Ford says that the company’s recent success is due in large part to customers who traded in cars and trucks from competing brands. Conquests helped Ford to gain market share in 16 of the past 17 months.

Part of Ford’s success in winning buyers from competitors can be attributed to GM and Chrysler’s bankruptcies. When consumer confidence in Chrysler and GM dipped, the only American brand to turn to was Ford. Thanks to the financial troubles, Chrysler and GM have been unable to keep up with the pace Ford has set at refreshing its models. GM has been able to continue producing new cars, albeit at a slower pace than Ford, but Chrysler’s lineup has been largely stagnant over the past few years.

Ford says that more than 60 percent of trade-ins it takes on new Ford Fusion Hybrids are made by another manufacturer. Mustang sales are also more than 50 percent conquests. Ford says that from 2005 to 2009, the conquest rate on the Ford brand rose by 18 percent, Mercury’s rose 12 percent and Lincoln’s conquest rate rose an impressive 61 percent.

“We’re finding that when customers of competing brands check out our new lineup and understand the quality, fuel efficiency and value we offer, they are increasingly becoming Ford owners,” said Ken Czubay, Ford vice president of marketing, sales and service. “The strength of our new products is making the difference in a very competitive marketplace.”

Ford’s success means that customers shopping for a new car won’t be able to negotiate quite as good a deal at the Ford dealership as they would at another manufacturer. While Chevrolet and Toyota dealers may be a little more flexible on the price of their cars in order to make sales, Ford dealers have the luxury of not needing a sale quite as badly. The flip side of this is that a new Ford car will probably have a better residual value than less popular cars from other manufacturers.