Ford, GM sales flat, Chrysler up 12%

CHRYSLER GROUP reported today that its sales last month rose 12% from a year ago to 140,041 vehicles for its best September since pre-recession 2007.

All its brands -- Chrysler, Jeep, Ram, Dodge and Fiat -- posted gains in the Fiat-owned group's 30th consecutive month of sales gains.

Said Reid Bigland, Dodge CEO and overall head of U.S. sales, in a statement: "Going forward with our current product lineup, record low interest rates and a stable U.S. economy, we remain optimistic about the health of the U.S. new vehicle sales industry and our position in it."

And both are light years better for the company than troubled Europe, where Fiat sales continue to fall. And CEO Sergio Marchionne warned recently that Europe's economic mess is far from over.

The biggest percentage gainer was the aging Dodge Avenger midsize sedan, up 89% vs. a year ago for a record month. Dodge overall was up 18%, with the Journey crossover up 41% and Grand Caravan minivan up 32%.

And the new Dodge Dart compact, a critical new Fiat-based model Chrysler, was up 72% from July as Chrysler continues to ramp up production.

Also gaining traction was the Fiat brand, with just the Fiat 500 models. Sales were up 51% in the month.

Jeep sales rose 10%, with Grand Cherokee up 19%, and the Chrysler brand was up 5%, though the 200 had its best September ever and the big 300 cruiser had the best since '07.

Ram Truck was up 4%, but the somewhat ungainly Ram Cargo Van -- a converted minivan with metal panels in the windows -- was up 223% from a year ago. Chrysler has said that Fiat-based commercial vans are on the way.

FORD MOTOR posted a slight loss, down 0.2% from a year ago, to 174, 976 vehicles. One factor for the company is that its Fusion midsize is in the middle of a redesign changeover.

Ford chose to look at the bright side -- sales of small cars, on which the company has made a big bet -- were 24,628 vehicles in September, which Ford says is its best U.S. small car month since 2002 and a 73% increase from a year ago.

Ford also said retail sales overall were up 4%.

The redesigned Escape SUV's sales were up 14% from the old model a year ago and sales of the F-Series pickups were up 1%.

GENERAL MOTORS also grew small-car sales -- nearly double a year ago -- but overall GM sales were up just 1.5% from the same month last year.

Total sales of 210,245 were, however, GM's best September tally since pre-bankruptcy 2008.

Cars, not trucks, did the heavy hauling for GM, up 29% overall, while the full-size Chevrolet Silverado pickup was down 16.6% and the big Tahoe SUV was off 46.7%.

GM wound up with a whopping 116-day supply of full-size pickups at the end of the month, down slightly from August, but out of balance with GM's 82-day supply of all vehicles (itself high, a 60-day supply at dealers and in transit is considered normal).

"General Motors had a choppy month," said Michelle Krebs, analyst at Edmunds.com. "Sales of the Chevrolet Cruze zoomed" but "Cadillac, despite have two new models on the market, is somehow struggling."