Passed em last year if my memory serves me right. Audi is on a tear. Caddy and Buick are now past Acura.

I stated awhile ago and agree that Lexus won't be #1 in sales for awhile if ever again.

 

I really don't see a problem with that, if Lexus never is #1 again in the US market. The Germans rely on massively subsidized lease deals along with bigger lineups full of tons of model variations and niche vehicles.

Lexus has a smaller, more focused lineup, and has never relied on massively subsidized lease deals for sales.

As long as Lexus sticks to putting the product and quality as the most important priorities as they have been for the past few years now with Akio Toyoda, then I really don't care too much about it being #1 in sales.

 

Toyota Officially Outsells GM, VW thru 1st 3 Quarters

When it comes to global vehicle deliveries, the term "Big 3" doesn't apply to Ford, Chrysler and General Motors, but instead Toyota, GM and Volkswagen - in that order - through the 3rd quarter of 2013. Toyota sold 7.41-million vehicles through the 3rd quarter and is on track to deliver more vehicles this year than GM and VW, which sold 7.25-million and 7.03-million, respectively, through the same period, Bloomberg reports.

During the 3rd quarter, from July to September, Toyota's 2.5-million deliveries helped to push it higher than its closest competitors this year. In that period, GM delivered 2.4-million vehicles while VW posted 2.33-million deliveries.

Part of the reason behind Toyota's and other Japanese automakers resurgence globally is the weakened yen, which can be attributed to policies made by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe since he took office in December 2012. Many refer to those monetary easing policies as 'Abenomics,' which has led some, such as Ford, to call Japan a currency manipulator and is a big reason why the US is lobbying to oppose Japan's entry into the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Because the yen is weakened, Yuuki Sakurai, president of Fukoku Capital Management Inc., reportedly says, "The selling prices of some Japanese cars in the US have been lowered to make them more competitive."

In the US, at least, GM did out-deliver Toyota in the 3rd quarter. It delivered 697,113 vehicles to Toyota's 586,016, but that was enough for the Japanese automaker to grow 12 percent in the US and beat Ford for the 1st time in 15 quarters.

 

One story I've enjoyed seeing develop is Subaru's recent success story. Here's an article on it:

http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2013/10...e-growing.html