10. Chevy Impala: 14M units sold

The numbers are always changing and a new list of the Top 10 best-selling vehicles in history, compiled by 24/7 Wall St. has a new model on top.

There are some surprises on the list, but for the most part it all makes sense. Whether they’ve been in production for a long time or they’re reasonably priced worldwide, the top 10 best-selling cars of all time might not be the most exciting, but are clearly the most popular throughout history.

The Chevrolet Impala is the only GM vehicle on the list and has quite the history since hitting the market 54 years ago. Starting its life as a large two-door performance coupe, the Impala evolved into a versatile sedan. Or as we like to call it, a rental car. Ironically, it isn’t actually offered as a coupe anymore, which seems like a distant memory after 10 generations of upgrades.

The Toyota Corolla has long been the best-selling car of all time, but now it holds an even more impressive title: the world’s best selling vehicle.

That may sound the same at first, but the “vehicle” list includes trucks, of which Ford has been selling plenty since it first introduced the F-Series line of trucks in 1948. Back in 2007 the Corolla surpassed the VW Beetle to become the world’s best selling car, and has since quietly moved ahead of the Ford truck line, with sales figures totaling 37.5 million. That’s 2.5 million ahead of the F-Series, an indication that the little Toyota has been in the lead for quite some time.

As for the Beetle, it’s slipped to fourth at 23.5 million units, being surpassed by its sibling, the Golf with 27.5 million units sold. In fifth place is the out-of-production Ford Escort, with 20 million units sold.

[Source: 247Wallst]

See below for a full list of the world’s best selling vehicles:

Continue Reading…

At the recent Tokyo Auto Salon, Toyota motorsports partner GRMN worked with the Japanese auto giant to introduce a turbocharged version of the popular Vitz (Yaris) compact. While the car on exhibit may be a one-off, Toyota is reportedly planning to shift its focus to downsized, turbocharged, direct-injection engines rather than focusing only on gas-electric hybrid technology.

While hybrids are capable of achieving greater urban fuel economy, small displacement turbocharged direct-injection engines deliver better day-to-day performance and are also a lot less expensive to develop than hybrid systems. Furthermore, Toyota’s dominance in the hybrid market merely makes it a big fish in a small pond as the collective hybrid market in the United States only accounted for 274,927 sales while Ford’s Ecoboost range attained that figure alone.

Although Toyota has used direct-injection and turbocharging in select models, other automakers have implemented these technologies across the line-up. Other drivetrain developments such as transmissions have been inconsistent as well. While the flagship Lexus LS luxury sedan offers an advanced 8-speed automatic, the RAV-4 makes do with an outdated 4-speed.

Toyota is hoping that its partnership with GRMN will help the Japanese automaker carry out a rapid development program that can potentially make its way into multiple small and midsize products within the next couple of years. A small Japanese business daily paper has already reported that direct-injection turbo engines could appear in domestic Toyota products as soon as 2013. These new power trains will be found in models sold in China and Europe as well. Even though the market in the United States wasn’t formally addressed, automotive analyst of Deutsche Bank Kurt Sanger told The Detroit Bureau, “We expect it to be a potential market for such technology to further increase the competitiveness of (Toyota) products.” In other words, it’s a good idea.

Other sources along with Sanger believe that the next-generation Toyota Corolla is likely the first all-new North American model to receive a direct-injection turbocharged engine. However, Sanger also believes that the current Toyota Camry is ready for a direct-injection turbo engine now, without a need for a model change.

[Source: The Detroit Bureau]

Toyota has issued a recall for 2010-2011 Corollas and 2011 Siennas sold through Southeast Toyota Distributors (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina) that were installed with non-Toyota aftermarket entertainment, navigation and Bluetooth systems on the A-pillar.

The dealer-installed aftermarket equipment may not have been installed properly with the retention clip for the A-pillar trim panel being damaged in the process. As a result, the A-pillar trim could potentially come loose during an accident and cause additional harm to passengers.

A total of 518 vehicles are affected by the recall, but Southeast Toyota estimates that only 25-percent of those vehicles have damaged A-pillars. Nonetheless Toyota would rather play it safe and will be notifying customers this month and the dealers will replace the defective clips free of charge.

For 2012, Toyota’s Corolla will be getting slight upgrades to the L, LE and S models. The L model now gets color-matched side mirrors, power windows with driver’s auto-down, power door locks and remote keyless entry. The LE model will now get 16-inch wheels as standard, and steering wheel audio controls. The S model will get a double-stitch accent to its seats.

In addition, the LE and S grade models will get a new standard audio system featuring a USB port for iPod connectivity and an auxiliary input for any other multimedia players. The system will also include Bluetooth hands-free phone capability and audio streaming.

Toyota did not announce whether or not the 2012 Corolla’s pricing will change from the 2011 models.

GALLERY: 2012 Toyota Corolla

When it comes to family sedans and smaller cars and SUVs, for the last two decades, Honda and Toyota ranked as top choices for many Americans. Not any more. It seems that more and more U.S. motorists that once drove Corollas, Civics, Accords and Camrys exclusively are now looking at alternatives.

Although supply of certain Toyotas and Hondas is still proving problematic following the March 11 earthquake and Tsunami in Japan, the decline in both automaker’s fortunes is being blamed on a lot more than just natural disasters.

According to Eric Nobel, of the Orange, California based consulting firm The Car Lab, both Honda and Toyota are losing ground, because their products haven’t been competitive in crucial market segments since the first half of the last decade. He particularly cites Toyota’s slipping quality control and the widespread recalls that have tarnished its reputation among American consumers, as well as Honda’s lack of innovation.

Although the Camry is still currently the best-selling car in America, it’s market share of the mid-size sedan segment has been dropping since 2008. Currently it’s around 9.6 percent, that contrasts sharply with 14.2 percent a couple of years ago.

Toyota’s Corolla and Honda’s Civic and Accord haven’t fared much better. Even Consumer Reports, which once championed these cars as the top of the list when it came to recommended buys, didn’t rate a single one of them as a top pick in it’s most recent findings, instead choosing cars such as the Hyundai Sonata and Nissan Altima over the former ‘favorites.’

Even domestic brands such as Ford and Chevrolet, once dismissed by many, are making a comeback. According to Edmunds.com, some 14.3 percent of people normally shopping for a Civic are looking at the new 2012 Focus as an alternative, while more than 10 percent are considering the Chevy Cruze.

Neverthless, Toyota says that it is “not going to stand still,” according to U.S. spokesman Joe Tetherow and will be “coming back with something significant.” That something will likely comprise a range of new or significantly updated models, including a next generation Camry.

Whether it will be enough to win back customers and turn the tide of flagging sales remains to be seen.

[Source: Bloomberg]

The May auto industry sales numbers are in and things continue to look down for Honda and Toyota. Both brands saw big drops in their May sales, with Honda down 23 percent and Toyota down 33 percent. While the earthquake and tsunami are to blame for supply issues, it’s hard to ignore the fact that both automakers are losing ground with core products.

According to data compiled by the Examiner, neither of the top two Japanese automakers have a car in the Top 10 best selling cars list for the month. While normally the Civic, Accord, Camry and Corolla all place highly, the best of the bunch for May was the Camry in 12th place with 18,830 units sold. The Civic placed 13th with 18,341 units sold, while the Accord (including the Accord Crosstour) was in 14th with 18,185 units and the Corolla (including the Matrix) sold 16,985 to wind up in 16th spot.

Topping the list was Ford’s F-Series trucks, followed by the Chevy Silverado, while the first car to place is the Chevy Malibu in third, followed by the Nissan Altima and Ford Fusion to round out the top 5. Even domestic compacts did well in May with the Cruze in 8th place and the Focus in 9th.

Year-to-date, Honda and Toyota aren’t doing as poorly with the Camry in 3rd, the Accord in 4th, the Corolla in 5th and the Civic in 8th, but if the May sales numbers for these cars continue, both automakers could look to slip considerably.

[Source: Examiner]

The U.S National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has closed its investigation into the power steering system in the 2009-2010 Toyota Corolla with no defects found.

Furthermore, the NHTSA also said Toyota’s electronic throttles were not to blame for the 2009-2010 recall fiasco. However, Toyota is still dealing with major setbacks with the parts shortage caused by the Japanese earthquake disaster, which will undoubtedly hurt their efforts to rebound in the sales charts.

[Source: Autoblog]

An investigation by NASA has cleared Toyota‘s electronics systems of causing the unintended acceleration phenomenon that was widely reported in 2010.

The Department of Transportation, who oversaw the investigation, released a statement claiming “NASA engineers found no electronic flaws in Toyota vehicles capable of producing the large throttle openings required to create dangerous high-speed unintended acceleration incidents.”

Although the report effectively vindicates Toyota’s claims that they were not at fault, the damage to the brand has been done, and is undoubtedly severe. Toyota recalled 8 million vehicles due to the scandal and paid nearly $50 million in regulatory fines.

[Source: The Wall Street Journal]

The Toyota Matrix has always been a bit of a non-starter in the marketplace, but that’s not stopping Toyota from launching an all new updated version at the Chicago Auto Show.

Just like the updated 2011 Corolla, the changes are essentially all cosmetic. The same 1.8L and 2.4L powerplants remain in place, as does the antiquated 4-speed automatic transmission. The Matrix, unlike its sedan counterpart, does get all-wheel-drive as an option.

Hit the jump to see the official press release

Continue Reading…