Auto News 5

Even more so than in July, the federal government's blizzard of car-buying incentive cash -- $3500 or $4500, depending on the trade-in and the new vehicle purchased -- made new-car dealerships an unlikely oasis in the U.S. economic desert of mid-2009. August's 1,262,189 new-vehicle sales was a whopping 47 percent higher than the 860,101 units recorded in June (the last pre-Clunkers month). On the other hand, the federally stimulated figure was barely ahead of last August's 1,250,117 units, which at the time was considered quite dismal.