According to an article published in USA Today in Jan 2017, U.S. automakers enjoyed stronger sales than expected. In 2016 auto sales achieved a record 17.5 units for the year in the USA. Whoa, that's a lot of new cars on the road - and a lot of excited owners learning the fun details of their new ride.



As we've indicated in the past, a new car often prompts the following questions – do I need a new bike rack for my car? Will my current car rack get my bike and I where we want to go? If the response to either question is “yes”, we've got some expert guidance to help you get the best rack to your ride.

After all, you spent how long choosing the right color for your car?! You owe it to yourself to be just as thoughtful on how you show-off your bike on the back of your new wheels.

Our research indicates that these are the top 10 selling vehicles in 2016. If you've purchased a new car in the past year, chances are good that you're the proud owner of one of the following:

1. Nissan Rogue
2. Honda Accord
3. Toyota RAV4
4. Honda CR-V
5. Honda Civic
6. Toyota Corolla
7. Toyota Camry
8. RAM pick up
9. Chevrolet Silverado
10. Ford F-series
    
    

So what does this mean, and how does this impact your choice of bike rack? We've outlined three takeaways, and with it some guidance on which bicycle carriers might be the best fit for you and your new ride.

Interesting Take Away #1 - The Prominence of the Pick-Up Truck.

Not only were the top three spots secured by pick-up trucks, the category has grown year-over-year for the past three years in significant amounts. The ability to provide a “rough and tough” image while not sacrificing any of the amenities or comforts of a car are making pick-ups the choice for a growing demographic.

What does this mean for the bike rack buyer?Well, the obvious is that bikes can be easily transported in that big, open space called the truck bed. But, as big and open as the truck bed is, you still need to secure and organize your bike to make sure it is protected on the way to the trail.

We recommend the Traps and Tracks line, these mounts are either permanent or removable bike transport options for use inside the truck bed, which makes for an easy-to-use, easy-to-remove, easy-to-store option. The Traps are available in single or triple track, and the Kool Rack holds 2 bikes.

Interesting Take Away #2 - SUVs Have Gotten Smaller.

Sort of an oxymoron, because the main initial allure of the SUV was that you could pack half your house, your gaggle of children and all the necessary gear and hit the road. But in reality, the old “bigger the space bigger the mess” phenomenon isn't confined to the comforts of home.

That's why it's worth noting that the SUVs listed above fall within the crossover category. These vehicles dance in the “best of both worlds” circle – more seating than a traditional car, without the feeling of rattled around. And more environmentally friendly than their bigger brethren (hello better gas mileage!)

For the bike enthusiast, the big benefit of the crossover is that they often have the option to install a hitch receiver at the factory. This hitch receiver opens the opportunity to carry your bikes on the back of the car, leaving the hatch area for all that gear you can't live without.

The Saris 4-bike platform hitch racks, Freedom and SuperClamp, are the best way to get a maximum number of bikes to your destination while providing hatch access along the way. These racks tilt away from the car while fully loaded and give you freedom, ease and comfort. Oh, and the SuperClamp includes a built-in beverage opener. Yep, we thought of everything.

Interesting Take Away #3 – Practicality Reigns.

Flash gets attention but at the end of the day, reliability and practicality win. The reasons for this are plentiful, and if we can get the practicality and reliability with some measure of flash, that's a huge success.

This “practicality reigns” concept is on display in this Top 10 list of cars, specifically the prevalence of the Honda and Toyota cars, which have graced the list forever. With this emphasis on the tried and true, there's no better match in bike carrier than our trunk rack line.

Our Bones bike rack is the #1 selling bike rack in the world; its iconic status has been solidified with the award of a trademark configuration patent in 2014. This designation means that this particular car rack has proven to be an industry trendsetter, a stand out in its category and that it can be identified visually due to the design. In fact, the trademark configuration patent is the strongest form of patent protection. All that fancy jargon boils down to this: the Bones rack is the bomb.

Our customers love the ease and simplicity of the Bones, as well as its reliability and most importantly - its practicality. Around here, we measure the love of this specific bike rack by the number of empty Bones racks that are left on cars (this bike rack really does make the cars look good!).

And, in 2016, we upped our Bones game with the introduction of the SuperBones. The SuperBones used our long history of consumer experience with the Bones rack and made something special, improving elements of the rack that consumers didn't even know they wanted made better.



All these insights aside, the most important first stop for your bike rack research is the Saris Fit Guide. Our fit engineer tests our racks on all new cars when they are released to ensure that our racks will give you the best experience and will live up to our Lifetime Warranty. Once you've got a rack in mind, your local Saris dealer stands at the ready to help you out.

In the meantime, it's only six-more months until Daylight Savings times ends – plenty of time to figure out how the clock controls work (and where they are) in the new car. Happy riding!