USA 1978: Chevrolet Impala/Caprice #1, Ford Fairmont arrives
Chevrolet Caprice
* Click on the title for the Top 10 best-selling models – Thanks to Adam for the data! *
Second year of reign for the Chevrolet Impala/Caprice, still at a very high level with 621,140 sales, down just 5%. The Oldsmobile Cutlass drops by 23% and keeps the 2nd place, but just: at 406,993 units, it is only 1,200 sales above the Ford Fairmont, the best newcomer by far in the Top 10, directly to #3 with 405,780 sales. The Fairmont even earns the title of ‘best-selling new car ever introduced’ thanks to this first year sales figure.
The Chevrolet Malibu is up 5 spots and 26% to #4 at 374,124 units, while the Chevrolet Monte Carlo is down 3% to #5 and the Ford LTD down 13% to #6. The other two newbies in the Top 10 are the Oldsmobile 88 at #9 with 273,384 sales and the Chevrolet Camaro at #10 and 260,201 units.
Next post: USA 1979 Chevrolet places Impala/Caprice and Chevette on podium
Full 1978 Top 10 Ranking Table below.
USA 1978 (Passenger cars):
| Pos | Model | 1978 | /77 | 1977 | Pos |
| 1 | Chevrolet Impala/Caprice | 621,140 | -5% | 657,151 | 1 |
| 2 | Oldsmobile Cutlass | 406,993 | -23% | 527,939 | 2 |
| 3 | Ford Fairmont | 405,780 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 4 | Chevrolet Malibu | 374,124 | 26% | 296,193 | 9 |
| 5 | Chevrolet Monte Carlo | 355,058 | -4% | 370,825 | 4 |
| 6 | Ford LT D | 332,930 | -13% | 380,499 | 3 |
| 7 | Buick Century | 323,356 | 16% | 279,657 | 10 |
| 8 | Ford Thunderbird | 304,430 | -6% | 325,153 | 6 |
| 9 | Oldsmobile 88 | 273,384 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 10 | Chevrolet Camaro | 260,201 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Source: Manufacturers, many thanks to Adam for sharing the data!
the pic of the Impala is a 1980 model
The 1978 Cutlass data is wrong… All Cutlass models = 500,000 units…. Cutlass Supreme, 2 door, Cutlass 4 doors/2 doors, wagon…. All of these models must be grouped together, such as the Impala.Caprice models. You should compare apples to apples.
Hey Jimmy,
– can I contact you at the msn email address you entered?
Thanks for all your comments.
You seem to have a lot of historical data for the US, so I need to talk with you
Thanks for letting me know.
Matt