By the Numbers - January 2011: Happy New Year Indeed Edition

Automakers Start New Year Off With Big Gains

Who can argue with a January sales performance like that? Even Smart posted a sales gain! And Saab! Way to go, guys. You'd have to feel pretty bad about yourself right now if you're one of the five brands that failed to post positive sales numbers last month (really four brands, since Mercury is a dead brand selling).

We'll let the numbers do most of the talking this month, though we will point out the stellar performance of General Motors and its brands. GM, up 23 percent in January, used more incentives during the month than its competition, which helped gives brands like Cadillac, up an astonishing 49%, healthy bumps.

Check out the table below to see how the rest of the industry performed and draw your own conclusions in the comments.

*Brands and companies are displayed in descending order according to their percentage change in volume sales. There were 24 selling days in January 2011 versus 24 selling days in January 2010, so the change in monthly sales volume will be the same as the change in average daily sales rate (DSR) for each brand/company. Also, brands are combined and reported as companies only if their sales figures are released jointly.