U.S. car and truck sales surged 4 percent in June, leaving automakers hopeful that the long-awaited economic recovery could arrive and gain

speed in the second half of the year, according to the Detroit News. Record discounts and rock-bottom interest rates failed to heat sales beyond lukewarm levels in the early

part of the year, the News said.

The war in Iraq, untimely blizzards and a general malaise kept many buyers at home, according to the News. But consumer confidence is climbing; the S&P 500 stock index, the broadest measure of U.S. equities, is

coming off its best quarter since late 1998; and a federal tax cut will soon be fattening the wallets of millions of Americans.

Americans bought cars and trucks at an annualized rate of 16.15 million units in

the first half of the year. Some automakers and economists believe demand could surge to an annual rate of 16.5 million to 17 million

during the second half of the year.

Among domestic manufacturers, DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group showed the largest increase -- 6.3 percent -- over June of last year. General Motors Corp. reported a 1.2

percent rise, while demand for Ford Motor Co. vehicles fell 1.2 percent, according to Autodata Corp.

Japan's Big Three automakers -- Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. -- continued their progress in gaining new U.S. buyers. And once again, they did it without spending as much money on rebates as their counterparts in Detroit, according to the News.