by Calculated Risk on 9/01/2009 04:00:00 PM

Click on graph for larger image in new window.

This graph shows the historical light vehicle sales (seasonally adjusted annual rate) from the BEA (blue) and an estimate for August (red, light vehicle sales of 14.09 million SAAR from AutoData Corp).

This is the highest vehicle sales since May 2008 (14.23 million SAAR).

The second graph shows light vehicle sales since the BEA started keeping data in 1967.

Obviously sales were boosted significantly by the "Cash-for-clunkers" program. Although this wasn't as bad as some of the lower forecasts, it still a disappointing number.

The real question is: What happens in September?