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The Best-Selling Car in America, Every Year Since 1978

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Best-Selling Car in America Since 1978

The Best-Selling Car in America, Every Year Since 1978

Cars have been a staple of the U.S. economy almost since their inception. But as vehicle designs have evolved over time, and consumer tastes alongside them, the best-selling car in America has changed as well.

Finding the right mix of affordability, style, and features has meant that different manufacturers have been in the market lead during different decades.

This infographic from Alan’s Factory Outlet shows the most-purchased cars in the U.S. since 1978, not including trucks and SUVs.

What Is The Best-Selling Car in America By Year?

From 1978 to 2020, over 348 million cars were sold in the U.S., or an average of 8.1 million cars per year. Car sales were especially strong during times of high oil prices, such as following the 1979 oil crisis, as consumers avoided less fuel-efficient trucks and SUVs.

And throughout most of the 20th century, car sales in the U.S. were led by American manufacturers.

From 1978 to 1988, two of the “Big Three” Detroit-based auto manufacturers had the best-selling cars in the country. GM had two models of the Oldsmobile Cutlass and two different Chevrolets in the top spot, while Ford was able to compete with the compact Ford Escort.

But since the late 1980s, Japanese manufacturers started to take over in affordability, reliability, and overall sales.

YearsCar ModelBest-Selling Span (U.S.)
1978–1981Oldsmobile Cutlass4 years
1982Ford Escort1 year
1983Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme1 year
1984–1985Chevrolet Cavalier2 years
1986Chevrolet Celebrity1 year
1987–1988Ford Escort2 years
1989–1991Honda Accord3 years
1992–1996Ford Taurus5 years
1997–2000Toyota Camry4 years
2001Honda Accord1 year
2002–2020Toyota Camry19 years

After Honda and Ford fought closely for the most popular cars with the Accord and the Taurus, Toyota grabbed the crown with the ultra-popular Toyota Camry.

Toyota, which was the world’s largest automaker by market cap for a majority of the last 30 years, also has the world’s best-selling car of all-time with another popular model, the Toyota Corolla.

The company’s cars have resonated with consumers due to reliability, safety, and efficiency in spite of being mass-produced and affordable. High ownership satisfaction and low incidence rates also led Camrys to have high resale value.

Runner Ups and Best-Selling Trucks and SUVs

Just behind Toyota for many years was another Japanese automaker, Honda. The company’s Accord and Civic models consistently ranked just behind the Toyota Camry in U.S. sales throughout most of the 2000s.

Despite most of the world preferring cars for vehicle purchases, the U.S. has become light truck and SUV dominant since the 2000s.

Car ModelUnits Sold (U.S. 2020)
Ford F-Series 787,422
Chevrolet Silverado 594,094
Ram pickup 563,676
Toyota RAV4 430,387
Honda CR-V 333,502
Toyota Camry 294,348
Chevrolet Equinox 270,994
Honda Civic 270,994
GMC Sierra 253,016
Toyota Tacoma 238,806

The proliferation of light trucks also meant that Toyota, one of the world’s leading hybrid sellers, saw the crossover/SUV Toyota RAV4 Hybrid beat the well-known Prius consistently in U.S. sales.

Meanwhile, electric car sales in the U.S. are still far behind, climbing up to 1.8% of sales in 2020 from 1.4% the year before. Compared to countries like Norway where electric cars make up the majority of vehicle sales, the U.S. will likely be dominated by light-trucks for years to come.

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Ranked: Top 10 Most Valuable Airline Brands Since 2013

Airline brands have seen big up and down swings in valuation as of late. See how the 10 largest brand have changed from 2013 to 2022.

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Shareable Top 10 Airlines

Top 10 Most Valuable Airline Brands Since 2013

The global airline industry was experiencing strong growth before the pandemic wiped out years of momentum.

Global travel went from 1.9 billion scheduled passengers per year in 2004 to 4.7 billion in 2019, before dropping back down to 1.8 billion in 2020. And while the recovery story has begun, the values of the top airline brands have been significantly impacted.

This graphic from Julie R. Peasley shows the most valuable airline brands from 2013 to 2022, using data from Brand Finance. Each airline brand is also categorized by home continent.

Most Valuable Airlines From 2013‒2022

After two back-to-back years of suffered declines, brand values for the top airlines changed course and rose in 2022.

American companies have long dominated the airline space when categorized by brand value. American Airlines, Delta, United, and Southwest have represented four of the top five since 2017, with their brands worth a collective value of $24.1 billion in 2022.

CompanyBrand Value ($B)Region
Delta$7.3North America
American Airlines$6.3North America
United Airlines$5.5North America
Emirates$5.0Middle East
Southwest Airlines$5.0North America
Air Canada$2.5North America
Air China$2.4Asia
Lufthansa$2.3Europe
China southern$2.3Asia
ANA$2.3Asia

First-place Delta in particular has remained in either the top spot or second place since 2014. On the other hand, second-place American Airlines was not even in the top 10 in 2013, but rapidly climbed past companies like United, Lufthansa, and British Airways.

Emirates is also a serious competitor and has won numerous awards for customer service. The UAE-based airliner even held the most valuable title for four consecutive years from 2013 to 2016.

Will Airline Brands Recover?

While views amongst some airline executives are a lot more optimistic now, it’s fair to say the pandemic resulted in some considerable industry turmoil.

After all, in 2020 industry revenues declined by 54% from $838 billion in 2019.

As a result, you’ll notice each brand is below their historic high values. But as travel is projected to make a full comeback, recovery and higher brand values might be on the horizon.

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