Since we are still early into 2024, the American automotive market is still looking back with love and pride toward the year 2023 because there were a lot of positive developments – especially in terms of sales.
For example, General Motors consolidated its position as the absolute leader of the US automotive market with sales of close to 2.6 million vehicles. Second-placed Japanese automaker Toyota had to contend with just a little over 2.24 million units despite a tidal wave of all-new, refreshed, and first-ever model introductions. Thirdly, Ford sold almost 2 million crossovers, SUVs, and trucks – plus the Mustang.
In fact, with around 15.5 million total sales, up 11.6% compared to 2022, the overall US auto market concluded its best year since 2019, according to data from consultant Cox Automotive. That means just about everyone fared better than before (except for Stellantis, which was down one percent), including the little brands. For instance, Subaru of America concluded 2023 with over 632k deliveries after 17 months of consecutive growth.
That meant it was up 13.6 percent compared to 2022, with deliveries led by the Outback, Crosstrek, and Forester crossover SUV models. Naturally, one wonders – what else could help fuel Subaru's growth even further? The company already believes the solution is to deliver the sixth-generation Forester and the 2024 WRX TR to eager customers later this spring. Well, the former is a good deal, even though it doesn't come with a new powertrain, but the latter is way too overpriced and way less than a WRX STI to succeed.
Instead, the imaginative realm of digital car content creators has a better solution. For example, after previously trying to report on the possible rebirth of the Toyota Stout as a hybrid unibody compact pickup truck, the good folks over at the Q Cars channel on YouTube aim to also daze and amaze the audience with a potential styling of their vision for the reborn Subie Baja HEV. But why a pocket-sized pickup truck with an electrified powertrain?
Well, it's pretty simple, indeed. If we look at the breakdown of classes and segments, we will see that the Ford Maverick thoroughly beat Hyundai's Santa Cruz – the spark that revived the US compact pickup truck sector – last year. In fact, the cheap and electrified Mexico-made unibody compact pickup truck sold almost three times better than Hyundai's US-produced rival and the pint-sized Maverick Hybrid also outsold its big brother, the F-150 PowerBoost!
As such, if Toyota and Subaru allied to each produce a modern version of the defunct Stout and Baja models, complete with Toyota's expertise in hybrid powertrains, they might become unstoppable. Well, at least that's the consensus across the parallel universes of vehicular CGI, that is. What do you think?
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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