New-car traffic witnessed a 10 percent increase month-over-month but dropped 17 percent year-over-year. The steep year-over-year decline in traffic was largely due to the introduction of the Cash for Clunkers program in July of 2009. Domestic and luxury brands saw a 10 percent increase month-over-month while year-over-year shopper activity has dropped by 12 percent for domestic brands and 5 percent for luxury brands. Import and non-luxury brands saw an 11 percent increase over last month; however, year-over-year both import and non-luxury brands saw a decrease in shopper activity of 19 percent. Segment trends show a year-over-year decrease in shopper activity across all segments. Hybrids experienced the greatest decline with a 49 percent decrease. However, month-over-month shopper activity showed improvement across all segments. SUVs led the charge with a 16 percent increase. Buick and Jeep made the most notable gains among brands tracked, continuing the ascent that these brands began in June 2010...

For the full report, please visit: http://mediaroom.kbb.com/market-watch-highlights

**Top News**

Fleets fuel surge at GM, Chrysler

http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100809/RETAIL01/308099960/1401

Chrysler sales rise but problems lurk behind gains

http://www.detnews.com/article/20100807/AUTO01/8070394/1148/auto01/Chrysler-sales-rise-but-problems-lurk-behind-gains

Growing sales help Chrysler narrow loss in 2Q

http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/earnings/2010-08-09-chrysler_N.htm

Chrysler posts $183 million Q2 operating profit on higher sales, may raise outlook

http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100809/OEM/308099931/1179

An improved Chrysler is about to be tested

http://www.cnbc.com/id/38624217

**KBB Commentary on Top News**

Good Bad News

Deeper analysis into 2010's sales thus far by the major manufacturers has exposed a well-recognized devil in the details. While many have celebrated the recent sales gains by most car companies, a substantial ratio of the sales are coming from rental, government and commercial fleet purchases. Not that this necessarily is a bad thing, as it signals a symbolic recovery amongst these buying groups and ability to replace vehicles kept in service longer than normal. However, the real question is which companies may be returning to dependence on such non-retail sales to meet quarterly report expectations and clear otherwise slow-moving stock.

In most cases, the bulk of fleet sales in 2010 have been vehicles that have lost retail luster or models that are on the road to replacement, such as the Chevrolet Impala, Cobalt and Chrysler Town and Country. The bigger questions will be what percentage of sales will be fleet once the new 2011 models begin to roll-out, and to what degree these new and improved vehicles capture regular retail shopper and buyer interest. We will keep a close eye on traffic patterns of new-car shoppers on kbb.com in the coming months to see which new and redesigned models generate the most buzz.

While fleet sales can help keep companies afloat during rough times, improving retail sales are a sure sign of improving health.

- James Bell, executive market analyst, Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com

**OEM/Vehicle News**

After diet, a Chrysler product binge

http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100809/RETAIL03/308099968/1252

GM considering new mid-size pickup, small minivan

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2010/08/gm-considering-new-mid-size-pickup-small-minivan/1

Suzuki looking for some respect on the road

http://www.autonews.com/article/20100806/BLOG06/100809872/-1

Land Rover updates LR2, changes its famous logo

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2010/08/land-rover-updates-lr-2-changes-its-famous-logo/1

Today’s Chevy: Un-like a rock