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The 10 best-selling cars of all time

By | January 31, 2012, 2:51 PM PST

The Toyota Corolla is the best-selling car of all time, according to 24/7 Wall Street, a business news website.

Introduced in 1966, the Toyota mainstay has sold 37.5 million units over the years. The inexpensive four-cylinder sedan - originally launched in Japan, where its small size and fuel efficiency were well suited - has undergone 10 iterations of upgrades since then. Currently, the Corolla gets 35 miles per gallon and sells for $16,130.

Which cars were runners up?

2. Ford F-Series (1948 - present)
Sales: 35 million
Type: Pickup
Price: $22,990 (most recent)

3. Volkswagen Golf (1974 - present)
Sales: 27.5 million
Type: inexpensive four-cylinder sedan
Price: $17,995 (most recent)

4. Volkswagen Beetle (1933 - present)
Sales: 23.5 million through 2011
Type: inexpensive rear-engine four-cylinder
Price: $19,795 (most recent)

5. Ford Escort (1968 - 2000)
Sales: 20 million
Type: inexpensive four-cylinder two-door/four-door
Price: $11,950 (2000)

6. Honda Civic (1972 - present)
Sales: 18.5 million
Type: inexpensive four-cylinder sedan
Price: $15,605 (most recent)

7. Honda Accord (1976 - present)
Sales: 17.5 million
Type: inexpensive four-cylinder mid-sized sedan
Price: $21,380 (most recent)

8. Ford Model T (1908 - 1927)
Sales: 16.5 million
Type: first mass-production sedan
Price: $260 (1920s)

9. Volkswagen Passat (1973 - present)
Sales: 15.5 million
Type: mid-priced five cylinder four door
Price: $19,995 (most recent)

10. Chevy Impala (1958 - present)
Sales: 14 million
Type: mid-priced V6 coupe
Price: $25,760 (most recent)

Readers, did you find any unexpected models on this list? Was anyone else surprised to see the Ford Model T among the top 10, considering it’s been out of production for the last 85 years?

Photo: Toyota

via [24/7 Wall Street]

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Channtal Fleischfresser

About Channtal Fleischfresser

Channtal Fleischfresser is a contributing editor for SmartPlanet.

Channtal Fleischfresser

Channtal Fleischfresser

Contributing Editor

Channtal Fleischfresser has worked for The Economist, WNET/Channel 13, Al Jazeera English, Wall Street Journal and Associated Press. She holds degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She is based in New York.

Follow her on Twitter.

Channtal Fleischfresser

Channtal Fleischfresser

Channtal does not have financial holdings that would influence how or what she covers.

She writes for SmartPlanet and is not an employee of CBS.

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23
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+1 Vote
+ -
What about...
The Toyota Camry? Total US sales alone exceed 9M units, since 1983. I'm sure Toyota's sold at least 5M outside of the US, no?
Posted by gork platter
31st Jan 2012
+3 Votes
+ -
No surprise on Model T.
Adjusted for inflation the $300 1927 model T would sell for just $3,800 today.

In this economy I'd buy a cheap, dependable, affordable to operate, bare bones car in a minute.

I bet millions of others would too.
Posted by Hates Idiots
1st Feb 2012
+1 Vote
+ -
Model T is actually the best selling car
when you factor its relatively short lifespan compared to the others.
Posted by skf
1st Feb 2012
+1 Vote
+ -
What surprised me
Was not that the Model T was on the list, but that the VW Golf topped the Beetle, which has decades more production. Or was that only the air-cooled Beetle? Seems like they didn't quit making the classic air-cooled model in Mexico 'till sometime after the "New Beetle" came out. . .

BTW: For most of it's history, the Impalla mostly came with V-8s. ('Though my grandfather had a couple in the '60s which had straight 6s. But he had to special order 'em.)
Posted by CodeCurmudgeon
1st Feb 2012
-1 Votes
+ -
Why Staight 8?
Why did he prefer the straight 8 vs the V8?
Posted by sboverie
1st Feb 2012
0 Votes
+ -
6 not 8
Chevy never made a straight 8. The straight 6 was the economy version.
Posted by Greenknight_z
2nd Feb 2012
-2 Votes
+ -
India
Give the Indian (and chinese) economies time to make their vehicles accessible. These numbers will be crushed. Let's hope those vehicles are super efficient or use a different energy source.

That's my guess.
Posted by philrushworth
1st Feb 2012
0 Votes
+ -
Model-T
It is really amazing the Model T made this list, since the US population in the 1920's was ~106 million, whereas in 2010 it was 308,745,538, or only 1/3 the size. As for prices, general inflation means a $500 price for the (then new) 1927 Model A would now be ~$12,000, compared with the 2006 MSFP of a Ford Focus at ~$15000. Its not really an apple-apple comparison, however, since the 2006 Focus is probably a better car than the 1927 Model A. This is an inflation rate of 1,929% since then. See http://inflationdata.com/inflation/inflation_rate/long_term_inflation.asp
Posted by Starman35
Updated - 1st Feb 2012
+3 Votes
+ -
And the winner is FORD!
Ford: 71.5M
Volkswagen: 66.5M
Toyota: 37.5M
Honda: 36M
Chevy: 14M

That surprised me.
Posted by philrushworth
1st Feb 2012
0 Votes
+ -
Well, sort off
If you take only the top ten models, yes. If you take the top 20, it would probably look different.
Posted by Riaanh
30th Oct
0 Votes
+ -
Common thread
Economy and reasonable utility/functionality seems the common thread through all these models. Unfortunately, the mfg. seem to have never gotten it.
Posted by dduggerbiocepts
Updated - 1st Feb 2012
0 Votes
+ -
They're just names
Other than the T, none of these cars were the same at the end (or currently) than they were they were at the beginning. The manufacturers created new cars & gave them the same name as an existing or past 1. Sometimes the new car was similar to the old 1, sometimes not.
Posted by hoodedswan
1st Feb 2012
0 Votes
+ -
Cars
The Ford model T wins. All of the other models went through multiple iterations. I used to pick up the 1967 toyota corolla and put it on the sidewalk. Same with the first 2 cylinder civic. They were not cars, but carriagized motorcycles. Deathtraps too.
In any case, all that will come from a fully motorized china and india will be death of this planet. Cars and other fossil carbon burning has already done enough damage. Motorizing china alone will turn our atmosphere into a primordial soup.
Posted by Arctic Char
1st Feb 2012
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Primordial soup
The drivers there may turn themselves into soup long before the atmosphere....
Posted by GregGold
1st Feb 2012
+1 Vote
+ -
Could argue for the Beetle
The Model T did evolve some, though it remained the same basic car. The Beetle did change somewhat more, but I would argue that every one prior to the Super Beetle was still the same basic car - and it outsold the Model T.

The rest of the list, as hoodedswan correctly pointed out, are just names - none of them are close remaining to the same car over the years.
Posted by Greenknight_z
Updated - 2nd Feb 2012
0 Votes
+ -
Ford
No Ford Pinto in the list, How come? and how about Yugo?
Posted by HamidHakimi
3rd Feb 2012
0 Votes
+ -
Misleading
Ford F-series?

Come on. The F-150 and the F-350 are two completely different vehicles, with very few, if any, common parts.
Posted by bb_apptix
6th Feb 2012
+1 Vote
+ -
US or World figures?
These #'s seem a bit low to me. Are these US sales only?
I know the VW bug was a huge seller for years in S. America after they
stopped selling for a time in the US.
Posted by richard233
24th Feb 2012
0 Votes
+ -
You beat me to it, but...
wikipedia says the number is correct (about 21 mil in total world count).
From these, 3,3mil were from Brazil, and about 15mil from Germany alone.
Posted by fo128
1st Oct
0 Votes
+ -
Yugo
0 to 60 in two days. Good economy though.
Posted by ITOdeed
24th Feb 2012
0 Votes
+ -
Most popular cars
I am thrilled to know that our taxes went to bail out Government Motors, which had only one car on the list, and Chrysler which did not have any cars on the list.
Posted by radar_z
29th Oct
0 Votes
+ -
you forgot the trabant
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trabant
Posted by ronangel
29th Nov
0 Votes
+ -
Toyta corrola 4 speed auto why
all vehicles are moving toward 6 speed or more and honda is also given 5 speed forward auto already and may be next model honda civic give 6 speed forward auto but toyota still jame on 4 speed auto and pick is also very miserable on auto toyota.Dash borad plastic is also third class.Dash boadr design is dull.toyota should to imrove its auto speed gears as soon as possible otherwise it is very shame for toyota engneers they do not need to change in auto gear box section so that in this style Honda civic and city win by toyota
Posted by wheelswide
27th Apr
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