Chevy vs. Ford

There is no American rivalry that can match that of Chevy vs. Ford. Not Coke vs. Pepsi, PC vs. Mac, Burger King vs. McDonalds... not even Yankees vs. Red Sox. No two groups fight harder over the hearts and dollars of the American public than Chevy and Ford, each of which sell over two and a half millions vehicles every year in the United States. Today, as imports take an ever increasing portion of the market, Chevrolet and Ford are still at each others' throats, battling for the title of US sales champ. Since 1986 Ford has held the top postion, aided by its strong truck and SUV sales and by GMs decision to send half of it's pick-up customers to GMC, deflating Chevrolet's sales. For 2005 it seems the tables turned and Chevrolet is once again on top of the heap, outselling Ford by 17,084 units. But GM cannot afford to rest on it's laurels. Nor can Ford spend time licking its wounds. Toyota is nipping at the heals of the American automakers, selling 2.2 million units in 2005. That's about four hundred thousand units behind Chevrolet and Ford, and only 300 thousand behind Daimler Chrysler.

Of course there's more to be concerned with than just the American market. Ford was recently surpassed by Toyota as the world's second biggest automaker. GM and Ford are both losing ground in the global market while Toyota continues to thrive. Will we see a new global sales leader by the end of the decade? It's too early to tell, but it's definitely not out of the question.