Auto News 5

With November now on the books, the auto industry heads into the final, year-end selling season with a head of still-cautious optimism -- but optimism nonetheless. In November, automakers chalked up another solid sales increase over 2009, this time 17 percent; that's an improvement on October's 13 percent uptick. For the third month in a row, the annualized selling rate topped 12 million units. By comparison, 10.86 million light vehicles were sold in 2009. This month, nearly every automaker enjoyed buoyant sales, with the large and notable exception of Toyota, which was down slightly. See below for more details. And, with car shoppers apparently cracking open their wallets, brace yourself for an onslaught of end-of-the-year sales ads, as carmakers battle fiercely for their share of an increasing pie.