In November 2011, cars far outsold SUVs, and Prius made the top 20 vehicles list!

Problem is, once you include "cross-overs" (I hate such a vague term), the numbers don't look so small vs. cars.

I don't know which cars are strictly "cross-overs" and not SUVs but just take a look at Car Finder Results to get an idea of what Edmunds calls crossovers. Notice these vehicles are still classified as "light trucks".

 

Escape and Equinox are the best selling crossovers on your list, part of the accord sales are crossovers too. I don't like the breakout in that list as it hides suvs as crossovers.

 

i guess somebody returned the BMW X6 for a prius?

 

I think any unibody SUV can be classified as a crossover. Any wagon in which its car pedigree is hidden, ex. the Matrix, is likely also classified as a crossover. Back in 2005 at least, Matrix window stickers had Corrolla SUW in small print on them.

 

Maybe there are too many patents on the Prius to begin to copy it.

I'm thinking of GM CEO a year ago 'I wouldn't be caught dead in a Prius' ...

Enjoy your Silverado sales GM.

 

However, many crossovers are just manufacturers cheating CAFE by making an inefficient car be an efficient "light truck".

As you wrote, we need a breakout of crossover. It's such a significant part of the market.

Similarly, "small car" is too vague as it groups subcompacts and compacts together.

 

I think that if we break it out as light duty enclosed truck (SUV + CUV + minivan) it becomes clearer. Then it further helps if this is broken down to small, medium, and large. Then we will get car, truck, enclosed truck categories. CAFE standards favor this enclosed truck CUV over a station wagon, even though toyota would like to label the prius v as a CUV it won't get the cafe advantage.

These loopholes are finally closing, but won't be fully closed until 2025. The 2016 CAFE rules get rid of some CUV advantages, but the big changes don't start kicking in until 2020. One good thing is small and medium CUVs are growing at the expense of large SUVs.

 

On this note, see November Gains Lift U.S. Auto Makers - WSJ.com. If you can't read the entire article, Google for Americans Embrace SUVs Again wsj. As usual, they emphasize highway mileage and the Equinox comes up again.

I suspect those Equinox buyers are in for a disappointment given stuff like Why The Chevy Equinox EPA Mileage Numbers Don’t Add Up | The Truth About Cars.

 

Heh, for those who don't know, per BMW ActiveHybrid X6 - Features & Specs - Specifications - BMW North America and BMW ActiveHybrid X6 - Model Overview - BMW North America, the Activehybrid X6 starts at $89K, has 480 hp, gets a whopping EPA rated 17 mpg city/19 highway and at 5765 lbs, it weighs about the same as many monstrosity class (full-sized) SUVs. Winner, eh?

Car Finder Results considers it to be a crossover...

 

Seems the only thing the Prius didn't outsell - was the pickups. That's ok ... their day is coming.



.

 

WOW, that article in TTAC is a real eye-opener! I knew that manufacturers did the EPA tests but I never suspected that any manufacturer would be stupid enpough to just tell big, fact, easily-disproved lies and expect to get away with it. How long is a strategy like that supposed to last? One year or so? Then you lose all credibility. Sheesh!

 

^^^
Keep in mind http://priuschat.com/forums/other-c...-epa-city-highway-mpg-estimates.htmlregarding regarding the EPA tests. However, it is umm.... interesting that the Equinox has such high EPA ratings yet in the real world falls well short and doesn't do any better than competitors w/lower EPA numbers.

I do really wonder if GM botched/fudged the tests or whether it's just a tip of the hat to GM engineers for doing a really good job of optimizing for the test and whether the EPA has re-tested both FWD and AWD Equinoxes.

 

A Crossover is just a reduced ground clearance and overall height SUV.

 

Hill you may notice the Camry, escape, altima, fusion, civic, CR-V, corolla, and sonata are not pickups.

Prius numbers for the year are disappointing, falling again from last year. The disasters had something to do with it, but 2011 was supposed to be a rebound for hybrids and the prius back toward 2008 levels. Let's hope that 2012 with the introduction of the prius c and phv sales rise.

I think they are calling it any unibody that is bigger than a normal car. Some of those crossovers have high clearance and height, but are not body on frame.

 

The bad news is that manufacturers are optimizing for the test. The good news is that it's happening because people care more about fuel economy. Now we just need people to recognize their true pattern of driving and stop focusing only on highway fuel economy.