August Auto Sales Soar to ’02 High
The continued lure of discounts sent U.S. consumers surging into auto dealerships in August, sending sales soaring 13.2 percent to their highest levels this year, according to the Detroit Free Press.
The industry sold just over 1.7 million vehicles in August, up from 1.45 million in August 2001. And, in a rare reversal, Detroit's Big Three automakers saw sales jump nearly 15 percent, more than doubling the sales increase of foreign-based manufacturers.
The fast-paced sales outstripped even the loftiest analyst forecasts. And the gloom that blanketed the industry in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks has been replaced by a determined optimism that consumers are back in the game.
GM and Ford plan to boost production for the third quarter and lift it still higher in the fourth quarter--moves that could help keep the manufacturing recovery alive, according to Investors Business Daily.
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