Move Over, F-150 And RAV4! There's A New Sheriff In Town

Issue #205

​Hello! We hope you had an marvelous celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, and an excellent 4th Of July Weekend.

Today, we discuss America’s best-selling vehicles and why there’s a changing of the guard that could signal a new direction in buyers’ tastes.

Or, you can continue to read by scrolling down.

Market News

• Kia wanted to take on the 4Runner. The challenge just got even harder for the Korean automaker, and here’s why.

• 25% of new vehicles have loans that are 84 months or longer. Here’s why it’s concerning.

• Subaru pulled off this interesting move that led to WRX sales nearly quadrupling.

• A lawsuit alleges that Silverado and Sierra trucks can leak water into the cabin, causing electrical damage and costly repairs. Here’s more.

• Here’s how another Chinese car has arrived in the US, sort of.

Safety and Recalls

• Cadillac recalls the Vistiq over a critical issue with the third-row seat. Here’s what happened.

• Ford recalls 66,000 SUVs because the first fix didn’t fix the problem.

• Ford (sigh, yes, Ford again) recalls 740,000 SUVs that can roll away when parked. Here’s the list.

Car Culture

• Here’s an investigation on what happened to the Pimp My Ride cars. Powerful journalism, indeed.

• Ferrari has brought back the manual transmission, which is also an automatic. Here’s more.

• Speaking of manual transmissions, this is one of the strangest ever put into any car.

• Fiat’s newest car makes a Honda Fit look massive. Check it out.

• President Trump has pardoned these nine automotive companies and individuals.

Video Of The Week

Here’s the most impressive America-made drag race you’ll see.

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In The Know

Forget The RAV4 and F-150: Here’s America’s Favorite SUV

​Love it or hate it, you have to admit that 2026 has been one of the crazier years for the automotive sector. As we close out the first half of the year, car sales continue to add fuel to the fire (literally, more on that later).

Just like all major automakers, Honda published its first-half sales figures. You can read the entire report here.

There’s a lot to analyze from the data, one of which is that America has fallen back in love with Honda. The company had its best June in five years, with sales up 17%. That’s no small feat in such challenging market conditions.

Likewise, cars are also showing strong numbers. The Civic continues to sell well, but the Accord bounced back with a 49% sales increase. Not only did it sell well, but Honda shows it has the sedan game dominated, as this list proves.

However, that’s not the most impressive feat the company has achieved, and it has many in the industry discussing what led to this moment. Honda sold 38,859 CR-V SUVs in June alone. The Year-to-Date figure exceeds 226,000 units, representing a 6.4% increase compared to 2025.

That’s enough to put it in first place in its ranks as Honda’s bestseller, but also makes it the bestselling vehicle in the US so far for 2026. That’s right, the Honda CR-V is selling better than the Ford F-150 and the Toyota RAV4, the only two vehicles to exchange the number one spot in sales since 1977.

Of course, out of those 49 years, 48 have seen the Ford F-150 be the bestselling vehicle in the US, and the RAV4 has claimed one, but still.

While 2026 hasn’t ended, the CR-V’s sales figures are tough to beat. So, how are the two other candidates performing?

Year-to-date, the Toyota RAV4 has sold 153,955 units, which is 35.7% less than in 2025, as you can read here. Toyota has said it’s struggling to keep up with production because demand is so high, but, as we discussed in a previous issue, it didn’t surprise anyone with the latest RAV4. So, it’s a combination of factors.

As for the F-150, analyzing sales always requires an asterisk. As this article explains, the Honda CR-V outsold the Ford F-150, as Ford struggled to recover from the fire that set back its aluminum production.

However, Honda didn’t outsell the F-Series platform, which sold 357,801 units, as explained here. That’s because Ford puts the F-150, F-250, F-350, and F-450, along with the Raptor series and the Hybrid, together, thus rendering it the best-selling brand.

IMO, I’ve never liked that move, but oh, well.

​The Honda CR-V will continue to sell well.

Meanwhile, both Toyota and Ford face significant headwinds if they want to reclaim the top spot. So far, it seems almost impossible. If you check out this table, you can see that Ford has not outperformed 2025 in any individual month, let alone the Year-to-Date data.

Plus, competition could stiffen, as GM unveiled the new Silverado, promising the best performance in years, as you can read here.

As for Toyota, the RAV4 needs to make up the 48% gap in sales with the CR-V to tie them. Beating them now seems out of the question.

Unless we witness a miracle, it seems this year’s crown will go to the CR-V, and it’s also a sign of changing market dynamics. Perhaps the American market is ready for new things, and here’s a curious tidbit.

The Toyota RAV4 has sold only 20,000 units more than the Honda Civic. Could we see a sedan claim the number one spot? Let’s talk in six months.