by Calculated Risk on 11/03/2010 11:12:00 AM

Note: The real key is the seasonally adjusted annual sales rate (SAAR) compared to the last few months, not the year-over-year comparison provided by the automakers.

From MarketWatch: GM reports 3.5% rise in Oct. U.S. car sales

[GM] sold 183,759 cars and trucks, up from 177,603 a year ago.

This is not adjusted for selling days, and there was one more selling day in October 2009 than in October 2010.

Once all the reports are released, I'll post a graph of the estimated total October light vehicle sales (SAAR) - usually around 4 PM ET. Most estimates are for an increase to 12.0 million SAAR in October from the 11.71 million SAAR in September.

I'll add reports from the other major auto companies as updates to this post.

Update: from MarketWatch: Ford U.S. October sales rise 19.2% to 157,935

From MarketWatch: Chrysler October U.S. sales jump 37%

Chrysler ... reported a 37% jump in October U.S. auto sales to 90,137 vehicles, up from 65,803 a year ago.

From MarketWatch: Toyota U.S. October sales decline 4.4%