2. Upward Trend of SUVs and Trucks
Because of the low price of gasoline, one of the hottest stories of 2016 is the massive increase in SUV ad truck sales. Buyers are leaning away from sedans and drawing close to larger, more powerful vehicles. Nearly all SUVs are up over last year’s sales figures, and in some categories it’s up as much as 33 percent.
Manufacturers are targeting these buyers with some amazing offerings. Vehicles like the 2017 Honda CR-V are hoping to make waves and carmakers like Hyundai are planning to enter the truck market with their own midsize model. Unless the price of gas skyrockets, we can expect to see this trend continue to rise.
1. Car of the Year, Chevy Bolt EV
Chevy beat Tesla to market in the affordable electric car category. The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV came out in 2016 and quickly stole the show. MOTOR TREND ranks the Chevy Bolt as its car of the year, regardless of its status as an electric car or not.
The Chevy Bolt EV has an EPA-certified range of 238 miles on a full charge. It performs like any other vehicle, not requiring the caveat at the end of the sentence, “for an electric car”. The Bolt is a driver’s car, handling like a sporty hot hatch without any tailpipe emissions at all. And at just over $30,000 after the federal rebate, the Bolt could actually sell a bunch of cars, stealing sales from those with Tesla Model 3 deposits.
