The Ford F-Series trucks were the best-selling vehicles in America in 2021, finishing comfortably ahead of Ram and Chevy’s Silverado. That much you might already know.
But while compiling a straightforward list of the country’s most popular models makes for interesting reading, telling us for instance that there are just four sedans inside the top 20, and none makes the top 5, the sales data also throws up a stack of other weird stats.
Lamborghini’s Urus Outsold The Much Cheaper Fiat 500X
Lambo’s supercar on stilts costs $225,501 and the 500X just $26,215. But American buyers gobbled up 1,530 of the 641 hp Italian-built super-SUVs versus just 1,181 of the 177 hp Fiats.
Nissan Shifted Twice As Many GT-Rs As Acura Did NSXs
Related: 2022 Nissan GT-R Unveiled In Japan, “T-spec” Edition Coming To US Priced At $138,490
Though undeniably a thrill ride, the Nissan GT-R is creakier than a haunted castle’s front door. It’s been around since 2007 making it almost 10 years older than the Acura NSX. But the Nissan still managed to find 304 homes, versus just 128 for the Acura, though given that the $169,500 NSX commands a hefty $55k premium over the base GT-R, that’s maybe not such a surprise.
Hummer Only Sold 1 EV In Q4 Of 2021
GM’s EV ambitions were severely thwarted in 2021, something that hadn’t gone unnoticed at Tesla. The General moved just 26 EVs in the last quarter of 2021, including only one electric Hummer. To be fair to GM, which has been beset by production difficulties, the Hummer had only just entered production, but that didn’t stop Elon Musk from gleefully tweeting that GM had “room to improve…”
Dodge Sold 5 Darts Despite It Being Killed Off In 2016
Seven years ago Dodge execs would have been delighted to see figures showing a 400 percent year-on-year increase for its unpopular Dart compact. Despite being put out to pasture in 2016, the Dart scored five sales in 2021, up four on the previous year, and it’s not the only Stellantis model enjoying success from beyond the grave. The Viper, which was canned in 2017, notched up four sales last year.
Chevy’s Corvette Outsold Porsche’s 718 By Seven To One
The Porsche brand carries more kudos than just about any other that you don’t need to be a millionaire to get a piece of, and the $60,000 718 backs that street cred up with a sweet-handling mid-engined chassis. But so does the C8 Corvette, and for the same money, the key difference being the V8 Vette’s additional 190 hp over the four-cylinder Porsche. Little wonder Chevy sold 33,041 Corvettes in 2021 to Porsche’s 4,292 Boxster and Cayman 718s.
U.S. Drivers Bought Twice As Many Domestically Made Cars As Imported Ones
Domestic cars outsold imported cars by almost 2.5 to one (2,264,050 domestic units vs 1,100,463 imported cars), while looking at SUVs and pickups, the ratio grows to 3.5 to one (9,011,289 domestic light trucks vs 2,684,485 import light trucks). Combine the data and we see that nearly 75 percent of the 15.06 million light vehicles sold in the U.S. in 2021 were built in the USA, which leaves nearly 25 percent for imports. For context, wind back 50 years to 1971 when this Triumph TR6 was built, and only 14.6 percent of vehicles were imported.
Ford Registered Almost 1 million percent More Mach-Es In 2021 Vs 2020
Okay, so the Mach-E didn’t go on sale until December 2020, but it’s still funny to see that it posted a 904,567 percent increase in sales in 2021. Looking at the overall figures wouldn’t have Ford execs laughing, however. Uncle Henry sold a modest 27,140 of the EVs over the course of the year, meaning it was soundly beaten by the next car on our list.
Tesla Sold Nine Times As Many Model Ys As VW did ID.4s In Q4
Related: Tesla Model Y Driver Skillfully Avoids Getting T-Boned By CR-V
Volkswagen’s roomy but curiously bland ID.4 hasn’t yet been on sale for a full 12 months so we can’t say for certain hows it’s performing against the Tesla Model Y. But the Q4 figures give us a pretty good idea, and it’s not great news for VW (or Ford).
Model Y sales stood at 172,700 for the year, 40,300 of which were in the last quarter. Ford meanwhile sold only 8,285 Mach-Es in Q4, and VW, only 4,464 ID.4s. Tesla’s total sales for 2021, by the way, stand at 313,400, putting it a close second behind first placed BMW in the luxury car sales table.
Alfa Romeo Beat Jaguar In the Battle Of The Bottom Feeders
In the face-off to see who could be the second least popular premium brand, perennial underachiever Alfa Romeo won out over its opposite number from England. Alfa shifted 18,250 units and Jaguar just 17,332, including a pitiful 600 I-Pace EVs – though that was at least up 20 percent on the previous year. How does that compare with the performance of other luxury brands? Well, BMW’s 3-Series alone sold more than both Jaguar and Alfa’s combined total output…
America’s Best-Selling Sedan Isn’t Even Sold In Much Of Europe Because It’s Too Boring
It’s not just the Atlantic that divides Europe and America. It’s love (or lack of love) for the Toyota Camry. The four-door Toyota was the best performing example of just four sedans that made it inside America’s top 20 bestsellers list, but you won’t find it in Toyota dealerships in the UK or Germany because it’s considered too dull to tempt buyers out of BMWs, Audis and Mercs.
Mercedes Beat Genesis’ Entire Sales Total With Just One Model
We’re not knocking Genesis. Things are really happening for Hyundai’s premium brand. It scored a 203 percent year-on-year sales increase for 2021, and with new products coming online, 2022 is shaping up to be another strong one. But it’s got a long way to go to match the big boys. Genesis shifted a total of 49,621 cars and trucks in 2021, while Mercedes’s GLC alone scored over 50,000 sales.