As expected, we received quite a few comments about our domestic-brand-only American Top Picks 2008 blog. Reading through the oft-feisty responses, I noted that two readers questioned why the Ford F-150 didn't make the cut—or even get mentioned—in the pickup truck category. One wrote:

Not only is it the best-selling full-sized truck for over 30 years...but when was it listed as the truck pick for a model year by CR? Not only does it outsell every truck in the U.S. but every CAR as well! Shouldn't it receive at least honorable mention every year? ...Why does that work for Camry every year and not the F-150?

Since the issue of vehicle sales vs. the ranking of a vehicle in CR's Ratings comes up on occasion, let's take a look.

No doubt, the F-150 has been the top-selling single vehicle nameplate for many years. Even with the recent drop in truck sales, Ford sold over 700,000 F-150s in 2007. Sales figures make great ad copy or fodder for Internet forum discussions. After all, people love to cheer (or boo) for a winner, and sales numbers set up clear winners and losers. But does that matter to the owner?

Topping the sales charts doesn't mean that a vehicle tops its class. After Ford redesigned the F-150 back in 2004, Toyota and GM completely redesigned their trucks and Dodge made substantial improvements to their Ram. As a result, in our last pickup truck test, the Tundra and Silverado handily outscored the F-150. The F-150's engine was strained; the seats uncomfortable; and stability control (a requirement for being a Top Pick) is unavailable. (A 2009 freshening aims to address these complaints.) The F-150 has been a Top Pick in pickups - but that was back in 1999. (See our video reviews of the current full-sized pickup trucks.)

Let's look at the car side of the market. For the last several years, the Toyota Camry has outsold all cars, selling about 470,000 cars a year. But despite what many people think, the Camry hasn't been a CR Top Pick since the 2000 V6 model. (That said, the Camry scores much closer to the top of the family sedan heap than the F-150 does in the pickup segment.) Sometimes the figures and our rankings line up; the Honda CR-V is the top-selling small SUV for 2007, and it ranks very close to the top of our ratings for four-cylinder SUVs.

It would be naive of us to think that all consumers bought products solely based on how they score in our tests. For example, we don't factor styling in to our scoring. The Ford Five Hundred (now Taurus) is a better all-around car than the Chrysler 300, but while one of them is flashy enough to star in rap videos, the other is more likely to be featured in insurance company ads with its badges removed as the amorphous Generic Car.

Brand image also plays a role in some buyer's minds. Sometimes when we're asked for buying advice (an occupational hazard), sometimes our more affordable suggestions are shunned for the sake of status. (Never mind what happens when we suggest buying a minivan or station wagon.)

There's more to it than that though. Typically domestic brands have many more dealers and are represented in more rural areas, easing sales and service for some buyers. Massive spending on commercials gets those vehicles into the public eye. Car companies have resorted to putting heavy end-of-year incentives on cars to "win" a sales race for bragging rights. Some companies spin their accounting, like Toyota's counting the Matrix in Corolla sales and including the Solara in Camry sales. And car companies can dump excess inventory into rental or other fleets to count as sales.

Motivation to sell a lot of cars runs deep in the industry. There is overhead—plants and labor—that is better utilized when kept busy. Selling more cars can translate into economy of scale of production, ideally increasing profits (unless you have to plunk heavy incentives on the cars to move them out of inventory.) While it might be hard to find parts for an esoteric car down the road, most mass-production cars sell in enough volume and have enough factory support to make this a non-issue.

But when it comes to spending your money, none of these issues has anything to do with how good a car is to drive, how it helps prevent (or protect you in) an accident, or how reliable the car is to own. As American Idol's Simon Cowell would say, this is a talent competition, not a popularity contest - and we're scoring cars based on talent.

See our true list of overall Top Picks for 2008. Watch the Top Picks videos.
Also, read "Who makes the best cars?"

—Tom Mutchler