U.S. auto sales in August continued to outpace the anemic economic recovery, smash through estimates and deliver a good-news story for President Barack Obama and the Democrats just in time for their convention.
Chrysler Group LLC, Ford Motor Co. (F), General Motors Co., Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda (7267) Motor Co. said U.S. sales in August rose more than analysts estimated as new models such as the Dodge Dart, Ford Escape and Chevrolet Spark built on gains earlier this year. Light-vehicle deliveries last month were at the fastest pace since the government’s 2009 “cash for clunkers” program.
“It just is a story that makes it easier for the president to take credit for what’s happening in the U.S. auto industry,” Jeremy Anwyl, vice chairman of auto-market researcher Edmunds.com, said in a telephone interview yesterday. “When you’re dealing with headlines and sound bites, these results add credibility to the statement, ‘Look at the good I did.’”