Best- and worst-selling cars by company

By Dan Lienert

updated 4:36 p.m. ET Jan. 30, 2006

No carmaker designs a car to sell badly.

Every mainstream automaker wants to sell as many cars as it can for as much money as possible, but knows it can't do that. So it designs different models for different price points and calculates production to match anticipated demand. Automakers love it when cars, especially higher-priced ones, sell out, and hate it when cars are left languishing on showroom floors, burning holes in the companies' pockets and the dealers'.

In many ways the title of this article is a misnomer because for many makers the "worst" sellers are simply the cars with the lowest sales volumes and often the highest prices. For example, Ford Motor's lowest-selling car in 2005, the limited-production GT coupe, was also, at $141,245, far and away its most expensive. The same can be said for Dodge's $82,745 Viper SRT-10 and Mercedes-Benz's $452,750 SLR McLaren coupe. Exotic, one-of-a-kind flagships are about exclusivity, not high sales.

Of course, there are plenty of cars that are true sales disappointments, such as the Chevy SSR. In 2003, when General Motors introduced the truck, the company said it wanted to build 14,000 models annually. Last year, Chevy sold 8,107 SSRs in the United States. This made 2005 the second year in which the car reached only approximately 60% of GM's original sales target.

The slide show that follows lists 2005's highest- and lowest-selling cars for the mainstream automakers. As an illustration of the relationship between sticker price and volume, consider that the average price of a highest-seller is $24,638; the average price of a lowest-seller is $54,694. An auto-industry analyst to whom we frequently speak likes to say: "God has an immutable law: Raise the price, lower the volume."

Our reporting on the best- and worst-selling cars features a special set of ground rules that make our list more than something one could find by reading individual automakers' sales reports. For example, we did not count cars that were discontinued last year or are in the process of being killed, such as Toyota Motor's Celica. We also excluded manufacturers that sell only one nameplate, such as BMW's Mini subsidiary. Isuzu had only one vehicle on sale for a large part of 2005 (the Ascender SUV), so we also excluded that company from consideration.

The purpose in surveying the automotive playing field in the way we have done is to give readers an idea of what has so far worked for the carmakers, and, in some cases, what has not worked. For example, if a particular mid-price coupe or sedan is languishing on the showroom floor, is it a car worth buying?

Conversely, some potential buyers may see such laggards as being ripe for discounts because they know the dealerships want to get rid of them. Knowing what the successes are is equally helpful because they usually indicate what the company does best — or at least knows how to sell best.

MORE FROM FORBES

Forbes Section Front

The states where women earn the most Rich getting richer? Particularly in Connecticut World's most expensive homes Will Ferrell is Hollywood's most overpaid star Dirtiest vehicles on America’s highways The worlds most powerful people The key to dealing with lousy boss: negotiation IRS rules for medical deductions are sickening Tailgate much? These are the rides you need What automakers have in store for 2010 Forbes Section Front