U.S. Battle for Midsize Car Crown Heats Up

For years the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry sedans have been locked in a two-way fight for America's top-selling midsize car. But this year they are facing competition from the Nissan Altima and Ford Fusion, Automotive News reports.

In the first three months of this year, Camry has the lead despite a 4% decline to 100,800 units, followed by the Accord (+45% to 88,400 units), Altima (-10% to 87,000 units) and Fusion (+26% to 80,600 units).

Analysts say Fusion has joined the race because of the popularity of the stylish, technology-laden second-generation model introduced last autumn. Ford last captured the title of best-selling American car with the Taurus midsize sedan in 1996.

Traditionally, the leading midsize sedan also has been the top-selling car in the U.S. First-quarter sales results indicate that likely will be the case again in 2013.

Camry was the country's best-selling car in 2012 for the 11th straight year with sales of 404,900 units. Toyota says it is "absolutely confident" it will nab the top spot again this year.