whack-a-mole in determining which vehicles took priority in receiving chip rations and which plants faced temporary downtime on any given week.
As the shortage stretched out and was exacerbated by a fire at the Renesas Electronics chipmaking plant in Japan, and then COVID-19 outbreaks that forced closure of facilities in southeast Asia that test and package chips, Toyota was finally forced to idle some plants. But in the end, Toyota saw 10 percent sales growth in the U.S. in 2021 while GM saw a 13 percent drop because it lost hundreds of thousands of units of production.
Hyundai-Kia Leapfrogs Over Honda
Hyundai-Kia outsold Honda for the first time, moving up to the fifth spot with almost 1.5 million vehicles sold. That was about 22,500 more than Honda. The two brands under the Hyundai Motor Company umbrella continue to be a juggernaut. This one will be interesting to watch in 2022 because the Korean brands show no signs of slowing down and have impressive vehicles hitting the market.
The Hyundai group still has work to do to catch Stellantis at just shy of 1.8 million, or Ford at almost 1.9 million.
Ford EVs Coming for Tesla
Ford, which was considered a bit of an EV laggard until fairly recently, ended 2021 in second place when it comes to U.S. sales of electric vehicles. Credit goes to the new Mustang Mach-E; Ford sold more than 27,000 of the electric crossovers.
King of the EV castle continued to be Tesla which had a banner year. How banner we don't know exactly as it the automaker does not break out U.S. sales.
General Motors was out of the running in 2021, not because of the chip shortage, but because the Chevrolet Bolt was all but sidelined for much of the year by a recall due to risks of fire from bad cells in its batteries and a recommendation to park outside.
Ford Mustang vs. Dodge Challenger vs. Chevy Camaro
The muscle car sales wars are legendary, and we never tire of the jostling, even though their makers don't always give them the love they once received.
We have a cool toppling this year. The Dodge Challenger actually stole the title in 2021. The coupe is no spring chicken, and this wasn't a chip shortage win. Credit energetic execs behind the Dodge brand who never say die. Efforts to keep the Challenger fresh led to a 3 percent increase in sales, bringing the total to 54,314 muscle cars sold and the highest full-year share ever at 21 percent of the albeit-small segment. (Dodge Charger also grew market share to a career-best 30 percent, more testament to pixie dust being sprinkled liberally over at Dodge).
That pushed the Ford Mustang to second place. A 14 percent drop resulted in a final sales tally of 52,414. For the bronze: the Chevy Camaro saw sales plummet almost 27 percent, netting 21,893 sales. The once-mighty Camaro must be missing its long-time engineer: Al "Mr. Camaro" Oppenheiser, who was reassigned to the GMC Hummer EVs and is busy crabwalking and hurtling 9,000 pounds of SUV from 0-60 in 3.0 seconds. It probably doesn't help that today's Camaro doesn't look all that different from the last one, or the one before that...
Big Truck Wars
No surprises here: Ford took the title for best-selling truck in the U.S. for the 45th straight year, selling more than 726,000 F-Series. Ram came second at just under 570,000. The Chevrolet Silverado could get a needed boost from the electric version coming—the Chevy came third in 2021 with almost 520,000 U.S. sales.
Who said following auto sales isn't fun?
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A terrifying-sounding weather phenomenon called "super fog" caused a fatal multi-car pileup on Interstate 95 in Florida this morning. A combination of dense foggy weather and lingering smoke from controlled burning in the area created a severe visibility problem for drivers. The Miami Herald says 17 cars were involved in the crash, which resulted in dozens of injuries and three deaths.Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Kim Montes announced at a briefing that one crash involved 11 cars in the Northbound lanes of traffic passing through Volusia County, and another involved two passenger vehicles and four semi trucks in the Southbound lanes near Edgewater. The super fog was reported as the contributing cause of both incidents. Weather.com and AP reported smoke in the air was caused by a prescribed burn in an area near the highway.Screenshot from traffic camera. The National Weather Service for Melbourne, Florida lifted its weather advisory for the super fog issue around 9:00 a.m. this morning. In a statement, the Service says today's fog and smoke mix conditions limited driver visibility to fewer than 10 feet, which means you could only see pretty much just a single car length ahead of you. Here's how the Service describes super fog on its website:"Super fog forms when a mixture of smoke and moisture released from damp smoldering organic material such as brush, leaves and trees, mixes with cooler, nearly saturated air. Visibility is lowered to less than 10 feet. Under light wind conditions, super fog meanders through low terrain areas such as creek beds or drainage ditches. Super fog can be very dangerous when present over highways, and has been the cause of several large, multi-vehicle pileups."At highway speeds, this would mean there is zero time to react to anything in the road ahead. Hence why it caused a similar pileup crash to those you might see during a dense snow storm, during which pileup crashes are fairly common.Melbourne's Weather Service said today's crash was not the first of its kind caused by super fog. Similar incidents with the weather phenomenon caused large pileups on I-4 near Davenport, Florida in 2008, and again on I-75 near Gainesville in 2012. As ever, if you encounter foggy conditions—super or otherwise—it is wise to activate your hazards, slow down (or, if you pull over entirely, make sure you are off the roadway), and use extreme caution.
chevrolet corvette Full OverviewMore than a few automakers have tried to build a supercar you can drive every day without much compromise. and Those efforts, whether cleansheet or adapting an existing car, have rarely succeeded. There's a meaning behind the saying "a jack of all trades and master of none." Something's gotta give. After 14 months behind the wheel of a 2021 Chevrolet Corvette Z51—our 2020 Car of the Year—that something isn't as big as you might think.Yes, we're really going to stand here and tell you a Corvette is the only car you need. Within reason, of course. People with kids or who regularly transport plywood will need another set of wheels. Everyone else? Get a 'Vette.See, I did about everything you could think of with this Corvette. Eight-hundred-mile road trips? Several times. Bring home the Christmas tree? Tied to the roof. Off-road? There was that one time Google Maps sent us on a shortcut that turned out to be a poorly maintained dirt road and we made it without damage. Hardware store? Done it. Grocery shopping? Every week. Beat a Porsche Cayman GT4 around a racetrack? All while costing nearly $47,000 less.Sure, there were a few times the thing we needed to move was too big. On those occasions, we handed the local big-box store $20 and rented a pickup for an hour, or had it delivered. Problem solved, and for a lot less money than owning a second vehicle.We could do all this because the Corvette really is as practical as it is a superlative performer. With two trunks and a removable roof, hauling most stuff home was no big deal. Neither was taking it all on vacation: We just packed multiple carry-on bags instead of one big one.Whether it was running down the street or crossing half the state, the C8's combination of class-leading ride quality, unusually comfortable sport seats, and high-speed stability made a drive of any length easy. Set to "My Mode"—customized with better brake feel, loud exhaust, soft shocks, and light steering—the car absolutely ate up miles. Should you happen to be on a dead-straight rural highway with no other car in sight, it'll happily cruise at 100 mph for hours at a time without beating you up in the slightest.Occasionally, you'll have to slow down for the big bumps, be they on a dirt road or pulling into your own steep driveway. When you do, the nose lift with GPS tagging is an absolute must-have. We stopped taking chances altogether and just raised the nose any time a driveway or speed bump or whatever looked like it might be trouble. Tagging all the spots in our neighborhoods and around the office made commuting much less stressful.The car also does Corvette things really, really well. Like putting that Cayman GT4 in its place. Or hitting 60 mph in as little as 2.8 seconds and embarrassing cars with significantly more power and fatter MSRPs. Also great for just tearing up our local canyon roads whenever the mood struck.The only thing that made driving this car even better was putting it in track alignment and leaving it there. Not only did it make for better lap times, it made the steering more responsive and communicative. True, it wore out the tires in less than 10,000 miles, but it was worth it. Worth it to the tune of $1,889.96 for tires and $100 for mounting and balancing by our friends at ZipTire. Maintaining supercars ain't cheap.Comparatively, though, the Corvette is pretty affordable to fix. The one service appointment we paid for set us back just $183, which is significantly less than the average luxury car service (usually well over $200 per visit) though a lot more than our long-term C7 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z51, which came with complimentary maintenance for the first few years and didn't cost us a dime aside from tires. As it happened, the front trunk stopped opening right around the time the car needed service, which required ordering a new opener and returning 12 days later to have it installed, but that was covered under warranty along with a pair of minor recalls. Our C7 Corvette was a bit more trouble-prone than our C8.While nothing else needed fixing, we have a few suggestions for Chevrolet when the midcycle update comes around. Although we don't hate the long row of center-console buttons like some people, we agree the ergonomics just aren't there and it creates a wall for the passenger to reach over. While Chevy is rearranging all that, it can also move the wireless phone charger from behind your elbow to somewhere easier to reach. A set of hooks on the ceiling behind the seats to hang your jacket wouldn't hurt, either. It's not like you can see out the back window, anyway. More heat insulation in the rear trunk would also be great. Cold groceries go in the front trunk, always.Outside, it would be great if Chevy could figure out a way to keep rainwater pooled on the hood and decklid from pouring into the front and rear trunks when you open them. It would also be nice if they could slim down the decorative side blades. They're mounted on the widest parts of the door and are the first thing to hit the car parked next to you. Shaving them would make it easier to squeeze in the door when someone parks too close.All in all, these are little fixes that would make us happy, but they're hardly deal breakers. Thoughtful features like the front hood release hidden under the headlight, the downward-facing front cameras, automatic proximity locking, and automatic comfort entry/exit features make us forget most of our gripes.On a fairly regular basis, our friends and coworkers post photos of cars they've seen parked next to each other in the wild with a caption like "ultimate two-car garage." Great if you can't pick just one car and you have money to spend on multiple. If you can live with just two seats, though, you don't need a two-car solution. The C8 Corvette is the ultimate one-car-garage solution.Looks good! More details?2021 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray DRIVETRAIN LAYOUT Mid-engine, RWD ENGINE TYPE 90-deg direct-injected V-8, alum block/heads VALVETRAIN OHV, 2 valves/cyl DISPLACEMENT 376.0 cu in/6,162 cc COMPRESSION RATIO 11.5:1 POWER (SAE NET) 495 hp @ 6,450 rpm TORQUE (SAE NET) 470 lb-ft @ 5,150 rpm REDLINE 6,400 rpm WEIGHT TO POWER 7.4 lb/hp TRANSMISSION 8-speed twin-clutch auto AXLE/FINAL-DRIVE RATIO 3.55:1/1.71:1 SUSPENSION, FRONT; REAR Control arms, coil springs, adj shocks, anti-roll bar; control arms, coil springs, adj shocks, anti-roll bar STEERING RATIO 12.5-15.7:1 TURNS LOCK-TO-LOCK 2.3 BRAKES, F; R 13.6-in vented disc; 13.8-in vented disc, ABS WHEELS, F;R 8.5 x 19-in; 11.0 x 20-in, cast aluminum TIRES, F;R 245/35R19 89Y; 305/30R20 99Y Michelin Pilot Sport 4S DIMENSIONS WHEELBASE 107.2 in TRACK, F/R 64.9/62.4 in LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT 182.3 x 76.1 x 48.6 in TURNING CIRCLE 36.4 ft CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST) 3,643 lb (40/60%) SEATING CAPACITY 2 HEADROOM, F/R 37.9 in LEGROOM, F/R 42.8 in SHOULDER ROOM, F/R 54.4 in CARGO VOLUME 4.0 (frunk)/8.6 (trunk) cu ft ACCELERATION TO MPH 0-30 1.3 sec 0-40 1.8 0-50 2.4 0-60 3.1 0-70 4.0 0-80 5.0 0-90 6.2 0-100 7.6 0-100-0 11.4 PASSING, 45-65 MPH 1.5 QUARTER MILE 11.4 sec @ 120.4 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 99 ft LATERAL ACCELERATION 1.01 g (avg) MT FIGURE EIGHT 23.4 sec @ 0.86 g (avg) TOP-GEAR REVS @ 60 MPH 1,300 rpm CONSUMER INFO BASE PRICE $67,295 PRICE AS TESTED $80,420 AIRBAGS 4: Dual front, front side/head BASIC WARRANTY 3 yrs/36,000 miles POWERTRAIN WARRANTY 5 yrs/60,000 miles ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE 5 yrs/60,000 miles FUEL CAPACITY 18.5 gal EPA CITY/HWY/COMB ECON 15/27/19 mpg EPA RANGE, COMB 352 miles RECOMMENDED FUEL Unleaded premium ON SALE Now Our Car SERVICE LIFE 13 mo / 16,512 mi BASE PRICE $67,295 OPTIONS Z51 Performance pack ($5,995: 3.55:1 axle ratio, electronic limited-slip, rear spoiler, heavy-duty cooling, performance suspension, brakes, tires, and exhaust); Front lift w/memory ($1,995); Magnetorheological dampers ($1,895); GT2 bucket seats ($1,495); Red brake calipers ($595); Composite rockers ($550); Premium paint ($500); Carbon flash side mirrors ($100) PRICE AS TESTED $80,420 AVG ECON 17.0 mpg PROBLEM AREAS None MAINTENANCE COST $400.69 (2- inspection, oil change) NORMAL-WEAR COST $2,062 (set of tires) 3-YEAR RESIDUAL VALUE* $96,800 (120%) RECALLS None *IntelliChoice data; assumes 42,000 miles at the end of 3-years Show All
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The 2022 Chicago Auto Show gave us our first real chance to crawl around the 2022 Jeep Grand Wagoneer Obsidian model, which went on sale late last year. As the name implies and as we explained at the time, this variant based on the mid-grade Series II trim caters to fans of the blacked-out look. The example shown in Chicago also gave us one of our first experiences of a bench-seat-equipped eight-passenger Grand Wagoneer. So let's climb into this latest 2022 Jeep Grand Wagoneer's interior and have a look around.
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