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                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, January 7, 1993                   TAG: 9301070101
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-7   EDITION: METRO   
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: DETROIT                                LENGTH: Short

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TAURUS DETHRONES ACCORD

Ford's Taurus overtook the Honda Accord as the best-selling car in America in 1992, a marketing victory symbolic for the recovering U.S. auto industry.

The Accord had been the best-selling car in the United States for the past three years.

With a surge of sales in the last 20 days of December, Taurus overtook Honda by 16,274 units, selling 409,751 to 393,477 Accords, according to reports the automakers released Wednesday. At the end of November, Taurus had trailed Accord by 14,719 units.

Ford officials in the final quarter cinched the win with a strong push that included special retail lease programs and big incentives to dealers. Other automakers estimated Ford spent tens of millions of dollars on incentives to win the title.

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