First Toyota bumped Chrysler as the No. 3 automaker.

Now the Japanese company has overtaken Ford as the No. 2 U.S. car seller. In the first quarter of 2007, Toyota surpassed General Motors as the world’s No. 1 auto producer.

It was the first time in 76 years that General Motors had not held the title. Toyota is perched to take the title for this year by producing 9.9 million vehicles globally, outdistancing GM’s expected production.

The expansion is fueled by good sales in such places as the Middle East and China. As a result, Toyota’s overseas production facilities are growing while GM is closing factories and laying off workers.

Toyota produces fuel-efficient vehicles that motorists adore. Among them are the Camry, Corolla, Yaris and the gas-electric hybrid Prius.

Since the 1980s, I’ve been guilty of buying Camrys and Corollas. The Prius is next on my car-buying list.

But I would buy an American-made car in a heartbeat if only it lasted as long as the foreign models, was as reparable and got better gas mileage.

Service stations constantly remind people of the need for fuel efficiency. The price of gasoline makes owning fuel-inefficient cars an obscenity.

U.S. automakers have long made their fortunes in producing big vehicles. Big sedans were the thing when I was a kid, whether they were Fords, Chryslers or GM products. But gas prices back then also were mostly under 50 cents a gallon.

The Arab oil embargo in the early 1970s shook up gas prices and Americans’ car-buying habits, forcing U.S. auto producers to start making some smaller, more fuel-efficient models.

But despite prices climbing, U.S. carmakers stuck with mostly larger automobiles. Sport utility vehicles, vans and pickups fit the mostly suburban, soccer-mom, high-stress and long-commute lifestyles that folks have now.

U.S. automakers’ vehicles are nice. They have exceptionally comfortable seats and many creature comforts. But the overall lower gas mileage is one problem especially for people who have long commutes. Another problem is durability.

The engineering that goes into Toyotas enables motorists like me to keep them longer and do the oil changes and other repairs. People spend less time in repair shops. That enables everyday folks to save more money.

That practicality works against planned obsolescence. Many manufacturers build things to break so consumers have to buy replacements.

But it seems as if Toyota’s strategy for decades has been to build vehicles that break down less, cost less to maintain and last longer overall. That would attract more car buyers to eventually switch from U.S. car producers to Toyotas.

Families that for generations had driven Fords, Chryslers or GM vehicles are abandoning their brand loyalties. Pocketbook concerns now dominate car-buying decisions.

In addition, Toyota has many assembly plants in North America and is opening new ones. Meanwhile, sagging sales and rising costs are hamstringing traditional U.S. car makers, forcing cuts.

To compete, U.S. automakers will have to answer consumers’ demands for smaller, more reliable, more reparable, fuel-efficient vehicles. If Toyota can make one that gets 60 miles to a gallon, then U.S. carmakers should be able to match that. It would be advantageous if they could beat it within the next year.

When that happens, sales will go up, and a lot more Americans, including me, will be in the showrooms of traditional U.S. automakers.