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The Americans are back in the race to be the best-selling automotive luxury brand, just a year after it appeared that the crown would go to Lexus or Mercedes-Benz from now on.

And the surprisingly close four-way battle is because of an appetite for the once unthinkable -- luxury trucks. A serious part of the mix only since 1998, they've quickly moved from the outskirts to the luxury mainstream, helping boost some brands.

That surprised even some who thought they saw it coming. "We went there because the market shifted, and we wanted to take advantage of it," says Mike Slagter, Lexus sales manager.

Even so, "sales of RX 300 far exceeded our initial expectations," he says. Mostly because of RX 300, a $35,000 sport-utility wagon, loosely based on Toyota Camry, trucks are 52% of Lexus sales this year.

Slagter says the mix will shift as Lexus rolls out new car models, such as the IS 300 and LS 430 sedans. In the meantime, RX 300 is the most popular Lexus, selling twice as fast as the next-best-selling ES 300 sedan. Like similar upscale models, RX 300 is classed a truck by the government and its maker.

"Lexus, right or wrong, has really turned into the RX 300 company. It was the right one at the right time," says Jim Hall, industry analyst at consulting and research firm AutoPacific. "It has a lot of the attributes of a -- dare I use the m-word? -- minivan. And nobody has a direct rival," he says.

The spread between No. 1 luxury brand Mercedes-Benz and No. 4 Cadillac was just 7,075 sales through October, according to industry tracker Autodata.

An aggressive sales push by any of the four this month and next, combined with stumbles by others, could scramble the finishing order.

Through October, Mercedes sold 169,133 vehicles; Lexus, 166,992; Lincoln, 165,146; Cadillac, 162,058, Autodata reports.

BMW, once a niche brand, is a respectable No. 5 at 151,152. It will be a bigger threat if its South Carolina factory can build more X5 sport-utility vehicles.

Without its M-Class SUV, Mercedes would drop from No. 1 to also- ran. The M is one of every four Mercedes sales, making it the brand's best seller, slightly ahead of the E-Class midsize sedan.

The Navigator SUV is one of every five Lincoln sales. Escalade SUV is one of every eight Cadillac sales.

Demand for SUVs has been so strong outside the luxury realm that "prices on mainstream SUVs got high enough that they became a luxury commodity," giving luxury brands entree, Slagter says.

Future models give Lincoln and Cadillac a shot at the top among luxury brands. Caddy has a car-based LAV, for "lifestyle activity vehicle," coming as a 2003 model, Hall says. In about a year, Lincoln should have a fancy version of the redesigned Ford Explorer, he says. And watch for Lincoln to go after RX 300 with an SUV loosely based on the Ford Escape, Hall says.

In the meantime, hot items will be $50,000-plus, crew-cab, short- bed pickups. Lincoln's is the Blackwood, "the luxury pickup to end all luxury pickups," Hall says. A cross between Navigator and Ford F- Series Super Crew pickup, it will be available in the spring. Caddy gets a version of the Suburban-based Chevrolet Avalanche in a year. It is expected to be called Escalade EXT and priced near Blackwood.

Lincoln tested Blackwood at a California consumer clinic last summer. "One guy came in with blue jeans, a Harley T-shirt, a beer gut. He said, 'I'm not leaving here today until I order two.' Another guy who'd been driving a BMW 5-Series said, 'Wow, I've got to have one,' " recounts Lincoln spokesman Jim Trainor. "The appeal was all over the place."

"The market is broad," Slagter agrees.

And deep, Hall believes: "A Blackwood is going to crack a buyer 50 grand or more. Do you think he's going to care if gas goes up a dollar a gallon?"