The automotive industry saw its share of challenges last year. There was the March earthquake and tsunami in Japan; add to that a U.S. economy that's still reaching for recovery and it becomes clear that the road faced was a steep and rocky one. Still, there wasn't too much pain on the sales front; up 10.8 percent from 2010, U.S. automotive sales were at their highest level since 2008.
The 10 models listed below were the big winners in a year that saw the automotive industry regaining momentum. Trucks led the pack, with the Ford F-150 and Chevrolet Silverado 1500 landing in 1st and 2nd place, respectively. The Toyota Camry was the best-selling midsize sedan, the Ford Escape was the nation's most popular crossover, and the recently launched Chevrolet Cruze got the prize for top-selling newcomer.
One thing to remember is that our sales numbers are more granular than those reported elsewhere — instead of lumping all Ford F-Series sales into a single number, for example, we report separate numbers for the F-150, F-250, F-350 and F-450. As a result, our rankings may differ slightly from those published in other sources.
1. Ford F-150
Numbers of units sold: 390,661
Numbers of units sold: 319,539
3. Toyota Camry
Numbers of units sold: 308,510
Numbers of units sold: 268,981
5. Ford Escape
Numbers of units sold: 254,293
6. Ford Fusion
Numbers of units sold: 248,067
Numbers of units sold: 240,259
8. Honda Accord
Numbers of units sold: 235,625
Numbers of units sold: 231,732
10. Hyundai Sonata
Numbers of units sold: 225,961
