2010 was a good year for Ford. The Blue Oval outsold long-time rival Chevrolet by 160,000 units, but that's not the only area where Ford managed a lead over the Bowtie. Ward's Automotive reports that the Dearborn automaker ended the year with 47 more U.S. dealerships than its cross-town nemesis. The General lost 372 dealers during 2010, compared to just 61 for Ford.

Both companies shed a lot more dealers when counting all the brands that fall under their respective umbrellas, and both moves have helped helped remaining retail stores increase profits. In fact, Wards claims that sales are up between 38 and 129 percent per store. But given the atrocious 2009 automakers endured, 2010 looked like a dream year despite the fact that sales were still among the lowest in three decades. In all, there are about 17,660 car dealerships in the U.S. spanning all automakers.



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