Car Sales Rev Up

Is the American auto industry poised for a comeback? December's sales figures were strong for many beaten-down automakers:

Ford sales were up a whopping 33 percent from December 2008.

Subaru's were also up 33 percent for the month.


Hyundai Motor America's sales were up 40 percent.

Toyota's were up 32 percent.


American Honda sales were up 24 percent.

Nissan North America sales were up 18 percent.

Several of these companies are headquartered elsewhere, of course, but they generally have extensive operations here. Hyundai has facilities in California, Michigan and Alabama, for instance, while Subaru has a huge manufacturing plant in Indiana. Good news for those companies is good news for American workers.

The bad news is that both GM and Chrysler were down slightly for the month, by 6 percent and 4 percent respectively. On the other hand, many people are suspicious of these numbers because of the government's attempts to jump-start auto sales with things like the Cash for Clunkers program. But Canada's auto sales were also up sharply in December, by 17 percent, without any government shenanigans. Even poor old Chrysler saw its sales rise in Canada.