Camaro On Track To Best Mustang Sales for 2010

Last year, we extensively covered a sales race that was developing between the Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang.

Historically, the Mustang has nearly always outsold the Camaro. That has carried through from the very beginning in the 1960's - the Mustang was the first on the market and its leadership position stuck.

The new Camaro went on sale in April 2009 amid a sagging economy and poor public perception of General Motors. However, with a high amount of pent up demand and public hype, the Camaro handily outsold the Mustang.

Many figured this would be a short-term trend and that the car's sales would be very front-loaded. When the final numbers were tallied for 2009, the race was close but the Mustang eked out a victory.

That was due to the Camaro having just 6 months on sale. With front-loaded sales for the Camaro gone and new engines for the 2011 Mustang, many speculated the Mustang would leave the Camaro in the dust for 2010. That hasn't proved to be the case.

In fact, the Camaro has consistently outsold the Mustang - without incentives, a plenthora of special models or a convertible variant. For the year Chevy has logged sales of 75,685 Camaro coupes while the Mustang comes in at 68,264.

If the sales numbers hold through December, Newsweek says the Camaro will end the year at about 82,500 sales, while the Mustang will finish with 74,500 sales. That would put the Camaro in the lead for the first time since 1985.

Ford appears to have already accepted the fact, with Mustang spokeswoman Angie Kozleski commenting that “It’s not a sales race.” If the Camaro posts a win for 2010, we could see the trend carry through to 2011. Next year, Camaro will have the aid of a convertible model to boost sales.