Honda Civic: America’s New Best Selling Vehicle

Over the past 17 years, Ford’s F-150 has been the best-selling vehicle in the US, but the inevitable has finally happened - it’s been toppled. Despite incentives, the continuously rising price of fuel seems to have finally caused a turning point in the US market, dramatically changing buying habits.

The number one position that the F-150 held was ceded to not one, but four different cars. They’re all non-domestic vehicles, although they are predominantly North American built. When the dust settled at the end of May, it was the Honda Civic that leapfrogged into first place, finishing with 53,299 units sold, a record breaking figure for the model. The Civic also happens to be the only vehicle on this list that features a model not built in North America, the Hybrid, which is built in Japan.

Coming in at a close second was Toyota, with its new for model-year ‘09 Corolla, racking up an impressive total of 52,826. We say impressive as the Corolla’s figures are just for the sedan itself, and do not include the Matrix wagon, whereas the Civic includes both sedan and coupe body styles, plus hybrid and Si trim levels. Toyota also happened to snag bronze with the Camry, managing 51,291 units sold. Finally, coming in fourth was Honda’s new Accord, which sold 43,728 units. Ford’s F-150 posted a fifth place finish, selling 42,973. Things may temporarily improve for the F-150 when Ford launches the completely redesigned truck this summer, but unless fuel prices fall dramatically and/or housing starts improve, it is unlikely that we’ll see another half-ton truck topping the vehicle sales charts again.