Ford Wins the California Sales Crown Again

The word from the home office has been unrelentingly grim for followers and fans of Ford Motor Co.: lower earnings, stock price and market share; the continuing Firestone tire mess; and the axing last week of Chief Executive Jacques Nasser.

Anyone seeking respite from the news out of Dearborn, Mich., might turn to Anaheim, home of the auto maker’s Western regional headquarters. Once again--the 19th consecutive model year, for those counting--the Ford brand has won the California sales crown.

With sales of 362,084 new cars and trucks from October 2000 through September 2001, Ford outpaced Toyota (290,368) and General Motors Corp.’s Chevrolet brand (222,504), according to new-vehicle registration data compiled by Polk Co.

Ford’s F-Series pickup was the top-selling truck (and top vehicle, to boot), with sales of 86,436; Chevy’s Silverado and C/K pickups notched second in the truck sweepstakes at 67,176. Honda’s Accord (77,430) and Civic (68,918) were Nos. 1 and 2 among passenger cars, ahead of Toyota’s Camry (68,318) and Corolla (44,122).