Summer ends much as it began.
The August new-car market was little changed from July's, despite the stock market swoon and the hurricane that closed out the month in the Northeast. Industry-wide, sales were up 8% over last year, while the seasonally adjusted full-year sales rate remained just on the high side of 12 million units. The latter figure was the bit worse than last month; the former stat a bit better. Unemployment and economic anxiety remain high. The Japanese -- particularly Toyota and Honda, as well as Infiniti and Subaru -- continue to suffer shortages of some models. That has been helping the domestics and the Koreans, all of which outpaced the industry with their sales growth in August.
Photo Gallery: August 2011 Auto Sales - Automobile Magazine