According to a survey by the Michigan-based consulting firm Planning Perspectives Inc., Honda Motor Co. has dashed past Toyota Motor Corp. to claim the top spot among auto suppliers in North America!

For the first time in the annual survey that began 2002, Honda has reached the top ranking among suppliers, with Toyota knocked down from its pedestal - the company has been making cars in the US for over two decades, with the past ten years involved in broadening its lineup to more closely compete with US rivals.

While Toyota ranked second, US automaker Ford Motor Co., climbing from the bottom two years ago, gained its largest lead over General Motors Corp. Meanwhile, Chrysler LLC ranked last for the second consecutive year.

Commenting on the change of auto suppliers ranking, John Henke Jr., the Planning Perspectives' President, said: "Research we began in the early 1990s always showed Toyota as having the best relationship with its suppliers, but something seems to be changing. They're looking a little more like U. S. automakers."

However, the 72-year-old Japanese automaker Toyota has not lost sleep over the ranking change in favor of Honda. According to Toyota spokeswoman Tania Blersch, the company's supplier-relations approach is largely based upon venerable principles and practices like mutual trust and prosperity, which do not undergo any change over time!