Most analysts believe that the VW merger with Porsche is about to create the largest car company in the world which will have annual sales greater than both GM and Toyota (NYSE:TM). VW’s December sales in the US were up 16% to 20,387, which means the German car company is not at all a factor in the American marketplace. Even small South Korean car company Kia sold 21,048 units last month, up 47%.

Ford (NYSE:F) clearly won the American car sales sweepstakes in December with sales higher by 33% over last year to 184,655. Ford’s board did the right thing by going outside the industry to hire CEO Alan Mulally from Boeing (NYSE:BA), although Boeing probably still wishes he was there. Mulally bet the company on a $23 billion loan which kept it out of Chapter 11 and allowed it to rush popular fuel-efficient cars to market ahead of its domestic competitors.

Toyota (NYSE:TM) was a close second to Ford in the impressiveness of its performance. December sales compared to last year were up 32% to 187,860. Toyota is not only ahead of Ford, but with any success could move ahead of GM for the full year 2010. Toyota has the models, dealer network, balance sheet, and marketing programs to thrash the General in its home market.

GM’s number were mixed, especially if one looks below the surface. Unit sales dropped 6% to 208,911. But, sales of its discontinued divisions, especially Saturn and Pontiac, were off 55%. It is still not clear whether GM will rue the day it shuttered such well-known brands which might have bounded back strongly with the economy.

At the middle of the pack were Honda (NYSE:HMC), with sales higher by 25% to 107,043, Nissan, where sales were up 18% to 73,404, and Chrysler, which is still hanging on by the skin of its teeth. Its December performance was down 4% from the same month last year to 86,523. The only good that can be said of Chrysler is that while it is still bleeding the flow out is not as great as it was earlier this year.

Douglas A. McIntyre

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