Car sales hit four-year high

By Dave Siff

updated 2:49 PM EDT, Wed October 03, 2012

NEED TO KNOW

Overall sales up 13% in a year
Surge led by foreign nameplates as U.S. brands lag
Clark Howard says that could mean good deals soon

Cars are selling at a pace we haven't seen in four years. But the names leading the pack might be the real story.

Sales tracker Autodata says buyers drove 13 percent more cars off the lot in September than they did a year ago, putting sales at the highest level since February of 2008.

Foreign nameplates led the way. Toyota reported sales up 41.5 percent from last year, and Honda was up 31 percent. Volkswagen and Hyundai also did well.

As for Detroit, the picture is disappointing. Chrysler was far and away the best, with sales up 12 percent in a year. But General Motors' sales ticked up a mere 1.5 percent, and Ford sales dropped one-tenth of one percent.

HLN Money Expert Clark Howard says this could mean good deals coming soon from domestic automakers. Here are Clark's top tips for buying a new car.

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