Auto News 5

As anyone in the vast area affected by Hurricane Sandy could have guessed, the sprawling super-storm had a major dampening effect on new-vehicle sales. Consumers had other things on their mind, and flooding and power outages also kept buyers out of showrooms. As a result, the new-vehicle sales rate, which had been steaming along in the high end of the 14-million-unit range, dropped down to 14.3 million units. Industry totals for the month still managed a 7% increase over 2011 -- not bad, but not as good as September's 13% increase. Some industry watchers, however, see a silver lining for auto sales in the Sandy-related destruction: All those cars and trucks ruined by flood waters or crushed by falling trees will have to be replaced, which could mean that what Sandy taketh away in October, she could giveth in November.