I hope that Ford has more up there in 2009. The Fusion is a big hit in my book! Also love the new Mustang. Looking forward to the Detroit Auto Show! Audi is making some cool debuts along with Ford. And daaaang if I had a family and an extra 50g's, its Ford Flex Limited AWD baby. Go Ford!

By the way I work for Toyota. There is nothing more boring than the Toyota Automotive Products. There is no soul in Toyotas. Now that domestics quality is on par with imports, design and engineering will take precedence, and Ford and GM will win! Sorry Chrysler, Jeeps and Challengers are cool, but come on, the Pacifica? Who buys those things?

What happened to Consumer Reports #1 truck? The Toyota? lol. To bad Nissan bailed out of the Auto Show, but then Lesux cars really are looking horrible these days as well as Nissan's box crossover. If GM survives, maybe they will continue improving the Cad and Truck lines, more than being just par. I agree about the Ford F-150 being the top, again and again, good truck overall.

Checked into the Mustang, very nice improvement, but not enough to trade up from my 06 convertible yet. Like the headlights, but I see an aftermarket assembly that can mimmic the design if I really wanted that.

I hear of an electric Jeep wrangler, that would be interesting. And the Pacifica, well, something to compete with the lesux designs lately.

I expect Ford to continue to stay number 1 with its new F-150 in 2009 especially after the gas prices have dipped below $1.60 in a lot of areas.

2010 will be big for Ford. With the new Taurus, new Fusion, and new Focus around the corner, it should greatly boost their cars sales.

Keep in mind this is the F-SERIES, not just the F-150, but the 250 and 350 as well, maybe even the new 450 considering it is no longer a commercial vehicle. I don't know, but that would make sense to me.

Also the Silverado and the Ram would both include 3/4 and 1 ton trucks.

Keep in mind that nearly all the cars on the list also include a sub model or similar platform model in its numbers as well.

I can't wate to see what Noya has to say about this.

And I won't let you down, 426Hemi.

What can I say? Our country is full of people who like full size, American made trucks. Just like the Japanese are die hard fans of Japan produced cars (and everything else that's produced by only Japanese companies). Patriots, if you want to call them that.

But if you look at the first list for all of 2008, the only domestic car on the list is the Impala, no doubt driven by very low margin fleet sales to government agencies and rental companies.

As for the December only listing, you see the Malibu has joined the list thanks to the domestics practically giving their vehicles away last month. With gas prices at 03-04 levels and domestic dealers losing money or making the bare minimum of margins, of course people who like trucks are going to buy. I don't even like trucks but the well below "posted" invoice pricing caught my eye.

What it comes down to for these companies is margins. The domestics practically give their cars away, making very little, if any money at all. I would wager that Honda makes more money on a single Accord sale than the "big 3" makes on ten truck sales. This is why they're bleeding red, losing over a billion dollars a month. They all have a junk bond status and can't get a loan from any bank (because all the books say they can't pay it back), hence they beg the government for a handout.

On another note, you guys crack me up, comparing domestics to a Lexus. Do yourselves a favor and put on your best Wrangler jeans and Carhartt jackets, walk into a Lexus dealer and just look, touch and sit in one. Then go sit in that Pacifica or Cadillac...

I'm impressed by the Impala...but does that take into consideration fleet sales?

Also never understood the Altima vs. Maxima. At this point they are similar in most regards, while the Maxima just seems more upscale. More power, better options, a few grand more why not? (comparing the 3.5 V6 against each other obviously).

William:

No soul in Toyota products? Oh I get it. You mean when the interior moulding doesn't quite fit in your Dodge Neon and you can see the soul underneath. Or when your feet get caught in the soul (wiring) under the dash or your Sunbird. Or the soul you see your F-150 has when the paint peels off after 6 years (mine did this).

I think I am getting it now but I have to admint I've had enough soul showing in my American made vehicles to last a life time. Thanks!

You people have to unsderstand the ford f-series has never won best selling Pickup. now most people in the world consider the Chevy silverado and the GMC sierra trucks the same damn vehicle. cause they are. same frame, same interior same engines same suspension but the only things that are different are a GMC or Chevy badge the look of the exterior, the rims, and the lights. that it. Ford sold - 515,513, chevy sold - 465,065 that is a difference of only 50,448 i can't find the exact number but i can guarantee that GMC sold way more then that most likely up in 100,000 closer to the 200,00 range. so now who has the top selling pickup FORD or GM i would have to say GM cause GM is one company and ford is one company and for full-size pickups the is really only one The gmt950 (well 1500, 2500, and 3500) from gm and the what ever number from ford uses (well f-150,f-250,f-350). and the other thing ford includes there f-450 and f-550 and f-650. GM does not include there kodiac trucks in there number so now once again gm only calculates with the 1500, 2500, and 3500 nothing else. while ford has 3 more trucks included int hose numbers. GM has the best selling vehicle best selling truck and has had it for a while.

noya, you are my hero.

i'll rather go with a no soul toyota than vehicles with lots of soul which are expensive and less reliable.

@noya,

I have looked (and believe it or not) touched a lesux. Probably the most ugly and hyped up car I have ever seen up close. gag. Even the pro-jap-car reviews admit the lesux has some of the most hideous designs. Sure, they may have some great interior gimics, but way overpriced for what they try to pull off. Some of us are just more concerned where/how the money is spent rather than blindly support some ego driven brand image. Check out your pro-jap-car consumer reports mag review this month? Number one up scale sedan is the Genesis, not your lesux. lol.

Cadillac is started to compete quite well with the lesux, just that you need to get off your pro-jap-car high horse and go look at one objectively. Your story is getting old..

@MetzMan007,

You are correct, GM sold more GM/GMC trucks then the F-150. Not a huge margin, but still more. GM really needs to dump the two brands into one truck line.

Peace.

Please Big 3, build me something fun to drive, that I can afford. My 2000 Expedition is getting a bit boring to drive. I would love something fun for a change. Something like a Mini-Cooper, but it can't scream, "It's really my wife's car" when I drive it. Maybe the 2010 Mustang will be the ticket.

@Dean

Have you heard of after market mods?

what company had camshafts breaking in their new v8 before it was fully test? oh thats right the "completely reliable" toyota tundra. i dont know what that 5.7 can do but i can safely go to 6.8 on my silverado, 7.0 is i wanna sleeve it. ive added stuff to my truck and its still going strong. my mustang makes well over 600 hp reliably. but maybe i should listen to these people who say they are unreliable. all of the companies have problems every now and then, but when was the last time a company had to have a recall on an entire engine where the dealers had to install new ones? reliable toyotas you say? ill stick my domestics.

Commenting on quality as an individual consumer is pretty much a pointless endeavor. I have worked as a reliability engineer for large firms (we will leave the particular organization out), and the first thing I can tell you is even companies that purchase fleets of vehicles in the 1000s have only a modest understanding of the vehicles true quality and likelihood of failures. The raw data to truly compare say a Ford vs. a Toyota product only exists within those manufacturing companies. So, as an individual who at best has maybe owned 10 cars in the last 10 relevant years, it is completely asinine to discuss one company’s quality versus another. You simply do not have enough of a sample to compare. The only reliable data for consumers comes from initial quality reports which point to the domestics matching foreign quality, but that also doesn't necessary point to a long vehicle life. As for big quality problems, well both foreign and domestic car manufacturers have a history of those. Ford and GM both had paint peel issues with their trucks, and Toyota, well just search engine sludge. Just my two cents.