Yesterday we told you that Ford’s hybrid sales were up 73% over last year but we had no idea the Detroit automaker was going to see this kind of success. Recent reports have surfaced that suggest Ford is dangerously close to surpassing Honda as the second best hybrid seller in the United States.

Let’s take a look at some numbers: Honda has sold 29,958 hybrid vehicles so far this year which is a 8% increase over last year while Ford sold 26,016 vehicles, a 73% increase over last year like we already told you.

If these trends continue, by this time next year we may very well be seeing the U.S. hybrid seller top 3 looking like Toyota, Ford, Honda. But don’t pop the champagne yet, Ford, there’s still a lot of work to be done.

via autobloggreen

No matter who you were, 2008 was a horrible year economically and if you were in the auto industry you felt it more than anyone else. Further proving this fact, Ford has today announced that their hybrid sales are up 73% over last year.

Below David Finnegan, marketing manger for Ford’s hybrid division, comments below:

Hybrid customers increasingly are considering Ford. More than 60 percent of Fusion Hybrid sales have been from non-Ford owners, and more than half of those are customers coming from import brands, mostly from Toyota and Honda.

Of course, Toyota is still the leading hybrid car seller with 144,351 units sold for the first 9 months of 2009, as compared to Ford’s 26,016. However, this is certainly a good thing for the American auto industry and they are going to need all the good things they can get.

via greencarcongress

It seems that the Japanese success of the Prius fueled by government incentives, among other things, was a bit higher than Toyota had expected. The automaker reportedly sold 31,758 of the highly sought after vehicle in the month of September which, according to Autoblog, marks the 5th consecutive month that the Prius has been the top selling car in Japan.

That’s not the problem, however, as the real problem is that the success has been so great that if you were to order a 2010 Prius in Japan, the chances of you getting one before May 2010 are slim to none.

Let’s see how the 2010 Toyota Prius holds up in North America.

The NHSTA has recently announced that they will begin selling lightly crash tested, low mileage vehicles. Of course, the fact that they have been crash tested will make them undriveable.

If, however, you are looking for a part for your vehicle or perhaps the entire engine these cars are perfect for that application.

Check out the list of cars available at GSAAuctions.gov.

For the car buffs, here is a rare black Ferrari that should interest you. Only 399 models of this black Ferrari Enzo were built in 2003 and now one of them is being offered for sale over at eBay for a whopping $1.3 million. The vehicle is in pristine condition and is actually one of three with the same specs in the U.S.

Among the highlights of this black Ferrari Enzo include original window stickers, 2 keys, a car cover, battery tender and luggage. This is definitely a car worth getting especially for car geeks who are avid fans of Ferrari models.

(Source) Bornrich

This may be the weirdest piece of news I’ve been able to put out in a long time; while car sales are falling off in virtually every category, there’s a bright spot in the car market–after market parts sales.

Things like car stereos, in-car video, car speakers and other such items look to top well over nine billion dollars in total sales this year.

And frankly, this makes a whole lot of sense.  Given that the car sales market is falling off, people are looking to make their old car last longer and run better and be just plain old more enjoyable.  So they’re looking at better stereos and navigational gear and all these new and interesting gadgets designed to improve the quality of life in the car.

Since fewer and fewer are looking to buy, more and more are looking to keep, and keeping means a brisk market for improvements.

As if you needed any more proof that the Cash for Clunkers program was a success — It was recently made known that dealers across the United States have reached their lowest inventory levels since 1975. And, while this may seem like a bad thing, this is great considering the slow auto sales caused by the recession.

However, this isn’t all peaches, considering demand is expected to shrink a hefty amount considering there are no more Cash for Clunkers incentives. Luckily though, due to the low inventory, automakers will now be able to supply dealers with an appropriate amount of vehicles to keep up with demand. So, in turn, there won’t be a ridiculous amount of cars sitting on the lots which got us into this mess in the first place.

via kickingtires

Well, surprise, surprise…far be it from me to evangelize in a car piece, but it may not exactly be a surprise to anyone that eight of the top ten states to benefit from the US Government’s Cash for Clunkers program voted for Barack Obama back in 2008.  Even more interestingly, seven of the bottom ten voted for John McCain!

The larger breakdown went down like this:  the twenty eight states Obama won in 2008 requested just over two billion in rebates.  Meanwhile, the states that voted for McCain have requested three quarters of a billion dollars in rebates.

It’s almost a three to one difference!

Possible causes?  Well, there are more blue states, for one.  And there are more people IN those states, for the most part.  So that’s at least one possibility.  Some have suggested a note of concern for the environment, but others have said it was a matter of sheer desperation.  In fact, in some places, dealers were matching the clunker rebate with their OWN rebate.  It was possible to get nine grand knocked off the price of a car, and with deals like that, anyone even vaguely thinking about a new car is going to strike while that particular iron is hot.

And that particular iron, ladies and gentlemen, practically burned through the table it was resting on.

Now here’s something I bet the government didn’t think of before they gave the go ahead for the Cash for Clunkers program — Recent reports have surfaced that suggest due to cars being sentenced to death (via sodium solicate) instead of heading to the junk yard, it has become increasingly difficult for destruction derby goers to find project cars.

In fact, head of the Demolition Derby Drivers Association Tory Schutte has gone so far to target the president directly:

“Obama is an anti-demo-derby guy. He’s targeting the cars we’ve been using.”

So folks, what is your take on the matter? Do you think President Obama actually wanted to cripple demolition derby drivers? Or was he just trying to stimulate the economy? Conspiracy theorists need not apply.

via autoblog

Sure, the Chevy Camaro has outsold the Ford Mustang for the 3rd consecutive month but the same could not be said of the Toyota Prius. In fact, Kicking Tires reports that the Prius sold more than the Camaro, Mustang and Challenger combined.

Those numbers being 18,886, 8,680, 6,289 and 1,132 for the Prius, Camaro, Mustang and Challenger, respectively.

Now this shouldn’t come as a surprise to, well, anyone and will most likely prove itself to be a reoccurring trend considering rising gas prices and the fact that the Prius sips gas while the Camaro, Mustang and Challenger guzzle it.

Our friends over at Autoblog have recently compiled a list of monthly sales number and have come to an interesting conclusion; the Chevy Camaro has outsold the Ford Mustang for the third month in a row.

For the month of August, the Camaro sold 8,680 while the Mustang sold 6,289, sure it’s not the biggest gap every, but it’s certainly something. If you weren’t aware, this is such a big deal because normally Ford’s Mustang would outsell the Camaro pretty handidly.

Perhaps the Camaro’s appearance in Transformers had something to do with it?

Those who fanc electric vehicles, MINIs and live in the UK will be happy to hear that BMW has begun accepting applications to lease one of 20 of their MINI Es.

What’s even better is BMW will be offering the £550 monthly lease for just £330 courtesy of a £25 million grant from the Technology Strategy Board. According to the press release, those who lease the car will be supplied with a 240V/32 amp charging unit that will make for a total charging time of just 4.5 hours. Additionally, BMW will supply a 13 amp socket adapter for those who request it.

The application to lease the above vehicle is located here.

Sure, it’s not a car but it gets you from point A to B and doesn’t require any fossil fuels which is OK in my book. What you see above is Brammo’s Enertia all electric motorcycle that has recently been put up for sale at select Best Buy stores on the West Coast.

If you haven’t been following this particular vehicle, the Enertia will start at $11,995 and feature a 50 mile range per charge in addition to a 55mph+ top speed.

According to Autoblog, all you need is a drivers license with motorcycle endorsement to test drive one of these bad boys.

Toyota has really been issuing the recalls left and right lately — Their latest recall affects 95,700 vehicles including the 2009-2010 Corolla and Matrix along with the 2008-2009 1.8-liter engine touting Scion xD.

The recall deals with braking problems caused by condensation and ice formations that could lead the power assisted brakes to malfunction. This malfunction can lead to an increased stopping distance and ultimately brake failure.

Below is the like of 19 states that the recall is valid in:

Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

As always, Toyota says to head to your local dealership to get the problem looked at.

via Press

What you see above is the image taken for the website for Benny Boyd GM SuperStore, a dealership located in Lamesa, Texas. As you can see, there is a man standing behind a 2010 Chevy Camaro SS giving viewers the birdy, but why?

While there is no telling why this image was put up or who the man is but considering it’s since been taken down we are going to assume it was an accident.

Perhaps the man is telling you that you will basically be giving the whole world the birdie if you buy the car. Then again, maybe not.

via jalopnik