Top 10 Worst-Selling Cars In America – January 2012

The Suzuki Swift Sport is the car Suzuki
should be selling in North America

There are hundreds of reasons vehicles end up appearing on GoodCarBadCar’s worst-selling vehicles list. The all-electric Mitsubishi i is niche to the nth degree and, besides, it’s hardly spent any time on the marketplace. The Lexus GS is at the end of its lifecycle. The Chevrolet Caprice is a vehicle meant for police personnel only. The $34,350 Volkswagen Eos is a premium-priced convertible, barely mainstream, but is four times more popular than anything on the all-inclusive worst-selling vehicles list. The Scion iQ just went on sale and hasn’t had time to ramp up.

Automakers don’t release cars the same way Apple releases iPhones.

There are, however, other worst-selling cars that are simply unsuccessful. The Suzuki Kizashi grabbed just 253 consumers in January 2012. It’s not as though the Kizashi was a successful vehicle in January 2011 when only 940 were sold. Seven cars in the Kizashi’s segment sold more than 10,000 copies last January. And say what you may about how March’s Tohoku earthquake affects Honda volume, the Insight has never been a hit. America’s 18th-best-selling car, the Toyota Prius, found 11,555 buyers in January, 23 times the total achieved by Honda’s Insight.

The popularity and goodness of a car do not necessarily correlate. Neither does the populace’s aversion always attach itself to the badness of a car. Remember that when you’re scanning the tables below.

Rank	Worst-Selling Car By Percentage Decline	% Drop	January 2012	January 2011
#1	Acura RL	– 79.4%	33	160
#2	Porsche Boxster	– 74.2%	48	186
#3	Suzuki Kizashi	– 73.1%	253	940
#4	Nissan Cube	– 72.2%	461	1661
#5	Lexus GS	– 71.2%	93	323
#6	Honda Insight	– 68.3%	492	1554
#7	Acura ZDX	– 63.5%	54	148
#8	Honda CR-Z	– 59.4%	363	894
#9	Lexus HS250h	– 46.9%	152	286
#10	Mercedes-Benz R-class	– 44.0%	130	232

Rank	Worst-Selling Car By Volume (Mainstream)	January 2012	January 2011	% Change
#1	Mitsubishi i MiEV	36	—–	—–
#2	Chevrolet Caprice PPV	92	—–	—–
#3	Suzuki Equator	108	148	– 27.0%
#4	Subaru Tribeca	228	198	+ 15.2%
#5	Suzuki Kizashi	253	940	– 73.1%
#6	Mazda MX-5 Miata	306	289	+ 5.9%
#7	Honda CR-Z	363	894	– 59.4%
#8	Volkswagen Eos	365	249	+ 46.6%
#9	Scion iQ	374	—–	—–
#10	Suzuki Grand Vitara	384	489	– 21.5%

Rank	Worst-Selling Car By Volume (All Vehicles)	January 2012	January 2011	% Change
#1	Lexus LFA	4	4	0%
#2	Nissan GT-R	20	22	– 9.1%
#3	Acura RL	33	160	– 79.4%
#4	Mitsubishi i MiEV	36	—–	—–
#5	Porsche Boxster	48	186	– 74.2%
#6	Acura ZDX	54	148	– 63.5%
#7	Mercedes-Benz CL-Class	67	107	– 37.4%
#8	Audi R8	79	79	0%
T9	Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG	92	70	+ 31.4%
T9	Chevrolet Caprice PPV	92	—–	—–

Source: Manufacturers & ANDC
Vehicle must not have been officially cancelled by its manufacturer and must have been showcased on manufacturer’s website in January.