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Ford Escape (nonhybrid)

Ford Escape (nonhybrid)

First-half sales, 2008: 82,020
First-half sales, 2007: 80,761
Increase: 1.6%

The Escape was redesigned for the 2008 model year. It's on a car-like platform, so technically it's a crossover, but a few years ago Ford evidently opted to play up the Escape's SUV styling. In hindsight, that may have been a mistake, since shoppers this year are shunning even small SUVs. The conventionally powered Escape is up slightly this year, but its hybrid twin is down. Including the hybrid, total Ford Escape sales fell 0.2% in the first half to 92,065. The base four-cylinder engine gets an undistinguished EPA-estimated 20 mpg city/28 mpg highway.