2009'S TOP 5 BEST-SELLING TRUCKS IN AMERICA

It's not clear to me how General Motors would go about phrasing it - I haven't Googled anything to see if they already have - but one way or another, GM sold more full-size pickup trucks in the USA than Ford did in 2009. The year ended well for Ford, but overall, sales of the F-Series were off by nearly 20% compared with '08. Sales of Chevy's Silverado plummeted 31.9%. GMC's Sierra total was down 33.6%. Combine those two vehicles, however, and the Ford F-Series isn't #1.

For official reasons, Ford will still say they have the best-selling truck in America (which they do) while also possessing, in the F-Series, the best-selling vehicle of any kind in America. Keep in mind, sales of the Toyota Camry reached 436,617 in 2008. In other words, the Camry sold at a greater rate in '08 than both the F-Serie and GM's pickups did in '09. In the Graph of Sales Stats below you can check out the Year End figures for the Top 5 Best-Selling Trucks in the USA. Car and SUV figures can be analyzed here and here.

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TOP 5 BEST-SELLING TRUCKS IN AMERICA (DECEMBER 2009)

December was a fairly spectacular month for the Ford F-Series in the United States. If every month of '09 had been so strong F-Series sales would have remained much closer to traditional levels, rather than being so near to Toyota's Camry Sales Stats.

As proof of the Ford and General Motors dominance in the pickup truck category, take a look at Dodge Ram sales from December in the Graph below. Every time Dodge sold a Ram last month, Ford sold four F-Series pickups. GM was nearly at that point, too (3.78 is close enough). We've long since realized that pickup truck sales were going to fall off a cliff. What most people failed to acknowledge was that pickup truck sales were going to fall onto a cliff not very far below the original cliff. Check out November's best-selling trucks in America right here. Or take a look at the 2009 Year-End Top 5 Best-Selling Trucks in America.

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THE BAD 8 SUPERSIZE v2.0 - PART VI

HUMMER H2 SUT

Top 3 Reasons For Avoiding: If you want to look like you're in the army, go join the army. As a vehicle's dimensions grow, so to should its capacity to accomplish things for its owner - the H2 SUT carries little but requires a gigantic garage. 10-12 miles per gallon in the city isn't tolerable in a vehicle that is otherwise just as inefficient as its engine.

Alternatives: Ford F-150 SVT Raptor, Chevrolet Avalanche, joining the real Army, Jeep Wrangler

Base USD Price: $61,585

Ideal Owner: There is no ideal owner for this post.

Necessary Incentivizing B4 Purchase: You're kidding, right?

CLICK HERE FOR THE BAD 8 SUPERSIZE v2.0 PART V

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THE BAD 8 SUPERSIZE v2.0 - PART V

FORD RANGER

Top 3 Reasons For Avoiding: Ranger hasn't been redesigned in this century. The design from last century wasn't even all that modern at the time. Do you know how good other small trucks are these days?

Alternatives: Tuk Tuk, used Ford F-150, Toyota Tacoma, Ford Fiesta

Base USD Price: $17,820

Ideal Owner: Anybody who over-emphasized the need to have new just because the Ford Ranger had an attractive MSRP.

Necessary Incentivizing B4 Purchase: Buy 1 Ranger, receive 1 Ford Fiesta on the side.

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TOP 5 BEST-SELLING SUVs IN AMERICA - 2009 YEAR END EDITION

As a vehicle rather than something purely SUV/CUV/crossover specific, the Honda CR-V is #8 in U.S. sales in 2009. That Ford Fusion everybody keeps talking about, the one with the hybrid derivative that The Good Car Guy chucked into The Good 12 v3.0? Behind the CR-V. Sales of the Honda CR-V were actually down 3.1% from 2008. Plus, the Ford Escape actually ended the year selling at a quicker pace than the Honda.

Honda's sales dominance is nothing new. What about the Lexus RX, a true luxury crossover, throwing 93Ks worth of sales down the gauntlet? The RX's donor vehicle, Toyota's Highlander, obviously doesn't sell as well. It's also ironic that the new darling of the American media, Ford Motor Company, places two vehicles in this best-seller list but misses out on the Top 5 Best-Selling Cars pie chart. Cars, you know... those fuel-efficient low-riders. The Ford Edge does no better than 17mpg in the city, but that didn't stop residents of the USofA from buying nearly 90,000 Edges in 2009. Keep in mind that sales of the Chevrolet Equinox, if married to the GMC Terrain, top 100,000 and knock the Edge right off the.... er, edge.

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TOP 5 BEST-SELLING SUVs IN AMERICA (DECEMBER 2009)

Ford's sales momentum, driven as much by its rejection of government money as by good product, helped the Ford Escape become the best-selling SUV in America in December. As you'll see very soon in GoodCarBadCar.net's 2009 Year End figures, the Ford Escape's terrific push came a little too late to win the overall 2009 best-seller's crown.

SUVs, you ask? Though the five vehicles you see below are no Jeep Wrangler-baiting, Nissan Xterra-crushing off-road warriors, they are linked in enough ways to fall under one heading. Nobody denies the classification of the Mazda MX-5 Miata as a car; nor would anyone deny the car-like qualities of the Buick LaCrosse. Those two vehicles have a lot less in common than a Ford Escape and a Jeep Wrangler. Thus, labelling everything crossoverish, SUV-like, and cute-uteesque as an SUV for the purposes of this Graph must be accepted. Here are the Top 5 Best-Selling SUVs in America for December of 2009. Check November's Sales Stats here.

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TOP 5 BEST-SELLING CARS IN AMERICA - 2009 YEAR END EDITION

Remember the old Nissan Altima? You might'nt, since very few people actually bought one. The current Nissan Altima, edition number two of the enlarged Altima, is very familiar to more than 200,000 Americans who bought one in the last twelve months. Truthfully, 203,568 Altimas is nothing compared with nearly 357K Toyota Camry sales in '09. Which, truthfully, is not all that close to the 436,617 Camrys Toyota managed to sell in '08.

Nevertheless, Toyota leads the way in both the #1 and #2 spots in the Best-Selling Cars of 2009 - U.S. Edition. You'll have to wait a couple weeks for all the details on year-end Canadian Auto Sales figures. More 2009 Year End Sales Stats info is available right here.

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*Accord sales include the Crosstour. Corolla sales include the Matrix.

TOP 5 BEST-SELLING CARS IN AMERICA (DECEMBER 2009)

There's a certain type of person, a member of a rather large group of people, who doesn't want to spend any more time selecting his or her new car purchase than would be required to select a new toaster at Wal-Mart. "Black & Decker is a good name," they say. It toasts four slices of whole wheat with a few different optional settings. Personally, I'm more of a Hamilton Beach toaster oven kind of guy. Moreover, in the toaster oven goes a cheese bagel; topped with cinnamon and sugar. Hold the butter. Different? Yes. Perfect? You bet'cha. The Toyota Camry is the appropriate choice. It isn't unique, fun, or one bit ostentatious. But like slightly overdone toast with strawberry jam in the morning, it's what the people do.

December of 2009 goes down as yet another month in which the good people of America purchased more Toyota Camrys than any other car. A more important story may be the fifth-place finisher, the Chevrolet Malibu. Knocking off the Nissan Altima and Ford Fusion isn't a task for the faint of heart. For the November Sales Stats figures on the Top 5 Best-Selling Cars in America, click here. The year-end figures of the best-selling cars are available here.

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*Accord sales include the Crosstour. Corolla sales include the Matrix.

2009'S BEST-SELLING LUXURY AUTO BRANDS IN THE USA

Week after week, month after month, Lexus sells more luxury automobiles than anybody else in America. Big-name players like BMW and Mercedes-Benz come close. Japanese rivals Acura and Infiniti? Tens of thousands of sales behind, in fact. For a peek at Porsche, Saab, and Hummer sales steer your eyes towards the bottom of this Graph.

Proving Ford's momentum is its Lincoln subsidiary which managed to sell more cars to the inhabitants of the United States in 2009 than did Audi, Infiniti, or Volvo. Cadillac, meanwhile, fared decently thanks to the new SRX and Escalade figures which, though lower than in '08, are still shockingly impressive.

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BEST-SELLING LUXURY AUTO BRANDS IN AMERICA - DECEMBER 2009

Not only was Toyota successful in its attempts to sell more cars than anyone else in December, Lexus out-sold all other luxury contenders in the United States, as well. Lexus has the RX to thank specifically; over one-third of Lexus sales in December came as a result of their mid-size crossover. Check out November's luxury car sales Graph here, or the year-end figures for all these luxury brands here.

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RANKING U.S. AUTO SALES BRAND-BY-BRAND : 2009

Google may rule the world, but the giant search engine company hasn't yet invaded the automotive universe. Thus, Toyota remains at the top in U.S. vehicle sales. In the Graph below you'll see Toyota at the very top of the best-selling 33 auto brands in the United Stats from the year ending December 31st. However, 2009's totals, if calculated based on conglomerates, would prove a different story. General Motors sold over 2,000,000 automobiles in the United States in 2009. Toyota, with Lexus and Scion's help, was closer to 1.8 million. Fun facts from this heaping tablespoon of Sales Stats include Buick's victory over rival Mercury; BMW edging out Mercedes-Benz; and GMC and Jeep sticking to their guns in the top ten.

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TOP 10 BEST-SELLING AUTO BRANDS IN AMERICA (DECEMBER 2009)

December was a much-improved month for automobile sales in the United Stats. Comparing the Graph below with the equivalent November figures shows huge jumps, especially for the automakers at the top of the heap. Americans continue to show their love for Lexus, placing Toyota's luxury brand out in front of numerous mainstream companies like Volkswagen and Kia. And though it barely cracks the top ten, Subaru remains a big story in North America. There's plenty of new product in Subie showrooms and plenty of merit in a repeat Good 12 Supersize victory for the Forester. Click here for the year-end totals.

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THE BAD 8 SUPERSIZE v2.0 - PART IV

FORD EXPLORER SPORT TRAC

Top 3 Reasons For Avoiding: Generally speaking, in 2010 you'd want to buy something with relatively recent engineering - not something from 1877. The headlights look like they each have a runny nose. This vehicle, without a mid-gate, is supremely pointless.

Alternatives: Not trying to act like you need a truck, Chevrolet Avalanche, Jeep Wrangler

Base USD Price: $27,810

Ideal Owner: Chip used to surf. Chip even had a boat before he moved and lost his space in the landlord's garage. But Chip still wants to look like he surfs and has a boat. Which he doesn't.

Necessary Incentivizing B4 Purchase: Pay full price but receive $15,000 towards lessons in being cool, relax, and getting hip.

CLICK HERE FOR THE BAD 8 SUPERSIZE v2.0 PART III

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THE BAD 8 SUPERSIZE v2.0 - PART III

BMW X6

Top 3 Reasons For Avoiding: Was there something wrong with common sense? Must we be opposed to somewhat more delicate rear ends? Why does BMW want us to pay more for a loss of usefulness?

Alternatives: BMW X5, Infiniti FX, quitting your efforts to be idiosyncratic

Base USD Price: $56,500

Ideal Owner: Mike & Sally, 30-something professionals who met through eHarmony, don't like grey Toyota Camrys but do like painting their bedroom walls purple and their kitchen cupboards pink and telling everybody, "We're different." Uh... yeah.

Necessary Incentivizing B4 Purchase: $15K off the MSRP plus a large beaked baseball hat and jumbo sunglasses.

CLICK HERE FOR THE BAD 8 SUPERSIZE v2.0 PART II

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KIA SOUL vs NISSAN CUBE - DECEMBER 2009 SALES IN THE USA & CANADA

Year one is over, and though it wasn't actually a complete twelve-month cycle, Kia and Nissan certainly marked out some territory with the Soul and Cube. With another surprising month, Nissan took the Sales Stats crown away from Kia in the States. On the flip side, the 2009 totals are still in Kia's favour; both south and north of the border. Check out November's figures on the Kia Soul/Nissan Cube battle here.

DECEMBER SALES IN THE USA

Kia Soul: 2,816 (31,621 in 2009)

Nissan Cube: 3,057 (21,472 in 2009)

DECEMBER SALES IN CANADA

Kia Soul: 590 (8,500 in 2009)

Nissan Cube: 238 (2,416 in 2009)

CANADA AUTO SALES 2009 YEAR END

*Updated 01/22/2010*

2009 ceased to exist nearly five days ago. Over the course of the previous 365 days, automakers competing in Canada sold 1,460,581 vehicles. 747,497 were officially "passenger cars". The other 713,084 were classified as "light trucks". Compared with 2008 sales were down 10.7% across the board. General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler combined to sell about 10,000 fewer vehicles than the combined totals of European and Asian nameplates.

Although more detailed Sales Stats will be posted in the next couple weeks (separating GM's sales, for instance, brand-by-brand), the figures you see below show which manufacturers struggled mightily in 2009 and which struggled just a little bit. And some, in fact, which struggled not at all. Here's the rundown on Canada's Auto Sales figures for the whole calender year of 2009. For a look at December's Sales Stats click here.

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Ford: +7% to 218,559

Toyota: -9.5% to 189,313

Chevrolet: -22.5% to 127,720

Honda: -19.1% to 122,918

Dodge: -19.7% to 116,788

Hyundai: +28% to 103,233

Mazda: -13.3% to 73,672

Nissan: -4.5% to 71,936

GMC: -1.9% to 52,179

Pontiac: -47% to 49,624

Kia: +22.9% to 46,118

Volkswagen: +0.1% to 40,059

Jeep: -40% to 30,181

BMW: +6.4% to 24,724

Mercedes: +19.2% to 24,276

Subaru: +15.8% to 23,034

Mitsubishi: +6.2% to 19,786

Acura: -11.8% to 17,088

Chrysler: -40.2% to 16,197

Lexus: +5.3% to 15,802

Suzuki: -8.5% to 12,303

Audi: +22% to 11,310

Saturn: -53.5% to 8,759

Buick: -50.5% to 8,438

Infiniti: -13.2% to 7,081

Volvo: +0.5% to 6,542

Lincoln: + 8% to 6,174

Cadillac: -38% to 4,724

Mini: -13.3% to 4,251

smart: -28.9% to 2,667

Land Rover: -12.5% to 2,006

Porsche: +0.4% to 1,689

Jaguar: -13.5% to 804

Saab: -50.4% to 777

Hummer: -39% to 494

Mercury: -87% to 126

Maserati: -33% to 104

Ferrari: -19% to 94

Bentley: -53% to 69

Lamborghini: -24% to 55

CANADA AUTO SALES DECEMBER 2009

*Updated 01/22/2010*

Pay little attention to the "plus signs" in the Sales Stats you're about to see. In case you don't recall, December of 2008 was a dreadful month for automobile sales in Canada. For those automakers which posted even lower sales last month - you know they're still sailing through rough waters. Automobile brands able to improve their sales compared with December of '08 really aren't doing anything all that incredible.

That being said, pay particular attention to Kia, Hyundai, and Subaru. They're gains are more than respectable. The story at General Motors is much better south of the border in a market that has a whole lot more sway over GM's global health. Below are the Canada Auto Sales figures for December of 2009. Click here for the year-end totals for every car company selling cars in Canada.

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Ford: +24.9% to 17,353

Toyota: +86.2% to 16,472

Honda: +20.9% to 10,830

Chevrolet: +19% to 10,250

Dodge: +20.3% to 9,470

GMC: +36% to 5,536

Hyundai: +37.4% to 5,154

Nissan: +15.1% to 4,652

Mazda: -5.5% to 4,261

Volkswagen: -10.9% to 3,205

Jeep: +2.1% to 3,065

Kia: +61.1% to 2,645

Subaru: +27.2% to 1,945

BMW: +5.9% to 1,848

Mercedes: +14.5% to 1,819

Mitsubishi: +8% to 1,609

Acura: -4% to 1,533

Pontiac: -68.2% to 1,428

Chrysler: -9% to 1,287

Lexus: +36.3% to 1,235

Buick: -44% to 769

Suzuki: +0.4% to 707

Audi: -5.1% to 701

Volvo: +133.2% to 625

Cadillac: +20% to 582

Lincoln: +46% to 548

Infiniti: +1% to 489

Mini: -1% to 297

Land Rover: +62% to 243

Saturn: -73% to 227

smart: +50.7% to 226

Porsche: +20% to 114

Jaguar: +50% to 57

Saab: -45.9% to 53

Hummer: -60% to 33

Bentley: +175% to 11

Maserati: +100% to 8

Ferrari: -25% to 6

Lamborghini: -16.5% to 5

Mercury: even at 1

THE BAD 8 SUPERSIZE v2.0 - PART II

BMW X3

Top 3 Reasons For Avoiding: Abhorrent styling. Incomprehensible dynamic deficiencies. Overwhelmingly better rivals.

Alternatives: Audi Q5, Mercedes-Benz GLK350, BMW 328i xDrive Sports Wagon

Base USD Price: $38,850

Ideal Owner: Reginald, a recent Ivy League law school graduate, who has no idea that simply owning a BMW no longer makes you cool and mayhap never did.

Necessary Incentivizing B4 Purchase: Buy 1 X3, receive 1 drop-dead gorgeous BMW Z4 in the mail.

CLICK HERE FOR THE BAD 8 SUPERSIZE v2.0 PART I

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THE BAD 8 SUPERSIZE v2.0 - PART I

ACURA ZDX

Top 3 Reasons For Avoiding: Acura's MDX, the ZDX's donor vehicle, was actually pretty decent to begin with. The ZDX is less than the MDX when it should be more; and more than the MDX when it should be less than.... in all the wrong places. If Acura wants to sell a sporty hatchback, let's see the Integra/RSX again; not an attempt to compete with a relatively unsuccessful BMW, the X6.

Alternatives: Acura MDX, Infiniti FX, Audi Q5

Base USD Price: $45,495

Ideal Owner: Somebody out there loves Acura but finds the RL dull, the MDX too soccer-mom, the TSX down-market, and the TL too normal. Which leaves one automobile.

Necessary Incentivizing B4 Purchase: $10,000 off the sticker would be a good start.

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THE BAD 8 v3.0 - PART VIII

NISSAN VERSA SEDAN

Top 3 Reasons For Avoiding: Cars shouldn't suffer from low self-esteem - the Versa sedan does. If a vehicle's designed to be a hatchback, let it remain a hatchback. When a vehicle's claim to fame is its status as the lowest-priced new car in America, it better not act like the lowest-priced vehicle in America - the Versa sedan does.

Alternatives: Kia Soul, a bicycle built for four, smart fortwo

Base USD Price: $9,990

Ideal Owner: Jessica, a 22-year old student at Florida State, who swears she never even heard of the word "clutch" and doesn't know if her engine is front-wheel drive or a Quattro like those found in Euro-trash cars.

Necessary Incentizing B4 Purchase: 50% off

CLICK HERE FOR THE BAD 8 v3.0 PART VII

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THE BAD 8 v3.0 - PART VII

LINCOLN TOWN CAR

Top 3 Reasons For Avoiding: Cars should be sized like cars, not yachts. The interior's supposed luxury environment looks like it's straight out of 1989. If every old taxi driver at the airport drives one, you shouldn't.

Alternatives: Hyundai Genesis, a new toupee, Buick Enclave

Base USD Price: $46,525

Ideal Owner: 89-year old widower who stares straight ahead when reversing out of the parking lot at Del Boca Vista. Poor fella'.

Necessary Incentivizing B4 Purchase: Buy 1 Lincoln Town Car, receive 1 free Ford Focus RS from Europe with SVA included.

CLICK HERE FOR THE BAD 8 v3.0 PART VI

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THE BAD 8 v3.0 - PART VI

LEXUS HS250H

Top 3 Reasons For Avoiding: Styling appears to have been done by somebody who wondered what a Toyota Corolla would look like with a can of ugly poured on top. Nobody should want a low-powered front-wheel drive luxury car. This is anti-fun at its worst.

Alternatives: Ford Fusion Hybrid, BMW 3-Series, "finding yourself"

Base USD Price: $34,200

Ideal Owner: The sort of guy (or girl) who frequently makes unbelievable claims about his stereo, the history of her house, the amount of time she spends at the gym, his famous relative, and the fuel economy of "the hybrid I own".

Necessary Incentivizing B4 Purchase: Buy 1 HS250h, receive a penny for everybody who chuckles at you as you drive by.

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THE BAD 8 v3.0 - PART V

HONDA INSIGHT

Top 3 Reasons For Avoiding: Ugliness, thanks mainly to obscene ride height issues. Fuel efficiency isn't anywhere near amazing. Still doesn't drive like a normal car.

Alternatives: Toyota Prius, Kia Soul, Honda Fit Sport

Base USD Price: $19,800

Ideal Owner: Clueless Californian Congressman.

Necessary Incentivizing B4 Purchase: $4,500 off the sticker.

CLICK HERE FOR THE BAD 8 v3.0 PART IV

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THE BAD 8 v3.0 - PART IV

HONDA ACCORD CROSSTOUR

Top 3 Reasons For Avoiding: Styling is embarrassing for everybody involved, even the people looking at it. Ridiculously overpriced. The wrong answer to the question plenty of people asked. The right answer's over at Acura - it's called the TSX wagon.

Alternatives: Subaru Outback, Toyota Venza, Mazda CX-9

Base USD Price: $29,670

Ideal Owner: The very people Honda wants to sell this car to - the wrong people to sell anything to: active empty-nest boomers who want to tote the grandkids around every now and then. Honda doesn't phrase it quite that way.

Necessary Incentivizing B4 Purchase: $10,000 off the sticker.

CLICK HERE FOR THE BAD 8 v3.0 PART III

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THE BAD 8 v3.0 - PART III

DODGE CHALLENGER SE

Top 3 Reasons For Avoiding: Wheels are tiny. Engine is grainy and not all that muscular. Will forever make you wish you bought a Challenger RT or SRT8.

Alternatives: Chevrolet Camaro RS, Subaru Impreza WRX, Volkswagen GTI

Base USD Price: $23,460

Ideal Owner: Middle-aged dude with a generous wife who didn't know the difference between V6 and V8 but heard her husband wanted a Challenger.

Necessary Incentivizing B4 Purchase: Same as last year. "Free 6.1L Hemi in a crate, overnighted via FedEx. Secondary crate full of 20" wheels.

CLICK HERE FOR THE BAD 8 v3.0 PART II

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THE BAD 8 v3.0 - PART II

CHRYSLER SEBRING CONVERTIBLE

Top 3 Reasons For Avoiding: Ranked as one of the ugliest cars ever to hit the road, especially with the top up. Handle with as much alacrity as a mid-90s Suburban. Built for retirees in south Florida.

Alternatives: Ford Mustang Convertible, Mazda MX-5 Miata, crawling into a hole full of ants

Base USD Price: $28,590

Ideal Owner: 76-year old married snowbirds with paint-on tans and a collection of fit-over sunglasses.

Necessary Incentivizing B4 Purchase: Buy a Chrysler Sebring Convertible, get a Jeep Wrangler free.

CLICK HERE FOR THE BAD 8 v3.0 PART I

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