The Best-Selling Cars Of All Time: 24/7 Wall St.

From 24/7 Wall St.: The most successful car in history may be the Ford Model T. While other models may have sold more vehicles, Ford managed to sell nearly 17 million cars from 1908 to 1927 -- a period when car ownership was rare compared to today. The Model T was so successful that nearly every other best-selling car adopted its formula. The Model T was inexpensive to buy, inexpensive to operate, reliable and built by a large company that had hundreds of dealerships and trained mechanics. The other vehicles on this list, from the VW Passat to the Toyota Corolla, share all of these characteristics. The best-selling cars through history have appealed to a broad buyer base because they are within the reach of the masses.

Read The Best-Selling Cars of All Time

The best-selling vehicles have several other notable features in common. For one, the majority were introduced just before or around the same time that gas prices began to rise rapidly in the early 1970s, primarily because of the Arab oil embargo. Car companies offered 4-cylinder, light and fuel-efficient cars that allowed people to drive without badly hurting household budgets. Many of these cars continue to sell well today as gas prices are relatively high around the world.

Many of these cars also are manufactured and sold around the world. The Beetle is sold in the U.S. and Europe. The Passat is built in both the U.S. and China. Several of the best-selling cars from Japan are sold in most major countries around the world. Once a car proved its appeal with consumers, it made economic sense for a manufacturer to use the same base chassis and engine at plants on different continents.

24/7 Wall St. looked at best-selling car data from a number of sources. The sources included major media outlets that cover the auto industry, research firms, and car companies that keep lists of their own best-selling cars.

These Are The Best Selling Cars of All Time:

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Comments

[mario andretti]

07:16 PM on 05/22/2012

Ford has sold a gazillion Mustangs also. For a while they were the 3rd best selling nameplate in the world, outselling entire brands.

[MSROADKILL612]

01:09 PM on 02/08/2012

What about the honda step through?

works as a car for many in asia.

[MSROADKILL612]

01:08 PM on 02/08/2012

The GI car of WW2 - the jeep - hate to think how many were sold - wasnt it kaiser?

[trailerguy]

11:12 AM on 02/03/2012

The civic, impala beetle etc. some of these cars are similiar inname only. The modern beetle has little to dowith its namesake. The best all around car ever made was the dodge dart. you still see them aroun and running 40 years later, with no special treatment.

[pookeydo]

01:04 PM on 02/07/2012

Ditto on the Beetle and the Dart, but another I see around is the Ford Falcon...

[MSROADKILL612]

01:10 PM on 02/08/2012

I have an 82 falcon here in oz - love it

[rikster]

01:31 PM on 02/02/2012

hmm..there are a lot of holes in this.....

[bahkey]

12:04 PM on 02/02/2012

Really surprised that a corolla is ahead of a f - series Ford pick - up.

[Chris Bryan]

04:18 PM on 02/11/2012

That's because just like voting, many car buyers don't know what they're doing.

[JScott]

11:47 AM on 02/02/2012

Lets pause for a moment and remember ones that aren't anymore-Packard, Nash/AMC, Hudson, Kaiser, Edsel, DeSoto, Imperial, Plymouth, Mercury, Pontiac, Oldmobile, Simca, British Leyland, Daihatsu (in the US)...........

[TakeSake]

03:18 AM on 02/04/2012

International Harvester, Studebaker...

[pookeydo]

01:13 PM on 02/07/2012

I believe it was Studebaker, Nash/Rambler, Hudson and Willies merged to form into AMC in the late 50s, then that was bought up by Chrysler sometime in the 80's so they were still around, sort-of...

[1oldhippie]

10:10 AM on 02/02/2012

Of course the Model T tops the list...Henry Ford had this idea that if he paid his workers enough, they could afford his cars. It was a business plan that worked, right up until GREED took over in the business/financial sector.

[pookeydo]

01:15 PM on 02/07/2012

Ford also championed the 5 day work week to allow his workers time of to enjoy the money they made and to increase employee loyalty

[jdmich]

08:51 AM on 02/09/2012

Yup.....until the unions destroyed the auto industry.

[ThomfromCincy]

01:06 AM on 02/02/2012

Please learn how to spell "Volkswagen"!!!

[Bolkonsky]

02:31 PM on 02/03/2012

ha. ggod catch.

[Alligator Breath]

11:35 AM on 02/04/2012

The people's car. The German Model T.

[Scurvydog74]

09:36 PM on 02/01/2012

He also paid the highest manufacturing wages of the time so his workers could afford to own the product they produced. Now, there's a thought.

[Mike Brumfield]

08:49 PM on 02/01/2012

Escorts may have sold well but you will rarely hear rave reviews from someone who owned one in the 80's. Best selling but horribly made!

[bahkey]

12:07 PM on 02/02/2012

Don't know about the eighty's version, But I had a 1994 escort that got me 210,000
miles before I sold It. Tires, oil change,and just one new muffler.

[Mike Brumfield]

01:45 AM on 02/03/2012

Seems the 90's models were much improved.

[blacksmithn]

03:34 PM on 02/02/2012

Yep, I had an 86. It worked fine until one day on the freeway when the engine began spontaneously shutting off and then kicking back on, seemingly at random! Apparently, the designers had placed some sensitive computer chip right next to the block and the heat eventually would cause it to fail. I got it repaired, thanked my lucky stars, and traded it in as fast as I could.

[Mike Brumfield]

09:24 AM on 02/03/2012

Several family members and friends had various Escort models in the 80's, seems they all had issues once they got a few miles on them. Can only think of one person had one made it to over 100K miles and not sure how much money they paid in repairs for it to make it that far.

[MISTERUNCONVENTIONAL]

07:38 PM on 02/01/2012

Anyone who watches "Top Gear" knows those old 1980's and 1990's Toyota trucks with the 22R and 22RE motor are, WORLD-WIDE, the best selling, most reliable, most INDESTRUCTIBLE vehicles ever mfd.

[motoGpifupleez]

08:26 PM on 02/01/2012

I have noticed that when you see a picture of a third world regional conflict, the vehicle is usually a white Toyota pickup truck.

[jdmich]

08:56 AM on 02/09/2012

hahahaha very true

[KenInd]

07:07 PM on 02/01/2012

The Ford Escort continued to be made until 2003.

[Amock]

06:46 PM on 02/01/2012

What no Yugo?

[JScott]

11:24 AM on 02/02/2012

Based on the Fiat 128.........later discontinued.....Fiat got their QC problems fixed and built some successful (in Europe) models since oh and BTW bought some of Chrysler and we'll get one of their variants (via Alfa Romeo) as the Dodge Dart in 2013 I think.

[Dsetney]

06:41 PM on 02/01/2012

Glad to see no Dodge product made this list. Anyone who has owned a mid 1990's Durango knows whats up.

[hsmith7250]

06:49 PM on 02/01/2012

or mid 90s caravan - they would self - destruct at around 90,000 miles - transmissions

[blacksmithn]

03:29 PM on 02/02/2012

Yours made it to 90k? Mine blew up at 70,000! I must've gotten a lemon...

[butchcliff]

06:19 AM on 02/02/2012

Don't forget the K-Car

[Mike Brumfield]

09:26 AM on 02/02/2012

Had a K-Car it spent more time in the shop than it did on the road, just kind of self destructed!