Boy, I Did Not See This Coming

Volkswagen, with an estimated 2011 sales tally of around 8.1 million vehicles globally (up 13 percent over 2010), is likely to earn top billing as the largest automaker in the world. General Motors, which was in the sales lead through the first half of 2011, ought to move around 7.55 million machines (an eight-percent increase) to hold on to second place while Toyota's estimated 7.27 million sales (a nine-percent falloff) would only be good enough for third in the global race for sales dominance.