The GTO is dead. Another one bites the dust

[TheStang00]

Originally Posted by deadbolt_35

man, this guy just got .....oh wait





that's my story and i'm sticking to it!

honestly, i think theres some middle ground here, i think you make some good points, and clawhammer and dinan make goods points. i dont think a lot of people care if its rwd though, some people in the snowbelt region would probably rather have fwd. but at the same time i think a lot of people would prefer rwd...

[Jaguar D-Type]

Originally Posted by DinanM3_S2

The 300/300C is selling well, but it is far from being a front runner in its class. In February, DCX sold almost 13,700 300s, while Honda sold over 25,000 Accords, Nissan sold about 20,000 Altimas, Hyundai sold over 13,700 Sonatas, and Toyota sold 27,000 Camrys. As much as we love RWD platforms, they are hardly the future of the mainstream sedan.

The Accord and Sonata don't compete with sedans priced above $30,000 like the 300C and 300C SRT8.

[CivRacer95]

Originally Posted by Jaguar D-Type

The Accord and Sonata don't compete with sedans priced above $30,000 like the 300C and 300C SRT8.

That wasn't the point. That being said, what he was saying is that nowadays most people are looking for a good family sedan, or commuter car. Performance sedans aren't exactly going to be the at the top of the market in the years to come. Granted, no the Accord nor Sonata will never compete performance for performance witht the 300C, Charger, SRT8's or anything in that class. But, the performance sedans will never sell like the Commuter/Family sedans do.

[deadbolt_35]

Originally Posted by DinanM3_S2

The 300/300C is selling well, but it is far from being a front runner in its class. In February, DCX sold almost 13,700 300s, while Honda sold over 25,000 Accords, Nissan sold about 20,000 Altimas, Hyundai sold over 13,700 Sonatas, and Toyota sold 27,000 Camrys. As much as we love RWD platforms, they are hardly the future of the mainstream sedan.

but how well has the impala and monte carlo sold? i haven't researched it myself, but i'm guessing not as many as GM would like.
those cars can't compete with Accords and Altimas as is. there needs to be some major changes to jumpstart excitement in domestic family sedans. the LX platform cars started it and i think the zeta platform can continue it.

[TheStang00]

something interesting i read in R&T. the new corolla only gets 34 mpg, didnt they used to get like 42 or something? apparently they are going after hondas customers.

on the subject of domestics having problems. i think dodges current platform is getting old, they need something new. i personally have never seen why they are so appealing. all gm and dodge are doing is sticking a R/T or SS sticker on everything. ford on the other hand i think is heading in a different direction, in the future i think it will show.

[DinanM3_S2]

Originally Posted by Jaguar D-Type

Yeah, they should go back to fwd.

As much as I hate to say it I really think they should for the lower displacement engine versions. Honda, Toyota, and Nissan all control the family sedan market using less expensive FWD cars. Trust me, I like RWD, my M3 is RWD, but I really don't see the need for a 200hp or a 250hp family sedan to be RWD. Most of the buyers won't care for this market. As for the 300C and the SRT8, yes, they need to be RWD, its really tough to make a FWD car with 300+ hp drive properly.

Originally Posted by Jaguar D-Type

The Accord and Sonata don't compete with sedans priced above $30,000 like the 300C and 300C SRT8.

By far the vast majority of 300s sold are the 2.7l and 3.5l models, not the 300C and the SRT8. The 2.7l and the 3.5l V6 300 models correspond directly to the Accord EX and the Accord EX V6 as well as a fully loaded Sonata LX V6. You know what? If you take out sales of the SRT8 and the 300C, then my arguement looks even better because 300 sales will drop even further. My point was simply to show that the RWD chassis isn't quite as big a deal as many of the auto magazines and DCX make it out to be. The 300/Magnum/Charger are interesting cars, but the market is dominated by FWD cars and probably will be for a while.

Originally Posted by deadbolt_35

how well has the impala and monte carlo sold?

Chevy sold about 18,700 Impalas, 14,600 Malibus, and about 2,600 Monte Carlos last month. Not bad at all, not great, but not bad. The only problem I have with this specific set of numbers is that alot of Impalas and Malibus are sold as fleet cars to police departments, other government agencies, and rental car companies.

[Jaguar D-Type]

Sales of the 300 were 50/50 for V8/V6 models when it first came out. I'm not sure about now though.

Chrysler needs a smaller sedan than the 300.

[clawhammer]

Kind of off-topic. Where do you find out how many vehicles each manufacturer sold?

[DinanM3_S2]

Originally Posted by clawhammer

Kind of off-topic. Where do you find out how many vehicles each manufacturer sold?

http://www.theautochannel.com/

You have to do a little searching around, but early every month each manufacturer announces sales figures.