Limited Production

[T ROY]

My 2012 Sonic is scheduled to be built on the week of June 4th. I have yet to see the exact type of car I ordered on the roads here in Cincinnati. As a matter of fact, I've only seen two Sonics on the road since they've been on sale. Would June be considered one of the last production runs for the 2012 Sonic? Also, since I have not seen many, does that mean that there weren't many built? Or does that mean they are sitting on lots and haven't been sold? If they haven't built many trim levels such as the 1.4 LTZ manual, will that make it more of a collectors item in the future? The only reason why I ask is because when I watch Mecum Auto Auction I notice that the cars of value are the ones that were not only limited in production. but also limited with certain options. Thanks for any logical input.

 

[laborsmith]

Regarding end of production, Orion is scheduled to close for two weeks beginning July 2 for model changeover which indicates the last of MY2012 will roll off the line at the end of June.

There may be more Sonics on the street than you realize, as the model year will end with about 75 or 80 thousand produced and local dealers having very few on the lot. Just compare Cruze inventory to Sonic, although more Cruze models are built, I doubt that three times as many are built.

As to collectibles, one will not know for sure for twenty years, with very few exceptions. Some low production Corvettes may become collectible and will always have a demand once they reach senior status. The Camaro ZL1 may become a collectible as it combines all the necessities: (unintended) low production, the most powerful engine available for that model, options not available or rarely ordered on other similar models (magnetic suspension and dual performance exhaust, for example), and first or last year of production.

Also if a car has been owned and publicly driven by certain personalities, say David Letterman or Jay Leno, it will appeal to a certain element of collectors thus enhancing its value.

Will any street driven MY2012 Sonic become a collectible? I sincerely doubt it but check in in twenty or thirty years and then we will know.

Laborsmith

 

[T ROY]

Thanks, I had no idea that so many had been built. I also understand that for it to be a collectible in 20/30 years it would have to be either rarely driven or been restored.

What I was referring to was precise trim levels and/or options. When I went to the dealership about a month ago there was mass amounts of LS and LT models and only 1 LTZ, but it was an automatic and not the color I was looking for. I had them look into their national database to try and find the precise model with the options I was looking for. There was a whole 3 in the entire country and the closest one was 300 miles away. They tried to do a dealer swap and the other dealer didn't want to have anything to do with it, because he was proud to have a "rare" hard to find sonic on his lot. So I just told them to order one because I would have better luck that way.

I was looking at the 1LZ Turbo Hatchback Crystal Red W/ Sunroof, and was surprised when nobody within a 300 mile radius had one. So I was just wondering if it's that rare, or did I just have some bad luck?

 

[RKMBrown]

I also went to buy a 1.4 Turbo Hatch with jet black interior. I found one dealer with a half dozen 1.4 turbos, but he was "premium" pricing them. Hundreds of 1.8 models sitting on the lots... I'm just going to have to wait on my order confirmation.