Where would we be without “bland” cars? Probably out of a job.
One statistic stands high above the carnage of 2008: the midsize sedan – the “bland” sedan — proved the customer favorite once again, as it has for what … 30 years?
The Toyota Camry smashed all competitors with 436,000 sales, down 7.7% from the 473,000 in 2007 (compared to 18% for the whole industry). Honda Accord came in second again, its nearly 373,000 sales off just five percent from 2007. The Nissan Altima was down just over five percent with its 270,000. Right there, you have nearly 1.1 million sales from just three nameplates.
I went over the Automotive News 2008 data (who am I, Jack Teahan?), pulling out what I’d refer to as the “bland” segment. Most are midsizers, but I threw in the Chevy Impala and Buick, uh, what’s it called …, wait, I’ll get it … oh, Lacrosse. Right.
Bottom line? two thirds of all passenger cars sold last year were the “bland” sedans. (The Automotive News numbers don’t break out the coupes for Accord, Altima or convertibles for uh, what’s that Chrysler? Oh, right, the Sebring. It’s still with us, I see.)
The big number in the segment – big, as in how it stuck out in a dismal year – was the 39% sales gain posted by the Chevy Malibu. Interestingly, though, its 178,000 sales still trailed the larger but notoriously bland Chevy Impala by 88,000! Lots of rental Impalas, no doubt.
Now, I’d hardly call a VW Passat CC “bland,” but guess what? I think most people would think their Camry, Accord or Altima and even Mercury Milan was stylish, too, and even enjoyable to drive. And if it’s got a V6 engine (as a shrinking number did in 2008), Camry, Altima, and Accord owners enjoy a car that can blow the doors off most showroom-stock classic musclecars from the 1960s and early 1970s. (True – look it up.)
Let the “buff books” and blogs castigate the midsize sedan for delivering “blandness” to the masses. Let them mock “blend-in” and “me-too” design. But I suggest we all embrace the blandness and hope its dominance continues.
Our paychecks might depend on it.
Fuel for Thought
The fun cars withered in 2008, including one of my favorites, the Mustang. Here’s how the “bland” cars compared to their sporty siblings.
Honda Accord: down 5% Honda S2000: down 41%
Nissan Altima: down 5.3% Nissan 350Z: down 45.5%
Pontiac G6: down 6.5% Pontiac Solstice: down 36%
Ford Fusion: down 1.3% Ford Mustang: down 32.2%
