The Best-Selling Vehicles in 2002 Were Pickup Trucks
20 years after 2002, pickup trucks are all the rage again. But in 2002, the best-selling vehicles were pickup trucks, too. What other cars, trucks, and sport utility vehicles landed in the top 10 more than two decades ago? Many of the same ones are flying off the dealership lots today.
The best-selling vehicle in 2002 was the Ford F-Series pickup truck
Edmunds did the math to find out that with 813,701 units sold, the F-Series pickup truck was the best-selling vehicle in 2002. Ford’s F-Series includes a variety of options: F-150, F-150 SVT Lightning, F-250, and the F-350. Some people think it is unfair that Ford gets to group all of those as one truck, but that’s how the cookie crumbles in the automotive world.
In the second place, with 652,646 units sold in 2002, is the Chevrolet Silverado. This includes many variations of the Silverado, such as the 1500, 1500 SS, 1500HD, 2500, 2500HD, and 3500. Buyers were still into pickup trucks, and these two trucks delivered on the options.
Further down the list of best-selling vehicles in 2002 is the Dodge Ram pickup truck. This one comes with fewer options; available in 1500, 2500, and 3500, it still sold 396,934 units. That was good enough for sixth place.
Toyota had a best-selling vehicle or two on the list
The Toyota Camry and Camry Solara came in third place. This sedan managed to sell 434,145 units which was good enough to remain in the top five. Following the Camry, the Ford Explorer, Explorer Sport, and Explorer Sport Trac moved 433,847 units combined. In fifth place was the Honda Accord sedan, which sold 398,980 units.
| Rank | Vehicle | Units sold |
| 1 | Ford F-Series | 813,701 |
| 2 | Chevrolet Silverado | 652,646 |
| 3 | Toyota Camry | 434,145 |
| 4 | Ford Explorer | 433,847 |
| 5 | Honda Accord | 398,980 |
| 6 | Dodge Ram | 396,934 |
| 7 | Ford Taurus | 332,690 |
| 8 | Honda Civic | 313,159 |
| 9 | Chevrolet TrailBlazer | 249,568 |
| 10 | Dodge Caravan | 244,911 |
The remaining best-selling vehicles in 2002 were the Ford Taurus, Honda Civic, Chevy Trailblazer, and last but not least, the Dodge Caravan and Grand Caravan. In the top 10, that leaves three trucks, four sedans, two SUVs, and one minivan.
How does that compare to sales in 2022?
Looking at the best-selling cars of 2022 from Car and Driver, many of the vehicles from 2002 are present. The Ford F-Series remains in first place, selling 467,307 units this year. Chevy’s Silverado is still in second place, selling 374,479 units this year. That’s followed by the Ram pickup (363,089 units) and the Toyota RAV4 SUV (303,341 units). The Toyota Camry has fallen to fifth place, selling 214,403 units in 2022.
Even after 20 years, Americans are still buying some of the same vehicles. That’s a good sign for the Ford F-150s, the Chevy Silverados, and the popular Camry and Civic sedans. More electric cars are popular than ever, but those aren’t selling in big enough numbers yet. However, the all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning has undoubtedly helped those F-Series sales.
No matter the case, the best-selling vehicles in 2002 are mostly still favorites in 2022. If that isn’t a good selling point, nothing is.
