‘August was the best month of the year, but it’s possible that it could be followed by the worst month this year’

The wonders of the Clunker program:

Car companies said on Sept. 1 that their August sales soared to an annualized selling rate of about 14 million, thanks to the government’s clunkers program, which gave $3,500 to $4,500 to consumers trading in an old gas guzzler for something more efficient. The accelerated sales rate was a boon for carmakers, especially Ford (F), Toyota (TM), Honda (HMC), and Hyundai. But the industry appears to be giving those gains back as the annualized rate has fallen to 8 million vehicles since Aug. 25, when the program stopped. “August was the best month of the year, but it’s possible that it could be followed by the worst month this year,” says Jeremy Anwyl, chief executive officer of Edmunds.com.

The clunkers program was especially helpful to Hyundai, whose sales soared 47% for the month, according to Autodata. Ford saw its sales increase 17%, Toyota was up 10.5%, Honda 10%, Mazda 12%, and Kia posted a dramatic 60% rise.