For some reason there has been quite a flurry of auto headlines recently. Most of these are good news, so it seemed reasonable to gather a list.

1. Ford to Hire 7,000 to Help Make Electric, Hybrid Cars - Ford manufacturing jobs typically have a high multiplier for the economy at large (directly for suppliers, indirectly through simple economic activity multipliers).

2. Toyota Plans Higher Output as VW Targets Top Spot - This also directly translates to Brazilian, Chinese, American, Japanese, and German jobs. Toyota will be opening a new plant in Blue Springs, Mississippi.

3. Marchionne Wants Chrysler Group to Pay Back U.S., Canada Loans This Year - This is a little more positive than the AP article I found today, but reducing debt via any means is a good thing for Chrysler. Also, It looks like Fiat has boosted their Chrysler holdings.

4. Honda `Aging Champion’ Civic Seeks Revival Amid Hyundai Rivalry - I just wanted to find more car news links, but I am a bit of a Honda fan. If I bought a vehicle with four wheels, it would likely be a Honda.

5. Mercedes Designer Goes `Off the Charts’ to Draw Younger Buyers - I admit to scraping the bottom of the barrel with this link, but the first three links were really good. And this list looks quite impressive with 5 links.

It is my wife’s birthday, and it is time for ice cream cake.

The November numbers have come in from the automakers (source, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9):

1. Ford up 24.3%

2. GM up 11.4%

3. Toyota down 3.3%

4. Honda up 21%

5. Nissan up 26.8%

6. Hyundai up 45%

7. Chrysler/Fiat up 17%

8. Subaru up 22%

9. Porsche up 49%

10. Kia up 48%

11. Volkswagen up 24.2%

12. Daimler up 10.3%

13. BMW up 27.1%

Overall, that was an SAAR of 12.26 million. That’s up from 10.86 million a year ago, though down from 12.3 million in October (not a directly comparable figure).

In other news, Toyota has ventured into the cheap Indian car market. Rolls-Royce continues to expend in the expensive Chinese car market.

The October numbers have come in from the automakers (source, 2, 3):

1. Ford up 19%

2. GM up 3.5%

3. Toyota down 4.4%

4. Honda up 15.6%

5. Nissan up 16%

6. Hyundai up 38%

7. Chrysler/Fiat up 37%

8. Subaru up 20%

9. Porsche up 61%

10. Kia up 39%

11. Volkswagen up 10%

12. Daimler up less than 1%

13. BMW up 17%

Overall, that was an SAAR of 12.3 million. That’s up from 10.46 million a year ago and up from 11.76 million in September (not a directly comparable figure). This is once again the best month since the end of Cash 4 Clunkers.

In other news, GM’s IPO is ready to launch.

The September numbers have come in from the automakers (source, 2, 3):

1. Ford up 46%

2. GM up 10.5%

3. Toyota up 16.8%

4. Honda up 26.1%

5. Nissan up 34%

6. Hyundai up 47.7%

7. Chrysler/Fiat up 61%

8. Subaru up 47%

9. Porsche up 25%

10. Kia up 39%

11. Volkswagen up 14%

12. Daimler up 18.5%

13. Smart down 48.2%

14. BMW up 21%

Overall, that was an SAAR of 11.76. That’s up from 9.38 million a year ago and up from 11.47 million in August (not a directly comparable figure). Remember that last September was the Cash 4 Clunkers hangover, so the comparisons are favorable. Even absent favorable comparisons, this is the best month for auto sales since Cash 4 Clunkers. Domestic vehicle sales came in at 8.6 million, up from 8.4 million last month, with a Bloomberg consensus range of 8.5 million to 8.8 million. September was a good month for the automakers.

The August numbers have come in from the automakers (source, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8):

1. Ford down 10.7%
2. GM down 10.6%
3. Toyota down 34%
4. Honda down 33%
5. Nissan down 27%
6. Hyundai down 11.4%
7. Chrysler/Fiat up 6.8%
8. Subaru down 22% (ignore the AP, nobody else agrees with their numbers, including the Subaru press release)
9. Porsche up 33.2% (With kudos again to the Panamera)
10. Kia down 19.2%
11. Volkswagen down 7.9%
12. Daimler up 15% (including Smart, only up 7.4%)
13. Smart down 62.5%
14. BMW up 1.6%

Overall, that was an SAAR of 11.47 million. That’s down 21% from a year ago, and down from 11.99 million in July (not a directly comparable figure). The bad news was largely expected because of the Cash 4 Clunkers anniversary, though certain automakers performed worse than expectations. In particular, domestic vehicle sales came in at 8.4 million with a Bloomberg consensus range of 8.6M to 9.0M.