This isn't the first time we've reported on the existential threat of the sedan and it certainly won't be the last. Only now, however, we've learned which crossover is currently the main culprit that's literally eating away at sedan sales, the Nissan Rogue. That's right. The Rogue, a crossover that has not only surpassed the Altima as Nissan's best-selling model, but is also symbolic of crossovers killing the sedan as a whole.

According to Automotive News, crossover sales account for "roughly one in every three vehicles sold since October 2016, with the Nissan Rogue driving to become the top-selling nonpickup in America." In fact, crossover sales have increased by 58 percent to more than 5.6 million sold in 2016 alone. At the same time, car sales have experienced a decrease in sales by 7.8 percent. This sales trend has shown no sign of slowing down, with "1.4 million of the 4 million vehicles sold in the first quarter of 2017" being crossovers. But it's the Nissan Rogue that's symbolic here, also because it has surpassed the Toyota Camry so far this year to become the best-selling nonpickup.

Yes, the once mighty Camry sedan has met its match – not only from a competing Japanese brand, but also a crossover. Industry analysts are not particularly surprised by the crossover sales surge, but they weren't expecting the Nissan Rogue to be leading the charge. "Rogue has been surprising," stated Kelly Blue Book analyst Tim Fleming. "Almost 40,000 units in March – that's big." How has Nissan made the Rogue into number one? Mainly because it's a good product, plain and simple, but also due to sales incentives, with up to $2,820 off per unit. Clearly Nissan has done its homework and created a volume seller here, which is fine, but the era of the typical family sedan is clearly declining. It's now the era of the family crossover.