A model year will tell you, generally, when a car was built. Usually, a new-model car will launch in the second half of the previous year; for instance, most 2021 cars are launching in the second half of 2020. Usually, a model year denotes a period of production of about a year; for instance, my car, the 2011 model Honda Accord, was made from about August 2010 to August 2011 (mine was built in March 2011). While cars launched in the latter half of a calendar year are usually cut-and-dry, what do you do if your new model is ready for sale in the early part of the year? Start the new year early, or call it the current model year?
One car with a model year could be more than two years older than another with the same model year, and vehicles with model years two years apart could be the same model year. Here's why:
Early-Launched Vehicles: A vehicle can legally be sold as a model year on January 1 of the previous year, for instance, 2021 vehicle can legally be sold as early as January 1, 2020. This has led to cases where vehicles have been made two years before their labeled model year.
The 1995 Dodge Neon, for instance, went into production on November 10, 1993, and went on sale in January 1994 - just late enough to be called a '95.
The 1997 Ford F-150 was another example, going into production on December 5, 1995 - and on sale in January 1996. Ford actually made the new design and the previous-generation F-150 alongside each other for several months in 1996, but called the new design the '97 and the old design the '96.
Late-Launched Vehicles:
The first-generation Ford Mustang is a famous example of a vehicle that launched late in a model year. Launched on April 17, 1964, it was still called a 1964 model (technically a 1964-1/2). There are more recent examples of spring-launched vehicles that carried the old model year. Two consecutive generations of Nissan Sentra - the 1995 and 2000 redesigns - launched after the first of the year, leaving new '94 Sentras on sale into early 1995 and new '99 Sentras on sale into early 2000. The "2008.75" Dodge Challenger went into production on May 8, 2008.
