November Auto Sales Surge Puts Industry on Pace to Hit 16.4 Million for Year

Consumers can't resist Black Friday deals, and this year automakers got in on the frenzied action, advertising great deals on new cars, trucks, and SUVs. As a result, dealers enjoyed a surge of customers over the weekend right after Thanksgiving, and November closed with more new vehicles sold than in any month since February of 2007.

Black Friday sales promotions weren't the only reason consumers were in a shopping mood. Healthy tax breaks on vehicles with Gross Combined Vehicle Weight ratings of more than 6,000 lbs. expire on December 31, so businesses are buying trucks. Ford sold more than 65,000 F-Series trucks in November alone, and Ram pickup sales were up 22% over the same time last year. General Motors saw a gain of 19% for its Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks, thanks to great deals on outgoing 2013 models and completely redesigned versions of the 2014 Silverado 1500 and Sierra 1500.