Are more Japanese or American cars sold in the US?

Question

I see a lot of Japanese cars (Toyotas, Honda) being driven around in the US and I was wondering do Japanese car companies outsell American car companies here in the US?
I would love to get an answer with website links

Answer 1

No, domestic makers (GM, Ford, Chrysler) still outsell Japanese cars, though the gap continues to shrink. Much of the gap is probably due to fleet sales (bulk discounted sales to rental companies, government agencies, etc), but nonetheless, the domestic automakers currently hold slightly over 50% total market share.

However, it seems inevitable that they will drop under 50% this year: http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2007-07-05-detroit-markets-share_N.htm

But also keep in mind, the import market consists of a lot more than Japanese cars. Here's a breakdown of market shares through June 2007 (bottom table):
http://www.reuters.com/article/economicNews/idUSN0322389220070703

Toyota & Honda combine for 25.4% of the US market. Hyundai/Kia and the European makers account for slightly under 12% of the market.

Answer 2

Ya, pretty much what the guy below me said, depending one where you live you might see imports being a majority of the cars on the road, and for good reasons too, I think if everyone needed a simple, economical, they would buy something like a Toyota Yaris, Corolla, or Honda Civic or a Japanese brand because of their reliablility, im not saying that American brands are not reliable, but in my opinion i would put my money on a Japanese car. And when people want luxury and comfort, they are more likely to turn towards European cars (although there are very excellent luxury brand for Japan such as Lexus, Infiniti, and Acura). European offers Mercs, BMW, Range Rover, Porsche, Jag, and other more luxurious models, and I would definately put my money on a BMW for luxury. So you have japanese models that are reliable and economical, and european models that are luxurious, American brand just happens to fall somewhere in between, and therefore, they just don't appeal to me at all (except the corvette c6 z06!) :)

Answer 3

well, i think it depends on the area you're in, in a metropolitan, probably more import cars are being used, but i personally don't think american cars are that reliable in general which is why japanese cars could outsell american cars.
plus it's known that we have a trade deficit here in the united states. many european cars are being imported too.

european = luxury
japanese = efficiency

it's one or the other, most american cars don't really fit on either...
i could be biased though, i'm a big fan of japanese and european cars.