Kia is on a tremendous roll, Chrysler remains No. 1, General Motors keeps struggling, the German luxury brands are as strong as they have ever been and Ford of Canada sorely misses its small Ranger pickup truck.

That, folks, nicely sums up the new car sales discussion at the end of April. The first third of 2012 wrapped with new vehicle sales up 5.2 per cent overall (to 519,736). So the big picture number looks healthy enough. But drill down for a look at individual auto makers and the highs and lows look like the chart of a heart beat recorded on an electrocardiogram. UP, DOWN, UP, DOWN, UP, DOWN…

Chrysler up 9.1 per cent year-to-date, GM down 4.0 per cent. Mercedes-Benz up 13.6 in April, BMW down 6.0 per cent. Audi up 15.6 per cent on the year, Lexus down 6.6 per cent. Who's winning overall, then?

"Of the mass market players," says auto analyst Dennis DesRosiers in a note to clients, "Kia is having the best year by a wide margin. They have increased sales for 40 months in a row and are up by 20.8 per cent year-to-date. Only Land Rover has a larger increase (59.1 per cent), but they are very niched in their product line-up."

The big Japanese car companies seem to be bouncing back after last year's struggles with earthquakes, tsunamis and floods. Honda is up 15.4 per cent, Nissan is up 9.5 per cent, Mazda is up 9.8 per cent and Toyota is up 7.6 per cent.

"We expect Japanese sales to significantly increase over year ago levels for the rest of the year as ‘supply' is no long an issue and sales starting last June were artificially low," says DesRosiers of DesRosiers Automotive Consultants.

Already it appears Toyota's troubles with selling hybrids are over. In April, sales of gasoline-electric vehicles were up a stunning 266.4 per cent. The arrival of the $20,950 Prius C subcompact is a big reason why. Toyota sold 556 Prius C cars last month, or more than one-quarter of all the 1,931 hybrids the company sold in April and more than the 418 Prius hybrids Toyota sold in the hybrid's first full year in 2001.

"Clearly, hybrids have reached the mainstream – this is further proof that 2012 is shaping up to be the Year of the Hybrid," said Tony Wearing, senior managing director at Toyota Canada.

Hybrid sales suggest the fuel economy hook is resonating with buyers stunned by the rise in fuel prices. It also would explain why sales of subcompact cars were up 32.2 per cent at the quarter poll of this year, and why diesels accounted for 78.8 per cent of all the light trucks sold by Mercedes-Benz in Canada last month.

April is an interesting month to look at in detail because it marks the beginning of the spring selling season in Canada. The next three months will determine precisely what sort of year the marketplace as a whole will look like, and how individual car companies and models perform. With that in mind, I decided to comb through the April sales results, looking for seven models that stunningly out-performed the market overall.

Here are Seven Hot Sellers and Why for April 2012:

1. Hyundai Elantra: April sales of 4,310 were terrific and on the year Hyundai has sold 13,074 Elantra for an increase of 19.5 per cent over the same period in 2011. April was the best month ever for the Elantra, while Hyundai Canada itself has enjoyed 40 straight months of increased sales. The Elantra is threatening to unseat the lacklustre Honda Civic as the best-selling car in Canada – a crown the Civic has held for 14 straight years. The Elantra is stylish, fuel efficient, reliable and well-priced (starting at $15.8490.

2. Ford Focus: April sales of 2,592 represented a year-on-year increase of 38 per cent. That's very good. Ford of Canada is starting to put some serious sales muscle behind its stylish compact with the starting price of $15,999. Ford has both sedan and hatchback versions on the lot, though the four-door hatch has a base price of nearly $20,000. A more affordable compact hatch would surely be more popular with buyers. That said, the Focus is one of the most stylish runabouts on the road and arguably the most entertaining to drive. It is not, however, the least expensive in the segment. For the record, Ford of Canada sales are down 2.7 per cent on the year. Ford dealers surely miss the Ranger. Small pickup sales in Canada were down 13.1 per cent through the first quarter and this can be attributed solely to the fact that Ford of Canada no longer sells the Ranger. A real shame, that.

3. Mercedes-Benz C-Class: Merc Canada sold 928 C-Class sedans last month, for an increase of 34.1 per cent. Almost everyone points to BMW's 3-Series as the standard of small luxury cars, yet the C is a pillar of strength. When last I checked, one industry source noted that the C is moving with as much as a $3,000 national incentive, which would help explain why the $36,700 C sedan resonated with so many buyers last month.

4. Subaru Impreza: Talk about sales records. The Impreza set one last month when Canadians purchased 887 Impreza compacts, for a year-on-year increase of 23.4 per cent. So far this year Subaru Canada has moved a record 3,329 Imprezas, for an increase of 49.6 per cent over 2011. Why? For the 2012 model year, Subaru restyled and reengineered the all-wheel-drive Impreza, with a particular emphasis on cleaning up the cabin. It worked.

5. Prius family sales: The numbers is 1,422. Toyota now sells the regular, old Prius hatchback ($25,995), along with the Prius V wagon ($27,200) and the Prius C subcompact hatch ($20,950). Toyota also slashed the price of the base Prius by some $1,800 recently. Altogether, then, the three Prius models accounted for a 471 per cent increase over last year's Prius-hatch-only sales. Toyota is muscling up on moving all these hybrids and it appears to be working at least to some extent – though it's too early to know whether Prius sales are cannibalizing the sales of non-hybrid Toyotas.

6. Nissan Altima: Nissan is readying an all-new Altima midsize sedan for launch later this year. Thus, you will find the current and outgoing Altima at attractive prices – base $23,998 with up to $3,500 in factory discounts available. The 2012 Altima is a pretty decent car in its own right and if you're looking for a deal in a family sedan, this is one you should most definitely investigate.

7. Kia Rio: Kia is one sizzling car company and one reason why is the all-new subcompact 2013 Rio – sold as both a sedan ($13,895) and four-door hatchback ($14,195). April marked the best month ever for sales of the Rio with 1,531 cars sold, for a 101 per cent increase. The Rio is pretty, thrifty, handsome and affordable. That's the formula that wins over buyers on a budget.