Chevy Sonic as American as Tater Tots and…

Photo by Morven

Can you guess which automaker has sold more cars each year in the U.S. for the past 51 years?   If you said Ford, you’d be wrong.  GM is the answer.   This is probably not a shocking revelation except that in the Northeast, the big three automakers seem to be Toyota, Honda and Nissan.  And yet their market share is tiny compared to Ford, GM and Chrysler.  Take June 2012.  Toyota sold 177,795, Honda, 124,808 and Nissan, 81,801.  By comparison, GM sold 248,250 vehicles, Ford 207,759 and Chrysler, 144,811.  Chrysler which includes the brands Fiat, Jeep and Dodge hasn’t really taken root in Boston.  The only Dodge Darts I’ve seen were the ones showcased on 60 Minutes in their piece on Sergio Marchionne, Chrysler/Fiat’s new CEO.  And the only person I’ve even seen driving a Fiat 500 is Jennifer Lopez.  Can you even name one Chrysler car?  Be honest.  The only models I can think of are the LeBaron and the New Yorker which haven’t been produced since the mid 90’s.  What has Chrysler been doing for the last 20 years?  Certainly not building a keeper.  They ought to bring back the Cirrus.  Remember that one? I don’t either.

Corolla, Camry, Prius, Rav4, Highlander, Civic, Accord, Fit, Altima, Rogue, Maxima, and Pathfinder are the brands I see most often rolling along on the roads of Boston.  Don’t see any Darts, or many Fiestas, and Impalas on the streets of Beantowne. And the Volt, America’s “revolutionary” gas-electric plug in vehicle, hasn’t sold well in the birthplace of American liberty.  I’m not exactly sure why, but reports of fiery batteries haven’t helped.  I also haven’t seen a Chevy Sonic yet, but I finally found a Sonic in Massachusetts.  Love me some tater tots.   How about a new Chevy Sonic ad, “it’s as American as tater tots, chilly cheese fries and a Supersonic Double Cheeseburger with Mayo and 1290 calories and 87 grams of fat”.