Update: Ford F-150 reclaims top spot in U.S. sales chart

Update: Ford's F-150 may have been subject to the humbling loss of its decade-old 'top sales' position in May, but it seems America's most popular truck is back on top of the list - for the time being at least. The F-150 has never faced a stronger call to arms then it did in May, when not just one but four Japanese sedans managed to outsell it. Thanks to employee pricing schemes and other discount incentives Ford’s F-150 saw a return to grace last month, managing to beat the Toyota Camry in second place by almost 2,700 sales.

Despite the vehicle’s return to its traditional spot in the list, sales for the truck are still down significantly from last year - compared to May of 2007, the May 2008 figures for the F-Series show a 30.6% decline, while the July 2008 figures show a 20.6% decline. However, the result is made even more impressive considering Ford is planning to introduce a redesigned model later this year.

Original: The Ford F-150 has been the top-selling vehicle in the U.S. since 1991, the last time it was bumped from the top of the monthly sales charts by a sedan. This time around it's not just one, but four sedans that have knocked the reigning champ from its perch.

Predictions last month indicated that Toyota's Camry, which finished April second in overall U.S. sales, would topple the might Ford, but in the end it was a foursome of Hondas and Toyotas that did the job.

Honda's Civic lead the way in May, selling the most it ever has in a single month at 53,299 units. The Toyota Corolla followed in second with 52,826 cars and the Camry took third with 51,291 sales, according to Automotive News. Honda's Accord finished fourth at 43,728 units, just shy of 800 vehicles ahead of the fifth-place Ford F-150.

High fuel prices and expectations that they are going to stay that way, rather than deflate back to more 'normal' levels are driving the American shift from pickups to cars. Ford has put a new series of incentives on its F-series trucks, but sales are not expected to pick up significantly.

The company is working on a pair of smaller trucks - one based on the F-series platform and the other to replace the Ranger. They may be able to help boost sales, especially among commercial buyers that still need the utility of a pickup but would also like better fuel efficiency.

The news of the sales switch comes alongside GM's announcement that it is shifting focus from its SUV and light truck operations to more efficient passenger cars, and will be significantly restructuring its business to do so.