Ford, Chrysler and GM see big sales gains

• New drivetrains%2C styling changes help Chrysler%27s Jeep Grand Cherokee and Ram pickup
• Ford gain helped by West Coast embrace of Fusion%2C strong small-car sales
• GM gets a boost from redesigned Chevrolet%2C GMC pickups and Cadillac%27s newest cars

Detroit's Big 3 automakers reported strong sales gains in June, compared to the same month a year ago.

Ford reported a 13% driven by a 24% jump for the profitable F-150 pickups, Chrysler Group said sales were up 8% (its 39th consecutive monthly sales gain) and GM rose 6%.

Ford said that the sales pace was so strong that if it were extended over the entire year, adjusting seasonally, the industry would crack the critical 16-million sales barrier for the first time since 2007.

Meanwhile, Kelly Blue Book estimates that June car and truck buyers overall spent more for their new vehicles, too -- up 1% to an average out-the-door transaction price of $31,663 -- with Ford a big gainer.

"Consumer confidence continues to be a strong factor, along with pent-up demand and for now, low interest rates, bringing shoppers into the showroom to purchase a new vehicle," said Alec Gutierrez, senior market analyst for KBB. "Ford has been one the biggest beneficiaries, with transaction prices up nearly 3 percent, due to the strength in large truck sales, coupled with newly redesigned vehicles in the Fusion and Explorer."

Here's how the Detroit 3 did:

CHRYSLER GROUP

Chrysler said seven of its vehicles set records in June, including the compact Dodge Dart that had had a slow start.. Othe highlights:

•Ram 1500 standard-duty pickups were standouts, with sales jumping 36%. The Ram 1500 got eight-speed automatic transmissions and other updates earlier this year. Heavy-duty models were up 5%, for a 24% gain overall for Ram brand.

Chrysler expects the momentum to continue this fall when the 2014 standard duty begins offering a diesel with eight-speed automatic, and the heavy-duties will have a bigger, 6.4-liter Hemi gasoline V-8.

•Durango, a full-size SUV based on the Jeep Grand Cherokee underpinnings, zipped 39% and was the company's biggest gainer. Durango had been having trouble getting sales traction.

•Jeep Grand Cherokee's 33% gain kept the brand above water -- the SUV has gotten a freshening with new styling and an 8-speed automatic. Jeep brand sales are suffering because the Liberty small SUV has been discontinued and the Cherokee that replaces it won't hit dealers until the third quarter.

•Chrysler brand sales were up just 1% despite an 18% gain by its Town & Country minivan.

•Fiat sales rose only 1%. The larger Fiat 500L has only begun to arrive at dealers and is expected to increase interest in the tiny Fiat 500 because the L is a bit bigger.

FORD MOTOR

The 13% year-over-year gain to 228,174 overall added up to Ford's best June since 2006 and it was the best June for F-Series trucks since 2005 at 68,009. Cars sales rose 12% and utilities were up 8%.

Ford said its smallest cars – the Fiesta, Focus and C-MAX – were up 39% to 35,851.

The Escape SUV was up just 1% but its 28,694 deliveries were its best-ever month.

Ford's said in its release that the small cars and Escape, plus the Fusion mid-size sedan were helping it make sales inroads in western and southeastern markets where it has not been strong vs. foreign brands.

The new MKZ sedan that is leading the effort to revive the Lincoln brand sold 3,180 in June, for the models best month and closing first-ever quarter of more than 10,000 sales, beating it by 682. The new luxury car had gotten off to a rough sales start earlier this year due to a decision to hold up start of production to fix quality issues

In a call with reporters, Ford sales analyst Erich Merkle said Los Angeles has become Ford's biggest market for small cars, and San Francisco is now the fastest growing market.

The gain in smaller cars and crossovers was led by the smaller models, like Fiesta, Focus and C-MAX, which were up 39% over last year. Ford had its best small-vehicle sales performance in 13 years.

The Fusion sedan continues to be a hit. Dealers have less than a 40-day supply, which is less than optimal. But 16% of them still go to car rental fleets. "We're filling those orders based on demand," says Ken Czubay, Ford's U.S. vice president of marketing. But he says it is in line with Toyota's Camry.

When it comes to the F-Series, America's best selling model, Ford saw its 23rd consecutive monthly sales increase. Sales of the big pickups were up 24%.

GENERAL MOTORS

General Motors said its June sales were 6% better than a year earlier.

The biggest U.S. car company said sales of its crossover SUVs were up 9% and cars rose 4%. Sales of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickups leapt due to a full redesign that's been on sale a few weeks.

GM said combined sales of all its mini, small and compact cars zoomed 59%.

Highlights:

•Buick sales slipped 4.1% despite a strong showing from the recently freshened Enclave big crossover SUV, which was up 13.7%.

•Cadillac zipped 14.9% on the strength of its newest cars, ATS compact and XTS big sedan. SRX crossover SUV was down 8.2% but remained the brand's best-seller.

•Chevrolet Cruze did huge business, a record for the car and up 73.2%. Volt plug-in hybrid was strong, too, up 53.3%. New-design Silverado pickup pushed sales up 28.9%

•GMC, the truck-only brand, was up only 4.5% despite a roaring 32.8% climb by its redesigned Sierra full-size pickup.

Chevy Cruze's 73% increase is impressive no matter which way you slice it. But the midsize Malibu, down 32%, is getting lost in the middle. GM probably wishes that it could hit the reset button and handle that car's launch much better than it did," says Michelle Krebs, analyst at Edmunds.com.