The toyota corolla I think was the most popular, with over 35 million and still going strong.

Problem with the corolla, the current one has nothing but the name to associate itself with the original. The beetle on the other hand, was fundamentally the same car in 1952 as it was in 1972. The same premise follows with the Model T and the Renault 4, over the course of their runs they changed very little. The corolla is a new car every three years or so, so the volume for each run has no chance of reaching the numbers that these oldies saw.

With all the respect that the Renault 4 (*) deserve, it is listed as the 23rd out of the following Top 50 Best Selling Cars Of All Time, with the total number of units sold as of 2008.

1. Toyota Corolla: (1966- ) - 32,000,000
2. Ford F-Series: (1948- ) - 30,000,000
3. Volkswagen Golf:(1974- ) - 25,000,000
4. Volkswagen Beetle: (1938- ) - 22,300,000
5. Ford Escort: (1968-2000) - 20,000,000
6. Honda Civic: (1972- ) - 17,730,000
7. Ford Model T: (1908-1927) - 16,500,000
8. Honda Accord: (1976- ) - 15,800,000
9. Volkswagen Passat: (1973- ) - 14,100,000
10. Chevrolet Impala: (1958- ) - 14,000,000
11. Ford Fiesta: (1976- ) - 12,500,000
12. Vauxhall/Opel Corsa: (1982- ) - 12,000,000
13. Oldsmobile Cutlass: (1961-99) - 11,900,000
14. Chrysler Voyager: (1984- ) - 11,700,000
15. Toyota Camry: (1983- ) - 10,500,000
16. Mazda 323: (1963-2003) - 10,480,000
17. Vauxhall/Opel Astra: (1991- ) - 10,000,000
18. BMW 3-Series: (1977- ) - 9,800,000
19. Fiat Uno: (1983- ) - 9,150,000
20. Renault Clio: (1991- ) - 8,900,000
21. Renault 5: (1972-1996) - 8,800,000
22. Ford Mustang: (1964- ) - 8,300,000
23. Renault 4: (1961-1992) - 8,150,000 (*)
24. Fiat Punto: (1993- ) - 6,800,000
25. Ford Taurus: (1986- ) - 6,750,000
26. BMC/BL/BMW Mini: (1959- ) - 6,700,000
27. Vauxhall/Opel Vectra: (1988-2008) - 6,500,000
28. Chevrolet Cavalier: (1982-2005) - 6,200,000
29. Peugeot 206: (1998-2007) - 6,100,000
30. Buick Le Sabre: (1959-2005) - 6,000,000
31. Nissan Sunny: (1966- ) - 5,900,000
32. Ford Explorer: (1991- ) - 5,700,00
33. Mitsubishi Galant: (1969- ) - 5,550,000
34. Ford Focus: (1998- ) - 5,500,000
35. Ford Crown Victoria: (1980- ) - 5,500,000
36. Toyota Land Cruiser: (1953- ) - 5,300,000
37. Peugeot 205: (1983-1998) - 5,278,000
38. Ford E-Series: (1961- ) - 5,200,000
39. Ford Ranger: (1983- ) - 5,150,000
40. Chevrolet Camaro: (1967-2002) - 4,800,000
41. Fiat 126: (1973-2000) - 4,671,586
42. Opel Ascona: (1970-1988) - 4,400,000
43. Ford Model A: (1927-31) - 4,320,446
44. Ford Cortina: (1962-1982) - 4,279,079
45. Pontiac Grand Am: (1973-2005) - 4,000,000
46. Fiat 500: (1957- ) - 3,900,000
47. Citroen 2CV: (1948-1990) - 3,872,583
48. Fiat 127: (1971-1983) - 3,750,000
49. Peugeot 504: (1968-2005) - 3,713,400
50. Peugeot 405 (1988-1997) - 3,461,800

Source: http://hubpages.com/hub/Top-50-Best-Selling-Cars-Of-All-Time

I lived in the NE then moved to SE USA during production of this car. I worked in a place that sold Renault & Peugeot about 1970~1971. My Father owned a Renault R16.
This is the first time I\'ve heard of the Renault 4. I\'ve never seen a car that could have been one of these. Of the 100 countries they exported this car to, they apparently did not export this model to the USA.

The corolla has changed dramatically over the years. The original Beetle and the Model T were not changed much in their production runs that are counted as a single car.

En CHILE; le llamabamos la \"Renoleta\" o \"Renolata\". Excelente vehiculo.....nunca te dejaba botado.

Just to let you know a very important fact about Renault 4; in Sweden it was nicknamed \"monkey ambulance\", apambulans. A true fact!

how strange. Everybody wrote their email at 12 minutes past the hour(except perhaps mine) What about the Mini?

The most interesting thing about the in the article and in the comments was Windykites observation on the 12 minute thing. I am guessing someone goofed and the 12 represents the month or something.
If memory serves the 2 digit month is MM and the 2 digit minute is mm...

Funny grammar goof: \"Like denim jeans which are worn the world over by all classes, Renault President Pierre Dreyfus called for the production of a versatile, inexpensive car...\" (Did denim jeans really also call for the production of a car? I think not.)