Ford Pickup Truck Still Leads Retail Sales Race

Ford Motor Co.’s F-Series pickup truck remained the top-selling vehicle in the U.S. in October and for the first 10 months of 1997, despite declines from the year-earlier periods, according to auto maker sales reports released this week.

Honda Motor Co.’s Accord was the top-selling passenger car for the month. Toyota Motor Co.’s Camry remains the No. 1 passenger car for the year through October.

The Accord had the biggest percentage sales gain from the year-ago month, rising 19%, followed by Ford’s Taurus, up 15%.

The biggest declines were in Chrysler Corp.’s Jeep Grand Cherokee sport-utility vehicle, down 11%, and Ford’s F-Series pickup truck, down 10%.

Pickups accounted for four of the month’s top 10 sellers, which also included two sport utilities, giving light trucks six of 10 top spots.

The figures, which are for retail sales, were provided by Autodata Corp., a Woodcliff Lake, N.J., auto-industry consulting firm.