Ford F-Series Best-Selling Pickup of 2012, Toyota Tacoma Owns Midsize Segment

Americans bought nearly 2 million pickups in 2012, 645,316 of which were Ford F-Series trucks. That nameplate dominated the competition last year, with second-place finisher Chevrolet Silverado coming up more than 200,000 units short of the F-Series' total, at 645,316 bowtie-badged pickups sold.

The Nissan Frontier sold 55,435 units in 2012, good enough for seventh place and a slight bump in sales over the prior year. The Chevrolet Colorado moved 36,840 units for an eighth-place finish, while platform-mate GMC Canyon placed 12th with just 8735 units sold. Though those results seem embarrassing now, both nameplates receive an overhaul next year, injecting some life into the midsize segment and likely bolstering the models' sales numbers in 2013. Though the half-truck/half-SUV Chevy Avalanche will be discontinued after the 2013 model year, its sales of 23,995 units in 2012 were good enough for a ninth-place finish.

The aging Nissan Titan found itself in 10th place, with sales of 21,576 units - down 1.9 percent from 2011's total. That full-size pickup's second-generation model has been delayed until at least model-year 2014, which likely means Titan sales will continue to slide as more modern competition comes to market. Meanwhile, the Ford Ranger, which is exiting the U.S. market, managed to garner 19,366 sales as production was winding down - earning it 11th place. The still-in-production unibody Honda Ridgeline, on the other hand, only found homes with 14,068 buyers, landing it in 12thplace. The Chevy Avalanche's Cadillac-badged stablemate Escalade EXT crossed the finish line dead-last, with 1934 units of the truck bed-equipped niche luxury vehicle sold in 2012.