'Clunkers' bill boosted new car sales in July

   The Ford Focus compact car was the top pick among consumers trading
   in old cars under the Car Allowance Rebate System, and its sales jumped
   by 44 percent last month compared to July 2008. 

Ford, Hyundai, and Chrysler flourished last month under the "Cash For Clunkers" law that provides government-funded rebates of up to $4,500 upon trade-in of a used car with poor gas mileage. 

Ford's Focus compact car saw its sales jump by 44 percent last month compared to July 2008 as the country's most popular "Clunker" recipient, and its Escape compact SUV saw its sales nearly double. 

Ford's overall sales figures beat projections to be up 2 percent compared to this time last year, the first time a U.S. automaker did not see a decline in more than a year and a half. 

Hyundai, one of the few automakers to see sales regularly hold steady during the recession, saw an even bigger sales climb of 12 percent, with strong performances from its key Elantra and Sonata models. Hyundai said 22 percent of its customers last month traded in a "clunker" for a federal rebate. 

---See the best-seller sales chart below this article---

And although Chrysler's sales were down by 9 percent, that performance far exceeds the losses of near 50 percent it had been consistently posting in recent months. Chrysler's "double cash for your clunker" rebate program boosted sales of its struggling car line; the Chrysler Sebring midsize car was the automaker's only four-cylinder model that did not see its sales increase by more than 20 percent last month compared to July 2008. 

Subaru saw the biggest sales climb last month, of 34 percent, but it's not clear whether Cash For Clunkers or the redesign of its core Outback and Legacy models was responsible. 

But while other automakers also did better than in recent months, they did not match the above four's performance compared to this time last year. 

General Motors saw its sales drop by 19 percent compared to a year ago, led by double-digit sales declines from more than half its economy cars -- the Chevrolet HHR, Aveo, and Cobalt fell by 27, 31, and 43 percent, respectively, and the Saturn Astra fell by 64 percent. Three Pontiacs -- the G3, G5, and Vibe -- bucked the trend, but represent under 10,000 sales combined and are all slated to disappear when the Pontiac brand is dropped soon. GM also saw its Chevrolet Silverado full-size pickup slide to sixth on the best-seller list; the truck had traditionally occupied the No. 2 spot for years, despite a sales increase in July 2009 over this June. 

A brighter spot for GM was the redesigned 2010 Chevrolet Equinox compact/midsize SUV -- notable for its top fuel economy ratings -- which saw sales increase by more than 70 percent. 

Toyota and Honda, despite their popular fuel-efficient models, also saw declines of 11 and 17 percent, respectively. Toyota's declines stemmed largely from those very fuel-efficient cars -- the Camry and Corolla -- which had done especially well when gas prices were much higher last summer. Its redesigned 2010 Prius had an especially strong month, which saw sales increase by 30 percent to land the gas-electric hybrid a slot on the best-seller list for last month. Honda's compact Civic and CR-V SUV saw their sales increase, but that automaker was hurt by declines across the rest of its lineup. And Honda's new Insight hybrid has failed to attract the level of interest of the new Prius, selling at barely a tenth of the Toyota's volume and far below projections. 

Nissan had the worst month among the top six automakers, with sales falling by 25 percent, led by a drop from its best-selling Altima midsize sedan and nearly all of its trucks and SUVs. 

See the top-sellers for the last two months below: