Have You Driven a Ford Lately? -- Probably not...

DETROIT (AdAge.com) -- July was a very good month for Toyota Motor Sales USA. While the overall U.S. auto industry's new vehicle sales dropped by 14% in July, Toyota surprised analysts with a 16.2% jump in sales of Toyota, Scion and Lexus models.

The 241,826 units Toyota Motor sold last month was just enough to sneak past Ford Motor Co. for the No. 2 slot by just 426 units. For Toyota, its July sales translated to a record market share of 16.2% for the month, according to a report today from Merrill Lynch.