Times are hard in car showrooms across the land but some sales teams are fairing worse than others.
And if things are grim now they look to get worse before they get better, with the SMMT forecasting a 10% drop in sales for the remainder of the year.
So who's really feeling the pain? Well, when compiling the 10 worst selling cars in the UK we've looked beyond the bald figures - after all Rolls Royce is clearly going to sell fewer cars than Ford but they operate in totally different ballparks. Instead we've picked out cars that are selling badly compared with direct rivals.
If you're into stats the figures are fascinating too, with gems like the fact with 630 sales in the year to date the Audi R8 actually outsold the Subaru Legacy, Nissan 350Z and Mercedes GL to name but a few. Here though is a selection of 10 cars who really should just give up and go home if the sales figures for this year are anything to go on.
1: Maybach 57/62: 1 sale so far in 2008
If Maybach is aiming for exclusivity it's going the right way about it, the sum total of its sales so far in 2008 amounting to ... one car. Whether it's the credit crunch, a rare attack of eco awareness or simply the realisation that money don't buy taste, the Mercedes-derived über-limo hasn't exactly got super-rich buyers queuing up.
It's not like there isn't a market for six-figure limos either, Rolls-Royce selling 146 Phantoms over the same period. All rather embarrassing for parent company Mercedes, which, as our Tom found out recently, has a rank of the cars lurking in a back lot at its flagship Brooklands sales outlet. Pop along and see what kind of deal they'll offer...
2: Cadillac Escalade - 8 sold so far in 2008
From food to TV shows and music, we love all things American. All things? Not quite. US cars still haven't managed to crack the European car market and you'll find famous stateside brands languishing right at the bottom of our sales charts. Brands like Cadillac, once the very embodiment of transatlantic motoring style.
The BLS is the brand's big seller with, um, 57 sales in the year to date. But the biggest booby prize goes to that symbol of American excess, the Cadillac Escalade. Just eight of these tasteless leviathans have found homes so far. So if you fancy rolling with Westwood you'll be in a very exclusive posse indeed.
Find out after the jump where the VW Phaeton, Lexus SC and Hummer H3 fit in...
Read Article