In so many ways, 2005 doesn’t sound like the distant past. Yet in 2005, brands that have been killed off by General Motors accounted for 9 per cent of auto sales in Canada. Suzuki was selling more than 700 vehicles per month. The Mitsubishi Diamante hadn’t yet checked out. There were eight vehicles in Mazda’s lineup: one-quarter were sports cars, and one-quarter had sliding doors.
The list of changes is too long to list. But the list of elements that stayed the same, while short, is profound. Many top-tier competitors from way, way back in 2005 remain No. 1 in their respective categories 15 years later. In fact, they are in certain instances more dominant than ever. 4. Ford FocusAfter years of neglect, the North American car market that was for so long served the ho-hum Escort was finally given a high-class effort in the form of the Focus in 2000.
Fast forward 15 years and the Mazda 3 now ranks 27th. Mazda 3 sales topped the 50,000 mark in 2005 – 50,713 to be precise – but tumbled to just 21,276 in 2019. Through 2020’s first 11 months, 11,965 3s have been sold in Canada. 3. Jeep LibertyOft derided for poor reliability and generally shoddy build quality – along with a horribly clattery diesel engine option – the Jeep Liberty was nevertheless an extremely popular SUV in 2005, its fifth year on the market. In total, 13,282 Liberty SUVs were sold in 2005.
Ford’s fourth-generation Escape has had a tough start, launching not many months before a pandemic sent craters into the auto market. The Escape is now Canada’s fifth-ranked utility vehicle with 17,920 sales through 2020’s first nine months.
Source: Car News Wire (carnewswire.net)