Ford (F) had itself quite a month of March overseas, as the company's auto sales increased 16.1% compared to a year ago. The March increase was the tenth straight for the American automaker, driven higher by sales of the company's Fiesta model. The Ford Fiesta saw sales of 68,800, which was the highest monthly sales for any Ford model on record in a single month across the pond.

Ford's market share increased 10.4%, which marks a 12-year high and is Ford's highest market share since August 1998. Ford was the top-selling brand in the UK, Denmark, Hungary, Ireland, The Netherlands, and Turkey during March. It should be noted that March sales are traditionally strong in Europe, as registration plates change. Ford saw 72,700 new registrations during the month, 16.4% better than a year ago.

Shares of auto dealer CarMax Inc. (KMX) rose to a new 52-week high today after the company beat analyst estimates for its fourth quarter.

As we noted in our earnings preview last night, Wall Street had forecast CarMax to report $0.25 for the quarter. The stock is soaring today after it beat estimates with a reported $0.26 per share, up from $0.17 during the same period last year.

Auto retailer CarMax Inc. (KMX) will be reporting its fourth quarter numbers tomorrow, and Wall Street is looking for further signs that the struggling auto industry is continuing to rebound.

Going into tomorrow's earnings release Wall Street is expecting to see the company show earnings of $0.25 per share. During the same period last year the company reported earnings of $0.17.

A recent Gallup poll may hold a bit of good news for American car makers. It seems that new car buyers, especially among the younger set, are becoming more interested in purchasing cars made by Ford (F), General Motors, and Chrysler.

According to the poll, from December of 2008 to March of this year, the percentage of respondents who said they would only consider buying an American-made automobile has increased by six percent. For the same period, the number of respondents who said they would only consider buying a foreign made automobile decreased by 11 percent. The number of respondents who answered that they would consider new cars from either source class increased by five percent this same time period.

Toyota Motor Company (TM) has definitely been feeling the impact of its current recall crisis. The company that once had a strong reputation for safe and reliable cars has seen that image tarnished, and the effects are being felt on the company's dealer lots.

February was a tough month for the company, and concerns over the safety of the company's vehicles led to a reported 8.7% dip in sales last month.

U.S. industrial production rose 0.8% in November. The index showed no change in October. We can infer from this that manufacturers are working off inventory and are able to produce more to meet increased demand. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News has expected a gain of 0.5%.

Here are specific sector changes:

• New York's Empire State Index fell to five month low of 2.6 from 23.5 in November. Readings above zero signal expansion.

October seems to have been a good month for consumer spending. Unemployment is holding consumers back, but it isn't keeping wallets clamped shut.

A Bloomberg survey reveals that purchases grew 0.5% last month, based on the thoughts of 61 economists. The U.S. Department of Commerce is releasing its report on Wednesday. In advance of this news, Bloomberg's survey suggests that there are signs of slight improvement.

Alan Mulally, president and CEO of Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), said Wednesday that he expects U.S. auto sales to rise during the next two years. Vehicle sales in 2009 are expected to range between 10.5 million and 11 million units, and Mulally predicts that number will increase to 12.5 million in 2010 and 14.5 million in 2011.

"It has started to pick up right now because we have had the stimulus packages," said Mulally, speaking before reporters in India. "So, it will be up a little now, then will go down. But overall in the long term, the sales will grow with the GDP number." The CEO added that Ford expects to be profitable by 2011.

The past couple of months there has been a lot of news over the government's recent "cash for clunkers" program, which was wildly more successful than anyone could have imagined, but left dealer lots short on inventory. General Motors dealers are still dealing with low inventory and have requested more cars to meet recent demand.

According to the Detroit News, General Motors dealers have requested that the company ship as much as four times as many cars as the company had planned to build in October.

Data analysis of the government's Cash for Clunkers program is beginning to surface. That analysis, coupled with some not too impressive projections, is beginning to paint a murky, if not dismal, picture of the auto industry's future. I read an excellent break down of the data, which was provided by Michelle Krebs via Edmunds Automotive Network.

First off, some analysts are claiming that while the Clunkers program did boost auto sales for the month of August, those sales were most likely moved forward on the calendar by auto buyers who were already contemplating a purchase. The supposition is that these consumers simply bought earlier to reap their government vouchers (you're welcome). Dismal September sales numbers are being projected for auto makers.

Unlike Commissioner Gordon who can send out the Bat signal to call his helpmate against crime, there is nothing investors can do to summon aid in times of stress. They have to go it alone. But they can be armed with intelligence that helps. Here are few of the most prominent data points that will make a difference for all stocks, a macro perspective that should make navigating the stock market highway a little easier.

However, taken on a one-time basis, these aren't going to solve the mystery that is the market. Rather, data has to show a trend before it can be used. Even then, a trend stops and another begins. So even though the trend can be your friend, it can just as easily turn and become your enemy. As they used to say on Hill Street Blues: Be careful out there.

So you finally get to see some growth figures from the ISM and then the market sells off again. We have enjoyed a heck of a run-up and now trading desks are lightening up to boot as we get closer to the 3-day weekend. Today was such a poor result on the market internals that even all the defensive stocks were dropping. Even inverse-leverage ETF's were getting traction again. Bill Gross's bleak outlook probably only added insult to injury today.

Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 9,310.60 -185.68 (-1.96%)
S&P 500 998.04 -22.58 (-2.21%)
Nasdaq 1,968.89 -40.17 (-2.00%)

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It should not come as any surprise, but Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) announced today that August saw an industry wide increase in auto sales.

Of course, the increase in sales can be attributed to the highly popular "cash for clunkers" program that brought auto buyers out in huge numbers. The August increase is the first time auto sales have moved higher in over 2 years.

Auto sales continued to drop in June, but we are starting to see signs that sales may be beginning to stabilize a bit.

The auto industry is still in deep trouble. It is going to take a while before things get back to normal, but before things can even start to improve, they have to stop worsening, and that's what may be happening.

Back in the 1950s, Roger Penske not only raced cars, but he also sold them. And, when he retired in 1965, he focused on his business interests, creating an empire. Now, there is Penske Auto (NYSE: PAG), which operates a chain of auto dealers, a truck leasing operation, and a high-performance car operation.

Well, this week the empire got even bigger; that is, Penske agreed to purchase the Saturn unit from General Motors. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.