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What may seem odd to you is some car companies aren’t pushing massive production of their cars in order to have high sales, instead they are looking to offer some of the best quality automobiles found anywhere in the world. When you head about a car being one of the worst-selling for a year, its car to take that knowledge at face value, instead you need to find out what the model actually was and what the sales goal for that model was to begin with.
Keeping that in mind, the thirteen (even the number of models is ominous) worst-selling cars are some of the most amazing models ever seen on any road. Take a look at this list and enjoy the dream of owning one of these awesome cars that has limited sales and production on purpose.
The G-Class is the high quality top of the line SUV offering from Mercedes-Benz. The G-Class shows up with a square body shape that is a true throwback to the days of old when the SUV was simply a box on wheels that resembled a truck in many ways. Even though it is sort of ugly, it has always had a great following of rich buyers who seem to enjoy the drive of this well engineered top of the line SUV that looks more like it belongs on a military base than on the road or even on the trails. Even though it made this list, it did have an eighteen percent increase in sales for 2014 over previous year.
The QX50 simply hasn’t found it niche just yet. This model replaced the EX and that may be cause for some confusion and explain the low sales. This is a great entry level luxury crossover SUV that makes for an enticing and dynamic drive. As expected from any Infiniti product, the QX50 is laden with luxury features to enjoy and will keep all aboard entertained while the driver uses the dynamic all-wheel-drive to find the next great camping spot or lakeside for some fun. Even though the sales were small, they grew by 34 percent over 2013, giving Infiniti some hope for this excellent offering.
Holding the SS back from having great sales is the limited production as this is one of the best cars on the road. The SS is the perfect spy or undercover car as looking at it would not give anyone the idea it’s as powerful as it really is, but this beast is toting a huge V8 engine under the hood and can really blow much of the competition away when on the road. The SS of old was truly a car that was used to lead others but look similar to them and was a favorite among moonshiners. Low sales are not a problem for the SS, the limited production has created a higher demand for the car than Chevrolet expected.
The BMW Z4 offers a grand sportiness in a roadster that the Miata wishes it could be (and that’s really saying something) as the Z4 offers the power, precision in handling and performance it the supper sports car offering from BMW that few have bought but many wish they could. The Z4 is another limited production model that makes others see the taillights more than any other part of the car and offer a quickness of steering that is great for handling curvy canyon runs or some dynamic driving in the countryside.
Unfortunately the iQ does not fit into the realm of limited production cars, it’s a limited niche car actually. The iQ competes somewhere between the Smart Fortwo and the Fiat 500 and is a tiny car. Being in such a small market that many shoppers don’t look to means the iQ would have limited sales, but Scion understood this going in and wanted to offer this car as a great choice for those who want a small, park anywhere type of car to drive. Even though it has not seen great sales the sales it has received are better than expected as the iQ has developed a loyal, albeit tiny, following.
This of course is a limited production car and offers amazing performance features to be enjoyed by those who can afford this awesome car. Unfortunately the sales were not as great as expected for the XK instead they were sluggish because Jaguar is full of a fresh lineup of sedans, coupes and sports cars which makes the XK the most overlooked awesome car in the arsenal. Even with these less than expected sales, a redesign may be in order for the XK to give it more of chance at competing highly in the market that Jaguar lives in. Until then, those who did buy the XK have a fantastic coupe or convertible to enjoy a dynamic drive in one of the best cars ever made.
Not surprising and highly limited, the GT-R only sold 1280 cars in 2014, but that doesn’t mean it was not a huge success. Only so many can afford this highly dynamic ultra-powerful car that makes looks awesome and gives fits to the American sports car models at the track and on the road. If you are looking for an exclusive and awesome car, the Nissan GT-R makes one of the best choices you can make for a car that will give you everything it has and keep on pushing the limits.
The K900 is the greatest car Kia has offered as a production model. Although Kia did limit the overall production of this car, the K900 was not limited by the production but by the name which has not become synonymous with luxury and comfort. Built to compete with luxury brands, the K900 shows a positive trend toward a lower priced luxury car, which we have already seen with Lexus, and should give Kia the pleasure of knowing this car will increase in sales as the name becomes better known as having a great luxury model in its brand lineup.
This comes as no surprise as like the Scion iQ the Cadillac ELR plays in a very small niche market. This market is the same as the Chevrolet Volt, but for a luxury car, which typically is harder to sell. The ELR is one of the most dynamic EV models on the market, full of awesome luxury features to enjoy and a look that reflects the new lineup from Cadillac. As one of the only all electric luxury models the ELR continues to increase in sales, but high sales numbers are not expected until driving an EV luxury car becomes more mainstream than it is right now.
The reason for the sales drop for the TT is the expectation of what is to come as the TT will be all new for its third generation model in 2016. The overall sales of the TT over the two generations so far have been over half a million units and a slow year for 2014 was expected as the new tooling is put in place for the next generation. This of course is a great example of another challenge for car makers face on a regular basis which is keeping interest in the year before a new generation is being launched.
The R8 shows up just shy of the truly exotic cars as a high powered, performance laden offering from Audi that shows off with precise controls and a full slate of awesome luxury features. This is another example of a truly limited production car as the price was typically out of range, causing Audi to only make a few of these at a time. The power is packed by both V8 and V10 engines that are mated to a seven-speed automatic transmission or a dynamic six-speed manual. The 550 horsepower is not what kept sales low, simply the limited run of this awesome car that Audi knew from the outset would be lucky to sell 500 units worldwide. Because they exceeded that number, this can be considered a success.
Another fantastic but highly limited model. The Viper SRT is an American born car that has its sights set on crushing the European competition and to do that comes at a very high price tag overall. The Viper has nothing short of a V10 and a supercharger to ensure the most power is pulled out of this snake and injected to the wheels for serious speed. Add the awesome handling and precise control this car offers and the Viper becomes one of the most amazing cars to every prowl any streets. The slow sales were certainly expected at the priced asked for but like the R8, the Viper SRT was actually a success.
If I told you selling 57 cars would be a success you would probably laugh in my face, but that is the sales total for the 918 Spyder. At nearly $1 million for the sticker price, the 918 Spyder is the perfect example of V8 power combined with instant torque from the pair of electric motors make the 918 show up with 887 horsepower and a look that is pure speed and exhilaration on the road. This car can reach a top speed of 211 mph and is only built when ordered, similar to many of the other European exotics, even though it is built by a global leader that we are all familiar with.
As you can easily see, low sales number don’t always translate to a failure, but in some cases a huge and stunning success. It all depends upon how you read the numbers, when introducing a new model sometimes it takes time to gain traction or recognition for your name like the Kia K900. At other times you may be working in a very niche market such as the one the Scion iQ and Cadillac ELR end up in, it all depends on how you look at the results.
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