By the Numbers - July 2011: Aftershocks Edition

Chrysler Climbs, Honda Falls, Cruze Cruises

U.S. auto sales for July 2011 can best be characterized by the resurgence of one company, Chrysler Group (up 20.05 percent), and the continued slide of another, American Honda (down 28.40 percent). Not so long ago, Chrysler was the company continually coming in at the bottom and Honda was flying high. Today, however, Chrysler is free of its government debt and continues to turn over its lineup with new and heavily revised products. Honda, meanwhile, has proven to be the automaker worst hit by the earthquake in Japan last March and seems to draw the ire of critics with its latest new vehicle releases.

Speaking of earthquakes, Toyota is in the same boat as Honda and continues to struggle with restoring output. Last month, sales for Toyota and Lexus in the U.S. were down 22.70 percent as a result. The only Japanese company that escaped the red cell this month was Nissan North America, which eked out a 2.75-percent improvement in sales.

Chrysler Group's increase in sales volume led the domestics by a large margin, though its raw sales of 112,026 units are still far below that of Ford Motor Company (180,865) and General Motors (214,915). Ford and Lincoln together posted a sales rate increase of 8.89 percent and General Motors improved 7.62 percent.

Turning our attention to individual models, we must point out that the Toyota Camry did regain its title of America's Best-Selling Car, which it had lost last month to the Chevy Cruze, with sales of 27,016. The Cruze still performed incredibly well, with sales of 24,648, good enough for the No. 2 spot, followed by the Altima (23,340), Sonata (20,884), Malibu (19,529), Fusion (19,318) and Accord (18,308).

*Brands and companies are displayed in descending order according to their percentage change in volume sales. There were 26 selling days in July 2011 versus 27 selling days in July 2010, so the change in monthly sales volume will be different than 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.