Craig Fisher, president of Fisher Auto in Boulder.
In its 50th year of operation in Boulder, Fisher Auto has acquired the Acura luxury line of automobiles to go with its longtime Honda franchise.
To make room for the pairing of Acura and Honda, Fisher has returned its Kia dealership of the past eight years to the Kia manufacturer.
“It seems a good time to add Acura,” said Craig Fisher, president of Fisher Auto, “with re-imaging of the popular MDX sport utility, improvements in the RLX full-size sedan and upcoming redesign of the smaller RDX crossover for 2019.”
The dealerships will be housed at opposite ends of Fisher’s large structure on 9 acres at 6025 Arapahoe Rd. in Boulder. The Acura franchise, formerly Flatirons Acura, was opened in Boulder in the late 1980s by the late Bill Crouch.
Bob Fisher and his wife, Madelyne, established Fisher Auto in Boulder in 1968; he had begun work in the automotive field with Burt Chevrolet in 1947.
Son Craig and daughter Lynn, along with Craig’s sons-in-law, Mark Brady and Scott Shimer, operate the Fisher business today. Craig heads the dealership, Lynn is vice president and secretary, and Brady and Shimer are executive directors.
The F-150 Super Crew helped Ford lead pickup sales for 40th-plus year.
Blame it on lack of performance from its 132-horsepower engine and CVT transmission that the Toyota Corolla dropped almost 50,000 sales the past year, yet the good-looking compact remains the third-best-selling sedan in the country.
Dependability and style are pluses for 2018 Toyota Corolla.
Toyota’s midsize model, the Camry, on the basis of a sales surge in December, was the top-selling car in America in 2017, ahead of the Honda Civic and the Corolla. It is the 21st time in the past 22 years the Camry has led car sales in the U.S.
For sheer domination, though, climb up into the big Ford F-series, which has led truck sales for more than 40 years, dating back into the mid-1970s. Ford’s total of almost 900,000 sales (896,764) of pickups dwarfs all others – the Chevy Silverado and Ram in trucks and the Camry in cars.
With more and more consumers switching from cars to light trucks and SUV/crossovers, sales of cars and trucks in 2017 totaled 17.25 million, just short of the total of 17.55 million in 2016.
The Toyota RAV4 edged the Nissan Rogue for top spot among SUVs and crossovers, while the Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Pacifica of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles outsold the Toyota Sienna and Honda Odyssey among minivans.
The Subaru Impreza was redesigned in the past year.
Regarding the 2018 Toyota Corolla, though losing some sales to strong-performing compacts Honda Civic, Mazda3, Subaru Impreza and Ford Focus, it remains a popular choice among consumers seeking style, reliability and high fuel economy. Sized about the same as a Chevy Cruze, the Corolla provided good ride and decent maneuvering, and averaged an impressive 34.3 miles per gallon. The well-equipped XSE version, with adaptive cruise control and automatic emergency braking, carried sticker price of $25,337. It is assembled in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada.
On the plus side of sales in 2017, biggest gainers among all models were the Ford F-series and the Nissan Rogue, with increases of 76,000 and 73,000, respectively. Other major gains were by the Toyota RAV4, Chevy Equinox, Nissan Titan, Subaru Impreza, Jeep Grand Cherokee and Toyota Highlander.
The 2018 version of the hot-selling Nissan Rogue.
Sharpest drop in numbers of cars sold was by Hyundai’s midsize sedan, the Sonata, which fell from almost 200,000 sales in 2016 to 131,803 in the past year. Three other midsize models suffered sharply declined totals, including Ford Fusion, Nissan Altima and Chevy Malibu, as well as Toyota Corolla, Kia Soul and Toyota Prius in other categories.
Among four crossover models grouped within less than 200 sales apart are the Kia Niro with 27,237, the Lexus GX 27,190, Volkswagen Atlas 27,119 and Lincoln MKC 27,042.
Following are 2017’s top sellers of new cars, SUV/crossovers, trucks and vans in the U.S.:
Lincoln Continental AWD Black Label sedan. (Bud Wells photos)
It’s after catching my breath from a busy 2017 that I offer greetings for the new year.
Nearly 100 new cars, trucks and SUVs were sent my way during the past 12 months. The delivery on Nov. 10 of the 2017 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport marked the 2,100th new car or truck I’ve driven and reviewed over the past 40 years.
Two of my favorites for ’17 were the Lincoln Continental and the Audi Q7, and I offer them as my selections for “best of the year.”
Car of the Year – Of the Lincoln Continental AWD Black Label four-door, I said in August, “I’ve just finished driving the best-looking and most-comfortable new luxury sedan sold in the U.S.” Inside and out, the flagship replacement for the MKS is a standout. Its alpine venetian leather interior is as plush as anything in the luxury field, its seats are inspired by private jets and its twin-turbo, 3.0-liter V-6 engine (with electronic push-button shifter controls) produces 400 horsepower and 400 lb.-ft. of torque. Its paddle shifters were effective in a drive toward Allenspark and, particularly, through the twisting narrow lanes of the Raymond community. Sticker price was $74,815.
The Audi Q7 was filled with autonomous safety innovation.
Truck/SUV of the Year – It took Audi 10 years to restyle its seven-passenger Q7 flagship SUV; it took me the better part of an hour and about 50 miles to forget all about that and become actively engaged instead in its high-tech electronic advances, somewhat of a next-generation marvel. Heading into a near-60-degree turn on Colo. 392, I turned loose of the steering wheel and removed my foot from the accelerator. The Audi read the traffic sign and quickly slowed speed to the posted 45 miles per hour, then its active lane assist took control and turned the Q7 inward upon approaching the road-edge stripe and completed the turn before straightening the car’s path down the highway. The refashioned Q7, with a 333-horsepower, supercharged 3.0-liter V-6 engine and 8-speed automatic transmission, was sticker priced at $68,925.
Here, briefly, are other highs and a few lows of the year:
Italian-built Alfa Romeo Giulia is suited to Colorado.
Best drive – Guiding Alfa Romeo’s new Giulia luxury sport sedan up Poudre Canyon, over Cameron Pass, down to Walden for lunch, northward past Cowdrey to Laramie, Wyo., and back through Fort Collins in July. The Guilia is built in Italy, and, with all-wheel drive, is ready for driving the U.S.’s tougher terrains, such as Colorado.
Best new color – The canyon beige metallic (gold) on the 2018 Mercedes-Benz GLA250 4Matic subcompact SUV crossover, just a shade better than the chroma elite copper finish of the 2017 Lincoln Continental AWD Black Label sedan.
Best sound – The Bower & Wilkins $3,200 option in the 2018 Volvo XC60, with 15 high-fidelity loudspeakers and 1,100 watts of amplification. The occupants are entertained as though they’re in the center of the Gothenburg Concert Hall.
Priciest – The 2017 Mercedes-Benz SL450, with biturbo power, at $108,385.
Cheapest – The Kia Rio EX sedan, redesigned for 2018, at $19,425.
MPG – Kia’s new Niro Hybrid, with 1.6-liter 4-cylinder engine and 43-horsepower electric motor and smooth-shifting 6-speed dual-clutch transmission, averaged 50.1 miles per gallon. The 2018 Camry Hybrid averaged 45, as we observed Toyota’s 60th anniversary of car sales in the U.S.
The Subaru Impreza underwent major restyling for 2017.
Low-end – The Ram Power Wagon 4X4, with 410-horsepower, 6.4-liter Hemi V-8, averaged 12.4 mpg in offroad testing, and the Toyota Tundra AWD, with 5.7-liter V-8, averaged 15 on drive to Torrington, Wyo., and back to view the Eclipse.
Comeback – Once referred to as “the ugly duckling,” the restyled Impreza is impressive for 2017, and its improved sales reflect the efforts of Subaru designers in the makeover.
Powerful – 707 horsepower from a Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat with 6.2-liter supercharged Hemi V-8 linked to an 8-speed automatic transmission (0 to 60 in 3.5 seconds).
Most powerful was the Dodge Challenger Hellcat.
10-speeds – The first, mated to an EcoBoost 3.5-liter V-6, was in a Ford F-150 driven to the Denver Press Club’s annual Hall of Fame dinner, followed shortly by the test of a 2018 Honda Odyssey minivan equipped with the first 10-speed tranny in a front-wheel-drive vehicle.
Cute – The Toyota C-HR. I have never like “cute” in a car’s description, but this one, yeh, it’s kind of cute. Its quirky style and bright iceberg/radiant green finish drew much attention.
Best e-mail – “Are they crushed?,” asked one reader, wondering what happens to all those 500 new cars following the close of the Denver Auto Show. No, they’re returned to the new-car dealer lots and to the manufacturers from where they came.
Quirky means cute in the new Toyota C-HR.
Cinnamon rolls – Those made by Steve and Becky Childs when we showed up in a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon Recon at their Glen Haven General Store shortly before the road was closed in early October.
Jan’s favorite – The 2018 Volvo XC60 T6 Inscription, which carried us to DIA in late September for a flight to Phoenix.
Toyota’s first model in the U.S. was the 1957 Toyopet Crown, a slow seller. (Toyota)
From a funny-looking Toyopet Crown, which got Toyota almost laughed off the U.S. market before it really got started in the late 1950s, to today’s perennial sales-leading Camry sedan, the Japanese firm has established an iconic presence alongside Ford, GM and Chrysler in this country’s automotive scene.
Toyota this fall is celebrating its 60th anniversary in the U.S. It started Oct. 31, 1957, in a 3,000-square-foot, one-time Rambler dealership in Hollywood, Calif.
The 2018 Toyota Camry Hybrid XLE sedan. (Bud Wells photo)
In observance of its anniversary, I’ve driven a 2018 Camry Hybrid. Since 2000 and the introduction of the Prius, Toyota has been the leading seller of gas/electric hybrid cars in the U.S.
Toyota operates 10 manufacturing facilities in this country, has nearly 1,500 Toyota and Lexus dealerships and 136,000 direct, dealer and supplier U.S. employees. The company has unified its engineering, sales, marketing, financial services and corporate functions in one location in Plano, Texas.
At its start in California, Toyota offered two models, the Toyopet and the Land Cruiser. The Corolla followed in the early ‘60s, the Celica and Supra in the ‘70s and Camry and 4Runner in the ‘80s.
By the end of 1975, Toyota surpassed Volkswagen to become the No. 1 import brand in the United States.
Among memorable Toyota models I’ve driven and reviewed over the past 40 years are a 1980 Celica USGP (United States Grand Prix), 1981 small diesel pickup which averaged 27 miles per gallon, the extremely quick ’93 Supra Turbo (it went from Franktown to Castle Rock in about five blinks), the new Prius Hybrid in 2000, the tough little Tacoma truck, the recent introduction of the quirky C-HR and many others.
Since that first Prius hybrid showed up in 2000, Toyota has led sales of gas/electric hybrids. The Prius, Ford Fusion hybrid and Toyota RAV4 are top sellers after 10 months of this year, followed by a new entry, the Kia Niro. Following are the top 10 hybrids in sales at the beginning of November:
Toyota Prius Liftback 55,443; Ford Fusion 49,764; Toyota RAV4 41,364; Kia Niro 22,605; Honda Accord 19,262; Toyota Camry 15,369; Toyota Highlander 13,865; Toyota Prius C 10,607; Hyundai Ioniq 8,997; Hyundai Sonata 8,472; Ford C-Max 8,331; Toyota Prius V 8,299; Lexus RX450h 6,848; Lincoln MKZ 4,990; Lexus CT200h 4,673; Lexus ES 4,337; Toyota Avalon 4,215; Chevrolet Malibu 3,799; Kia Optima 3,126; Lexus NX 2,161.
The 2017 Toyota 4Runner at the Wyoming Hereford Ranch early this year. (Bud Wells)
Of the top 20 sellers of hybrid models, 11 of them are either Toyota or Lexus products.
The 2018 Camry Hybrid XLE four-door sports a large, new smiley grille up front and a neat, swept-back look at the rear. The review model was finished in blue crush metallic exterior and brightened on the interior with light-colored leather and a moonroof.
The gas engine is a 176-horsepower, 2.5-liter 4-cylinder mated to a much-improved continuously variable transmission. The electric motor is of 188 horsepower; horsepower rating for the combined system is 208. The XLE’s nickel-metal hydride battery pack is stored under the seat, leaving normal cargo space in the trunk. A lithium-ion battery pack is available in a cheaper, lighter version of the Camry, with resultant fuel mileage sometimes exceeding 50.
The Camry Hybrid XLE averages around 45 miles per gallon, whether driving around the city or cruising on the highway. The only decline from that high figure occurred twice, both times when I pulled onto E470 and increased speed to the 75 to 80 pace from a 65-miles-per-hour pace on U.S. 85. Overall average was 45.1 mpg.
It develops excellent torque with the instant response of the electric motor, and spurts out quickly with a punch of the throttle.
The Camry provides a nice ride, softened some by a new, double-wishbone-style multilink rear suspension with stabilizer bar, sport-tuned shocks and springs. It rides on Hankook Synergy 235/45R18 tires.
This year’s Camry Hybrid’s wheelbase of 111.2 inches is 2 inches longer than last year’s model. It has curb weight of 3,549 pounds, slightly less than a year ago.
Sticker price on the Camry Hybrid XLE is $37,255, including driver assist package and rearview camera for safety, adaptive headlights and an Entune audio and navigation.
1978 TOYOTA COROLLA
1978 Toyota Corolla (Bud Wells/1978)
(Following are excerpts from my first review of a Toyota product, the Corolla SR-5 Liftback, in The Denver Post of June 3, 1978:)
A good-running, 1.6-liter 4-cylinder engine and an easy-shifting, 5-speed overdrive transmission were most impressive features in a two-week test drive of a bright yellow 1978 Toyota Corolla SR-5 Liftback.
The engine isn’t the quickest 4-cylinder on the road, but it’s a sure-starter and has absolutely no stalling tendency when cold. Gas-mileage checks were 21.2 miles per gallon for town driving and 31.4 for highway.
A fuse for the windshield wiper was blown trying to clear too heavy a load of snow, and I discovered the fuse box can be accessed without leaving the driver’s seat – at the bottom of the dash to the left of the driver.
The car was priced at $5,356.25, including base price of $4,638, $114.25 for freight from Portland, $490 for air conditioner, $75 for rear wiper and washer and $39 for all-weather-guard package.
Wheelbase of the Corolla is 93.3 inches, with overall length at 170 inches.
The all-new Volvo S90 sedan is winner of the Car of the Year award, presented by the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press.
Here’s a look at seven of the more than 500 new cars, trucks, vans and SUVs at the Colorado Convention Center for the 2017 Denver Auto Show April 5-9. Three are winners of Car/Truck/Utility Vehicle of the Year awards. The show is presented by the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association and producer is the Paragon Group of Needham, Mass.
Honored as Truck of the Year is the Nissan Titan 1500 pickup.The Chrysler Pacifica minivan, replacing the Town & Country, was named Utility Vehicle of the Year.Among several 2018 models at the show is the Ford Mustang.The Chevy Bolt Electric drew lots of attention from showgoers.The Alfa Romeo Guilia is a new midsize sedan.Looking good in orange premium metallic finish is the new Land Rover Discovery.
The 2017 GMC Yukon XL Denali, finished in onyx black, is an imposing SUV structure. (Bud Wells photo)
Why the Yukon XL over the standard Yukon?
Three rows of seats, same as the Yukon, plus 39 cubic feet of cargo space in the XL (15 for Yukon).
With the Denali package added, performance comes from the 6.2-liter V-8 engine (420 horsepower, 460 lb.-ft. torque) and 8-speed automatic transmission. Standard engine is the 5.3 V-8.
The new GMC Yukon XL Denali 4X4 was a big item at the 2017 Denver Auto Show, where showgoers could measure out the difference between the Yukon XL and competitive models Ford Expedition EL, Nissan Armada, Infiniti QX80 and Toyota Sequoia.
The Yukon XL is a bit longer than the Expedition, though the Expedition EL offers 3 more cubic feet of cargo space.
With Jan, Dale and Sandy Wells aboard, I drove the Yukon XL to Fort Collins on a Saturday night for dinner at Sonny Lubick’s Steakhouse in Old Town. Nice, smooth power was delivered by the bigger V-8 and 8-speed tranny.
It’s a comfortable ride, as always with General Motors’ Suburban/Tahoe/Yukon/Escalade offerings, though plenty of body roll and bounce was present in cornering and sometimes in braking. Magnetic ride control responds instantly to terrain imperfections; front suspension is independent coil-over-shock and the rear is solid axle with five-link and coils.
Open the door to the GMC and a power retractable running board, extra wide, swings out from beneath the outer edge of the unit; it’s an easy step-in to the luxurious cabin. Sit down, close the door and the board retracts, out of sight (pay no attention to the light clunk sound).
The perforated leather front seating is heated and cooled, and the interior is accented with burnished aluminum and wood trim. Middle-row bucket seats (heated) lend a center pathway to the third-row seating.
An 8-inch screen serves the Intellilink multimedia system with a 10-speaker Bose surround-sound audio and navigation, Bluetooth and capability for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Drop-down screens are positioned for second-row and far-back-seat viewing.
The 5,900-pound SUV averaged 19.3 miles per gallon; its EPA estimate is 14/20. Fuel-tank capacity is 31 gallons. The large Yukon rides on 22-inch wheels, with Bridgestone Dueler P285/45R22 tires. Ground clearance is 7.9 inches.
The XL’s wheelbase of 130 inches is 16 inches longer than the Yukon and its overall length of 224.4 is
20 inches longer.
All that size, all that power and all those amenities add up to a sticker price of $80,890. That includes adaptive cruise control with automatic front braking, power sunroof, remote vehicle start, rear-vision camera, lane-keeping assist and blind-zone alert.
The Platinum Reserve 4WD model of the 2017 Nissan Titan. (Jan Wells photos)
The 2017 Nissan Titan Platinum Reserve 4WD pickup, with quilted leather seats, carried us into Denver Wednesday evening, Feb. 15, and shown brightly in a mix among mostly premium luxury sedans outside the grand opening of Mercedes-Benz of Denver and BMW of Denver Downtown.
Entertaining in the BMW of Denver grand opening was the Danny Showers band.
Those two grand dealership structures at 1040 S. Colorado Blvd., and 940 S. Colorado Blvd., respectively, represent probably the largest single-venture automotive investment in this state’s history.
The Mercedes-Benz and BMW franchises and their locations, formerly owned by the late Mark Murray, were purchased by Sonic Automotive, one of the nation’s largest automotive retailers, based in Charlotte, N.C. Sonic added the property at 940 S. Colorado Blvd., which formerly contained a Chevrolet store, and construction commenced on the magnificently modern facilities after teardown of the old buildings.
Valued in seven figures is the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing.
A highlight with the 2017-model Mercedes was display of a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing sports car, owned by Lewis and Rebecca Kling of Castle Rock. The Mercedes edifice will hold 40 automobiles on two levels. Unveiling of a new 5-series sedan drew a crowd to the BMW showroom.
The shiny Titan, when it emerged in the valet-parked line at the end of the evening, looked good with its copper-colored exterior finish, 20-inch dark chrome wheels and stitched leather dash.
The Titan is a smaller version of the big XD pickups unveiled last year by Nissan in an attempt to increase sales enough to stay in the full-size truck competition.
Following a year, though, in which Nissan Titan sales increased by 75 percent, the total still accounts for barely 1 percent of full-size pickup sales in the U.S.
A 5.6-liter V-8 engine producing 390 horsepower and 394 lb.-ft. of torque is mated to a 7-speed automatic transmission under hood of the Titan. More than a foot shorter than the Titan XD trucks, the Titan crew cab measures 139.8 inches in wheelbase and 228 inches in overall length, compared with 242.7 inches for the XD.
Wide running boards are installed alongside the Nissan four-door cab, and at the driver-side rear corner of the 5 ½-foot bed is a drop-down step to ease access into the pickup box.
Included in the $56,595 Platinum Reserve Titan are a great-sounding Rockford Fosgate audio system with 12 speakers, NissanConnect navigation, Bluetooth, remote engine start, wood-tone trim, automatic headlamps, power-folding side mirrors and illuminated/easy-drop tailgate.
The big V-8, with tow capacity of 9,390 pounds, averaged 15.5 miles per gallon; its EPA rating is 15/21.
A large number of Infiniti products, the luxury division for Nissan, has come my way in the past couple of years; the latest was a Q50 Sport all-wheel-drive sedan powered by a twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6 engine and 7-speed automatic transmission. The 300-horsepower V-6 turned out strong midrange response and averaged 23.9 miles per gallon in a combination of city/highway miles. A premium options package adding navigation, adaptive shift control, heated front seats and steering wheel, around-view monitor and remote engine start boosted sticker price to $55,520.
The Ford F-series, with 820,000 sales, more than doubled its total over the leading sedan seller in the U.S. in 2016. (Bud Wells photos)
For the 40th, or, actually, the 41st time, let me say, “Ford F-series outsells every vehicle in this country.”
And again and again, I say, “Toyota Camry is tops among sedans.”
As more and more consumers switched to new pickups and SUV/crossovers, light-vehicle sales in the U.S. climbed to a record high of 17,539,052 in 2016, a slight increase over the 2015 total. It is the seventh consecutive a
Biggest increase in U.S. sales in 2016 was posted by the Nissan Rogue compact crossover.
nnual increase.
Ford F-series took control of the sales race back in 1976. The Camry has led car sales in the U.S. 20 times in the past 21 years.
Ford outsold its Chevy rival Silverado by almost 250,000, the Camry stayed on top in the cars category by edging stablemate Toyota Corolla, the Honda CR-V edged the Toyota RAV4 for best numbers among SUVs/crossovers, and the Toyota Sienna outsold the Dodge Grand Caravan by 113 units for best showing among minivans.
Nissan’s strong-selling compact crossover, the Rogue, was individual sales standout for the year, increasing its total by 41,700, topping two trucks, the Ford F-series and Ram pickup, which improved by 40,000 and 39,000 sales, respectively.
Other major increases among SUVs/crossovers and trucks were RAV4 with 36,000, Toyota Highlander 32,000, Kia Sportage 27,000, Hyundai Tucson 26,000, Ford Transit cargo van 25,500, Nissan Frontier and Murano 24,000 apiece.
Chevy Malibu, Honda Civic and Subaru Outback increased sales by more than 30,000 among the cars, followed by Dodge Grand Caravan, Kia Forte and Nissan Maxima.
The 2017 F-Pace, Jaguar’s first-ever SUV, helped the British marque double its U.S. sales in the past year.
Greatest increase percentagewise was by Jaguar, which introduced new models F-pace SUV and XE sport sedan to more than double its yearly total. Jaguar’s total yearly sales, though, was about what the Ford F-series sells in 10 days.
I drove those two new Jags on their introduction. The F-pace, with a 340-horsepower, 3.0-liter supercharged V-6 engine tied to an 8-speed automatic transmission with dial shifter, is Jaguar’s first-ever SUV. Regarding the new XE sport sedan, I enjoyed the diesel version and recorded an amazing 40.1 miles per gallon on a run to Fort Morgan and back.
One of the biggest decreases suffered in annual sales was by the Toyota Prius hybrid, from 184,000 in 2015 to 136,000 in 2016. Still, it dominated sales of hybrids, as it has since 2000.
Following are leading sellers of new cars, SUV/crossovers, trucks and vans in the U.S. in 2016:
Sales of the BMW i3 battery electric vehicle totaled 7,625 in 2016. (Bud Wells photo)
Sales of gas/electric hybrids, battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids in the past year barely surpassed their 2015 totals in the U.S. market, accounting for approximately 2.9 percent of total new car, SUV and light truck sales for 2016.
Sales of the alternatives went from 498,718 in 2015 to 504,210 in the past year. Seventy-five models recorded sales during the year.
Big gains in ’16 over the previous year were by the Ford Fusion among hybrids, the Tesla S and
X among battery electrics and Chevrolet Volt and Ford Fusion Energi among plug-in hybrids.
The Toyota Prius Liftback, runaway leader in hybrid sales since its introduction in 2000, saw its total for 2016 slip by 13 percent, from 113,829 sales in 2015 to 98,863 the past year. Still, the Prius was more than 50,000 sales ahead of the second strongest seller of hybrids, the Toyota RAV4.
Sales of light-duty diesel models took a sharp drop in 2016, after popular Volkswagen TDIs were taken off the market over an emissions-cheating scandal in September of 2015. Biggest sellers of light-duty diesels the past year were by the Ram 1500 pickup and Ford Transit van.
Top sellers of alternative-fueled vehicles in the U.S. in 2016:
HYBRIDS
Toyota Prius Liftback 98,863; Toyota RAV4 45,070; Ford Fusion 33,648; Toyota Camry 22,227; Toyota Prius C 20,452; Hyundai Sonata 18,961; Toyota Prius V 14,840; Ford C-Max 11,877; Honda Accord 9,179; Lexus CT200h 8,903; Lexus RX400 8,561; Toyota Avalon 8,451; Lexus ES 7,645; Lincoln MKZ 7,219; Kia Optima 6,142; Toyota Highlander 5,976; Chevrolet Malibu 4,335; Lexus NX 2,842; Honda CR-Z 2,338; Subaru XV Crosstrek 2,173.
PLUG-IN HYBRIDS
Chevrolet Volt 24,739; Ford Fusion Energi 15,938; Ford C-Max Energi 7,957; BMW X5 5,995; Audi A3 4,280; Hyundai Sonata 3,000; Toyota Prius Prime 2,474; Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid 2,111; Volvo XC90 2,020; BMW i8 1,594.
BATTERY ELECTRICS
Tesla S 29,156; Tesla X 18,028; Nissan Leaf 14,006; BMW i3 7,625; Volkswagen e-Golf 3,937; Fiat 500e 3,897; Kia Soul EV 1,728; Ford Focus EV 872; Smart for Two EV 657; Mercedes B-Class electric 632.
LIGHT-DUTY DIESELS
Ram pickup 55,209; Ford Transit 50,137; Chevrolet Colorado 8,595; Jeep Grand Cherokee 4,253; GMC Canyon 3,936; Range Rover Sport 3,282; Range Rover 2,515; BMW X5 1,725; BMW 3-series 1,462; Jaguar F-Pace 1,044.
Bill Hellman Jr., whose family has been involved in the new-car business in Delta for 60 years, has been named Colorado Time Dealer of the Year for 2017.
Nominated by Tim Jackson, president of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association (CADA), Hellman will be one of 49 dealers from around the country honored at the National Automobile Dealers Association Convention & Expo in New Orleans on Jan. 27. One of the 49 will be named national Time Dealer of the Year.
“Bill will be a good and worthy representative for CADA among the Time dealer nominations,” said Jackson. The Time Dealer of the Year Award is sponsored by Ally.
Hellman’s father, Bill Sr., came from Dodge City, Kan., to Delta in 1955 to purchase the Ford dealership. The Mercury line was added and in 1970 a new Ford/Mercury facility was opened a mile east of town. The Chrysler, Plymouth and Dodge lines were added in 1981 and in 1988 the Toyota franchise was acquired.
Bill Jr., after graduating from Western State College in Gunnison, worked his way up through the departments of the dealerships, and with brother Matt in 1988 assumed head of operations on Bill Sr.’s semi-retirement.
Bill Hellman Jr. is a former president of the Rotary Club of Delta, a past director of the local Chamber of Commerece and a 41-year member of the Delta Elks Lodge. He currently serves boards of Uncompahgre Development Co. and Delta County Memorial Hospital. He served as chairman of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association in 2014.
He and wife, Jeanie, are parents of Holly, who handles his store’s website and advertising, and Patrick, who works for his uncle, Mark, at the Chevy dealership.
Hellman succeeds Bob Penkhus of Colorado Springs as Colorado Time Dealer of the Year. First winner of the award was Russ Lyon of Boulder in 1970.
