by Calculated Risk on 10/02/2012 02:03:00 PM

Note: I'll post an estimate of the total sales rate around 4 PM ET after all the results are reported. It looks like consumers are responding to high gasoline prices and buying smaller cars ...

From MarketWatch: Chrysler’s September sales soar; GM, Ford flat

It was a mixed bag for U.S. auto makers in September as Chrysler Group LLC reported Tuesday some of its best sales increases in years, while results for Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. were largely flat.

Foreign car makers were pretty much up across the board, with Toyota’s sales surging 42% and Volkswagen’s jumping 34%.

Overall, sales have been “slightly better than expected,” said Jesse Toprak, analyst at Truecar.com.
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The pace of sales wasn’t so brisk for Ford ... One bright spot for the company however, was in small cars.
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Sales of GM’s mini, small and compact cars rose a combined 97%, the company said.