CNNMoney: Toyota tops hottest cars in America (Prius at top)

Toyota tops hottest cars in America
In a ranking of the 10 most popular new cars, Toyota takes six spots.
By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNNMoney.com staff writer
March 18, 2006: 8:46 AM EST


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - In a list of the 10 hottest cars now on the market, six of the 10 are products of the Toyota Motor Co. The Prius tops the list and all three of Toyota's low-priced Scion models are on the list, as well.

Three of the cars, the Toyota Prius, Lexus RX400h and Ford Escape Hybrid, are gas-electric hybrid cars

To find the 10 hottest cars in America for CNNMoney.com, Edmunds.com, a partner providing data and content for CNN Web sites, looked for three things: Actual selling prices closest to the vehicle's full sticker price; lowest amounts in rebates or other sales incentives; shortest times spent on dealer lots before being snapped up by buyers.

The Prius scores big in all those areas. While all other cars on the list sell for at least some small amount under their actual sticker price, once incentives are factored in, the Prius still sells for 10 percent over sticker price.

On average, a Prius spends just nine days on a dealer lot before being driven away by a buyer, second only to the Mini Cooper, which lingers for just six days. (If a car has an average "days to turn" of less than 10, it generally means the cars are mostly pre-ordered so they have already been sold before they arrive at the dealership.)...


http://money.cnn.com/2006/03/16/Autos/hot_cars/index.htm?cnn=yes

There was a six month wait and a hefty mark up. The new Hybrid Civic is actually much improved and now #1 on my list.

most recently a Toyota Avalon

It's a simple fact that most Americans don't know, and probably won't believe: Ford and GM's full sized pickup trucks out sell the "number one selling CAR in America" by 100%

http://autos.msn.com/advice/article.aspx?contentid=4023245

"The Toyota Camry continues its reign as the top-selling passenger car in America. Third in sales overall, the Camry sold at a slightly higher rate than in 2004 with a total of 433,703 sales in the U.S."
"Full-size pickup trucks are the most popular vehicles with American buyers. Total sales in calendar 2005 show the Ford F-Series and Chevrolet Silverado as the two top sellers in the country, with the Dodge Ram coming in fourth..."
"The F-Series has been the best-selling vehicle in America for 23 years, and the truck had its best year ever in 2004. Sales were down slightly for 2005 with 901,463 units sold. Chevrolet's Silverado had an increase in 2005 to 705,981 units. While sales figures are based on individual brands, the total sales of all General Motors' full-size pickup trucks, including the GMC Sierra, equalled 935,469 units."

Just got my 06 Prius in December.

Driving a Prius turns you into an environmental terrorist. I read it in State of Fear. It must be true.