US Auto Sales Up More Than 5 Percent
By George Polgar
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The US Auto sector closed out August with a 5.5 percent overall gain with an adjusted annual sales rate of 17.5 million units - the best since 2006. As an economic indicator this is very good news!
General Motors' US sales gave up 1.2 percent while maintaining 17.2 percent market share. Possibly a delayed reaction from the ignition switch crisis, the stars of the GM stable all suffered losses with the exception of GMC, which was up 10 percent.
Chrysler continues to post record numbers with much of the payload being carried by the Ram pick-up series climbing 32.6 percent. The Jeep brand also delivered big, posting its best August sales ever - up 49 percent.
Ford was up less than a half a point for August - probably depressed by a 4.2 percent sales drop for the F-150 pick-up, still the best-selling US vehicle overall.
Evidenced by impressive recent test drives of the economical and scrappy little Fiesta three cylinder 1.0 ecoboost, the classy Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid and the super-luxe Lincoln MKZ 4-wheel drive hybrid sedan - Ford has the right product mix for the current market conditions.