This is the bestselling automobile in America

Published: Feb 15, 2016 6:20 p.m. ET

 

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The Ford F-150 takes the crown as best-selling car — again

Ford

Ford took a gamble, and won: The F-150 still reigns supreme.

By

CLAUDIAASSIS

REPORTER

 

Ford Motor Co. F Series pickup trucks, launched in 1948, have been among America’s favorite rides for decades, and the series’ most popular, the legendary F-150, has been the best selling vehicle of any type in the U.S. for more than a decade.

It took the No. 1 spot again in 2015, besting its other pickup rivals and, in fourth and fifth place, the Toyota Camry and the Toyota Corolla.

 

“All open-bed, light-duty pickups sell extremely well. If you do a search of best selling vehicles from any time frame in the past 40 years you’ll see full-size trucks dominating the top 10 spots. So the F-150 has that going for it right off the bat,” said Karl Bauer, an analyst with Kelley Blue Book. Add to that Ford’s long history of building trucks and its exceptional success in creating “a massive and loyal” customer base for the F-150, he said.

Ford F, -1.11%   took a big gamble a few years ago: it set off to redesign and re-engineer the F-150, giving it an aluminum body. The F-150 dropped about 700 pounds, making it more fuel-efficient and more responsive. The legend lives on.