Sonic sales taking a dive

[Sailurman]

Your opinion .. . we know. You already posted that earlier in this same thread. Post #44.

- - and what are you? Like. . 14 or something with the bananas?

No, everybody agrees with me. Even the people that bought one. But hey, fear not! could have been much worse! You could have gotten a sedan!!! Now we're talking Pontiac Aztec Ugly!









































OH YEAH














































:banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:

 

[JTee2017]

Yes. .. as I thought . . so predictable.

definitely never got past 14 years old.. . . .

And. . .. not "everybody". . Just those feeling envious of the new design and added features. . . .

 

[Papasonic]

Can't we all just get along? :sadbanana:

It's the holiday season.

 

[shorebreeze]

As for quality, I don't think it's been GM's best foot forward, I know we have debated that back and forth and everyone's opinion of the car is different. Mine is not positive. Of all the cars we've owned in our family, this one has been on the back of a tow truck more and seen the dealer's warranty department/service department the most. We had a Saturn for 18 years prior to this car and while that car wasn't without its problems (it was a 1993, so it was the 1st generation of that car), it never once left us to the point where it had to be towed.

My 2014 has been absolutely rock solid. The only even weird thing was an incident with a "bullet" charger for USB devices (these are the little tiny ones that fit almost flush to the surface of the outlet) where this charger turned out to be the culprit in my ECM crashing and forcing me to coast to the side of the street and restart. This happened once more before I got to the dealer and was warned to throw the charger away. No incidents since.

 

[shorebreeze]

We gambled too and didn't get such a reliable car. Luck of the draw unfortunately.....

I got my 2014 in a hurry at the tail end of the model year -- it was the cheapest decent option available in the situation (large accumulated GM Card discount, 12 year old existing car needing to be replaced immediately, all the close competitors suffering from serious deficiencies in cargo and/or seating comfort) -- and THEN went through this site. Not good planning, but I will say this . . . . what I saw was a pattern, problem after problem with 2012 and 2013 models and then peace and quiet. I really do think they made some major changes for the better in quality control sometime late in the 2013 model year or during the transition from 2013-2014.

 

[murat]

We can't buy Sonic in Europe since end of 2013. There is still no better choice. Thanks to 1.3 diesel engine, I pay lowest taxes possible(It's even tax-free in UK). It's not a common car on the roads and they not collide too much. That makes it the car with lowest insurance fee(I pay 150$ /year for fully covered insurance, average is about 500$, cars crashing too much in Turkey). And there is no such a car has better fuel economy than the Sonic. Opel Corsa has the same engine but it has narrow space, no standart side airbags. Still, there is no better choice than the Sonic.

 

[JTee2017]

I surely hope they don't discontinue it......I really, really like my 2014, easily my favorite car that I've owned, and even in the 2018 models, now seven years without a major update, it is
. .
. . (The Sonic Hatchback) - is simply a more practical and even refined car for me than the competition.

Same (Sonic sedan) length as the Cruze hatchback, but longer inside from trunk to dash (important for me with skis);

- More ride height for visibility (useful in urban driving and in general for comfort)

- Way quieter and smoother than other B-class cars (always welcome, why do other manufacturers cheap out on this?);

- Huge trunk with my sedan that allows suitcases to be set vertically (versus the rather shallow affair on the Cruze)

- Almost ten inches shorter than the Cruze (good for urban maneuverability and parking).

- And the fact that GM doesn't shortchange driver legroom like Toyota and Honda and Ford all do.

- The Cruze is a little too large for me, the Spark a little too small, and I might have to consider going to, say, a Subaru Impreza or maybe a Toyota Prius.

So give us at least one more Sonic generation to tide us over to EVs, please, or else find a way of shortening the Cruze without crimping interior room so that I can park it in the city.

I hope GM execs read these forums . .. .


You have hit on the key points that make the Sonic so attractive . . . practical . . . and yet fun to drive.


I surely hope GM continues with the Sonic as well . .

I agree, we looked at the Cruze hatchback, but found the hatch opening too small and difficult to place cargo into. That rear roof line takes a lot away form cargo space and rear seat height. It sat too low, poor visibility, and felt sluggish in spite of the more powerful engine.

I have looked at the competition also. Honda Fit and ( HR-V its somewhat bulky clone) while having a bit more cargo space, are slugs with the CVT, noisy, and not as comfortable. Mazda has rust problems and some other issues, other sub compacts are often cramped and uncomfortable.

The Sonic ride height makes it more visible on the road, easy to get into and out of, and just feels more spacious inside than the eye would expect.

And, even though a sub compact, offers better handling and more interior room than a compact like the Ford Focus.

The Corvette engineered suspension and road handling design does not go unnoticed. It is what makes the car so fun to drive and handle better than one might expect.

Here's hoping GM will preserve the Sonic in this form, updating and filling am important role in the small car line.
i find the Spark too small and narrow. Cramped feeling. The Sonic amazes me every time I get inside with it's roominess, comfort and driveability.

 

[Sailurman]

:banana:MERRY:banana: CHRISTMAS :banana:TO:banana: ALL:banana:


:banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:
:banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:

 

[JTee2017]

- - - -opcorn:

 

[photoman475]

My wife and I bought a 2012 Sonic off the dealer's lot because we liked the car and needed a new car-sooner rather than later.

She was in an accident back in February-being the meat of a three-car accident was less than pleasant. The air bags did their job and other than broken right foot, she came out with bumps and bruises. We wanted another Sonic and guess what? We had to go 80 miles from home to get one; the local dealer didn't have any, not unusual for them. The deal was fine-guy bought it and traded it back in at 1400 miles-the car simply didn't work for him. It's a 2016 Sonic with the same engine and tranny combination.

It does not get the same gas mileage as the 2012-I think the gear ratio is different, since it also does not accelerate as quickly as the 2012 did. The mileage difference bothers me-the 2016, on the interstate, gets at best about 34.5 mpg, but the 2012 would get about 37.2 mpg. The 2016 does NOT like 91 octane gas, it gets the about the same mileage with 91 as it does with 87. The 2012 got the higher mileage with 91 octane but would not get that much with 87. I suppose the other possibility is that GM changed the programming in the computer, but I have no way of knowing that for certain.

This aspect of the car might sound stupid to some people, but here goes. The thing that really bugs me about the 2016 is the lack of a CD player, which my 2012 had, and the miserable excuse for a radio. What was wrong with the on-off knobs that they had to be changed to this stupid "infotainment" system? I have not been able to reprogram the radio to accept my preferred station choices from what the previous owner had, despite what the owner's manual claims. I do not have an MP3 player or a smart phone to plug into the one of the USB ports and no desire to get either, as I don't need them. I think the radio should be easier to use, especially when driving the car, and not require a PhD in computer programming or engineering to change station preferences.

One change GM made that I like is the trunk release being moved to the center between the seats. It's something that would have been nice to have in the 2012.

Perhaps it's because the 2012 was the first brand new car I'd ever purchased made it special, I don't know. Given a choice though, once a couple of warranty repairs were made and the hose getting replaced between the air scoop under the hood to the air filter, the 2012 was a better car in my opinion. Would I purchase another Sonic? Maybe, maybe not. It will depend on what GM does with it first of all, but I'm not counting on it being around. It's not advertised very well, and as has been said in other posts, there's too many similar cars in the GM lineup.

 

[JTee2017]

Perhaps it's because the 2012 was the first brand new car I'd ever purchased made it special, I don't know. Given a choice though, once a couple of warranty repairs were made and the hose getting replaced between the air scoop under the hood to the air filter, the 2012 was a better car in my opinion. Would I purchase another Sonic? Maybe, maybe not. It will depend on what GM does with it first of all, but I'm not counting on it being around. It's not advertised very well, and as has been said in other posts, there's too many similar cars in the GM lineup.

Thanks for posting your experiences. Glad to hear your wife escaped mostly unscathed.

We bough a 2017 sonic HB with the 1.8L engine and find it has enough pep for out driving needs. Do you know if the 201 perhaps had the 1.4L Turbo engine and your current Sonic has the 1.8L engine? That would be a difference.

Also, i know there was a final drive ratio change somewhere along the line and there is a difference in that between the sedan and hatchback and manual and automatic. We have the 3.47:1 final drive in our 2017 Sonic with 1.8L and auto.
Our Sonic seems to have plenty of pep in the configuration we bought.

Also, the 2017 has manual radio controls. . . meaning a center volume/on-off and 6 push buttons for saved stations. There still is a "touch screen" which has other functions as well.

 

[Ponchoguy]

Can't we all just get along? :sadbanana:

It's the holiday season.

I agree . Everyone's opinion about the car is different, and no one is "wrong" or "right". As the expression goes, "your mileage may vary....", or in this case, "your satisfaction or experience may vary".

Some like the car and have had good luck with it, and that's great for you. Some of us not so much so. I look at the Sonic as an appliance, so it needs to be functional, very reliable and get the job done. It's not a show piece for me. It gets used, maintained and I expect it to do its job.

For me, given the mileage that I have (59k now), I have had way too many problems (and repeat problems). GM could have done much, much better in my belief. But others have had trouble free cars, and that's great for you. Some like the Sonic and find it to be a collector's item or a car to hold onto. Again, great for you, to each his/her own.

 

[JTee2017]

Yes indeed.

And no need to keep reiterating. Especially on a 12 or 13 day old post.

Overall, the Sonic is no more trouble prone and in many ways better than competitor sub compact cars. Google a few like Honda Fit with the CVT, Mazda with rust and some transmission issues, Ford Fiesta, Nissan Versa, Kia, , etc.

And, the Sonic as a Sub Compact has as much or more interior room and comfort than many COMPACTs , not to mention better ride and handling.

It is always wise to not buy a first or even second model year in a new vehicle. They will all have some short comings.

That's my observation and finding easily verifiable online by reading.

 

[twinturboguy]

My guess is the Honda Civic Hatch and all that new styling that came out.
I heard they are stupid fast.

for 2017/18 they should of added a bigger turbo charger or something to make other companies go oh... ****...

 

[JTee2017]

My guess is the Honda Civic Hatch and all that new styling that came out.
I heard they are stupid fast.

for 2017/18 they should of added a bigger turbo charger or something to make other companies go oh... ****...

Um, except the Civic is in the Compact category. .. not the Sub Compact like the Sonic. So you would have to compare to the Honda Fits.
And, for starters, they will run closer to $23,000 and even up to $26,000 with a few options or upper trim level.

As for "stupid" . . . Well, if a buyer wants an automatic you are stuck with that awful dreaded CVT for a transmission the same as it's sub compact sibling the Honda Fit.

No thanks . . . .

 

[twinturboguy]

Yeah I get what you mean about compact and sub compact.

I was referring to turbo models.
The 2017 Civic hatchback from which the Type R is loosely derived delivers 174-180 hp from Honda's 1.5-liter turbocharged engine. The Type R engine block is 2.0 liters and delivers 306 hp to a car weighing 3,115 pounds. That translates to, in terms racers appreciate, 153 hp per liter of engine displacement.Sep 5, 2017

 

[JTee2017]

Yeah I get what you mean about compact and sub compact.

I was referring to turbo models.
The 2017 Civic hatchback from which the Type R is loosely derived delivers 174-180 hp from Honda's 1.5-liter turbocharged engine. The Type R engine block is 2.0 liters and delivers 306 hp to a car weighing 3,115 pounds. That translates to, in terms racers appreciate, 153 hp per liter of engine displacement.Sep 5, 2017

Yup, good specs. But how many sales can they expect out of the racer interested segment? The majority of sales in the sub compact segments is for owners interested in daily drivers with just a smattering looking for the sportier, manual shift models. And few really interested in spending +$30,000 to even $40,000 on some sub compact ot compact performance model. . . if they can even find one.
So the thread was about Sonic sales dropping. All car and even truck sales started dropping from October through December. Part of that is the usual seasonal holiday drop.

With the Sonic, I think the biggest part of it is lack of inventory on dealer lots. But it is a cause and effect thing. Dealers are hesitant to stock too many entry level sub compact vehicles. They can sell more SUVs and trucks. Customer comes in to look at sub compacts. . . only one or two on the lot. So it becomes a vicious cycle. No or little Sonic inventory, no sales. Dealer sells more SUVs and trucks and would rather use the lot room for vehicles that sell so orders little in the sub compact group. I think Honda, Mazda, KIA, and Nissan might require dealers to accept a certain minimum level of all vehicle categories including sub compact.

Back in September of last year when I bought my Sonic, I was hard pressed to find a dealer with more than 2 to 5 Sonics and over half of those were sedans. I am fortunate to live 35 miles from two medium sized cities and 75 miles form a large metro area with some 22 Chevy dealers. I also looked up to 150 miles away. I found the one I bought in the large metro area and it was one of the two colors I was looking for.

Chevy has more invested into the Cruze and did sell a lot of those. I did not care for it, and the truth is, little more space and comfort in the Cruze than in the Sonic. The Cruze hatch rear roofline limits rear cargo entry and space. I was amazed that the Sonic offered the space it does, comfortable seating, and over all great drive characteristics.

I said it before. The sub compact Sonic has close too or as much interior room as some compacts like the Ford Focus. And, take a look at the interior specs of the Chevy Trax and Buick Encore those little CUVs. The Sonic is built on the same platform and has nearly the same space. Yet people prefer the CUV thinking it is more roomy, but barely so and carries a lot more weight so is slower and less nimble in driving.

It is what it is I guess. In some ways, just too many choices out there.

 

[RSRick]

Now that the December numbers are in, GM sold only 30,290 Sonics nationwide in all of 2017, by far the lowest full-year total since the model was introduced in 2011.

An accompanying article from that link suggests lack of support (advertising, incentives) from GM as well as - this is interesting to me - a pullback by GM on sales to the daily car-rental industry. I had never heard of such a thing as the Chevrolet Sonic until I rented a subcompact from Enterprise for a trip - I always rent subcompacts (Versa Note, Veloster) for their good gas mileage, and I prefer hatchbacks - and all Enterprise had was this thing called a "Chervolet Sonic". It was a sedan, too, and I've never owned a sedan.

I wonder how many potential buyers first "discover" a model by renting one? I'd never thought of that as a marketing strategy, but it must be. The only reason I even looked to buy a Sonic six months later was because I'd rented that one for a week and loved it.

Advertising? I never watch the TeeVee except some away games for my hometown NFL team, and generally the only advertising one sees during NFL games is big bloated trucks and luxury cars, but even in the commercials that promote Chevrolet's broader product line I've never seen a Sonic. But in this connected world, it would seem odd for ANYBODY to go 6 full years and never have heard of a car model by a major American automaker.

The inventory theory is interesting, but it may be a "chicken and egg" thing as JTee2017 suggested. When i went "Sonic shopping" in November using the inventory links on Chevrolet dot com, the dealer I went to - one of the largest in Charlotte - had at least a half-dozen 2017 Sonics and the prices were ridiculously low. Mine had been sitting on the dealer's lot for nearly SIX MONTHS and had 12 miles on it - literally one or two test drives. That amazed me. Now my particular model is a Premier RS sedan that had a sticker price of $23,020, and maybe nobody who was in the market for an economical subcompact wanted to spend over 23 thousand bucks. When the price came down to $17,050, that was a different story!

I just think that US autobuying habits are still idiotic. In the same year that GM sold 30,000 Sonics, it sold over 585,000 Silverados! Now that's just nuts.

 

[JTee2017]

My sale on the Sonic LT Hatchback was similar. I could have gotten it in August, but wasn't really ready. Then, incentives dropped a bit in September and finally I got a call from the sales guy I had previously talked to via email.

He called me and said there was another $1,000 off because of time in inventory. . . over 8 months. The car had 7 miles on it when I took it for a test drive.

 

[Ponchoguy]

Now that the December numbers are in, GM sold only 30,290 Sonics nationwide in all of 2017, by far the lowest full-year total since the model was introduced in 2011.

An accompanying article from that link suggests lack of support (advertising, incentives) from GM as well as - this is interesting to me - a pullback by GM on sales to the daily car-rental industry. I had never heard of such a thing as the Chevrolet Sonic until I rented a subcompact from Enterprise for a trip - I always rent subcompacts (Versa Note, Veloster) for their good gas mileage, and I prefer hatchbacks - and all Enterprise had was this thing called a "Chervolet Sonic". It was a sedan, too, and I've never owned a sedan.

I wonder how many potential buyers first "discover" a model by renting one? I'd never thought of that as a marketing strategy, but it must be. The only reason I even looked to buy a Sonic six months later was because I'd rented that one for a week and loved it.

Advertising? I never watch the TeeVee except some away games for my hometown NFL team, and generally the only advertising one sees during NFL games is big bloated trucks and luxury cars, but even in the commercials that promote Chevrolet's broader product line I've never seen a Sonic. But in this connected world, it would seem odd for ANYBODY to go 6 full years and never have heard of a car model by a major American automaker.

The inventory theory is interesting, but it may be a "chicken and egg" thing as JTee2017 suggested. When i went "Sonic shopping" in November using the inventory links on Chevrolet dot com, the dealer I went to - one of the largest in Charlotte - had at least a half-dozen 2017 Sonics and the prices were ridiculously low. Mine had been sitting on the dealer's lot for nearly SIX MONTHS and had 12 miles on it - literally one or two test drives. That amazed me. Now my particular model is a Premier RS sedan that had a sticker price of $23,020, and maybe nobody who was in the market for an economical subcompact wanted to spend over 23 thousand bucks. When the price came down to $17,050, that was a different story!

I just think that US autobuying habits are still idiotic. In the same year that GM sold 30,000 Sonics, it sold over 585,000 Silverados! Now that's just nuts.

It's not likely that the same buyer for a Sonic would be in the market for a pickup truck, but there are always exceptions. Plus, you might have one "econo-box" and one pickup, all for of course different reasons.

But, since fuel is relatively cheap overall, that might lead people to buy big trucks. I remember years back when fuel was expensive, here in NYC, you'd see some of the bigger vehicles that well had a little heat added to them (burned on the side of the road for insurance....). Fortunately, you don't see too many abandoned cars like that in more recent years.....