May 2008: Honda Civic Models Replace Ford F Series Pickups as Top-Selling Vehicle in U.S.

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Washington DC June 4, 2008; The AIADA newsletter reported that the Ford F-150 pickup truck has been dethroned in May as America's best selling vehicle in a month for the first time since 1991 - by four sedans.

According to preliminary sales figures, the Honda Civic beat all vehicles with sales of 53,299 vehicles - an all-time record for any month - while the Honda Accord raked in another 43,728 in sales.

Honda said Civic sales rose 28.3 percent in May and 18.3 percent for the year to date.

Ford sold 42,973 F-series trucks in May, while Toyota sold 52,826 Corollas and 51,291 Camrys.

"With the(fuel)prices being high in the United States, we're seeing exactly what happened in Europe a number of years ago," Ford CEO Alan Mulally told Automotive News. "Customers are going to make economic decisions, and they're going to move toward smaller and medium-sized vehicles."

"The dramatic increase in car sales appears to be one of the most profound shifts in automotive buying patterns in more than a decade," Dick Colliver, executive vice president of American Honda, said in a statement. "Record sales of the Honda Civic clearly demonstrate an accelerated trend toward fuel efficiency."