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I am on a flight to Houston as I write this. I travel for work every month or two, to rail yards all over the country. Several years ago I went to Ottowa, Illinois, and while driving through the town I suddenly realized that nearly every car was a domestic make. While waiting at a light I counted 18 domestics and just 2 or 3 Asia-branded cars, and nothing European. That’s quite different than what I am used to in San Diego; now I always pay attention to the cars around me when I travel, and the makeup of the local fleet is indeed quite different in different towns.
It turns out that Google Street View is a great way to investigate this phenomenon. One day I got curious (bored?) and decided to do a little unscientific analysis. I chose three suburban towns, each about 25 miles from a city center: Poway, California (my current hometown of 11 years, just outside San Diego); East Goshen Township, Pennsylvania (my childhood hometown, near Philadelphia); and Arlington, Texas (between Dallas and Fort Worth).
In each town I chose one residential street about a mile long. I didn’t dig into the exact demographics, but I tried to find middle class working family neighborhoods. I “drove” each street in Street View and tabulated the cars I could see by type of vehicle (sedan, coupe/hatch, sports, luxury, SUV/CUV, station wagon, pickup or full-sized van), and by brand nationality (American, Japanese, Korean, German, other (mostly Swedish and British)). (I didn’t go by factory location, as that would have made it a hugely more complex analysis.)
The results were not terribly surprising -Texas was heavy with domestic pickups, and California had the most German cars -but are interesting nonetheless.
One variable I did not evaluate was the age of the cars. (Presumably the cars of Eugene would have among the oldest average age.) So, what does the fleet in you neck of the woods look like? And does anyone want to take a stab at doing the analysis by age, or by make?
Oddly, lots of Saabs.
My neighborhood is composed of about 20 houses within eyeshot of me.
There are about five Ford F-150’s, one F-250, a handful of Chevrolet Silverado’s, a Ford Escape, two Chevrolet Impala’s, and maybe one Nissan Altima. The rest are usually parked in the garage and out of sight.
I am in the rural Southeast. The only domestics are trucks, which is basically all Ford and GM. The car and SUV market here is wrapped up by the Germans and Japanese manufacturers. The only domestic cars I see are state, county, city or company cars. I cannot think of one friend who owns a domestic modern car.
Our down under neighbourhood is pretty much exclusively Japanese and Korean with a sprinkling of Australian and very few by comparison of American vehicles ..which would be a blend of newer Chrysler vehicles predominantly (Jeep/300/Nitro) ..and of course a largely hidden from view array of yummy classics from the ’20s/’30s…right thru to the ’60s/’70s ..and a smattering of hi-tech later import pony cars and the like .. .. 🙂
In a prosperous town next to Boston: Prii, Honda CR-Vs, BMW 3-series. Almost no privately-owned pick-up trucks or full-size BOF SUVs. Plenty of Accords and Camrys. Japanese minivans for the larger families. The economy car of choice is the Civic. We have quite a few Russian immigrants, and they have quite a few Range Rovers.
It’s not exactly Vermont, but Subarus and Volvos are everywhere. I think Audi has lost a lot of ground here to BMW. Surprisingly, the Lexus IS is much less popular than what I’ve observed on my occasional visits to California. But the ES model (particularly the previous generation) is all over the place.
The only privately-owned American sedans are Fusions–which still lag way behind CamryAccordAltima. But in this town, that’s huge progress.
There are almost no classic cars here. Too little garage space and too much road salt. Around here, my ’67 Monaco–in spite of being a rather beat-up brown sedan–turns more heads than a Lamborghini.
Sounds spot-on to me here in Outer Bostonia. We even own a Fusion. It is interesting that moving a town or two north brings on a flood of pickups and domestic SUVs.
I remember thinking, during the last election, that you could map Elizabeth Warren districts with Prius concentration, while trucks correlate with Scott Brown territory.
There might be classic cars here in south-MN, but you won’t see them for another 2 months yet, as we’re still in “winter mode” (unless you consider a Dodge Dynasty to be classic). Otherwise, it’s overwhelmingly domestic pickups and SUVs, with a 50/50 mix of Japanese and American when it comes to CUVs or minivans, then Japanese post-2000 and domestic pre-2000 cars. Pretty vanilla stuff here.
I’m from a southern suburb of the Twin Cities, and live in a subdivision of town homes residing in a larger development including single-family homes that are completely taken care of by an association regarding outdoor maintenance and lawn care. Pickup trucks are rare, and not because they are banned. TONS of newer Hyundais AND old Saturns, with CR-V’s, Altimas, and Exquinoxes being the runners up. European brands are fairly rare, VW being a minor exception thanks to Jettas. Compared to the actual city I live in and not the general area, you’d think Tahoes and Suburbans may have went extinct…
As for the local classics, I’m lucky enough to have a 1967 white on white Grand Prix convertible in the nearby neighborhood. It’s a one-year only model out of 5,856 ever made 🙂
I live in west central Minnesota. There’s a lot of domestic sedans and CUVs by me with a few Nissans and Toyotas as well. Plus some pickup trucks. The dealers in town are: Chevy, Ford, Nissan, Chrysler brands, Buick, Toyota. Nothing too out of the ordinary.
American pickups, because Kansas. Next door neighbor has a 1950 something Ford Pickup and a 1990 Ford Ranger. 2 houses down, the guy has a an early 1970’s Chevy C/K. In front of my house, the family has a 2005 F-350. Next door to them, there’s a 2004 Toyota Tacoma (Not American but you get it) crew cab. 2 houses down from them, there’s a regular cab 1990’s Dodge Ram. Across from them, a guy owns a 2002 Silverado. A Chevy Avalanche down the street too. And a 2001 Ford Explorer Sportrak at the other end of the street. Not very many small cars at all. My neighbour has a 2008 S-Class Merc. my dad has a 2011 C-Class. 3 houses down the guy has a Jaguar XJ. There’s a Volvo V40 down the street. Some family down the road has rich visitors. I often see a Panamera or a Cayenne out front. Once saw a Lambo Murcielago, and I did a double take likt: WTF A LAMBO IN A MIDDLE CLASS WICHITA KANSAS SUBURB.
Mid Michigan here: Of the 18 cars on my block, there are:
10 sedan/coupe/convertibles
4 CUV / minivans
2 full size pickups
1 full size SUV, & 1 Jeep
8 GM
4 Chrysler/Jeep
3 Honda
and 1 each Ford, Toyota & VW
I’d say except for Ford & maybe Toyota being underrepresented, that is pretty typical of the whole area.
There are definitely more Hondas than Toyotas locally, and I think that is due to dealer history. In the ’70s-80s Hondas were sold by one of the largest Chevy dealers, while Toyota was always a standalone.
———-
Last summer in a small town in Indiana I counted 100 cars passing and 83 were domestic brands.
Are you in Lansing? I’m assuming the large Chevy dealer you’re referring to is Bud Kouts Chevrolet… I never realized that could’ve accounted for more Hondas than Toyota. Interesting.
By and large, though, I doubt you’d find an area in the U.S. or Canada that has a higher proportion of GM cars among the general populous. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Impalas, Malibus, Buicks, G6s, Grand Prixs, Cobalts, and Cruzes outnumber every Toyota, Honda, and Ford car combined. GM family discounts and hometown pride tend to trump everything else in Michigan.
There are a fair number of Chargers/300s though, probably because they appeal both to professionals working downtown as well as the ghetto set in the South Side ‘hood.
Yes, I’m in the Lansing area. When I was a kid, we had a neighbor who worked for Bud Kouts, and they had a 77 or 78 Caprice and an Accord. I’m pretty sure that was the first Japanese car in the neighborhood.
Funny, I was thinking the same thing the other day while I was sitting on the 14th street bridge into Washington, D.C. As I crept toward my designated turnoff onto E street, I noticed that I had not passed one “domestic” -ie the big three – vehicle for the length of the highway (in my 99 suburban, so I could see pretty well)
Even more surprising, and I am not making this up for troll bait, almost every car within eyesight was either an E or S class Mercedes, a 5 series BMW, or a Porsche panamera. Two Americas, indeed.
I’m tempted to blurt out, “when the revolution comes, these are the people who will be put up against the wall and shot.”
Definitely two Americas. And I’m not really sure which one I’m living in.
Well, back when I lived in Highlands County Florida (Sebring area), the very elderly population meant I saw more Panthers, Lucernes, DTSs, and Avalons per capita than the general population. In fact the local Ford dealers were still selling Crown Vics at retail after Ford had made it fleet only.
Now that I’m in the Orlando area I see a lot more rental car specials (Avengers, Captivas, Impala Limited, etc.) than I did any other place I’ve lived. Subarus are nearly nonexistent on the road and nothing is AWD/4WD except for Jeeps and some of the BOF trucks and SUVs, and most of those are still 2WD.
I do see a decent amount of GM B and G bodies on the road for an older car, but they are always donked out.
Ford Mondeo,Focus & Fiesta in varying states of disrepair to nearly new.All plain vanilla models no tyre burners.Vauxhall Vectras and Astras in similar condition.A horrendous Toyota Celica with oversize wheels,rubber band tyres and a fake carbon fibre bonnet (hood).Quite a few Nissan Micras,a few less Audi sedans and BMWs.Best car in my’hoods a Vauxhall Monaro VXR8 coupe.
Gentrifying inner city suburb here, with a mix of low rent German prestige cars like Mercedes Benz C class and BMW 3 series, fairly expensive SUVs from Japanese and German makes, and a broad mix of Japanese cars of all types and ages. Plus a fair few newer euros like Renault and Skoda. Not a lot of Ford or Holdens that are not students bombs.
+1 A lot of Golfs. One Skoda wagon. A lot of prestige SUVs parked in the street. Oh, and a Panamera that parks in front of my w116. Some unbelievable classics garaged in one of these bigger houses. And another place has a mint primrose Corniche convertible in the front yard under a cover and next to a caravan.
When I initially moved here twenty years ago there were a lot of older Italian and Greek immigrants in the area who favoured Fiats and such. There were also a few big old sixties and seventies Chevrolets and Ford Galaxies, bought as ‘last cars’ by the ones who had done well in their new country….only a couple of Nonnas left here now.
Yep, I grew up around here and there was a big Greek contingent who had settled around the corner. When I went to school, I was stuck with the Aussies for the schoolyard soccer games. Ela re! Most have moved on as property prices went stratospheric and families downsized. All those Falcs and Kingys went as well. Btw Glen, I’m not sure if the Alfa wagon is your flavour, but have a look in the comments in the article.
Thanks for that Don! I saw one of those yellow Alfa service vans here in New Farm about ten years ago. It looked nicely restored, perhaps it’s the same one?
Cheers back to you. I reckon the yellow one you saw is probably the same one. There’s an Alfa guy called Jock who makes amazing ice cream in Sth Melbourne. I’ll ask him when I can.
Cheyenne, Wyoming – Ford F-150.
In my immediate block of 16 homes: Ford 5, Toyota 5, Nissan 4, Honda 4, Buick 2, GMC 2, Lexus 1, Acura 1, Kia 1. Zero Chevrolet. Zero Cadillac. Zero Chrysler of any type. Zero German of any type.
When I visited Niagara Falls, ON, I was struck by how bizarrely common Pontiac Sunfire sedans were.
Here in NYC, I’m pleased that its not as import-heavy as I would have thought. In my neighborhood, as I’ve said before, it’s minivan city with the old Nissan Quest/Mercury Villager the most common, followed by Chrysler minivans, Astros and then Odysseys. Successful Dominicans around here and a lot of Puerto Ricans love Acuras. Some neighborhoods are more import-heavy, but I feel the domestics are pretty decently represented. Except, conversely to Ontario, NY-ers don’t seem to have been huge Pontiac fans.
Pontiacs were always very popular in Canada, right up until the end. I live near what were once the two highest volume Pontiac/Buick dealers in Canada, and as Buick/GMC stores they are shells of what they once were. Nothing but Sierras on the lots for the most part.
The place where I found a lot of Pontiacs was Lansing, Michigan. I live in the SF Bay Area, and owned a 1995 Grand Am for 12 years. Not a common car here where Asian brands are the overwhelming favorite. But when I visited Lansing in 2003, it seemed every other car was a Grand Am. Too bad I left mine home. Of course, the proliferation of Grand Ams was due to the fact that the Grand Am was manufactured in Lansing.
Considering that they have been out of production for almost a decade, there are still a lot here.
Big Pontiacs have always been pretty uncommon around Lansing, I suspect most of that demographic went for an Olds 88 instead, but once they started building the N-bodies here, the Grand Am became hugely popular.
Even though they weren’t built here, the follow up G6 remains popular as well.
I’m on the Illinois side of the St. Louis metro area in a heavily unionized old river town. Despite the presence of a Toyota dealer here for over 30 years, imports really didn’t take off around these parts until about ten years ago. A Kia dealer opened up in a nearby town several years ago and they have been very successful. There are Kias around here (such as Forte Koups) that you rarely see anywhere else. Interestingly, the Nissan dealer next door to that Kia dealer seems to sell more domestics and competing Japanese brands off their used car lot than they do new Nissans,
Like any midwestern town, there lots of Big 3 pickups, CUVs and SUVs of all sorts, and tons of beater Grand Ams, GM J-Bodies and Tauruses. Grand Prixs of the ’97-’04 generation are also extremely common, though unlike the aforementioned Grand Ams of the same vintage a lot of them are still in really nice shape.
OTOH, my girlfriend owns one of maybe 25 or so Subarus in this town of 27,000 people. Around the STL area Subies tend to be found in upscale areas.
Easy answer to this question. In my neighborhood its Chebbies everywhere.
Impalas , 1500 pickups, Malibus, and Suburbans.
When neighbors noticed that I have a Toyota Corolla and a Kia Rondo , not to mention two old Chrysler imperials parked in the garage they would pull their shades, or avoid any sort of eye contact if I was passing by. 😉
Hehehe. Imperial riff raff. Put a chebby bowtie on the Corolla.
Burlington, Vermont – the expected glut of Subarus and Prii along with other Toyotas; Matrixes are almost more plentiful than Corolla sedans and Vibes outnumber all other ’00s Pontiacs combined. No shortage whatsoever of domestic compacts, VWs or Koreans but midsize buyers tend to stick to the leading model of each nationality (Camry, Fusion, Sonata) unless they can stretch to Volvo or Audi. Relatively few big sedans, but plenty of crossovers of all sizes and a surprising number of big domestic SUVs – it’ll be interesting to see how the new ones with their first noticeable changes since before Carpocalypse do. On the other side of the size scale, Chevy Sparks must be pre-selling, I see ’em on the road but rarely more than two at a time on the dealer’s lot (commute takes me down dealership row).
Pickups come in three flavors – suburban(new)/ small-business (used) half-ton extended cab 4×4, fleet-spec regular cab 2wd, and 3500 diesel dually tow rig which has taken over from the old 2- or 3-ton stakebed farm trucks on the small dairy farms and sugaring operation.
A lot of cultural and demographic overlap between Vermont and western Oregon. Biggest difference is ROAD SALT. Pretty much anything pre-mid 90s is extinct unless it was cared for/brought from elsewhere. For later ’90s stuff, Honda Civics and Accords, Ford Escorts and Chrysler minivans seem to survive in the highest numbers.
Bit hard to tell around here lots of houses have no street frontage my own driveway has one British one french and one Japanese car in it but most here would be Japanese with European/Australian running second.
State car: Buick!
Categorizing car manufacturers by country of origin is a pretty grey area in itself. For example, are Chrysler branded cars American or Italian? Even though most people think of Chrysler as an American brand, they are wholly owned by Fiat and have a CEO that comes from Fiat. Many new models like the Dodge Dart, 2015 Chrysler 200, and 2014 Jeep Cherokee are built on Fiat’s “compact US wide” platform. On the other hand, the majority of their models are built in Chrysler’s North American factories, not Italy.
Nissan is another example. Are they Japanese or French? They are controlled by Renault, who owns 43% of Nissan. They have a CEO that comes from Renault. They also share platforms.
http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/COMPANY/PROFILE/ALLIANCE/RENAULT03/
I agree, but I wasn’t quite up to the complicated task. And of course factory location is even odder: Texas built Toyotas, American Subarus and Mercedes, Mexican Fords, Brazilian VWs, Belgian Volvos, and Australian Pontiacs…
Simple. If the profits stay in America, no matter where it’s built, it’s an American car. Likewise any other nationality.
I’ve always found that the “define an American car” are people like my brother-in-law. Won’t drive American under any condition (not surprisingly North Eastern liberal), but doesn’t particularly want to admit to it.
Ford’s profits are headed to Europe to prop up their failing operations there. Chrysler’s profits are headed to Italy to do the same for Fiat. GM’s future is in China, as is much of their reinvestment of revenue. OTOH, the Japanese are investing in expansion here and moving R&D to the US because of high costs at home.
On one block of my street in Manhattan Beach, CA: Audi A7, BMW 7 series, Prius, Jaguar XK-R, Shelby Cobra, 60’s Ford Bronco, Tesla Model S, Mini Cooper Works, VW Thing, Prius again, Tesla Model S again, Range Rover Sport, another Shelby Cobra!, Lexus GX, Dodge Ram shortbed, BMW 3 series, Volvo XC90, Toyota Highlander, another Prius and an Infiniti G30.
Here in Indian Wells CA: dominant brands are Lexus/Mercedes/Audi/BMW. Almost every house has at least one of those four. According to the Rolls dealership here, they sell more Rolls than all Rolls dealerships in Calif combine. There are higher % of Bentley and Rolls here in the desert than any other hoods in California, you can’t avoid seeing a few of those in front of popular eateries.
Interestingly, we also have the highest % of registered republican voters in California. so the conclusion should be conservatives prefer foreign cars.
I noticed poor conservative rural areas prefer domestic cars. While rich liberal urban areas prefer imports. I think income has more to do with domestic vs import preference than political preference.
I always found it strange that conservatives drive union built pickup trucks and liberals buy Priuses (Prii)? from right to work state Toyota
You beat me to it, here in Rancho Mirage, it must be the highest percapita population of Bentleys in the entire world. Desert European Motors up the street here sells all of these expenso-mobiles, they are ubiquitous in the Valley.
Since I live in a condo on a private drive, there is not really a “neighborhood” per se, but there is an eclectic mix. Two of my immediate neighbors have a blue Chevy Aveo and red Chrysler 200, respectively. Other cars include a white late ’80s/early ’90s Wrangler, blue Buick Century, navy 1995-97 Grand Marquis LS with blue leather, a Ford Freestyle, Camry XLE, Buick Rendezvous, Ford Ranger, Kia Sorento and Cadillac DTS. When I first moved there, one of the neighbors had a beautiful tan 1987 Mercury Grand Marquis LS with the turbine alloys. They traded it for a brand-new light gold 2004 Grand Marquis LS with a burgundy landau top. They have since moved away.
My parents’ neighbors have a bit more prestigious rolling stock: two Cadillac SRXs, a Land Rover LR3, Chevy HHR SS, Volvo C70, BMW 328ix, New Beetle convertible, Cadillac CTS, Chrysler Crossfire roadster, Saturn Sky and Buick Encore. Another neighbor, who is a friend of mine, has a new Audi A8L TDI, Porsche GT2, Mercedes GL (his wife’s car), Mercedes E-Class Bluetec, GMC Sierra crew cab, and is having a Beck 550 Spyder built, in black with oxblood leather.
Not surprisingly, here in metro Detroit, the big three are dominate. Probably Ford heavier than any other one brand. Wayne Assembly, where the Focus is made is only about 8 miles down the road, so I see a lot of license plate frames that say “I work at Ford, I drive a Ford”. Plenty of other bumper stickers that say “park your Toyota in Tokyo”. About half the cars on the road in my neighborhood are SUVs.
Scanning around the parking lot here at the condo, I see a Mustang, Fusion, Taurus, Fiesta, Kia Soul, Pontiac, Ford Escape, two Civics, Corolla, big old Nissan SUV of some sort, Chrysler Pacifica and PT Cruiser, Prius, older Hyundai Elantra, Ford 500 and an Impala. Looks like 6 Fords, 2 Mopars, 2 Hondas, 2 GMs. 1 Nissan, 1 Toyota, 1 Kia, 1 Hyundai.
And my VW.
I think I’ve been answering this question very prolifically for over five years now 🙂 And I’ve done numerous neighborhood walks, shooting all the older cars. But for a complete survey of all the cars, I picked five random blocks not far from my house, and shot everyone, just to get a good sample of Eugene-mobiles:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics/will-there-be-curbside-classics-a-survey-of-all-the-cars-on-five-random-blocks-of-eugene/
No kidding. Your neighbors ARE Curbside Classic 🙂
You shot everyone?
Paul will do ANYTHING to get a story. He shot my roommate recently.
For that particular post, I shot all the cars on that one 5 block stretch of road. I certainly haven’t shot all the cars of Eugene! That would be some undertaking.
Wow. That’s so different than any of my three locations, yet the demographic is probably not all that different.
Upper-middle-class suburb outside Providence, RI.
5 Hondas
5 Toyotas
5 VWs
4 Acuras
2 Fords
2 Hyundais
1 BMW
1 Dodge Ram
1 Jeep
1 Kia
1 Lexus
1 Mercedes-Benz
1 Nissan
1 (classic) Porsche
I guess my neighborhood loves Honda/Acura products (myself included)!
I live in a neighbourhood of mostly younger professional people, mostly Caucasian. You can look in any direction and see a Civic. The oldest is about 1985 and there are many new ones, too. The CRV and humble Corolla are also common. Go 5 km to the west and it’s German car land as it is mostly Mainland Chinese territory.
Very few American cars here. The Big 3 have a horrible rep now as they took bail out money from the Canadian government and used it to move the plants to Mexico. Now.Honda and Toyota are the biggest producers in Canada and the cars suit out conditions of congestion and high gas prices. Hardly any trucks as they cost too.much to run and are hard to park.
I know this this somewhat unrelated, but I saw a recent model Mazda 3 hatchback with Ontario plates on I-95 Southbound in Virginia. It was unbelievably rusty. I couldn’t believe such a new car could have so much rust. There were rust holes everywhere, especially on the rear wheel wells and hatch. I wish I took a picture. I don’t suppose too many of those survive in Canada, or do they? Does Ford have a bad rep in Canada as well, since they didn’t get bailed out?
You’re right Mazda 3 are the modern cars I see with the most rust in Ontario, but they are incredibly popular. As for rep the big three seem to be unfashionable in Toronto unless its one of the “image” cars. Over all they are seen as overly thirsty at the pumps. Japan and Euro makes are considered more aspirational.
Exactly what I noticed when I was in Québec a few months ago: whether city or countryside, the car stock is pretty much the same everywhere: mostly small and mid-size Japanese and Korean sedans and hatchbacks, mixed with fewer American small and mid-size sedans, some German cars (bit more in central Montréal), minivans, the less flashy SUVs (Dodge Journey f.e.) and not all that many pickups. Even in the Québec interior, trucks aren’t all that dominant.
Directly after my Québec visit, I went to southern California. Big SUVs and pickups EVERYWHERE – but not because the terrain requires it. Maybe for the California potholes?
In Southern California most the population is concentrated on the coast. Go east and there is nothing but mountains and empty desert. Some people like to go out to the desert on the weekends, so trucks and SUVs make sense for them. However, most people buy them for vanity reasons.
Living part time in the San Bernardino mountains, politics are as conservative as you will find in California. Vehicle mix is more domestic than in Los Angeles, but my 4×4 1st gen Tundra fits right in, along with older Subaru’s, due to the usual winter snow. Jeep is also very popular, but not so much the F-series. Ram diesels seem to outnumber them up here. You are also more likely to find an AWD Toyota Previa here than most anywhere. German cars and SUV’s are rare, unless you go to the very small wealthy areas near the lakes. Down in the desert there seem to be a lot of “Bro” trucks, jacked up mostly full size GM pickups.
On my block (rural Mass) there’s 2 Toyota Tacomas a Hyundai Sonata, a Ford Taurus wagon, a Superduty, an abandoned Chevy Beretta, a 1975 MGB, a rusty Dakota, 2 Volvo XC70s, a Mazda RX8 a GMC Sierra, a Toyota Corolla and a Jeep Grand Cherokee and a RAV4
Montpelier, VA, 35 miles north east of Richmond VA.
Pickup trucks. SUV’s.
Of the former, Chevy, GMC, Ford, Dodge/Ram. Period. Yeah, there’s a Tacoma or two kicking around.
SUV’s? Chevy, Ford, Dodge/RAM, GMC, Honda CR-V.
Oh yeah, I live in House Majority Whip Eric Cantor’s district.
Syke, you live about an hour west of me, Im in Gloucester County where there are lots and lots of Big 3 pickups and full size SUVs. The local rednecks have warmed up to Toyota pickups now too
I’m in Charlottesville but my mother’s family is from Orange. Here in town it’s Saabs and Volvos up and down my street.
My Orange family always had Pontiacs.
I’m in the Near West End of Richmond, and I see Suburbans, Suburbans and more Suburbans. Plus one Cadillac, a Toyota Avalon and a Mercury Grand Marquis (mine).
I live in a small southern farming town. Mostly see Ford, Chevy, & Dodge 4dr pickups. Plus Suburbans, Tahoes, Yukons, & Expeditions. I don’t recall seeing a single Prius.
I live on a cul-de-sac with 8 houses in a more rural town in southeastern MA. From the 8 there are currently:
3 Acuras
2 Toyotas
2 Fords
2 Hondas
1 Mercedes
1 Infiniti
1 Jeep
1 Chevrolet
Upscale metro Detroit (Bloomfield/Bloomfield Hills/Birmingham) here. A pretty eclectic mix here, considering the number of residents who are managers or execs at car companies. A lot of Camaros, Mustangs, and Challengers. Lots of various Fords (Fusions most common, with Edge, Flex, Explorer, Escape, and Taurus also represented). Lincolns are mostly MKZs and MKSs. Not many Chevies, but plenty of Buick CUVs and Cadillacs. A ton of Jeeps, 300s, and Chargers.
Among the Germans, probably BMW, followed by a tie between MB and Audi. Toyota underrepresented, Mazda overrepresented, a fair number of Hondas, almost no Nissans. A good number of Koreans, and lots of SAABs, Volvos, Jaguars, and Land Rovers, reflecting the previous ownership of those companies (I believe Jaguar of Troy was the largest Jaguar dealership in the country around 10 years ago). As the weather gets nicer we’ll see some Ferraris.
The classics will come out too as the weather gets better. The usual mix of Mustangs, Camaros, GTOs, 60s Thunderbirds, and early 60s Lincolns (not many Mopars, interestingly). Today I saw a 63 Chevy on Telegraph Road, and was struck by how trim it seemed.
Among my neighbors, there’s a Kia Soul, Audi A4, Jeep something, Escape, Volvo S60, two Chrysler minivans, Ford pickup, Dodge Journey, and my Mazda6.
In my neighborhood the diversity from block to block is huge. My block: Prius, Escort, Highlander, A4, Expedition, Excursion, New Beetle and 2 Pilots on one side; Pathfinder, A6, 740 Volvo, CRV, RAV4, Crossfire convertible, Forester, Accord and two 2nd gen Saturns. 4 blocks over, a Peugeot 403, ’72 El Camino, ’67 Continental, and early ’70’s F100 and Mercury Montclair, plus a smattering of Subaru’s and 20 year old Toyota Pickups. And there are now two Citroen GX’s in my town. And perhaps not coincidentally, a lot of Chevy Cruzes have appeared recently – I live in Santa Cruz California, although there’s no Chevy dealer in town any more.
Living in Portland, OR, it’s probably Subarus and German cars overall. The #1 car is probably the Legacy/Outback with a runner-up to the Forester. The Honda Accord would be another possibility.
Not much different from Eugene. Particularly old, diesel Mercedes. Ditto for Honda.
Upper middle class neighborhood in the heart of Silicon Valley, CA (10 minutes from Google’s headquarters). Many hybrid cars like the Prius. Also minivans – Odysseys, Siennas (late model) and a few older Mopar ones. Plus your standard Japanese brand daily drivers like Accords, Camrys, Civics and Corollas. A few SUVs such as MDXs, Escapes, Highlanders, Subies, etc. Even a couple of old Mercedes W123 diesels,
Pretty ecletic mix, I’d say.
Three blocks from the beach in Santa Monica in a densely populated area filled with apartments and condos. Prius is the best seller in CA so lots of those. But Audis, BMWs, and Mercedes are everywhere, particularly but not exclusively the entry level models that are mostly leased by the young residents in the rental buildings. A good number of Lexus and Infiniti models, too, especially the IS250 (another favorite lease of the young), and the Infiniti G. A few blocks north where single family homes begin in the 2.5-3 million range (and these can be tear downs) the big BMWs, Mercedes, Audis, Lexuses, Range Rovers, and a few Teslas. Very few contemporary American cars. A number of Curbside Classics as well, some of which I’ve previously shot and shared – Audi 5000S, Mustang convertibles from the 60’s and 70’s, a smattering of old Cadillacs, old Mercedes (several 190Es). Given that we are a tourist spot and a growing center for high tech employment, you see just about everything on the streets of downtown on a given day, but again mostly imports.
I live on the main road through my rural North Island, New Zealand, town and there’s a motel opposite which means the carscape changes regularly. My neighbours are mostly working class (not that New Zealand has classes as such) or retired; here’s the list of their rides:
* 2011 silver Mazda E1800 van
* 1987ish white Mazda Luce (aka 929) sedan with de rigueur large chrome wheels
* 2013 silver Ford Focus hatch
* late-90s silver Mazda 626 sedan
* S13 white Nissan Silvia coupe (may not be mobile as appears to have no suspension springs)
* 1998ish greyish-bronze Toyota Camry Vista sedan (JDM narrow body)
* 1x white and 1x grey Toyota Hiace vans (the courier driver’s house)
* 2001 silver Holden Commodore wagon
* 2013 ice-green Ford Falcon sedan
* 2002 blue Toyota Crown Majesta sedan
* 1996 white Ford Laser wagon
* My 1997 white Nissan Laurel sedan
* If I counted the motel guests, I could add about 6 Mazda6 wagons to the list – a lot of travelling sales reps stay there, and the Mazda6 wagon is the default rep car here (I had two when I was a rep!)
Given NZ’s used JDM import dominated fleet, I’m surprised that six of the cars above are NZ new. The predominance of white and silver wasn’t a surprise though as muted colours seem popular here – to my disappointment, but my white Laurel doesn’t help my case lol! With the exception of the beautifully-kept Majesta (and the possibly non-running Silvia), all the other cars are daily drivers. They’re not flash, just good, honest modes of transport.
In our court:
1. Nissan Patrol & a mitsu Verada
2. Mitsu Colt & dead galant, 1 other I cant remember but probably another Galant
3. Various Falcons (they seem to come & go)
4. Falcon & C-class
5. Nothing – old lady (but something is lurking in the garage)
6. Falcon & Nissan Micra
7. Falcon Ute, Rav4, Nissan Patrol, MB Sprinter, Mazda 3 (yes – they have 5 cars AT LEAST)
8. Renault Megane(WTF)
9. MB S-Class, Volvo c70,
10. Toyota Kluger, Rav4,
11. Nissan Skyline, MB Van
I live in the inner city of a NW European city, with narrow streets and limited parking. Unsurprisingly, most cars are small hatchbacks. VWs, Opels, Renaults, Peugeots, Toyotas, Hyundais, Seats, Euro Fords, Citroëns, the odd Alfa Romeo, some older Volvo S/V40s because they were built in this area, and of course a lot of small vans. Almost all of them are between 3 and 15 years old, reasonably well maintained but no beauties and occasionally subject to vandalism (once saw a car with footprints and -dents on bonnet and roof). There do seem to be a lot FEWER Japanese cars than 10 years ago, Hyundai is taking over from Toyota. Hondas and Mazdas are the least common Japanese cars. However, although most residents have a lower income and/or are students, most visitors have far larger budgets and Mercedeses, BMWs and Audis (but no Lexuses) are a common sight as well.
More curiously: for some reason there are 2 almost identical early 2000s Neons around here. In terms of size, those fit well. But the best of all: a bar owner always stores his gigantic Chevrolet Silverado just around the corner. Below picture shows just how disproportionate that is here: this is the ENTIRE street, the pickup taking up literally more than half of it.
I live in a subdivision about 30 km outside Halifax nova Scotia and like others have posted you don’t have to look hard to find a civic. Around here its a mix of cars like the malibu, accord, impala and fusions. I also see a lot of c-class benzes, range rovers a few 911’s and even a bentley vert. Because of the salty moist air any classic car is in storage this time of year and probably for a few months yet.
I’m from Windsor, NS, just down the road, but live in Ottawa ON now…Whenever I go home, I’m constantly shocked by the number of Acclaims, Dynasty, k- cars and even Tempos that I still see on the road down there…It’s like some kind of weird twilight zone compared to Ontario…
My immediate subdivision is very international and middle class, so lots of Japanese mid-range models (sedans, SUVs, minivans), decent splattering of luxury (Lexi, MB), a few Jeeps and American SUVs.
Only a handful of pickup trucks, which completely skews our general region of the city and of course Houston and Texas itself.
Luxembourg, central Europe here. Not surprisingly there is a tilt towards European brands. On my street I know of only two American cars, one 1976 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme (mine) and one 2012 Dodge Challenger. Other cars are;
a 1982 Bentley
an 80-something Jaguar XJ
a mid 70:s Peugeot 504
a mid 80:s Porsche 911 Carrera
a 2012 Porsche Carrera S
a 2009 Mini Cooper S
a 2006 Mini Cooper Works Cabriolet
two 2013 BMW 330d xdrive Tourings
a 2012 Alfa MiTo
two 2013 isch Fiat 500’s
a 2010 BMW z4 iS
a 2009 BMW 640i
a 74 isch Ferrari 400(?)
a 2014 BMW 640
a 2013 Audi S5
a 2004-5 VW Passat
a 1975 Rolls Royce Camargue
a 2002-3 VW Polo
a 2010 VW Golf R
a 2012-13 VW Golf TdI
a 2013 Mercedes ML
a 2006 Renault Scenic
a 2010-12 Honda CRV
a 2010 Volvo C30
a 2010-13 BMW X5
a 1980 something Lancia
a 1974 Fiat 130
a 2009 Saab 93
a 2008 Saab 95
a 2008 BMW 330d
a 2013 Audi A1
a 2013 Chevrolet Cruze (I refuse to call this an American car)
Here in Vancouver it’s hard to find a lot of GM cars, even the SUV’s lose out to their Asian counterparts. Lots of Civics, Corollas, Jettas and Mazda 3s. The compacts are in the sweet spot of the local market.
Southeastern part of the Netherlands im my street in an average income neigborhood, arranged bij house, from end of the street to the beginning:
– Opel Sintra (aka SWB Chevy Venture) + early 90s Mazda 121 (Ford Festiva in USA)
– ’02 Volvo S60
– ’13 Prius Wagon
– ’89 Mini + ’98ish VW Polo Wagon
– ’12 Prius Wagon + ’06 Toyota Yaris
– ’99 Volvo V40 + Renault Trafic
– ’06 Ford Fusion (a little different from the Ford USA Fusion)
– No car, two mopeds
– Honda S2000 + Honda CRX Del Sol
– Late 90s Ford Focus hatchback + late 90s Renault Megane Scenic
– ’08 Audi A4 Sedan
– ’09 Kia Picanto
– ’11 Mercedes E-Class
– ’11 VW Polo diesel + ’11 Seat Ibiza Wagon diesel
– ’07 Toyota Auris + ’10 Toyota RAV4
A real mix of automobiles here. Because our only car dealer in town is a VW-dealer, place is mostly swarmed with VW’s, mostly Polo’s an Up!’s (yuk!), so my street isn’t typical for the rest of town.
I’m in sunny (for the next 5 minutes, at least) Scotland, and can see 10 other houses from my front window here. The cars I don’t think are typical, otherwise there would be some Ford models, and more Vauxhalls – as is typical though, loads of diesels!
12 Jaguar XJ 3.0 Diesel
11 Honda CRV 2.2 Diesel
09 Honda CRV 2.2 Diesel
09 LR Freelander Diesel
14 Mercedes CLS250 Diesel
10 Kia Sorento 2.2 Diesel
13 Ford Transit 2.4 Diesel
10 Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 Petrol
12 Mercedes ML350 Diesel
09 Audi A6 Avant 2.7 TDi
10 Mini Cooper 1.6 Petrol
14 BMW 320d X Touring
13 Mini Cooper Convertible 1.6 Petrol
04 Mercedes CLK320 Petrol
14 Honda Civic 1.6 Diesel
08 Mercedes CLK220 Diesel
10 Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 Petrol
11 Vaxxhall Astra Sporthatch 1.9 Diesel
12 LR Freelander 2.2 Diesel
Suburban Indianapolis – lots of Camrys, Accords, Dodge Chargers, Civics, Corollas, Fusions, Suburbans/Tahoes, and pickups (Chevy, Ford, Dodge). Still a decent number of Buicks and Cadillacs on the road as well. Hyundai/Kia seem to do well too, as well as Lexus.
When I moved into my house 20 years ago, the neighbors were primarily older retired people who had built these homes. Lots of Cadillacs, Lincolns, Buicks and Oldsmobile 98s back then. Now, seems to be mostly Toyotas, some Hondas, An Expedition lives across the street and a Mini convertible next door.
Danville, CA at least 50% SUVs/F250 types. Sometimes you can see an entire row in a parking lot, 20 slots, and they are all filled by an SUV. I have zero interest in such a vehicle so I don’t pay any attention to brand. Car wise there will be many VWs, Mercedes, BMW, Lexus, Prius, Tesla, newer Mustangs for the young male teenagers, and then a mix of other makes for the more practical. However, hidden in the garages all over this town is a wealth of classic cars and trucks that come out every now and then.
Several years ago while following tracks looking for trains in Illinois southwest of Chicago, my son (junior high/middle school at the time?) noticed an absence of foreign models in a small town with a (unionized) steel mill. I explained that the union workers would not buy the brands not assembled by UAW.
Updated list
2 Toyota Tacomas
2 Volvo XC70s
2 Honda Accords
2 Jeep Grand Cherokees
Mazda 3
Mazda RX8
MGB
Hyundai Sonata
Hyundai Tuburon
Chevy Beretta
Chevy Trailblazer
Ford F250?
GMC Sierra
Saturn Ion
Dodge Dakota
Toyota Corolla
Toyota RAV4
Pontiac Sunfire
Chrysler 200
Nissan Quest
Volkswagen Passat
Nissan Altima
Hyundai Accent
Ford Taurus
That’s about alI can think of now
My old neighborhood was Saturns, and oddly Jaguars.
My new neighborhood is Toyota and Honda. Next door neighbor to the left has two Honda Civics. Neighbor to the Right has a Camry. Across the street is an Avalon and Accord with a Prius and Crosstour to the left of them, and Odyssey and RAV-4 to the right. … all in various shades of boring (silver, gray, tan, etc.) Interestingly they are all over 65 and not even a Buick, Lincoln or Mercury in the bunch. I’m the odd man out representing the domestic team with my Chevy Impala, and Chevy Sonic for the wife.
On an interesting note, I visited SoCal earlier in the month and got an Impala very similar to my own as a rental. I noticed a distinct lack of them on the roads there, and most of the few I spotted had the rental car bar code on the windows. Impalas are quite popular in western PA, but are purely rental grade around LA. I also travel regularly to the Detroit area where I see lots of unusual and semi-rare American steel, while imports (especially Asian ones) are few and far between.
I live in an older and rather nice neighborhood on the east side of Manhattan. Some young people, a lot more older and, at least relative to the rest of the world, very rich people. One of the easiest neighborhoods to get taxis and car service because they’re literally dropping off and picking up people all the time.
The garages mostly contain BMWs, Jaguars, Lexis 400 series, and S-Class Mercedes models. A few mothers with Lexis SUVs.
There are some interesting models mixed in however. One older fellow still drives a ’90-’92 Cadillac Brougham, navy with navy interior and navy padded roof. A few Porsches of Carrera and Panamera variety. Some old (pre-90s) Mercedes models, a dark grey convertible (450 SEL is in my mind as the model but not sure) a black 300E among them. An immaculate maroon ’91-’96 Buick Roadmaster wagon. A 1984-87 grey Mercury Grand Marquis LS. On the street you see a number of older Volvos, Saabs, and W Body impalas, plenty of Camries and Priii, but oddly very very few Hondas. However, the parking restrictions are tight on the streets near me so mostly parking is prohibited during the day. These cars appear at night and disappear by 8AM.
Truth be told even many of the people who can easily afford them don’t keep cars in the city, unless they have a place up in Connecticut or out in the Hamptons to drive them to on weekends. Even then sometimes the cars just stay out there, and they take MetroNorth, the LIRR, or the Jitney, and just use the car out there. They take cabs or ride the bus–but interesting rarely the subway.
I keep my ’77 Electra 225 out in Queens most of the time, where I have a space. But I receive many compliments from the older folks when bring it into the city and park in front of my apartment. A lot of them used to drive Electras, DeVilles, and Fleetwoods. I once drove a client from the neighborhood to a court appearance. She has a driver, but wanted to keep the matter confidential. I thought she’d be repulsed by my old Buick, but instead, she brightened up, and kept remarking happily how it had no blind spots. That early C-Body greenhouse…
On my street in Wailuku,Maui it is Camry & Accordland!
Sounds like Maui!! Las Pinatas killer burritos whenever I hit Maui, and take back some Krispy Kremes to Honolulu !! On Oahu, the predominance of models depends on what area/neighborhood you’re in. I’d say the most common vehicle on Oahu these days is a Toyota Tacoma pickup, usually a crew cab Pre-Runner. Camrys, Camrys, Camrys, Camrys. As you get away from the Waianae coast, and into Kapolei, Waipahu, Pearl City into town, Dodge Chargers/Chrysler 300s, Nissan Altimas . . . lots of riced Infiniti G35/G37s . . . . Aiea and Aiea heights and downtown neighborhoods: Prius, Nissan Leaves, Ford Fusions . . . Windward? Korean brands, Dodge Pickups. Ditto North Shore . . . however, most common on Oahu are Toyota Tacomas.
Out here in sunny HK, it’s mercedes, mercedes, mercedes. At least it is the preferred brand for the ‘old money’ hongkongers. Mainland immigrants buy Audi and those bloody eight seater MPVs’. The middle class run mostly mid-range Japanese saloons, while Fords are pretty much non-existent in this town; nor are any American models. Visitors always comment on how nice, clean and well maintained our cars our. They don’t realise that an army of third world domestics get up at 5am to clean ”
“master’s” car every morning.
Visit any scrap yard in this town and you would weep to see perfectly good, rust free car being crushed for their metal value. It just ‘aint cool to drive anything over ten years old.
I live on a 1 mile dead end road in the country with 7 houses on it. My next door neighbor, neighbor across the street and I all have GMC Sierras, completely by coincidence. Other vehicles are a newer Jeep Grand Cherokee, early 2000s F150, new Chrysler T&C, Chrysler Pacifica (pretty much the only Pacifica I ever see anywhere), Nissan Titan, Prius, first gen Cadillac CTS, and a couple mid 90s Chevy ECSB pickups.
Richmond, VA here, in one of the older neighborhoods near downtown. It’s an interesting mix of students, young professionals, and families/couples with money, as you can find rentals for as little as $800 a month or so but the entry price to buy even a small condo is probably $200K and the bigger houses clear $1 million. Very diverse income levels. My block is primarily rentals, and mostly graduate students/young professionals 25 to 35.
It’s nearly all street parking (row houses and small apt buildings, some have garages but more don’t) so the car-scenery changes frequently as spots get competetive in the evening. But of the “regulars” on my block:
-’97 Ford Crown Victoria and ’12 Kia Forte Koup (mine and my wife’s)
-Toyota RAV4 (early 00’s)
-2x Honda Civic Coupe (1 early 00’s, 1 late 00’s)
-Honda Civic Sedan (2013)
-Ford Windstar (early 00’s)
-BMW 540i (E39)
-Subaru Forester (late 00’s)
-Jeep CJ5 (1970’s, lifted and with a good amount of work done)
-Kia Spectra (late 00’s)
-3x Honda Accord sedan (early 90’s, late 90’s, mid 00’s)
-Nissan Altima (early 00’s)
-Toyota Prius (late 00’s)
-Jeep Wrangler (early 10’s)
-VW Jetta (early 10’s)
-Toyota Avalon (late 90’s)
-Honda CR-V (early 10’s)
-Toyota Camry (early 00’s)
Nothing dominant, though I suppose Hondas are the most numerous by that count. Not a huge number of domestic cars on my block but they’re out there. The neighborhood as a whole has as wide a variety commensurate with the varied income levels, though not much at the high end as it’s not a “see and be seen” kind of area.
There are, however, a huge variety of interesting street-parked cars. Highlights near me include a ’59 Edsel, a ’75 Volvo 146E, ’67 Mustang, mid 70’s Dodge Dart Swinger, ’77 or so Lincoln Town Coupe, ’66 Cadillac Sedan DeVille, ’63 Chevy Nova SS Convertible, 80s BMW 635csi, a number of 70’s Volkswagens (Type I and II), and several 60’s and 70’s Ford F-series pickups. Plus the neighborhood as a whole has oddly high numbers of FJ60 Land Cruisers and old Volvo 240’s.
I live in a late 1960’s middle class suburb of Hamilton, Canada. Our area is quite diverse with everything from BMW’s, lots and lots of minivans, down to beaters. I work in a more upscale area, and there almost every car I see is german. If you don’t have BMW, Audi or Mercedes apparently you can live there.
When in Las Vegas the other week, we were packing up our rental car in the hotel parking lot and finally saw a Focus just like ours at home. Who should hop out but one of the hotel cleaning staff. Nobody actually staying at the hotel was driving a 13 year old Focus.
My immediate neighborhood of Ma’ili, Waianae, Oahu, Hawaii? Pickup trucks; lots of full size pickups. Evenly split, I’d say between Ford/Dodge and then Chevy/GMC. Lots of Toyotas (Tacoma x-cabs/crew cabs are very popular sellers in the Aloha State, usually the 4×2 Pre-Runners); some Tundras. This would be followed by Toyota Camrys, Honda Accords. Lots of full size pickup trucks on Oahu and in Nanakuli, Ma’ili and Waianae, Makaha . . . . it’s full size pickups that rule.
Ford, Mopar, GM, Tundra.
My cars are a ’13 Mercedes Benz GLK 350, a 2010 Ford Ranger XLT and an ’07 Mustang 4.0L Pony Package.
Both of my next-door neighbors have a near identical gold color Chrysler minivan of about year 2000. Both of these neighbors are senior citizen retirees in their upper eighties. Not sure, but I think they both bought them new. And, not sure but I suspect they are both rather low mileage compared to my (running strong) 220K 1999 Dodge.
OK, another neighbor has a bright red Dodge Ram of about 2004-2006. Another neighbor replaced and old, high-mileage, rusted out Ford Ranger with a newer Ranger a couple years ago. The contractor neighbor across the street has a late model Chevy Silverado. Somebody else has about a 10-year old Nissan Altima.
I live in a new (ca 2000) area in a moderately sized town in southwestern Indiana. Nearly all of the cars in my neighborhood are some variety of “Toy-onda-san”, U.S. branded cars are thin on the ground. There are many full-sized American pickups and many houses have some variety of SUV or minivan. Since my friend with the Viper moved away there aren’t many interesting or collector type cars around here. Several blocks from my house there is a 1966 Charger parked in a garage and as far as I know it has not moved since I have lived here; occasionally the garage door will be open and the Charger is buried under a thick coat of dust. A few blocks past that there is a 1967 Mustang that I would occasionally see out and about but not recently.
I wonder if the Toyota plant in Princeton has an effect there. I would suspect that it would boost the Toyota numbers in that part of the State.
Probably some but Toyotas (and Hondas & Nissans) were reasonably popular before the plant opened. One of the things that helped these brands become popular was that, at least here, they are all sold by long established dealers. It is probably easier to buy that first Toyota when the dealer is the same one who sold your father and your grandfather their Chevrolets. Here both Honda and Nissan are both sold by a group that started selling Fords many years ago and the Toyota store is owned by a big Chevrolet dealer. I suspect that if someone had come in 40 years ago and opened a Toyota dealership “from scratch”, things might be different.
Long time lurker here first time poster. I haven’t seen anyone else from Louisiana represent yet. Here in North Louisiana it is all about domestic pickups. Chevy seems to have the upper hand. In my (small) parking lot right now there are no less than 4 Silverados. Additionally, one GMC Terrain, one Chevy Equinox (wife’s), one Mercedes C class, and of course my Suzuki Grand Vitara.