Here are Automotive News' top 10 stories from a year of blockbusters:

In first place, the leading industry news magazine listed the bankruptcy and government bailout of General Motors and Chrysler. Indeed, it calls it the top auto story in 100 years.

Indeed, just consider that at the turn of the century GM's domestic market share was about 30 percent and its stock price was $72. Its current market share is less than 20 percent and its current stock price - listed under Motors Liquidation - is around 50 cents.

Second place was Fiat's effective takeover of Chrysler. As Automotive News noted, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne drove a hard bargain but without his offer the Obama administration would probably have been forced to liquidate the company.

Third place, the success of the Committee to Restore Dealer Rights in pushing through legislation that should allow some of Chrysler's 789 rejected dealers and GM's 1,350 rejected dealers to regain their stores through binding arbitration.

Fourth, the success of the Cash for Clunkers program in adding some 300,000 new vehicle sales to the depressed market.

Fifth, the impact of the so-called Great Recession, aka the collapse of the stock market, on the U.S. auto market which fell to about 10.3 million units in 2009.

Sixth place went to the humbling of Toyota which became the world's No. 1 automaker but which also suffered a drop in U.S. sales, curtailed expansion plans, hasty executive changes at the top and safety related recalls.

In seventh place, the triumph of Ford which did not seek help from the government. The more GM and Chrysler were humbled, the better Ford looked, especially when customers found what they were looking for in the company's showrooms with sales of such models as the Fusion soaring.

Eighth place went to the revolving door at the top of General Motors with two CEOs - Rick Wagoner and Fritz Henderson - given the traveling scholarship and current CEO Ed Whitacre appointed by the government from outside the GM corporate culture.

Ninth place went to federal mandates for higher fuel standards, pegging new corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) at 35.5 miles per gallon for 2016 compared with 25.3 mpg in 2009. But as Automotive News noted, will the American driver, used to cheap gas and big cars, bite on smaller cars that may carry a higher price tag due to fuel saving technology?

Tenth and final place went to the credit crisis which cut deeply into sales. But given the global credit crisis, it can hardly have been a big surprise that banks and finance companies clamped down on dead beaters.

Peter C.T. Elsworth