For at least the second year running, the Toyota Camry heads up the list of top-selling cars in the San Fernando Valley. But reflecting the current love affair with sport utility vehicles, Ford’s popular Explorer upset the Honda Accord to become the second-best seller. There were 6,017 Camrys sold in the Valley between June 1998 and May 1999, a 38 percent increase over the like period the year before, according to a ranking prepared for the San Fernando Valley Business Journal by the Polk Co. A total of 4,672 Ford Explorers were sold in the latest one-year period, up from 4,104 during the previous period. Honda Accord sales were flat, with 4,151 units sold in the latest period compared to 4,187 the year before. Tim Keenan, a senior editor at trade publication Ward’s Dealer Business, said the Camry’s success in the Valley simply mirrors the national picture. “Toyota has had a long run with the Camry, and I expect they’ll continue to ride that horse until it drops,” he said. Whenever auto makers have a big hit, they’re reluctant to tamper with it too much explaining why the look of the Camry hasn’t changed much in recent years, he said. Ian Hovey, general sales manager of Toyota of North Hollywood, said he can’t get enough Camrys. “Every one that comes in, we sell,” said Hovey, who estimated his franchise moved 1,200 Camrys this year. What’s the attraction? Camry buyers tend to be people with smaller families who are looking for stability in a car, said Hovey, who noted that the car is always highly rated by Consumer Reports for reliability. “They just want the quality and reliability. They don’t really go for fancy cars,” he said. “SUVs drivers tend to have larger families.” The truck market, meanwhile, continues to explode. Both Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. are scrambling to make more trucks and SUVs. “They sell every one they produce. Both GM and Ford wish they could make more trucks, but they’re afraid to put in more plants,” Keenan said. “There’s a worldwide overcapacity problem (in terms of car production), and auto makers are afraid the other shoe will drop.” Both Ford and GM are attempting to retool existing plants. GM, for instance, retooled its Arlington, Texas factory to build trucks instead of the Cadillac Fleetwood. But such manufacturing makeovers can cost hundreds of millions of dollars, Keenan said. “It’s not just retooling the plant, you have to set up for different suppliers. Everything has to change,” he said. The list of top-selling cars in the San Fernando Valley seems to roughly parallel the Business Journal’s latest list of top-selling dealers. North Hills-based Galpin Ford topped the car dealer list, generating $366 million in sales in 1998, a 10.1 percent increase over the previous year. Vista Auto, which offers primarily Ford products but also sells Mercury, Lexus and Isuzu models, came in No. 2 with $219 million in revenue on sales of 5,435 new cars. Galpin Ford sold 310 Explorers last month alone, but usually averages about 275, said Shea Shafer, general sales manager. “It’s very, very popular. The reason being they’re safe, they have a lot more head room and more storage room for recreation equipment for people who have families into soccer, football and baseball,” Shafer said. While Ford had a strong showing on the dealer list, GM a one-time mainstay in the Valley didn’t have a significant presence. The weak showing might explain why the popular Chevrolet Suburban doesn’t show up on the top 20 (it ranked No. 23), even in the SUV-crazed Valley. Only 835 units were sold in the latest year. Typically, imports are among the top-selling cars in Southern California, but the popularity of SUVs helps explain why the Valley bucks that trend, according to Keenan. Keenan said the SUV market is so important to Ford that the auto maker is building its marketing campaign around the vehicles. Ford is calling its franchises “Ford Outfitters” rather than dealerships, and the auto maker will have five SUV models on the market in 2000 as part of its “No Boundaries” marketing campaign, he said.