Another month of 6k+ figures keeps the Dodge Challenger in a comfortable second place in the American Muscle segment in YTD terms – and crowns it the best-selling muscle car for the month of August. 718 more Challengers left dealerships than the segment-leading Ford Mustang in the 27 selling days of August 2017.
The Mustang has hit on hard times of late; it’s 25,000 sales behind its performance in the eight months to August 2016. It’s currently transitioning to the 2018 model, due in the Autumn, so at least some slowdown in sales is to be expected – just not on the magnitude we’ve seen of late.
It would be remiss of us not to mention the Dodge Viper this month. The V10 monster carved itself a legendary slice of the performance car market, battering its way into the collective car-fan conciousness with its extraordinary 8.4-litre V10.
Its simplicity was what made the Viper such a joy to behold; that enormous engine mated to a six-speed manual transmission so straightforward in an era of increasing computerisation in performance cars and sophisticated torque-vectoring systems. True to its name, the Viper never bothered with such complications, and was happy to slither its way around a racetrack as long as its fuel or tyres would last.
At the end of August though, Fiat Chrysler closed the doors of the Conner Avenue Assembly Plant in Detroit, and with that production of the Viper ceased. Variously, sales slowdowns and difficulty meeting changing safety regulations were cited; sales of the Viper have fallen from an impressive 2,103 back in 2003 to around about the 600 mark in more recent years, while an upcoming requirement for side curtain airbags clashed with the Viper’s traditionally low roofline.
Group boss Sergio Marchionne has hinted that a replacement is not out of the question, but for now at least it’s goodbye to an icon.
You can click any model name in the tables below to find historical monthly and yearly U.S. auto sales data. You can also select a make and model at GCBC’s Sales Stats page. These tables are now sortable, so you can rank sports cars, coupes, and GTs any which way you like. Mobile users can thumb across tables for full-width access. Suggestions on how GCBC should break down segments can be passed on through the Contact page.
Click Column Headers To Sort • July 2017 • August 2016
|
American Muscle
|
Aug. 2017
|
Aug. 2016
|
%
Change |
2017
YTD |
2016
YTD |
%
Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5017 | 5064 | -10.5% | 43297 | 47958 | -3.5% | |
| 6253 | 5262 | 19% | 47496 | 45443 | 5% | |
| 5535 | 8299 | -33.3% | 56349 | 80829 | -30.3% | |
|
—
|
—
|
— | — | — | — | — |
|
Total
|
16805 | 19165 | -12.3% | 150142 | 174230 | -13.8% |
|
Euro Sports Cars
|
Aug. 2017
|
Aug. 2016
|
%
Change |
2017
YTD |
2016
YTD |
%
Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
21
|
37
|
-43.0%
|
286
|
377
|
-24.0%
|
|
|
231
|
281
|
-17.8%
|
1549
|
1,970
|
-21.4%
|
|
|
3
|
101
|
-97.0%
|
498
|
776
|
-35.8%
|
|
|
247
|
386
|
-36.0%
|
2,787
|
2,746
|
1.0%
|
|
|
178
|
346
|
-48.6%
|
1,993
|
2,321
|
-14.1%
|
|
|
271
|
243
|
11.5%
|
1,675
|
1,966
|
-14.8%
|
|
|
355
|
231
|
53.7%
|
1,756
|
2,602
|
-32.5%
|
|
|
—
|
—
|
— | — | — | — | — |
|
Total
|
1306 | 1625 | -19.6% | 10544 | 12758 | -17.4% |
|
Misc. Sporty Cars
|
Aug. 2017
|
Aug. 2016
|
%
Change |
2017
YTD |
2016
YTD |
%
Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2,603
|
848
|
207.0%
|
11,597
|
5,926
|
95.7%
|
|
|
1036
|
728
|
42.3%
|
7,682
|
11,493
|
-33.2%
|
|
|
364
|
622
|
-41.5%
|
4,241
|
5,326
|
-20.4%
|
|
|
1,748
|
3,063
|
-42.9%
|
17,385
|
19,890
|
-12.6%
|
|
|
382
|
460
|
-17.0%
|
3,332
|
941
|
254.1%
|
|
|
26
|
222
|
-88.3%
|
624
|
1,699
|
-63.3%
|
|
|
690
|
169
|
308.3%
|
7,393
|
916
|
707.1%
|
|
|
665
|
1065
|
-37.6%
|
4,286
|
7,334
|
-41.6%
|
|
|
901
|
823
|
9.5%
|
8,871
|
7,088
|
25.2%
|
|
|
335
|
590
|
-43.2%
|
3,265
|
4,292
|
-23.9%
|
|
|
337
|
302
|
11.6%
|
3,006
|
3,062
|
-1.8%
|
|
|
2,528
|
3,194
|
-20.9%
|
21,646
|
22,488
|
-3.7%
|
|
|
586
|
638
|
-8.2%
|
4,977
|
5,103
|
-2.5%
|
|
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
1
|
387
|
-99.7%
|
|
|
2,117
|
2,081
|
1.7%
|
14,597
|
15,350
|
-4.9%
|
|
|
Volkswagen
Golf R * |
100
|
107
|
-6.5%
|
2,584
|
2,899
|
-10.9%
|
|
—
|
—
|
— | — | — | — | — |
|
Total
|
14418 | 14912 | -3.3% | 115487 | 114194 | -1.1% |
|
Premium Sporty Cars
|
Aug. 2017
|
Aug. 2016
|
%
Change |
2017
YTD |
2016
YTD |
%
Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
21
|
22
|
-4.5%
|
329
|
45
|
631.1%
|
|
|
47
|
96
|
-51.0%
|
601
|
446
|
34.8%
|
|
|
93
|
106
|
-12.3%
|
615
|
641
|
-4.1%
|
|
|
29
|
145
|
-80.0%
|
304
|
931
|
-67.3%
|
|
|
1
|
6
|
-83.3%
|
17
|
517
|
-96.7%
|
|
|
59
|
58
|
2.0%
|
517
|
409
|
26.0%
|
|
|
13
|
0
|
N/A
|
42
|
0
|
N/A
|
|
|
291
|
0
|
0.0%
|
1449
|
0
|
0.0%
|
|
|
0
|
0
|
0.0%
|
1
|
6
|
-83.3%
|
|
|
74
|
99
|
-25.3%
|
610
|
899
|
-32.1%
|
|
|
120
|
112
|
7.1%
|
840
|
847
|
-0.8%
|
|
|
210
|
443
|
-52.6%
|
1,814
|
2,520
|
-28.0%
|
|
|
0
|
0
|
0.0%
|
0
|
1
|
0.0%
|
|
|
47
|
88
|
46.6%
|
450
|
455
|
-1.1%
|
|
|
1016
|
749
|
35.7%
|
5,998
|
6,582
|
-8.9%
|
|
|
—
|
—
|
— | — | — | — | — |
|
Total
|
2021 | 1924 | -5% | 13587 | 14299 | -5% |
* indicates a vehicle which is also shown in another GCBC segment breakdown
^ BMW USA, not GoodCarBadCar, has chosen to combine sales figures of the 1-Series and 2-Series.
Clearly GoodCarBadCar is not suggesting that the cars in the tables above are all direct competitors. Establishing categories among cars as unique as even the Audi TT and Porsche Boxster has never pleased a single reader, so cars have been lumped together so you can simply see how buyers looking for sports cars, roadsters, hot hatches, convertibles, GTs, and wanna-be sports cars spend their money. Greater categorization of cars would only lead to problems that automakers create by not isolating model-specific sales figures: we don’t know how many M3s BMW has sold or how many Civics are Si models, for example. The numbers we do have are listed above. The BMW 6-Series has been removed from the premium list because we don’t use this space as a showcase for sedans (unless automakers release data for high-end sporting models like the Lexus ISF, as Toyota Canada does) and the 6-Series lineup now relies heavily on a sedan variant. GoodCarBadCar is always open to hearing about the ways you would break down segments, so feel free to get in touch. You can always find the sales results for EVERY vehicle and form your own competitive sets by using the All Vehicle Rankings posts. Sales data for brands such as Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lotus, Rolls-Royce etc. are unfortunately not broken down by model. estimates say sales for Aston Martin and Lotus in the first three months of 2017 were ___, respectively. Figures through the first three months of 2017 for Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Rolls-Royce were:
RECOMMENDED READING
Sporty Car Sales In America – July 2017
Sporty Car Sales In America – August 2016
Top 20 Best-Selling Cars In America – July 2017
U.S. Auto Sales Brand Rankings – July 2017