16% of the Minis sold in America in the first four months of 2016 were newly enlarged Clubmans, Mini's Golf-fighting, Golf-sized wagon. With four real passenger doors, the Clubman is now a traditional small car, albeit one with barn doors at the back that impinge on rear visibility.
Alex Dykes' video review of the 2016 Mini Clubman is the most detailed and thorough on YouTube. Here's the next 25 minutes of your Saturday.
Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net, which obsesses over the free and frequent publication of U.S. and Canadian auto sales figures. Follow on Twitter @goodcarbadcar and on Facebook. Alex On Autos is also on Facebook and Twitter.
GCBC'sThe Good 12 for 2016 includes the vehicles that would be most welcomed as permanent members of the GCBC Towers driveway. Park them out front on Christmas morning. Tie them with a bow. We appreciate your kindness. None have base prices above USD $67,000. They reflect many different parts of the market, they come from different places, they're powered by very different engines, they're accomplished in different areas. And when any one of them drives by, I want it for myself. Click any of the images to be taken to the model's Sales Stats page. Don't forget to check out GCBC's The Bad 8, the cars which we don't want to receive even as gifts. For more on what The Good 12 really is, visit the GCBC Awards page.
Chevrolet Suburban
Can it ____? Yes. What about ___? Of course. Even ____? Yeah, that too. Fill in the blanks however you want. The Chevrolet Suburban is what you buy when you need one vehicle to meet every potential vehicular need.
Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Remember the first Dodge Charger SRT-8 with its audacious 425-horsepower V8? That car was an edgy and affordable Detroit riposte to the typical German muscle sedan. This Charger SRT? 707 horsepower. Edgy, indeed.
Ford Mustang There isn't just one good Mustang. The V6 is fun and affordable. The GT is fast and evocative. The Shelby GT350 is a proper European sports car fighter. They all look terrific. They're all far more modern than Mustangs were just two years ago.
Honda Odyssey The value quotient with every minivan is unbelievably convincing. The Odyssey separates itself from the people-carrying pack with the sort of steering, ride, and handling that, rather than punishing you, rewards you instead.
Jeep Wrangler Just ask the politicians who flop because they couldn't pull off the cowboy-boots-at-the-Iowa-state-fair look: authenticity matters. The Wrangler is exactly what the Wrangler is supposed to be.
Mazda 3 5-Door
Mazda's most popular car is the best all-around small car money can buy. It's sufficiently quick and fuel efficient, tackles a corner with aplomb, and marries attractive interior styling to terrific exterior styling.
Mazda MX-5 Miata
You wake up early on a Saturday morning in July. You took care of the day's pressing concerns last night. You own a Miata, so you leave the house to go for a drive. To nowhere in particular.
Mini Clubman Most Minis are simply too small. The first two big Minis – Countryman and 4-Door – are awkward. So why not a Mini wagon? Mixing great on-road behaviour and a small wagon body at an affordable price produces a winner.
Porsche Macan S 20 years ago the idea would have sounded foolish. But what's so categorically wrong about a Porsche with Porsche-like dynamics, all-weather appeal, and space for five people and their stuff?
Ram 1500 EcoDiesel The Ram 1500 is a very good pickup truck, with or without the diesel. Highly regarded handling, true full-size capability, and attractive styling are integral to the equation. But mixing all this torque with so little fuel is a remarkable achievement.
Volkswagen Golf GTI
Before you even spend time with the GTI, you know it will be good. But then it's better than that. More space than you expected. More power. More expertise on a twisty road. And a more mature blend of performance attributes than you thought possible.
Volvo XC90
Nobody does wagons quite like Volvo. But the modern wagon isn't really a wagon, is it? We want to ride high, climb snowbanks, and see the traffic beneath us. Thus, Volvo presents the second-gen XC90, with one of the best interiors in the current automotive universe and a prototypical Swedish exterior.
Over the first 11 months of 2015, 53% of the Minis sold in America are of the four-door variety. That figure includes 13,942 Mini Cooper Hardtop 4-Doors and the Mini Countryman's 14,538 sales.
That figure is about to rise, as the number of sales produced by the upcoming wagon-like Clubman, itself a four-door model, hits the market. The Clubman will steal sales from the Cooper 4-Door and Countryman, but not so many that it won't increase the overall number of sales produced by Mini's bigger models.
The Cooper 4-Door's arrival late last year has certainly had a huge impact on sales of the 2-Door Cooper. Consider November's results, as sales of the Cooper Hardtop 4-Door jumped from 235 in 2014 to 1325 in November 2015, while U.S. sales of the Cooper Hardtop 2-Door plunged from 2633 units – as the 4-Door launched – to 1460 units in November 2015.
Here are the five must-read, must-watch auto news stories and videos for Wednesday, December 16, 2015. HORSEPOWER Ever since Infiniti restored its G nameplate in 2002, the brand's entry-level sedan has been anything but short on power. But for the 2016 model year, Infiniti's G35/G37 successor, the Q50, will be offered with even more power, including a 400-horsepower, twin-turbocharged 3.0L V6. There will also be a 300-horsepower V6 and a 2.0L turbocharged four-cylinder with 208 horsepower, an engine you know from the Mercedes-Benz CLA250, Mercedes-Benz GLA250, Mercedes-Benz Metris, and Infiniti's new Q30 and QX30. SLC As pitiful as alphanumeric names so often are, Mercedes-Benz appeared to have built up some cachet with the SLK roadster. So they're throwing it away, just as they've tossed overboard the M-Clas, GL-Class, and GLK-Class. The SLK is now the SLC, and replacing the SLK55 AMG is this Mercedes-AMG SLC43. Replacing the 5.5L V8 is a 3.0L twin-turbo V6. So what's the deal with the 43 part?
TTAC Ford's four former core brands at the Blue Oval's Premier Automotive Group haven't completely gone their separate ways – Jaguar and Land Rover remain paired at India's Tata Motors. But Chinese-owned Volvo and Ford-owned Lincoln and the JLR tandem are now isolated entities. How has their status been affected in the U.S. over the last decade?
INSIDE THE AUTO INDUSTRY To what degree can Volkswagen turn the tide of public opinion if the company introduces an all-electric Microbus at the CES next month? Likely not as far as Volkswagen could turn the tide if they delivered a production Microbus with a mass-appeal powertrain, a vehicle that would appear on driveways near you in 2017. WATCH We're big fans of the new Mini Clubman. After Mini flubbed the first-generation, the new Clubman is a genuinely spacious Mini, but with more handsome proportions than the 5-door. And the barn doors do look cool, even though they're a bit of a nuisance.
Here are the seven must-read, must-watch auto news stories, review and videos for Thursday, June 25, 2015, with a heavy dose on new product info after a bizarre early summer Wednesday in which multiple automakers coincidentally revealed new vehicles. FUTURE The Chevrolet Cruze, which will continue to be marketed with a diesel engine and will be available in a hatchback bodystyle, was shown in new, second-generation form last night. The 2016 Cruze carries on with the 2016 Malibu's styling direction but does so, not surprisingly, with less pizzazz. Fortunately, the Cruze will lose around 250 pounds. Great weight has always been the car's chief downside. The Cruze is currently America's third-best-selling small car. MORE FUTURE The Mini Cooper 5-Door is actually not the Mini for people who wanted the most spacious, flexible, realistic new Mini. The Clubman is back, and it brings more barn doors and nearly an extra foot of length compared with the 5-Door. It also wears Mini's latest styling direction better than any of its siblings.
DROPTOP FUTURE Take one new, sixth-generation Camaro, and remove the roof. There you have it,the new 2016 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible. The roof is fully automatic. Camaro volume has fallen this year as a new Mustang took over and the faithful waited for the debut of a new Chevy muscle car.
UNPREDICTABLE FUTURE In Quadrifolglio trim, the 2016 Alfa Romeo Giulia will be a gorgeous 503-horsepower, BMW M3 fighter. The car isn't due in North America until mid-way through 2016, and don't believe anyone who tells you it will be common. But it would be good for automotive enthusiasts and the industry as a whole if a car like the Alfa succeeded. To do so, it'll need to be more reliable than Alfas of the past, it'll need to be dynamically sorted in lesser trims, and it'll need to be priced very aggressively. Concerns? In the words of Peter DeLorenzo, "You don't honestly believe that a magic switch will be "flipped" that will instantly purge decades of piss-poor quality from the Fiat car making Empire, do you? I suppose if you do, you're exactly the kind of buyer that Marchionne and his espresso-swilling minions are looking for."
RECALL Subaru USA is recalling 72,000 Legacys, Outbacks, XV Crosstreks, and Imprezas (model year 2015) and WRXs (model year 2016) which are equipped with the Eyesight Driver Assist System. "If the switch that activates the brake lights fails, the automatic pre-collision braking component of the driver assist system will not function." Mitsubishi is recalling 459,618 Eclipses (2000-2005), Eclipse Spyders (2001-2005), and Chrysler Sebrings and Dodge Stratuses (2001-2005), because, "In the affected vehicles, the passenger side sun visor may be folded down in such a position that, if the passenger frontal air bag deploys, the passenger side sun visor may detach." Mitsubishi is also recalling 74,836 Eclipses (2006-2009) and Eclipse Spyders (2007-2009), for a braking corrosion issue. "Due to corrosion inside the ABS unit, one or more of the internal valves may seize. In a braking event that uses the ABS, a seized valve would increase brake pedal travel and reduce braking ability."
WATCH GCBC recently reviewed the 2015 Audi S3. The Audi RS3 reviewed here by CarBuyer's Mat Watson offers distinctly more performance than that already shockingly quick S3. And it's a hatchback.
53% of the Minis sold in America in August 2014 were Countrymans and Pacemans. The Countryman was Mini's best-selling model variant, responsible for 50% more Mini sales than the company's original model, the one they call the Hardtop.
• U.S. Auto Sales Brand Rankings - August 2014 YTD • U.S. Car Sales Rankings By Model - August 2014 YTD Now in its third BMW iteration, the Hardtop's launch has been a slow one. This isn't necessarily a reflection on the car's popularity, as many Minis are individualized models that take time to cross the Atlantic. We've yet to see the full impact of what the new Mini can do. In the meantime, the Countryman is floating Mini's boat. Granted, Mini's boat isn't sitting that high in the water: sales have decreased in each of 2014's first eight months. Countryman sales jumped 48% in August even as the rest of Mini's range slid 41%. Year-to-date, Mini Countryman sales are up 6%; the rest of the Mini lineup is collectively down 34%.
Naturally Mini's U.S. decline has plenty to do with the relaunch of its most popular model. Not every automaker has the wherewithal, the capability, and the consistent day-in-day-out appeal to introduce, for example, a popular new Toyota Camry without losing sales of the old model in the lead-up to that introduction. Mini Cooper/Cooper S Hardtop sales fell 8% in 2013, as the brand's slight 1% growth was attributed to the Countryman and newer variants, Roadster and Paceman. Only in July of this year did there appear to be a reversing of the trend as Hardtop volume jumped 21%.
Regardless of the heights Mini achieves with its new cars – remember, they're expanding the range by expanding the car – should we really be surprised that a brand which appeals to a relatively limited portion of the car-buying public would be relying on the success of its higher-riding models? Acura is another shining example of the trend. Their car sales have been plunging for some time, and are down 32% so far this year, even as their crossover sales have jumped 20% compared with the first eight months of 2014. The RDX and MDX account for 69% of Acura's U.S. sales in 2014. Land Rover now outsells Jaguar by more than three-to-one in the United States. As recently as 2004, Jaguar was outselling Land Rover. TTAC's Chart Of The Day late last month showed the CR-V's steady rise toward the top of the Honda pecking order. Why should Mini be any different? Aside from, well, you know, the name of the brand, which signifies a deep-seated affiliation with things small and, dare we say it, miniature. Things could be different soon enough. Mini may be able to take advantage of the Fiat 500's decreasing appeal – 500 sales are down 11% in 2014 – and the Volkswagen Beetle's Volkswagen-like performance in 2014 – Beetle sales are down 31% over the last eight months. Indeed, despite concerns about the dilution of the brand, perhaps the 5-door Mini is exactly what the brand needs to keep from turning into Great Britain's next Land Rover.
Mini USA's sales figures continue to be all but irrelevant in the lead-up to the launch of BMW's third hardtop Mini. Sales of the "original" Cooper Hardtop were down 75% to just 687 units in March 2014. Had that decline not occurred, Mini sales would have been down 6% to 5718 units in March.
Instead, with that 2063-unit loss, Mini USA sales slid 40%. Sales of the Paceman were level at 169. The Paceman, Mini's newest vehicle line, along with the other two newbies - Coupe and Roadster - accounted for just 11% of the brand's March output. They won't be replaced after their current iterations die off. The Countryman kept Mini dealers afloat last month, however, with a slight 100-unit increase. The Countryman generated 51% of Mini's U.S. March volume. Fiat sold 3316 500s in March plus 1422 500Ls. Volkswagen sold 2131 hardtop Beetles and 1301 Beetle Convertibles.
Now that we're all nicely acquainted with the next Mini Cooper, at least in hardtop form, sales of the outgoing Mini are tumbling. January's 50% decline in Cooper Hardtop sales follows up on 2013's 8% drop. With a chopping in half of sales of its normal best seller, Mini USA announced that January 2014's most popular variant was the Countryman. However, Countryman sales also declined; quite sharply, in fact. Sales of the Roadster and Coupe also slid below January 2013's level, and Paceman sales, which had risen to their highest level yet in December (650) fell to just 111 units in January.
Clear and bright like a winter's day in Dover Denver, Colorado, is the obvious way in which the United Kingdom's new vehicle market bears no resemblance to the North American market. The Ford Fiesta is the UK's best-selling car this year, as it was last year, but in the United States, the Fiesta is the 72nd-best-selling vehicle. Need more evidence? Consider the fact that three of the nameplates on this list of the UK's 10 best-selling cars in November aren't even available in North America. Ford UK also sells a three-door Fiesta but doesn't sell the ugly Fiesta sedan. The Mercedes-Benz C-Class is still available as a wagon, or rather an estate, in the United Kingdom. All of these cars can (and regularly are) purchased with diesel powerplants. And of the seven nameplates on this list which are on sale in North America, only one is sold here with a diesel engine: the Volkswagen Golf.
Of course, the Golf, sales of which rose 5% to 5165 units in November, can be had in the UK with a 168-horsepower diesel. In North America, diesel bhp tops out at 140. The Golf is America's 90th-best-selling vehicle, trailing the Mini, Fiat 500, Dodge Challenger, BMW X5, and Toyota Venza. This list presents the 10 most popular cars in the United Kingdom from November 2012. Just as many of these cars posted huge year-over-year gains last month, the SMMT says the UK's overall market posted a 11.3% increase in November and is up 5.4% to 1.9 million sales through the first eleven months of 2012.
Rank
Best-Selling Car
November 2012
% Change
Year To Date
YTD % Change
#1
Ford Focus
7495
+ 52.6%
77,850
+ 0.08%
#2
Ford Fiesta
7483
+ 20.8%
104,288
+ 15.0%
#3
Vauxhall Corsa
6164
+ 17.8%
84,924
+ 17.1%
#4
Volkswagen Golf
5165
+ 4.9%
59,465
+ 2.2%
#5
Vauxhall Astra
5032
+ 11.4%
57,911
+ 0.3%
#6
Nissan Qashqai
3403
+ 3.9%
42,835
+ 16.3%
#7
BMW 3-Series
3238
+ 11.7%
41,340
+ 2.8%
#8
BMW 1-Series
3135
n/a
31,292
n/a
#9
Mercedes-Benz C-Class
2901
+ 14.2%
35,328
n/a
#10
Mini
2787
n/a
n/a
n/a
Source: Manufacturers, MTI & SMMT Red font indicates year-over-year declining sales * Mini refers to non-Countryman Minis. Mini UK sold 1637 Countrymans in November.
Mini accounted for 14% of all BMW Group sales in America in November 2012. With just one month remaining, just under one out of every five BMW Group sales has been a Mini. It wasn't that November 2012 was such a bad month for Mini. Year-over-year, sales rose 11%. The Mini Coupe was the brand's only model to suffer a year-over-year decrease, although it was a sharp one; a 48% drop. BMW, however, had a stellar month. Sales of the company's two most popular models, the 3-Series and 5-Series, reported increases of 42% and 64%, respectively. The 3-Series sold more than twice as often as the whole Mini division.
Let's assume for a moment that the new Fiat 500L will undercut the Mini Countryman in price, just as the 500 undercuts the Cooper. With that assumption in mind, we'll assume that the stylistically-challenged Fiat 500L might sell at least as often as the Countryman. The 500L is only available with front-wheel-drive. Even the Mini is only available with all-wheel-drive at the top of lineup. Neither car is a faithful design follower of the iconic original; the Fiat less so. Neither car is particularly quick. Both cars feature highly stylized interiors, neither of which is roomy like a proper SUV. By Mini standards, the Countryman isn't pretty. By car standards, the Fiat is ill-proportioned. Regardless of their stark differences and apparent similarities, it's safe to project approximately 20,000 annual U.S. sales for the 500L, based on the Mini Countryman's total. Fiat USA will likely sell around 43,000 500s in 2012. If the 500L can find 20,000 buyers in 2013 while selling another 43,000 500 hatchbacks, where does this position the Fiat brand? Strictly judged by volume, Fiat would only barely be trailing Mini. Fiat would be selling nearly as many cars as Volvo and would be selling twice as many vehicles as Porsche.
Even if the 500L becomes a 20,000-units type of vehicle, Fiat won't sell 20,000 in what will be an abbreviated 2013 launch year. Yet we can still expect to see Fiat's 2013 year-end volume climbing at least 40% even if the 500 posts no year-over-year sales increase. Check out historic monthly and yearly sales figures for the regular Fiat 500, Mini Cooper range, Mini Countryman, and any other vehicle or brand by making your selection at GCBC's Sales Stats home. U.S. brand rankings, where Fiat ranked 29th in October and Mini ranked 24th, can be accessed here.
Many Of The UK's Best-Selling Cars Are Also Available In North America. This Passat Alltrack, However, Is Not.
Not mentioned in the table below because of lower October 2012 UK sales results are the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Fiat 500. Respectively, they are the United Kingdom's ninth and tenth-best-selling cars through the first ten months of 2012. The C-Class trails the Volkswagen Polo by 4512 units; the Fiat 500 trails the C-Class Benz by 3212 units. At the top of the heap sits the still-surging Ford Fiesta. The SMMT says UK new vehicle sales are up 5% this year, but Fiesta sales have risen 14.6%. Vauxhall's Corsa sales growth has also outperformed the industry with a 17.1% gain, though Corsa sales slid slightly in October 2012. No car recorded a better year-over-year improvement last month than the Vauxhall Corsa, sales of which jumped 38.3%. Astra sales remain off last year's pace, but October still stands as a bright spot. Sales of the Nissan Qashqai were up 27.9% in October and, among industry leaders, the Qashqai's year-over-year growth through ten months is tops. Both the Volkswagen Golf and Polo reported drops in October; both cars are down year-to-date, as well. Overall, however, the Volkswagen brand was up 11.3% in October and is up 3% this year. Ford remains the United Kingdom's best-selling brand, outselling Vauxhall by more than 47,000 sales and Volkswagen by nearly 85,000 sales, but the Blue Oval goes it alone. Volkswagen has in its fold a stable of brands, including the UK's fourth-best-selling brand, Audi. UK auto sales brand rankings for October and YTD will be published on GoodCarBadCar in the coming hours. For now, get to know these 10 best sellers, 70% of which are available in some form on this side of the Atlantic.
Rank
Best-Selling Car
October 2012
% Change
Year To Date
YTD % Change
#1
Ford Fiesta
8058
+ 10.3%
96,805
+ 14.6%
#2
Vauxhall Corsa
6285
- 0.2%
78,760
+ 17.1%
#3
Ford Focus
5834
+ 12.1%
70,355
- 3.5%
#4
Vauxhall Astra
5754
+ 38.3%
52,879
- 0.6%
#5
Volkswagen Golf
4158
- 5.5%
54,300
- 0.2%
#6
BMW 3-Series
3762
+ 2.7%
38,102
+ 2.1%
#7
Nissan Qashqai
3567
+ 27.9%
39,432
+ 17.5%
#8
BMW 1-Series
3029
n/a
n/a
n/a
#9
Mini
2970
n/a
n/a
n/a
#10
Volkswagen Polo
2952
- 10.2%
36,939
- 7.5%
Source: Manufacturers, MTI & SMMT Red font indicates year-over-year declining sales Mini refers to non-Countryman sales. Mini sold 1295 Countrymans in the UK in October.
