I've owned a Ford Flex since 2012, and the kids and I got into a routine of calling "Flex Alert!" when we spot one in the wild. They haven't exactly been common, although over the past year or so we're seeing more.
So getting the i3, we started up "I see an i3!" But dang, this car is everywhere. I posted earlier that I've identified 5 or 6 i3 owners within a quarter mile of my house, but if I expand that radius just slightly, I'm thinking I've come across double that number.
The i3 sells about 6,000 units annually in the US. 2015 moved about 11,000, and 2019 is pointing close to 5,000. By comparison, Toyota sells over 100,000 Priuses in the US annually.
Anyway, that got me thinking about my past few cars, and I think they're all "rarer" -- or at least less commonly spotted around here -- than the i3. I know regionality has a lot to do with it, but I'm curious who else has a similar experience?
First I'm comparing this to my 2005 Subaru Legacy wagon. At this vintage, the Legacy sold 28,000 annually, vs. the Outback which hit about 60,000 annually. Those numbers don't differentiate wagons vs. sedans, but the sedan Legacy was more common than the wagon, and the wagon Outback was WAY more common than either Legacy. I would spot very few Legacy wagons as the Outback wagon soared in popularity. I recall Subaru discontinued the "plain" wagon in the US in '09, despite it continuing in Japan, Australia, and probably Europe. This '05 one replaced my '98 Legacy wagon, which I believe was slightly more popular but still lost out to the over-armored "Legacy Outback," which was when "Outback" was a trim level within the Legacy lineup.
The car that replaced my Subaru was a 2013 Acura TSX wagon. Those sales figures were crazy! 2,000 sold in the US for my model year, and supposedly 10,000 total over the US year history of this car (four years I think?). I really like the way this wagon looks on the outside, and it promised Honda reliablity, but I hated the way it drove and sounded, and the technology inside was so disappointing that I sold it back to an Acura dealer after owning it for 6 months. But I still get the warm 'n fuzzies when I see one of these on the street. It's a good looking, underappreciated wagon.
* TSX sedans generally sold 30,000 to 35,000 units in the US annually.
Then there was my 2013 allroad that replaced the TSX. Best Car Ever! But the US hates wagons and Audi sold only 5,400 in my model year, and about 15,000 total for the B8 production run (I think over a span of four years). I wouldn't call them uncommon to spot around here, but certainly lower numbers than the i3.
* A4 sedans generally sold 33,000 to 40,000 units in the US annually. The B8 allroad is a mish-mash of mostly the A4 + some A5 suspension parts, with a modified Avant body.
Last but not least is my dear 2013 Flex, factory ordered and the only car I've ever owned new, and which I'll keep forever. Ford made 26,000 of these my model year, and about 250,000 over the 11 year life of the vehicle (Ford just ended production last month). But despite that, I don't see them in large numbers in my area. The Flex seems to be as polarizing as the i3 -- some people absolutely hate its aesthetics, although many are won over by its roomy and bright interior (sound familiar?).
For me, the i3 is a bit of a shift in car type. You already guessed I'm a wagon guy? I think of the i3 as a mini wagon -- close enough for most days. But way more common, at least around here, than I expected. More common than any of the above cars on my list.
So getting the i3, we started up "I see an i3!" But dang, this car is everywhere. I posted earlier that I've identified 5 or 6 i3 owners within a quarter mile of my house, but if I expand that radius just slightly, I'm thinking I've come across double that number.
The i3 sells about 6,000 units annually in the US. 2015 moved about 11,000, and 2019 is pointing close to 5,000. By comparison, Toyota sells over 100,000 Priuses in the US annually.
Anyway, that got me thinking about my past few cars, and I think they're all "rarer" -- or at least less commonly spotted around here -- than the i3. I know regionality has a lot to do with it, but I'm curious who else has a similar experience?
First I'm comparing this to my 2005 Subaru Legacy wagon. At this vintage, the Legacy sold 28,000 annually, vs. the Outback which hit about 60,000 annually. Those numbers don't differentiate wagons vs. sedans, but the sedan Legacy was more common than the wagon, and the wagon Outback was WAY more common than either Legacy. I would spot very few Legacy wagons as the Outback wagon soared in popularity. I recall Subaru discontinued the "plain" wagon in the US in '09, despite it continuing in Japan, Australia, and probably Europe. This '05 one replaced my '98 Legacy wagon, which I believe was slightly more popular but still lost out to the over-armored "Legacy Outback," which was when "Outback" was a trim level within the Legacy lineup.
The car that replaced my Subaru was a 2013 Acura TSX wagon. Those sales figures were crazy! 2,000 sold in the US for my model year, and supposedly 10,000 total over the US year history of this car (four years I think?). I really like the way this wagon looks on the outside, and it promised Honda reliablity, but I hated the way it drove and sounded, and the technology inside was so disappointing that I sold it back to an Acura dealer after owning it for 6 months. But I still get the warm 'n fuzzies when I see one of these on the street. It's a good looking, underappreciated wagon.
* TSX sedans generally sold 30,000 to 35,000 units in the US annually.
Then there was my 2013 allroad that replaced the TSX. Best Car Ever! But the US hates wagons and Audi sold only 5,400 in my model year, and about 15,000 total for the B8 production run (I think over a span of four years). I wouldn't call them uncommon to spot around here, but certainly lower numbers than the i3.
* A4 sedans generally sold 33,000 to 40,000 units in the US annually. The B8 allroad is a mish-mash of mostly the A4 + some A5 suspension parts, with a modified Avant body.
Last but not least is my dear 2013 Flex, factory ordered and the only car I've ever owned new, and which I'll keep forever. Ford made 26,000 of these my model year, and about 250,000 over the 11 year life of the vehicle (Ford just ended production last month). But despite that, I don't see them in large numbers in my area. The Flex seems to be as polarizing as the i3 -- some people absolutely hate its aesthetics, although many are won over by its roomy and bright interior (sound familiar?).
For me, the i3 is a bit of a shift in car type. You already guessed I'm a wagon guy? I think of the i3 as a mini wagon -- close enough for most days. But way more common, at least around here, than I expected. More common than any of the above cars on my list.
