Toyota Surpasses Ford

Well Ford did warn us that January sales wouldn’t be anything to throw a party about, and it was right.

Inside Line is reporting that Toyota Motor Sales USA and DaimlerChrysler has outsold the troubled Dearborn automaker as Ford's U.S. sales took the plunge to 19.0 percent from the same month a year earlier. In a saddening turn of events, Ford's sales of its market-leading F-Series pickups also plummeted down 15 percent in January.

The sales dive lands Ford squarely in 4th place as 2007 starts, allowing Toyota the early lead in a year in which many industry observers are predicting that the Japanese giant will top Ford in U.S. sales and take over the number-one spot, unseating General Motors. Combined January U.S. sales for Toyota, Lexus and Scion totaled 175,850 units, up 9.5 percent from a year ago for the Japanese automaker's 20th consecutive monthly sales gain. In comparison, Ford's U.S. sales in January were 165,688 units. General Motors was the top-ranked automaker in U.S. sales for the month, posting sales of 244,614 in January. Well at least you can still buy quality Ford tie rod ends from your favorite online store.