by Calculated Risk on 9/25/2014 02:29:00 PM

The automakers will report September vehicle sales on Wednesday, Oct 1st. Sales in August were at 17.45 million on a seasonally adjusted annual rate basis (SAAR), and it appears sales in September will be solidly above 16 million SAAR again.

Note:  There were 24 selling days in September this year compared to 23 last year.

Here are a few forecasts:

From J.D. Power: Summer Sizzle Continues as New-Vehicle Sales in August Forecast to Hit Highest Levels of the Year

New-vehicle retail sales in September 2014 are projected to come in at 1.0 million units, a 94,000-unit increase from September 2013 and 6 percent growth on a selling-day adjusted basis (September 2014 has 24 selling days, compared with 23 in September 2013). The retail seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) in September is expected to be 13.5 million units—which is 1.2 million units more than in September 2013—marking the seventh consecutive month in which the SAAR has exceeded 13 million units. Retail transactions are the most accurate measure of true underlying consumer demand for new vehicles.

The strong sales pace in September is noteworthy as it follows an exceptionally strong August when retail sales reached 1,378,588.

“Vehicle sales typically fall sharply immediately following the Labor Day holiday before recovering later in the month, but the decline this September has been smaller than in prior years,” said John Humphrey, senior vice president of the global automotive practice at J.D. Power. “While the strong sales pace is an indicator of the health of the industry, it is being complemented by record transaction prices for the month of September.” [Total forecast 16.5 million SAAR]

From Kelley Blue Book: New-Vehicle Sales To Climb 9 Percent In September; Kelley Blue Book Adjusts 2014 Forecast To 16.4 Million

New-vehicle sales are expected to increase 9.1 percent year-over-year to a total of 1.24 million units, resulting in an estimated 16.4 million seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR), according to Kelley Blue Book ... "Following an extraordinarily strong month of sales in August, with the industry above 17 million SAAR for the first time in eight years, Kelley Blue Book expects sales to level out in September," said Alec Gutierrez, senior analyst for Kelley Blue Book. "Sales will remain strong and show healthy year-over-year improvement. Rising incentive spend in recent months has been more than offset by increasing retail transaction prices, signaling continued consumer demand."

From TrueCar: TrueCar Forecasts Continued Strong New Vehicle Sales Growth in September; Up 9.7% Compared to Last Year

Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Rate ("SAAR") of 16.4 million new vehicle sales.

TrueCar's 2014 Annual Sales Forecast remains at 16.4 million vehicles as well.

Another solid month for auto sales, and this should be the best year since 2006.