Auto News 5

Where auto sales stumbled in August, September brought a welcome resurgence. Although fewer cars and truck were sold in September compared to August, looking at things in the context of the historic ebb and flow between months, the September sales work out to an annual rate of 12.2 million units. Compare that to August's 10.8-million rate, and it's a happy figure indeed. In fact, it's happier than the cautiously hopeful pace we were seeing back in spring and early summer, when sales were in the 11-million-unit arena. The industry's performance in September is its most robust since the government-incentive-fueled Cash-for-Clunkers bonanza last August.

All three major U.S. automakers have significant new products, even Chrysler. But the new Jeep Grand Cherokee, handsome though it is, and the redesigned Ford Explorer -- the most thoroughly revamped in its history -- will not recapture their glory days. The center of gravity has shifted in the direction of new entries like the Ford Fiesta and the redesigned Focus, the European-built Buick Regal, the Chevy Cruze, and (although you're sick of hearing about it) the Chevy Volt.