Although the overall condition of the auto industry is still in dire straits, some of the more popular models are posting sales numbers which are to some enviable but barely survivable. Japan remains head and shoulders above the rest of the field as is exemplified by Toyota and Honda's strangle hold on the sales stats for cars. The Camry, with sales dropping 38.9 percent from last year, still sold 31,325 units in May. Corolla sales dropped a breath-taking 55.4 percent according to Cars.com, selling 23,576 units in May.

You will not see a Sebring or a PT Cruiser in this bunch, but the Ford F-150 remains America's best seller, even if its sales are down by 22.3 percent from this time last year. Trucks have always been the mainstay of Detroit, exemplified by the ubiquity of the Chevrolet Silverado on U.S. highways and jobsites. With sales down by only 15 percent at 31,463 units, Silverado's cache in its segment buoyed its sales performance.

Don't count U.S. automakers completely out of the game, as the Ford Fusion flabbergasted the analysts by posting an upturn of 9.4 percent from last May, at 19,786 cars sold. The Volkswagen Jetta was another eye-opener with sales in May up 27.6 percent to 10,597 units. Especially enticing in the Jetta lineup is the new TDI clean turbodiesel which is giving some hybrids cause to double-take in the fuel efficiency and emissions arenas. Cream rises to the top, and we are seeing that the best will probably be around for a while.