Car Sales

The Toyota Prius narrowly lost its sales crown to the Honda Accord in California in 2014. Both models saw their sales numbers increase in the state for the year, but the Honda had the bigger boost.

Young buyers are increasingly turning away from showroom visits when car shopping in favor of comparing potential purchases online. Dealers are learning how to adapt.

General Motors is launching new entry-level trims for four of its popular models that slash prices by removing some content but mostly seriously cut into dealer margins. The changes let the brands advertise segment-leading prices to attract potential buyers into showrooms.

After several years of growing sales, Subaru sees 2015 as no different. The Japanese brand thinks that it could sell around 540,000 vehicles in the US this year to make it the automaker's largest single market. To cope with all of this demand, the brand is also boosting production and later planning to add additional capacity to its SIA factory in Indiana for the Legacy and Outback.

Despite only being on the market for a few months, Hyundai is already reportedly considering a major redesign of the latest Sonata. While demand is growing, the automaker wants the model to sell even better. The changes in the look of the Korean sedan would be timed with the model's refresh in 2017 or 2018.

We've compiled the sales numbers of all major automakers that sold cars and trucks in the United States in 2014. There are some standout performances, some noteworthy drops and overall very solid numbers in our chart that make it well worth a thorough examination.

Another month of auto sales is in the books, and this month, there's a new nameplate at the top of the heap.

Having sold 336,441 cars in the US in 2012, Subaru said in early 2013 that it wanted to hit 500,000 annual sales here by 2015. After boosting sales to 424,683 in 2013, it's hit its half-mil target a year early: on December 29, 2014 Subaru sold its 500,000th car.

Automotive News article says the Lexus December to Remember campaign started in 1998 that helped turn December into one of the biggest months of the year for car sales. Before that - and "that" wasn't that long ago - December was close to last in sales because no one seriously considered buying a car for Christmas.

Every Christmas, holiday-themed car commercials spur millions to wonder 'who gives a car for Christmas?' immediately followed by 'and where do they find those big bows?'

Ever have the feeling of deja vu?

It's been a rough year for green car manufacturers. To many consumers, it appears that so-called green vehicles cost more and are more challenging to operate (limited range, low availability of "exotic" fuels, etc.) And with gasoline prices plummeting, American consumers are much less likely to spend more for a green vehicle.

Given the less-than-sterling reputation that car salesmen have among many consumers, it should be no surprise that they also have their own insider jargon. Much of the lingo is now finally coming to light in one place thanks to an Ohio lawyer specializing in 'lemon law' cases who keeps a dictionary of the terms on his website.

By now, most of the leaves have fallen across many of our fine 50 states, and the first snowfalls have just begun to spread their way across what had been such finely manicured lawns in the Midwestern part of the country. Children have entombed themselves into their rooms, Halloween candy nestled away for the winter, and the prime season for buying new cars is coming to an end.

Many people absolutely abhor the car-buying process – especially haggling back-and-forth with a salesman to settle on a price. A 2014 study from Edmunds found that 83 percent of respondents would like to cut negotiating from the purchasing experience, and about 20 percent of them would have given up sex for a month to do it. However, Edmunds might have taken advertising that point a little too far recently, as it's had to remove a series of ads for its Price Promise no-haggle service from

Autumn is upon us – at least for those of us living in the Northern Hemisphere (happy Spring, friends in the Southern!) – and that means the weather is cooling off, the leaves on the trees are changing into beautiful colors and the hot, hot sales months of summertime are slowing down. Well, for the most part, at least.

Americans love themselves some pickup trucks. It's a well-known fact, and it's demonstrated each and every month in the form of the top few nameplates as they appear on sales charts, starting with the Ford F-Series, as it has for, well, decades. More often than not, after that Blue Oval sits the Chevrolet Silverado. But not this month.

Is there a point in the US auto industry where companies should start considering the welfare of their customers ahead of selling more cars? American Honda Executive Vice President of Sales John Mendel thinks that level exists, and we may be getting very close to it.

The Iron Curtain may be lowering on Russia again, at least when it comes to the country's auto industry. The government there is reportedly considering a ban on imported cars as a response if the West puts more sanctions in place. However, even if the restrictions materialize, domestically built vehicles from foreign automakers would likely still receive an exemption.