Auto News 5

After a very encouraging May, auto sales swooned in June. The month of June is traditionally a bit slow, but this year was even slower than usual. Adjusting for the usually monthly variation, June's sales figure translates to an annual rate of 11.1 million units, which is weaker than we saw in March, April, or May. Still, overall industry sales were up 14% over the pathetic figures for June 2009.

Mitsubishi recently allowed us to sample preproduction versions of its forthcoming small crossover, the Outlander Sport. The Sport is slated to go on sale this October with a base price of under $19,000. Mitsu hasn't yet finalized pricing, but we're told to expect fully loaded models to hit showrooms with a sticker price of less than $26,000. And that's with navigation, keyless entry, heated seats, four-wheel drive, a 710-watt sound system, HIDs, and a CVT automatic.