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USED CAR PRICES FIRMER THAN IN SUMMER

USED CAR prices were firmer across most sectors between September and November than the previous 3 months, according to the used car pricing experts, CAP. The CAP Used Car Price Index also reveals an increase in values for 4x4s over the period while convertibles are hitting the doldrums. A reduction in the number of used cars available overall, at the benchmark 3 year old point, is helping to keep prices relatively stable in most cases.

Car sales rise as shutdown ends

DETROIT -- Combined U.S. sales by the Detroit 3 rose 14 percent last month, helped by strong demand for sedans and pickups and an increase in showroom traffic after the partial government shutdown ended. General Motors reported a 16 percent gain after losing market share in August and September.

Crunch watch Dec 08: the auto industry in crisis

By Tim Pollard and Simon Stiel Motor Industry 31 December 2008 14:05 Wednesday 31 December 2008• GMAC, GM's finance arm, said it would immediately revise its criteria for providing loans, after the US government bail-out of the General's credit arm. It will now supply credit for anyone with a score of 621 or more on the Fico scale, the scale used to assess Amercian customers' creditworthiness (Financial Times)• The news means that 80% of US consumers would now qualify for a loan from GMAC – which should improve sales in the depressed US market (Detroit News)• Chrysler is being lambasted for taking out full-page adverts in the American national press thanking the nation for supporting its auto industry. But critics point out this is a fresh waste of bail-out resources, as pages in the Wall Street Journal – one of the titles in which the ad ran – reportedly cost up to $264,000.