Gas prices hit sweet spot for U.S. automakers

DETROIT - gas prices have hit a sweet spot for automobile. Please have stay enough, yet so high to spur Wheelback pickup truck sales, that newer small cars sell so well.

However, this is not the case for Honda and Toyota. She ran short of small cars due to production problems, an ally of the March earthquake in Japan.

Industry analysts 13.5 percent from last June, to approximately 1.1 million passenger cars and truck expect U.S. sales rise as a whole. Automakers were sales in the course of the day June on Friday reporting.

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General Motors co. and Ford Motor Co. said that its sales rose by 10 percent. Chrysler Group sales rose by 30 percent. But Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., saw more than 21 percent each sales drop.

Despite the Honda and Toyota figures interpret the results, that the US auto industry slow recovery from the recession is again on the track after a short slump in May.

GM said that cheaper gas lured more pickup truck buyers in showrooms. Chevrolet Silverado sales increased by 5 percent and GMC Sierra sales by 8 percent compared to the previous year. Ford F-series trucks sales rose 7 percent, while Chrysler a 35-percent sales growth RAM truck reported.

Each bounce in pickup sales will help the Detroit car manufacturers who sell more than five times as many trucks as a foreign-based brands. But Nissan Motor Co., also benefited, small pickup rose 51 percent as sales of the border.

However, were GM sales increased from smaller, more fuel-efficient models powered. Sale of the new Chevrolet Cruze compact more than the double of the car that they replaced, the cobalt. Gas prices average $3.68 per gallon in June, hardly cost effective but cheaper than in May.

"There is a certain part of consumers, the gas prices almost every day to respond to, and choose what you buy based on these prices," said Jesse Toprak, Vice President, industry trends and insights for car prices website TrueCar.com.

Honda and Toyota ran behind the best-selling models as rising demand was for their small, fuel efficient vehicles. Sales of Honda's two top-selling models, the accord medium-sized car and civic each compact, were from about 35 percent. Toyota sales of the Camry were medium-sized cars from 25 per cent and the compact Corolla fell by 14 per cent.

Both companies begin North American factories to return to normal production. The earthquake and the tsunami in March plants and electricity damaged Japanese parts cut off.

Some concerns about the strength of the recovery is recovering well in sales. Don Johnson, GM Vice President of U.S. sales, said that he now total industry sales at the low a range of 13 to 13.5 million vehicles are expected. J.d. power and Associates lowered its full-year revenue forecast by 13 million vehicles to 12.9 million.

Johnson blamed stubbornly high unemployment. Slow setting may have been to the this month sales fall, which broke a string of two-digit monthly increases. Meteorologists say the jobs picture improved only slightly in June.

Johnson says that the industrial recovery along motor cycles. He said that with about 9 percent unemployment, 91 percent of the country still works. And many older vehicles.

"There are still people out there looking for a vehicle and, in many cases their vehicles have to replace it,", Johnson said.

The average car on the road is old now 10.6 years, according to the research firm Polk.

Sales were expected to be around 5 percent from may, if deficiency, $4 per gallon gas and lack of services caused a slump parts.

But the pace of sales earlier this year has slowed down.

Bottlenecks are car prices that keep high. This continued expected until September, j.d. power. In the meantime setting has slowed down and income are flat. The confidence of consumers - an important measure of whether cars be - sell slipped on a seven-month low in June.

"Things not quite as healthy in the current environment", said Jeff Schuster, j.d power Executive Director of global forecast as expected this year.

A problem for automakers is the lack of small, fuel-efficient cars. Japanese automakers expect earthquakes associated with lack of popular products such as the Toyota Prius and Honda Civic for several months and Detroit automakers can not only meet the demand for small cars.

The industry began June with a 30-day supply of compact and subcompact cars and inventory has only a closer since Ford's will, then get up U.S. sales analyst George Pipas said. That compared with a 51-day supply of all cars and trucks.

Pipas said that instead of moving in mid-size cars, small car shoppers just wait. Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp have said they expect their North American production to be at near-normal levels until late summer and more cars will soon get to dealers.

Other automakers reporting Friday:

Volkswagen AG said its U.S. sales rose by 35 percent in June on strong demand for its Jetta midsize sedan and other models. Nissan said sales increased by 11.4 percent on strong demand for smaller vehicles. Sentra compact car sales rose nearly 31 percent. Hyundai Motor Company sales increased by 15.6 percent, led by the Elantra compact car. The Korean automaker 59,209 vehicles sold in June of 51,205 a year earlier. Kia Motors co. its best June ever with sales by 41 percent at 45,044 reported. The hottest seller was the new Optima mid-sized sedan to 7,099. This is almost six times more Optimas when were sold a year earlier.

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