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Best selling cars (and truck) of all time


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According to autoguide.com...

I wonder how many of you would be able to guess them all. As of September 2013:

10. Chevrolet Impala: Over the course of its life, the Impala has sold 14 million units since its introduction as the Bel Air Impala in 1958.

9. Volkswagen Passat: Despite a shorter lifespan than the Impala, the Passat has moved 15.5 million units since its debut in 1973.

8. Ford Model T: The Model T helped set the benchmark for mass-production cars. During its lifespan (which began in 1908), the Model T sold a hugely impressive 16.5 million units, making up a significant portion of all cars on American roads at the time.

7. Honda Accord: The Accord garnered a strong reputation for reliability. It was originially released as a compact, but has morphed into the ubiquitous sedan we see today. It has sold 17.5 million units since 1976 and is still going strong.

6. Honda Civic: Just ahead of the Accord is its sibling, the Civic. It debuted in 1973 as a subcompact and has since moved 18.5 million units in the last 40 years.

5. Ford Escort: Escort found far more fans in Europe than it did in the U.S. It’s lifespan lasted from 1968 until 2000, during which Ford sold 18 million of the cars worldwide.

4. Volkswagen Beetle: With one of the longest lifespans of any vehicle (that’s still in production), the original Beetle was released in 1938 and has since sold 23.5 million units. A significant redesign occured in the 1990s, which saw putting a modern spin on the beloved classic.

3. Volkswagen Golf: The Volkswagen Golf, with its 27.5 million cars sold since 1974, has proven to be a more popular model than the Beetle, offering a more straightforward look that a wider range of people are likely to find attractive.

2. Ford F-Series: The second bestselling vehicle of all time hasn’t been showing signs of slowing, either. Ford’s F-Series trucks have sat at the top of the best selling list each month, usually by a margin of twofold over the second place finisher. All told, the F-Series has 35 million sold since its debut in 1948.

1. Toyota Corolla: 1966 saw the birth of the Corolla, the world’s bestselling car at the time that this list was made. In the nearly 50 years since, the Corolla has moved roughly 37.5 million units, and the company has just recently unleashed a refreshed, redesigned model, while the older model was still breaking into the the top-selling cars monthly on a regular basis.

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I would have thought the impala's numbers would have been higher really, given how many were used as police/government vehicles.

would have thought the Plymouth fury would have been in there too, blues brothers movie must have wrecked 500 of them alone, hahaha....

Edited by tbill
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I would never have guessed the VW Passat would be on the list.

The list is no doubt affected by International sales. Cars like the Passat weren't all that popular here, but probably sold very well world wide. And everyone I know who has had a modern VW tells horror tales of reliability. In fact a friend was here yesterday telling of selling theirs because it needed some $1500 repair.

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The list is no doubt affected by International sales. Cars like the Passat weren't all that popular here, but probably sold very well world wide. And everyone I know who has had a modern VW tells horror tales of reliability. In fact a friend was here yesterday telling of selling theirs because it needed some $1500 repair.

Yes, I think the list reflects worldwide sales.

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I would have thought the impala's numbers would have been higher really, given how many were used as police/government vehicles.

would have thought the Plymouth fury would have been in there too, blues brothers movie must have wrecked 500 of them alone, hahaha....

I dont think government sales number are included in these types of list

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The list is no doubt affected by International sales. Cars like the Passat weren't all that popular here, but probably sold very well world wide. And everyone I know who has had a modern VW tells horror tales of reliability. In fact a friend was here yesterday telling of selling theirs because it needed some $1500 repair.

Have a customer at work that bought a Passat Wagon used from a VW dealer not far from my home think it would make a nice, reliable, retired man's car..........and he then proceeded to drop about that much with the dealer to make it work right within a month or two of the car's purchase!

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I suppose the Camry will eventually catch up with those Corolla numbers.

With one of the longest lifespans of any vehicle (that’s still in production), the original Beetle was released in 1938 and has since sold 23.5 million units. A significant redesign occurred in the 1990s, which saw putting a modern spin on the beloved classic.

Are they counting the New Beetle as well? That's like lumping the Model A figures in with the Model T just because they looked similar.

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I would have thought the impala's numbers would have been higher really, given how many were used as police/government vehicles.

would have thought the Plymouth fury would have been in there too, blues brothers movie must have wrecked 500 of them alone, hahaha....

Very few police cars were Impalas. They were usually Del Rays, Biscaynes, and later, Caprices. The Impala moniker wasn't widely used for police car packages until the 2000+ platform, because the Impala was the upscale, more luxurious Chevy model. Police cars were usually cheaper models.

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Very few police cars were Impalas. They were usually Del Rays, Biscaynes, and later, Caprices. The Impala moniker wasn't widely used for police car packages until the 2000+ platform, because the Impala was the upscale, more luxurious Chevy model. Police cars were usually cheaper models.

Plus the Police car market is really not all that big.

Scott

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All except the Beetle and the Model T had several very different versions so this is really a list of best selling nameplates.

I don't think they all could be categorised as "nameplates". Their difference in appearance is more to do with the evolution of technology & modern society. They can't remain exactly the same as when the very first model debuted.

Edited by CJ1971
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