Honda’s results are following the pattern for the major Japanese makers: a decent rise in December (up 16%), capping a market-mirroring decline of 20% for the year. The Honda brand did much better (up 19%) than Acura (down 8%) for the month. And Acura also did worse for the year (down 27%) than the Honda brand (-19%). The topthree bestselling Honda models for 2009 were the Accord, 290,056; Civic, 259,722; and CRV, 191,214. Here’s Honda’s take:

Accord monthly sales increased 17.3 percent for December to 28,238. Monthly Civic sales increased by 19.8 percent to 22,319. The CRV, the country’s bestselling SUV in 2008 and 2009, increased sales by 24.5 percent to 18,686 for a new December sales record. Additional models with monthly sales gains included the Pilot, up 26.6 percent to 9,184, and the Odyssey, up 19.8 percent to 8,966.

“The good news is that the market appears to be stabilizing and we have more reasons for optimism in 2010,” said John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda. “There seems to be light at the end of the tunnel; let’s hope it’s not another train coming, but rather, brighter days ahead.”

And here’s the full details for you number junkies: (Read More…)