How about this! Ford Motor leaned very hard into a patriotic and Pro-America theme to become the #1 selling car brand in America for the 2nd (April - June) quarter, 2025. Ford beat out Toyota by a slim 550 units to be the Best-Selling Auto Brand in America! Via Courier Journal.
The story behind how Ford's push to be America's carmaker helped it top Toyota
On the evening of March 27, Ford Motor Co.'s marketing leaders called a meeting at World Headquarters in Dearborn. The country was in turmoil as the second quarter was about to start. The automaker had to do something to keep showrooms buzzing as consumers fretted over newly issued tariffs potentially pushing car prices higher.
Ford already had a new ad campaign and incentive program "in the can," as they say. It was good to go. But something felt off."This was a moment in time," Rob Kaffl, Ford's director of U.S. sales and dealer relations told the Detroit Free Press about that night. "We were thinking: What would it take for Ford Motor Co. to shine during this uneasiness in the market both for consumers and automotive?"
That night, Ford leaders would end up ditching the company's previous campaign plans and instead spend the weekend in a frenzy working up a new campaign with a message to promote the automaker as America's car company, dubbed: "From America, For America." As part of it, Ford offered all customers employee prices on most of its vehicles starting April 3 running to July 7.
The "From America, For America" campaign would end up offsetting Ford's dismal first quarter results and provide a positive light during a year in which Ford is leading in safety recalls. The campaign was instrumental in delivering a 14% gain in Ford's second quarter sales and, on July 1, Ford brand — not including Lincoln — became the No. 1 selling brand in the nation for the first half of the year selling 1,058,323 vehicles, topping its closest rival, Toyota brand, by just 550 vehicles and outselling Chevrolet brand sales by 136,437 vehicles.
General Motors, which makes Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and GMC brands, remained the top selling automaker for the first six months selling 1,439,951 vehicles in the United States. Toyota and GM spokespeople declined to comment for this story.
This is the eighth time in the past decade that Ford brand has taken the sales crown for the first half of the year, according to Edmunds.com. But given the circumstances and how it came to pass, this time makes it the most meaningful victory, Kaffl said.
"Had we not beat Toyota, we’d still be high-fiving honestly," Kaffl said. "All of us were really proud of what we accomplished over the last 90 days. This campaign and what Ford represents isn’t just a marketing campaign. It’s every man and woman working tirelessly in our Michigan assembly plants and our Kentucky assembly plants. … This is the U.S. manufacturing that makes us so proud to be working for a company like Ford. To beat Toyota is the cherry on the sundae."
In Kentucky, the campaign was on full display during the April launch of the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator out of the Kentucky Truck Plant. The company branded the launch as "From Kentucky, For America," paying homage to the roughly 20% of Ford's entire hourly workforce manufacturing vehicles in Louisville, The Courier Journal previously reported.
Additionally, the automaker rolled out commercials for the campaign, including one filmed inside the Kentucky Truck Plant that aired live on NBC and at Churchill Downs during the 2025 Kentucky Derby.
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