Headlines for Tuesday, October 2, 2012

U.S. sales jump 13%; SAAR accelerates to 14.9 million

U.S. auto sales, led by Toyota, Kia, American Honda and Volkswagen, rose 13 percent to 1.19 million last month as the annualized pace of sales accelerated to 14.9 million -- the highest rate since March 2008. Read More »

Volt deals, Toyota plug-in Prius buoy rechargeable-car sales

General Motors' Chevrolet Volt widened its lead as the top-selling U.S. rechargeable car this year and Toyota Motor Corp. expanded plug-in Prius deliveries as Nissan said it's working to boost electric Leaf sales. Read More »

U.S. highway deaths on rise again

Traffic deaths in the United States rose 9 percent in the first half of 2012 compared with the same period last year, breaking a 5-year downward trend, according to preliminary data that experts cannot yet explain. Read More »

AutoNews Now: Post-disaster sales boom

Honda, Toyota join VW to lead increase in September U.S. deliveries; Leuliette mulls Visteon overhaul; Nissan's $3,000 gamble. Read More »

September: Cleared to ascend

It seems silly to get picky about a U.S. auto sales year that is running 15 percent ahead of 2011. But here I am. Maybe the red-hot first quarter spoiled me, but 2012 has felt like it has been stuck in a rut since then. Read More »

First Shift: Political advice from VW

U.S. chief advises Washington to 'get its house in order' to attract investment, Honda expands recall, bench seat's last stand. Read More »

GM, Chrysler sales rise in Canada while Ford falls

GM said today its Canadian sales surged 11.6 percent to 18,756 vehicles in September. Ford's Canadian sales dropped 8 percent during the month from a year earlier, while Chrysler Canada said its sales rose 2 percent, its best September since 2000. Read More »

Ford's flat September gets a lift from Focus

Ford Motor Co.'s sales fell less than a percent in September. With dealers building inventories of the redesigned 2013 Fusion, the Focus compact emerged as a sales star. Read More »

Nissan sales fall on tight supplies; JX helps Infiniti

Tight inventories of Versa sedans and certain trim packages of the redesigned Altima contributed to a September decline of 2 percent for the Nissan Division. Overall Nissan North America sales fell 1 percent for the month, as the Infiniti luxury unit gained 11 percent. Read More »

From heroes to zeros: Sales pace hits 4-year high in month of extremes

U.S. auto sales got hot in September with a 13 percent gain that unexpectedly pushed the monthly selling pace higher than for any month since the industry's 2008 collapse. Sales totaled 1,188,899 light vehicles for the month, almost 100,000 more than most forecasters had expected. Read More »

GM ekes out a gain as cars rise, trucks fall

GM posted a 2 percent sales increase in September as strong car sales offset sliding demand for pickups and SUVs. Overall, GM sold 210,245 light vehicles last month. The Buick brand posted the strongest gain, 8 percent vs. Read More »

Mercedes sales rise 7% to expand lead on BMW

Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz, after a 7 percent sales gain in September, extended its lead over BMW to 5,221 units after nine months in the race to be the top-selling luxury auto brand in the United States. Read More »

U.S. total vehicle sales by make, Sept. & YTD

This is data compiled by the Automotive News Data Center and requires a Data Center subscription to access. Read More »

U.S. light-vehicle sales by nameplate, Sept. & YTD

This is data compiled by the Automotive News Data Center and requires a Data Center subscription to access. Read More »

Toyota sales jump 42% on car volume

Rebounding Camry, Corolla and Prius sales enabled Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. to continue making up lost ground last month with a 42 percent sales gain over September 2011. Read More »

U.S. car sales, Sept. & YTD

This is data compiled by the Automotive News Data Center and requires a Data Center subscription to access. Read More »

U.S. light-truck sales, Sept. & YTD

This is data compiled by the Automotive News Data Center and requires a Data Center subscription to access. Read More »

JCI exec Edwards to replace McElya as CEO of Cooper-Standard

Supplier Cooper-Standard Holdings is hiring Johnson Controls executive Jeffrey Edwards as its new president and CEO. Edwards will succeed longtime Cooper-Standard executive James McElya, effective Oct. 15. Read More »

Small, mid-sized cars power Chrysler to 12% gain

Strong sales of small and mid-sized cars propelled Chrysler Group to its best September since 2007 and its 30th consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains. The automaker sold 142,041 units last month, up 12 percent from September 2011. Read More »

Better Place replaces CEO Agassi

Electric car technology provider Better Place said it has replaced chief executive officer Shai Agassi with the CEO of its Australia unit, five years after Agassi founded the company. Read More »

Magna may lose Mini production

Magna International is likely to lose production work with Mini as parent BMW looks to concentrate output of new-generation Minis in the UK and the Netherlands. Read More »

Dealers stick to what works -- like selling all brands of used cars

Walking past a local Chevrolet dealership a few weeks ago, I couldn’t help notice a 2009 blue Saab 9-3 sedan sitting front and center on the used-car lot. The sedan had 26,000 miles on it and a price tag of about $19,000. Read More »

VW's Slovakia unit faces strike over pay demand

VW Group may face a strike at its Bratislava plant after offering employees half the pay increase demanded by the factory's unions. Read More »

Magna to acquire German supplier Ixetic for $397 million

Canada's Magna International plans to buy Ixetic Verwaltungs GmbH, a German maker of automotive vacuum, engine and transmission pumps, for about 308 million euros ($397 million). Read More »

VW, Opel, Ford suffer as German car sales drop 11%

VW, Opel and Ford all suffered as new-car registrations in Germany fell 11 percent in September. Read More »

Johnson Controls names former Ford exec new Russia chief

Johnson Controls has picked former Ford executive Alexander Zaytsev to head its operations in Russia. Read More »