The most successful cars in 2012

Courtesy of Mercedes-Benz

The Mercedes-Benz E350 Coupe sold well and enjoys high praise from customers.

It was a good summer for car manufacturers in the United States.

Total vehicle sales hit 1,290 million units last month, to 20 percent compared to the previous year, while sales of medium-sized models sold 22 percent to 2,520 million vehicles this year, according to Autodata.

Chrysler, Ford and General Motors each beat expected sales figures for August, with Chrysler by 14 percent, Ford by 13 percent and GM by 10 percent.

Under export brands, particularly stellar pay and Toyota reported: sales rose 46 percent last month, more than many analysts had predicted the 40-percent gain.

Executives at the company, based in Toyota city, Japan thanks to the rise of the power of the new and updated models, so it's no wonder that four of them made our list of the most successful cars of the year. The Toyota Camry, Toyota Carolla, Toyota Prius and Toyota RAV4 made the cut.

Behind the numbers

The to do more than just sales success - think high sales in combination with high consumer satisfaction rates and rave reviews in consumer reports.

To determine which cars and trucks were the most successful 2012, we looked at three factors: total sales to date nationwide; Awarded customer satisfaction to brand the American customer satisfaction index compiled, and overall grade for performance, reliability, security and value of consumer reports consumer.

We are included in the potential winners of the top 5 selling luxury cars, because often extremely high satisfaction and CR get lower as the economy sedans scores their sale prices but by design. Some of these, such as the BMW 3-series, make the final cut.

For simplicity, we mixed versions in core model rated. For example listed, when a Lexus LS 460 L does highest total results for consumer reports series - and it - we it under the Lexus LS line.

To be noted is that our list does not contain some perennial bestsellers, such as the Ford F-150 truck, of more than about sold numbers qualify but fell short as a brand with satisfaction. It may also not contain, the Porsche Cayenne, which - despite his great success in the American market, missed the cut, because it excluded the lower sales of our criteria.

The list however includes such gems as the Hyundai Genesis.

Hyundai's $34,200 sedan saw double-digit sales compared to the previous year and consistently A6, Infiniti M and Lexus GS sold better than mid-luxury players such as Audi. Consumer reports called it the most reliable medium-sized premium car, the first car of this distinction wins his first year of eligibility.

In fact, it was a good year of the Korean manufacturer - the Hyundai Sonata and Elantra made our list.

Mercedes-Benz, landed a few winners. The Benz gateway model qualified c-class due to his exceptional satisfaction and high popularity among consumers (sold better there than routinely its competitors). As well, a high score of consumer reports and best-selling status compared to some competitors helped to land a place the $51,000 Mercedes-Benz E-class.