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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, January 4, 2003

Toyota's Camry retakes spot as best-selling car in U.S.

Associated Press

DETROIT — The Toyota Camry reclaimed the distinction of best-selling car in the United States for 2002 from the Honda Accord, while Ford Motor Co.'s F-Series truck remained the nation's top-selling vehicle.

Sales of the Camry — helped by a redesign for the 2002 model year — rose more than 11 percent to 434,145 from 2001, making it the fifth time in the past six years it has been the nation's top-selling car, the company said yesterday.

"While it's really nice, it's not our No. 1 priority," Toyota spokesman Sam Butto said. "Our No. 1 priority is to sell every one that we make. If we do that and have the best-selling car, that's fine."

Butto said the Camry's reputation for dependability helped fuel sales.

For 2001, the Accord had outsold the Camry to become the top-selling car for the first time since it held that distinction from 1989 to 1991. Accord sales were down 4 percent last year from 2001 to 398,980, but Honda's overall sales rose more than 3 percent in 2002.

The Accord came in at No. 2 for 2002, while the Ford Taurus held on to its spot as the No. 3-selling car.

David Healy, an analyst with Burnham Securities Inc., said having the top-selling car is more a badge of honor than anything else.

"There are bragging rights involved, but I think it's more of a concern to marketing people than to analysts," Healy said.

Sales of Ford's F-Series trucks came in at 813,701, down 11 percent from 2001 but still on top. It marked the 21st year in a row that Ford's full-size line of pickups topped the U.S. sales charts and the fifth year in a row that sales exceeded 800,000.

"The Ford F-Series is the foundation of the franchise," said Jim O'Connor, vice president for North American Marketing, Sales and Service.

Ford noted its Explorer also held on to its title of best-selling sport utility vehicle in the country.

The nation's No. 2 automaker sold 433,847 Explorers in 2002, up 4 percent from 2001. It was the 12th year in a row that Explorer has been the top selling SUV and the fifth year in a row that sales exceeded 400,000.