Auto sales totals for 2009 have been tabulated and while it ain't pretty, an improvement in the waning weeks offers a glimmer of hope.

With just 10.4 million cars sold, 2009 will go down as one of the worst years in recent memory. Nearly every manufacturer was down significantly for the year with the exceptions of Subaru, Hyundai and Kia, which were all up relatively strongly. Even Toyota and Honda felt the pain as each posted a 20% decline for the year. Among domestic companies, Ford had the strongest showing with “only” a 15% drop, GM sales fell by 30% and Chrysler was off by 36% from 2008's lackluster total, turning in its worst performance in almost fifty years.

Last summer's “Cash for Clunkers” program provided a mild boost mid-year and an unexpected surge in sales in December has the industry hoping that the worst may be behind it. Here, too, Ford stood out with a 34% increase in sales in December 2009 vs. December 2008, the best of any major car maker, foreign or domestic.

The top ten list holds few surprises. The Ford F-150 remained the number one best selling vehicle for 2009 while the Toyota Camry/Solara rose to number two pushing the Chevrolet Silverado to third place. All of the models in the top ten saw sales declines for 2009 except the Ford Fusion and Escape which saw sales increase by 22% and 10% respectively.

Analysts are guardedly optimistic that December's increases are a sign of recovery and looking for a better year in 2010, though the market isn't expected to reach its recent highs for at least several years.

--M.D.