Having a lot of small cars in the line-up has turned out to be a massive blessing for Japanese car companies. Honda (NYSE: HMC) and Nissan (NASDAQ: NSANY) did well in May US car sales. They have very few huge SUVs and pick-ups in their model lines. By contrast, Detroit's big auto companies have had their sales bolted to the sales of trucks. Consequently, their sales were murdered in May.

Honda's shares moved up a remarkable 8.6% overnight in Tokyo, a reward for being in the right place at the right time. But, that underestimates what Honda has done by sticking to selling small cars in America during the years when pick-ups were doing so well. Other Japanese car companies benefited, but to a lesser extent. Shares in Nissan rose 5.3% and Toyota (NYSE: TM) was up 3.2%. Honda and Nissan were the only major car companies that had sales increases in the US for May.

The news is more than a changing of the guard from Detroit to Japan. That has been going on for more than a decade. It is also a sign that Honda and Nissan are beginning to best Toyota, their larger rival, because their models mixes are more suited to a $4-per-gallon gas environment.

Toyota has been the major threat to US car companies. That may be changing.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.