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Mazda6, Honda CR-V and an Autoblogger's BMW Z3 | Autoblog Podcast #620

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by West Coast Editor James Riswick and Road Test Editor Zac Palmer. First, they talk about the cars that have been in their driveways, like the Mazda6, Lexus UX 250h and Honda CR-V, as well as Riswick's own BMW Z3 (where he actually recorded the podcast from). Then they discuss the news, which includes car dealers moving to digital commerce and other updates about — you guessed it — coronavirus, and how it's affecting the automotive industry. Finally, they take to Twitter to help a follower choose a weekend convertible for long, isolated drives in this week's "Spend My Money" segment. Autoblog Podcast #620 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving 2020 Mazda6 Signature 2020 Lexus UX 250h Honda CR-V 1998 BMW Z3 2.8 Virtual dealers Coronavirus update Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video:

More than half of Mazdas sold in 2018 are CX-5s, and other interesting sales facts

Last year was a seriously good year for carmakers. Overall, more vehicles were sold than in 2017, and the total number wasn't far off of the all-time record in 2016. Digging deeper into the numbers, you'll find some pretty usual stuff including the Ford F-Series still being the bestselling pickup truck in America, and a continued trend toward crossovers. But there are also some oddball factoids tucked in these sales reports, some that defy the trends, and some that are extremes of the public's buying preferences. We've compiled several interesting tidbits from last year's sales right here for your enjoyment. More than half of Mazda's sales were of CX-5s Yes, over half of all Mazda sales were of this one model. The company sold 300,325 cars in America last year, and 150,622 of them were CX-5 crossovers, or 50.1 percent. Just for emphasis, that means the other 49.8 percent of Mazda's sales were split among five other models, the Miata, 3, 6, CX-3 and CX-9. Breaking that down further, the second-best seller was the Mazda3 at 64,638, which isn't even half of the CX-5's sales. People are crazy for Mazda's middle crossover. Volkswagen actually sold more cars than crossovers It's clear that the crossover is the future king of car sales. For most mainstream brands, it already is. Chevy, Ford, Honda, Toyota, Subaru, Mazda and Nissan all sold more crossovers and SUVs than they did conventional sedans and hatchbacks. There are holdouts, though, and one of them is Volkswagen. At the end of 2018, the company sold 189,343 cars and 164,721 crossovers in the U.S. So that's one win for the classic car set, and it's justification for VW to maintain its car line for the foreseeable future. It's a bit of a hollow victory, though. Look closer and you'll see that car sales were down 28 percent from 2017, when VW sold 262,029 cars. Crossovers, on the other hand, jumped 112 percent from 2017 when 77,647 crossovers moved through U.S. dealers. So expect the tables to turn very soon. Mustang is still the muscle-car sales king, but Challenger is the only one to improve Once again, the Ford Mustang topped the muscle-car sales charts, beating out the Dodge Challenger and Chevy Camaro. Ford moved 75,842 of the ponies in 2018, while Dodge sold 66,716 Challengers for second place, and Chevy sold 50,963 Camaros to bring up the rear.

How Lexus, Infiniti plan to win back luxury buyers from Germans, Tesla

DETROIT — Japanese luxury auto brands Lexus and Infiniti have used the Detroit Auto Show to test new ways to regain momentum against Germany's prestige automakers and Tesla. The Japanese are fighting to gain ground in the U.S. luxury market as Audi and Mercedes-Benz have expanded sales and Tesla has provided a fresh alternative to established brands. Last year, Lexus suffered a 7.6 percent slide in U.S. sales. Acura's 2017 sales fell 3.9 percent from 2016. Infiniti pushed up sales by 11.3 percent — but by selling almost twice as many sport utility vehicles as cars. However, Infiniti's total 2017 sales of 153,415 vehicles put it behind the leading Germany luxury car brands, as well as Acura, Lexus and Cadillac. The Lexus LF-1 Limitless concept SUV model, with its futuristic looks and "Chauffeur mode" semi-autonomous hands-off driving capabilities, signals that Toyota's luxury brand may start to focus more on SUVs than traditional large sedans. The LF-1 also previews a futuristic navigation technology that anticipates where the driver is going based on driving habits and history, and provides hotel recommendations or other concierge services. View 13 Photos "We don't want to be the 'race car' brand; we don't want to be the 'quiet ride' brand. We want to be the brand which is emotionally connected with the customer," said Cooper Ericksen, vice president of U.S. marketing for Lexus. Lexus, Infiniti and Acura launched in the U.S. market in the late 1980s and took advantage of quality problems at Audi and a lack of innovation at the then-leading luxury brands, Cadillac and Lincoln. Now, the structure of the U.S. luxury market has changed. Four brands — Mercedes, BMW, Audi and Lexus — dominate. Tesla delivered 103,000 vehicles in 2017, its best year ever, though that total is still a small fraction of the overall luxury market. Tesla, meanwhile, is trying to overcome "production hell" and increase output of its more affordable compact Model 3 sedan. The highly anticipated car is just starting to reach customers — but with 400,000 preorders, 2018 could be a breakthrough year for Tesla. View 19 Photos In Detroit, Infiniti showed the Q Inspiration Concept sedan powered by a unique, high-efficiency variable-compression gasoline engine. While the prototype is not electric, its exterior might appeal to customers of the Tesla Model S.