Chrysler and Ford help Detroit reverse slippage of market share
Americans bought cars and trucks last month at the strongest pace since 2009's cash-for-clunkers program, giving Chrysler and Ford sharp increases -- a trend that could give the industry and consumers a psychological boost in the year's final quarter, executives and economists said.
U.S. auto sales jumped 28.5% in September, helping to lift year-to-date sales 10.3%.
"It's another step to a healthy, but painfully slow, recovery," said Jesse Toprak, a market analyst with TrueCar.com in Santa Monica, Calif.
The most encouraging signs: The gains came without an increase in incentives, and sales of pickups, considered an economic indicator because contractors often use the trucks, continued to gain strength.
Pickup sales through September are up 13.5%, and trucks are outperforming cars so far this year, partly because of relatively low gas prices. That is a positive sign for the bottom lines of the Detroit Three, who still depend on trucks for profits.
