Seventeen vehicles are Canadian Black Book Resale Value award winners, with Toyota products again garnering the most overall winners with six this year.
The Toyota Sequoia full-size SUV, FJ Cruiser mid-size SUV, Avalon large sedan, Tacoma small pickup and Tundra large pickups won in their respective classes, as did the Lexus LS. The awards measure which vehicles in Canada retain the highest percentage of their MSRP over four years, so for this award, it looked at 2007 models.
Volkswagen won three awards - for its New Beetle, GTI and the City Golf, a prior-generation Golf with a lower price tag used as an entry-level offering. Volvo got on to the list with two awards, for the C30 hatchback and S80 sedan, in entry luxury and luxury segments, respectively.
Other resale winners included the Subaru Outback in mid-size cars - it was a slightly raised wagon back in 2007, versus its more crossover-ish body now; the Jaguar XK, the Jeep Wrangler; Honda Odyssey, Dodge Sprinter, and Mercedes-Benz G-Class - yes, the big box - in luxury SUV.
For the first time, Canadian Black Book also listed the other podium finishers in each class, the complete list of which is available on canadianblackbook.com.
Toyota again heads up the most podium finishers, with 11, more than doubling the five scored by the next highest on this list, Volkswagen. More evidence suggesting that the public and dealers see little dent in the appeal of Toyota products after more than a year of high-profile recalls, lawsuits and safety announcements.
This confidence is sure to be bolstered by the U.S. government's finding of no fault with Toyota's electronics after a 10-month crawl through the computer code, leaving the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to conclude last week that any issues leading to unintended acceleration in Toyotas were not electronic, but mechanical, such as with sticky throttles and improper floor mats.
Only two class winners came from Detroit-based companies, with one of those even having morphed into an identical but now European model, now that the Dodge Sprinter has become the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter in Canada, as it always was in Europe. But Josh Bailey, director of market analytics for Canadian Black Book, said this week that there was still some cause for optimism for fans of the Detroit Three.
"They're also creeping up the list in the second- and third-place spots," said Bailey, noting that many of the Detroit Three's products in 2007 were still older-generation products, often sold with heavy incentives. "So there's a move up the charts."
People have been asking to see the runners up since the awards came out six years ago, Bailey said, and some folks want all the vehicles ranked. There are no immediate plans to go that far, he said, but the possibility hasn't been ruled out. The site does have a handy trade-in estimator that gives a useful ballpark figure on the value of your car at the dealership, or if you sell it on your own.
Small cars are in fashion again, but consumers also demand style, comfort and technology, as well as fuel economy
Smart drops plan to import new model
With news this week that Mercedes-Benz is taking back the distributorship of Smart vehicles in the United States, ending the deal with racing magnate Roger Penske, Smart's agreement with Nissan to import a small five-door vehicle to this continent by the fourth quarter of this year is reportedly, if unofficially, dead.
Smart released two sketches of the proposed subcompact five-door hatchback last October, touting a memorandum of understanding with Nissan; however, there were few details about the car other than it would be gasoline-powered and have five seats. But Smart also stressed then that the project was a non-binding agreement, and the definitive agreements had not yet been reached.
Those agreements have been cancelled, according to a report this week in trade journal Automotive News, with Mercedes-Benz USA president Ernst Lieb saying that a second car would have been needed if it were to remain a free-standing dealer network, but not if Smart dealers become part of Mercedes-Benz retail shops, as they are here in Canada.
"They've made a lot of screw-ups with Smart in the U.S.," said a high-ranking Mercedes-Benz Canada insider recently, pointing to the distributorship deal as a main cause of plunging sales in the U.S. over the past year. "You have Smarts being sold out of Chrysler dealers: that's not a premium experience, and it's a premium car."
Hot-looking all-new Kia Rio unveiled
Photos of the upcoming all-new Kia Rio were released recently, and it's a looker.
The car will be unveiled publicly at the Geneva motor show in early March, and will be available in three-, four- and five-door versions, the company said, although only the sedan and five-door hatchback will be available in Canada, at least at launch.
This latest Rio will grow in length, width, wheelbase and luggage space, but will be 15 mm lower, to promote a sportier on-the-road stance. Sculpted body sides and what appears to be headlights accented by LEDs promise a much more upscale offering than one would expect in this entry-level class, a common formula for success for Kia and more conservative sister brand Hyundai recently.
A 1.6-litre, direct-injection four-cylinder will put out about 140 hp when it arrives in North America, with five other engines offered globally, including an all-new, 1.2-litre turbo heading to Europe in 2012.
Infiniti unveils Etherea concept
Infiniti has just released images of the upcoming concept vehicle it will unveil on March 1 in Geneva, the Etherea, and though details are scarce, it could very well be the precursor to an Infiniti version of the headline-grabbing Nissan Leaf EV.
The Etherea will be a smaller type of luxury car for younger buyers, the company says, with a "new mechanical layout and innovative access arrangements."
Its stated length of 4.4 metres is bang on the Leaf's measurements, and the company has said before that it will use the Leaf's all-electric powertrain in other models. The Leaf's EV technology will also be used in various upcoming Renault EVs, such as the Fluence Zero Emission sedan, Kangoo Z.E. commercial compact van and Zoe at the end of 2012.
The most significant cars your should see this year - from the cheapest to the most fuel efficient. And let's admit it: looks count