We’re a little short-staffed right now (always?), the boss is on the road, and I’m a little bleary from my first day at the helm, so instead of staying up all night building spreadsheets,I’m going to give all you number junkies the links to the various companies’ press releases and their own detail tables and charts. Please share your thoughtful analysis with the rest of us lazy bums.

GM Ford Chrysler Toyota Honda Nissan Hyundai Subaru Mitsubishi Suzuki  VW Daimler BMW

Update: here’s an excellent set of charts and data at WSJ

VW posted a 7% increase in October over the same month a year ago. The Rabbit’s fade-out led the negative column, with a 44% decline. The Jetta posted a solid 25% increase. The Passat, down 41%, is giving way to the CC, which is way up at +256%. The CC now outsells the Passat almost 3 to 1. Since the Passat is going away soon in favor of VW’s new USA mid-sedan, and the CC is going to stay, this trend is probably being engineered through incentives (and the lack thereof).

Audi was down 1% overall. 5 is the magic number for Audi: the A5 was up 28%, and the Q5 is already the second best seller in the lineup. Mid-sized crossovers to the rescue! The more larger/more expensive models, such as A8, R8 and Q7, are taking the biggest hits.

BMW Group was the big loser among the Germans, down 19%. Both the BMW brand (-19%) and Mini (-20%) took the hit equally. The 1 series is sinking, with sales down 57%. The new 7 posted a 10% increase. BMW light trucks (that’s a hard couple of words to type) were down disproportionately, especially the X3, down 86%. The lovely X6 managed a 39% increase.

Daimler overall was up 9%, but that was the result of the Smart’s maxi sized decline of 70%. Ouch! Mercedes was up smartly, with +21%, led by the new E-Class, +190%.

Porsche’s 15% increase in October helped reduce their year-to-date totals to -29%.

[NOTE: Picture above is not the original one posted with the story. If the comments confuse you, this is why.]

The Hyundai knockouts continued unabated in October. Sales in October were up 47% from ‘08. Year-to-date totals are up a solid 5%. Total sales for the month were 54k, which is starting to get precariously close to Chrysler’s 66k total for the month. Post to be updated as soon as details for Hyundai and Kia brands are available.

In its first year-over-year sales increase since January 2008, GM posted a 4% increase in October, and estimates a 21% market share. The four core brands (Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac), which now account for 95% of GM sales, were up 11.6%.  Year-to-date totals are down 34%.

Cadillac led the way with a 22% increase, reflecting a 280% increase of the new SRX. CTS was down 27%; STS: -44%; DTS: +19%.

GMC had the second highest increase, with a 20% increase. Terrain: +85%; Sierra: +6%; Acadia: +7%; Yukon/Yukon XL: +72%

Buick came in with a 19% increase, led by LaCrosse, beating its last year’s sales by 103%. Enclave: 38%; Lucerne: -28%

Chevrolet brought up the rear, with a 9% increase. Aveo is still lagging, down 54%. Impala also dragged, down 43%. Malibu was up 11%. Camaro sold just over 8k units, continuing its lead in the pony car field. The new Equinox was up 177%; Colorado: -32%; Traverse sold over 9k units. Silverado pickups held even; Tahoe: +111%; Suburban: +72%.

Chrysler’s implosion continued unchecked in October, with sales down 30% from October 2008. Here are some of the details: Sebring: -32%; 300: -15%; PT Cruiser: -96%; Aspen: -95%; Chrysler brand Total: -36%.

Jeep fared only slightly less badly: Compass: -62%; Patriot: -65%; Wrangler: -16%; Liberty: -30%; Grand Cherokee: -42%; Commander: -47%; Jeep Brand Total: -37%

The (non Ram)Dodge was the bright spot: Caliber: -87%; Avenger: +13%; Charger: -22%; Challenger: -20%; Journey: -16%; Caravan: +8%; Nitro: -42%; Durango: -95%;  Dodge Brand Total: -22%

And the (un Dodge) Rams: Dakota: -46%; Ram P/U: -30%; Sprinter: -52%; Total Ram: -32%

Total year-to-date sales for all Chrysler vehicles: -39%   And the beat goes on.

Continuing its recession-defying act, Subaru posted a 41% climb in October sales over last year. That makes it the fifth straight month of sales increases, and a stellar 13% increase year-to-date. AWD traction for the win! Subaru does tend to do well well with the highly educated demographic, which has been proportionately less impacted in the recession.

Automotive News [AN, sub] reckons it’s got the inside line on Toyota’s “new U.S. plan.” They’re so chuffed with the scoop that their article presents the bulleted battle plan in both the body text and a little gray box. And here it is: “Review and possibly trim the lineup of full-frame trucks; Skip midcycle vehicle enhancements to focus on bigger launches; Introduce more hybrids to North America; Give U.S. engineers a bigger voice in r&d.” AN reckons the headline is the potential truck trimming and hybrid adding bit. Which is certainly important news for a company with a “tattered image” (Toyota, apparently, not the American zombies clinging to profits via pickups, who’ve yet to produce a single large-volume hybrid vehicle). But what of ToMoCo leaving existing vehicles as is for longer?

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At RM’s London classic car auction this was the “standard” fare of painstakingly restored Aston Martins, Ferraris and Mercedes Gullwings . The hall glistened and gleamed with well polished beauties. The star of the show, however, turned out to be a rusted, dilapidated and altogether disheveled former statesman.  A 1969 Mercedes–Benz 600 Pullman Landaulet, chariot of popes and princes, had been transported from a surrey barn and shoved into the far corner of the auction hall. With withered red leather interior and an engine that could barely stay in the chassis, much less start, the Pullman could hardly compete for the interest of the crowds with 250 GTOs and DB5 convertibles. That is, until bidding got underway.

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It is unfortunate that Edmunds.com has had nothing but negative things to say about a wildly successful program that sold nearly 250,000 cars in its first four days alone. There can be no doubt that CARS drummed up more business for car dealers at a time when they needed help the most.

The Department of Transportation’s Bill Adams lays into recent Edmunds.com analysis showing Cash For Clunkers could have cost as much as $24,000 per vehicle sale [via CNN]. But one man’s negativity is another man’s constructive criticism. After all, Adams doesn’t touch the heart of the matter: the program’s cost per vehicle, and Edmund’s analysis (like all analysis) was educated guesswork. Luckily, CNN was able to shed a little more light on how Edmunds came up with their numbers.

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The Detroit News reports that GM is delaying the launch of the Chevrolet Cruze. The nationalized automaker’s next big—I mean small thing will now hit U.S. showrooms in the third quarter of 2010. In theory. GM’s explanation for the delayed denouement: it wants to ensure “a flawless launch.” Given GM’s on-again, of-again product planning chaos, and their failure to get enough Buick LaCrosses on the ground, you’ve got to wonder why they would set themselves up for failure with talk of perfection. Oh right; the automotive media has the memory of a goldfish. Meanwhile, the company’s camp followers can take heart in New GM’s new determination to get things right—while those of us who’ve heard it all before sigh, shake our heads and say “Flawless. Yeah right.” No matter how you slice it, the Cruze’s failure to set sail by the advertising for-sale date isn’t news to gladden investors’ hearts. After all, the ur-Cruze (the Korean Lacetti) debuted on October 30, 2008. The EU-Cruze has been plying European roadways since February. The delay means the Cruze will not arrive before GM’s kinda maybe sorta I know we said we would but tempus fugit mid-2010 IPO. Between now and then, stand back! GM’s predicting a sales spurt!

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