FORD LEADS PACK IN CALIFORNIA; U.S. AUTOMAKER BEATS OUT IMPORTS.Byline: Enrique Rivero Daily News Staff Writer Thought that imports are the best-selling cars on California roads these days? Well, think again. More cars and trucks manufactured by Ford Motor Co. were sold last year in the crucial - and trend-setting - California market than by any other maker, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. an independent study released Wednesday by Ford. With a total of 370,155 cars and trucks, Ford last year outsold out·sold v. Past tense and past participle of outsell. General Motors, which ranked second in the state with 367,632; Toyota, at 214,411; Chrysler, at 185,495; and Honda, at 157,947. Still, the most popular individual vehicles on the road, according to market researcher R.L. Polk Co. of Detroit, were imports: the Honda Civic The Honda Civic is a compact car manufactured by Honda. It was introduced in July 1972 as a two-door coupe, followed by a three-door hatchback version that September. With the transverse engine placement of its 1169 cc engine and front-wheel drive, like the British Mini, the , which sold 61,551 units; and the Toyota Camry The Toyota Camry is a mid-size sedan assembled by Toyota in Georgetown, Kentucky; Altona, Victoria, Guangzhou, China and the original factory in Toyota City, Japan. In some markets, the top range Camry models are seen as executive cars. , with 58,999. Ford's top ranking in the state goes counter to conventional thinking, which says California is an import-dominated market, said David Raphael, Western marketing manager for Ford. ``We were able to beat GM and we beat the imports, which are perceived to be so dominant in California,'' Raphael said. ``California is an important auto market, just as it's important for a lot of trend-setting things.'' Ford has led the pack in California four out of five years, he said. In addition, it ranked second nationally with about 3.7 million cars and trucks sold, behind top-ranked General Motors, which sold 4.6 million. Galpin Motors, the Van Nuys auto dealership that has sold more Fords than any other dealer in the country, also had a banner 1997, said owner Bert Boeckmann. Galpin sold 14,095 Ford cars and trucks, giving it nearly 4 percent of the state's market. Its top-selling truck was the Explorer, with 2,744 sold. The Escort was the best-selling car at 909. Boeckmann said his numbers and the statewide figures show that Ford offers the diversity and styles the public wants. ``Ford is continuing to dominate more and more of the marketplace in terms of desirability,'' he said. Overall, Boeckmann said trucks and sport-utility vehicles outsold cars by far, and both the Explorer and Expedition were driven away by new buyers as quickly as they arrived on the lot. While Ford dominated the market for trucks, Honda and Toyota sold the most cars. The Honda Civic and Accord ranked first and third among cars sold in California, and Toyota's Camry and Corolla corolla: see petal. placed second and fourth, according to R.L. Polk's figures. The Accord and Civic models also ranked second and fourth nationally among cars. The Accord sold 384,609 units nationwide and the Civic sold 315,546, said Art Garner, a spokesman for American Honda Motor Co. Inc. in Torrance. ``We had a great year nationally, we had all-time sales nationally and we had a great year in California,'' he said. California is the top market for Honda, though the company also did well in the southeastern United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. - especially in Florida - in southwest Texas and in the New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. area. Still, the ranking isn't the be-all and end-all be all and end all or be-all and end-all n. The quintessential or all-important element: "Not that the more spectacular athleticism is the be all and end all of free skating. Spins . . . for the company. ``It's always best to be No. 1 - we may even do some ads with it,'' Garner said. ``But your goal isn't necessarily to be No. 1.'' Sam Butto, a spokesman for Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. in Torrance, pointed out that the company's third-place ranking behind the two domestic automakers puts Toyota at the head of the import pack in the state. Toyota sold about 1.2 million cars and trucks across the nation, with more than 214,000 of those in California alone, Butto said. ``If you wanted to get creative, you could say Toyota is the No. 1-selling import in California,'' he said. In addition, Toyota suffered through a number of supply shortages through the year, which makes the high ranking See Google bomb. especially pleasing. ``I think the fact that Ford produces so many more vehicles in this country than we do might have been a factor as well,'' Butto added. BEST SELLERS Ford sold more vehicles in California in 1997 than any other manufacturer but the Honda Civic and Toyota Camry were the top vehicles. TOP FIVE MANUFACTURERS 1. FORD MOTOR CO. 370,155 2. General Motors 367,632 3. Toyota 214,411 4. Chrysler 185,495 5. Honda 157,947 TOP TEN VEHICLES 1. Honda Civic 61,551 2. Toyota Camry 58,999 3. Ford F-SERIES The F-Series is a series of full-size pickup trucks from Ford Motor Company sold for over 5 decades. The most popular variant of the F-Series is the F-150. It has been the best-selling vehicle in the United States for 23 years and the best-selling truck for 30 years 58,539 4. Honda Accord The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. 57,453 5. Ford Explorer 42,888 6. Chevrolet C/K 36,599 7. Toyota Corolla 36,134 8. Ford Taurus 34,194 9. Ford RANGER 30,997 10. Toyota Pickup 28,853 TOP TEN CARS 1. Honda Civic 61,551 2. Toyota Camry 58,999 3. Honda Accord 57,453 4. Toyota Corolla 36,134 5. Ford Taurus 34,194 6. Ford Escort 25,192 7. Saturn 23,103 8. Chevrolet Cavalier 18,851 9. Ford Mustang 17,141 10. Pontiac Grand Am The Pontiac Grand Am was originally a mid-size car and later a compact car that was produced by the Pontiac division of General Motors. The Grand Am had two separate 3-year runs in the '70s: from 1973 to 1975 and again from 1978 to 1980. It was based on the GM A platform. 15,746 TOP TEN TRUCKS 1. Ford F-Series 58,539 2. Ford Explorer 42,888 3. Chevrolet C/K 36,599 4. Ford Ranger 30,997 5. Toyota Pickup 28,853 6. Dodge Caravan 26,940 7. Toyota 4Runner 26,702 8. Dodge D150/350 26,655 9. Jeep Grand Cherokee The Jeep Grand Cherokee is a mid-size sport utility vehicle produced by the Jeep division of DaimlerChrysler. European Grand Cherokees are manufactured in Austria by Magna Steyr. Development The Grand Cherokee was a spinoff of the smaller Jeep Cherokee. 25,013 10. FORD Expedition 24,669 SOURCE: Ford Motor Co. CAPTION(S): Photo, Box Photo: (Color) Galpin Motors keeps a large inventory of Ford F-Series trucks at Van Nuys Airport Van Nuys Airport (IATA: VNY, ICAO: KVNY, FAA LID: VNY) is a public airport located in Van Nuys, California in the San Fernando Valley, within the Los Angeles city limits. to meet demand for the nation's most popular truck. Gus Ruelas/Daily News Box: (Color) BEST SELLERS (see text) |
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