Chevy's affordable Trailblazer small SUV might be the year's most unexpected hit, flying off dealer lots faster than any other new vehicle since the pandemic struck, according to a study by internet car research site iSeecars.com.
The SUV, reintroducing the name of a full-size SUV that was discontinued 10 years ago, spent an average of just 19 days on dealer lots from March through June, a fraction of the 96.9-day industry average for new vehicles and nearly a week less than No. 2, the acclaimed Kia Telluride.
GM's other new small SUV, the Buick Encore GX, also did well, coming in at No. 11 with 46.6 days on the lot — less than half the industry average.
"The ISeeCars study validates all of our research to bring the Trailblazer to market," said Brad Franz, senior marketing manager, Chevrolet SUVs. "Early sales are exceeding our expectations, led by the RS trim, which has doubled our forecast. We are very pleased with the consumer reaction to the all new Trailblazer."
The list had another bit of good news for Chevrolet: Its Bolt electric car was the only car to make the SUV-dominated list of fastest-selling vehicles. The Bolt, which unlike the new Trailblazer and Encore GX has been on the market for several years, placed sixth, spending 41.7 days on the lot.
About 60 days on the lot is typical during normal times, but that average ballooned more than 50% because of economic unease, sales shutdowns and stay-at-home orders during COVID-19's first wave early this year.
"Many of these fastest-selling vehicles are popular cars that are hard to find for reasons such as the effect of the pandemic on supply chains, they were produced in limited quantities, or that they are new models that aren't yet abundant in the used car marketplace," said iSeeCars CEO Phong Ly.
Pickups still rule
Full-size domestic models rule the pickup market, but the midsize Toyota Tacoma was the quickest selling new pickup, followed by the Honda Ridgeline, a midsize with a small but loyal following.
Surprisingly, the Ford F-150 — America's bestselling vehicle since Moses was a lad — came in 10th at an average of 122.8 days on the lot. The average pickup spent 104 days on the lot.
The five quickest-selling used pickups were:
• Honda Ridgeline, 51.7 days
• Ram 1500 Classic, 52.0
• Toyota Tacoma, 60.5
• Toyota Tundra, 63.1
• Nissan Frontier, 65.4
Here are the averages for pickups from March through June:
• Toyota Tacoma, 72.6 days
• Honda Ridgeline, 77.4
• GMC Sierra 1500, 83.9
• Chevrolet Silverado 1500, 85.1
• Toyota Tundra, 89
• Chevrolet Colorado, 107.3
• Ram 1500, 107.8
• Ram 1500 Classic, 111.7
• Jeep Gladiator, 116.3
• Ford F-150, 122.8
• Ford Ranger, 125.9
The average used pickup spent 70.4 days on the lot.
Cars lag
As in most automotive conversations these days, cars were an afterthought. The lists of fastest-selling vehicles and fastest-selling SUVs are nearly identical: only one car, the Bolt, cracked the top 12 vehicles.
Sports cars were a bit more interesting, a value-dominated list that is light on the usual suspects: Mustang, Camaro and Supra.
Fastest-selling new sports cars (average 107.2 days):
• Subaru WRX, 69.8 days
• Dodge Charger, 79.1
• Mazda MX5 Miata, 81.1
• Dodge Challenger, 92.5
• Hyundai Veloster N, 93.3
Fastest selling used sports cars (average 70.4 days):
• Subaru BRZ, 44.5 days
• Subaru WRX, 51.5
• Toyota 86, 53.1
• Ford Mustang, 55.7
• BMW M4, 56.7
The rankings are based on 4.4 million vehicle sales from March to June. New vehicles were from model years 2019-2021. Used vehicles were 2015-2019. Medium-duty pickups, vehicles that ended production before the 2020 model year and low-volume models were excluded.
