Toyota has replaced Dodge as the third most popular car brand in America, according to a May 3 story by Mark Truby in The Detroit News. So far this year, the surging Japanese automaker has outsold the venerable Dodge division and trails only Ford and Chevrolet. If the trend holds, Toyota will be the first foreign nameplate to rank as one of America's top three selling brands. Buoyed by record April sales, Toyota has sold 469,237 cars and trucks this year, 25,680 more than Dodge. Toyota still has a long way to go to threaten Ford and General Motors Corp.'s Chevy division, which have sold 1,054,403 and 855,503 vehicles, respectively, in 2001. Even so, Toyota's latest milestone reflects a troubling trend for Detroit and its three major automakers: Americans are choosing Japanese, Korean and German cars and trucks in record numbers. Once a seller of mostly small, fuel efficient cars, Toyotas is now a full-line manufacturer with an impressive lineup of SUVs, pickups, minivans, sports cars and sedans. "These guys are good," said Jim Hossack, an industry consultant with Southern California-based AutoPacific Inc. "They have great products, great marketing and great dealers. It's not luck." As Toyota's U.S. sales and market share have increased, the company has shown it can apply its strengths -- a reputation for quality, speedy engineering, robust manufacturing, and canny marketing instincts -- to the growing light truck side of the business. Whereas Dodge has just one SUV -- the aging Durango -- Toyota now has five. The hulking Sequoia sport-ute, refined Highlander SUV and the powerful Tundra pickup have garnered rave reviews and strong sales. "Toyota digs where the gold is," Hossack said. "People want SUVs so they build them." This fall, Toyota will introduce an all new version of the Camry sedan, America's best-selling car. To broaden its reach and mitigate an aging owner base, Toyota may create a third brand aimed at younger, entry-level buyers, according to Truby's story. Toyota and its Lexus luxury division sold more than 1.6 million vehicles last year in the U.S. The company wants to sell two million cars and trucks annually within five years, according to company spokesman John Hanson. Within the next decade, it hopes to surpass the Chrysler Group in total U.S. sales. Chrysler Group -- including Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler brands -- sold 2.5 million vehicles last year. Sales at Dodge, Chrysler's largest division, have tumbled 18 percent from last year's levels, while the overall U.S. market is down just 6.8 percent. Dodge's good-looking vehicle lineup has been dogged by a reputation for sketchy reliability, according to Truby's story. Fittingly, DaimlerChrysler is using Toyota as a role model to improve the quality of Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler vehicles. A critical test comes this summer with the introduction of the all-new Ram full-size pickup. The Ram helped revitalize the brand in 1994 when it was last redesigned and is by far Dodge's most popular vehicle. The new Ram is bigger than the current model and offers features such as four full doors. Dodge hopes to ride the brawny truck back to the No. 3 position. "We take this very seriously and we want to hang onto number three," said Marc Henretta, DaimlerChrysler spokesman. "We're going to market aggressively to make sure it happens. We're staying very positive."