(August 2, 2011) Automakers managed to eke out a 1 percent gain over July 2010 with the Detroit Three posting decent sales increases while the two top Japanese automakers — Toyota and Honda — fell off dramatically as they continue to recover from the March earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Overall, sales climbed 1 percent over July 2010 to 1.059 million units. Sales were virtually dead even with last month, up a slight 6,325 units over June's 1.053 million sales.

Chrysler was up 20 percent month over month and is up 21 percent for the year. General Motors posted a solid 8 percent gain over July 2010 and is up 16 percent for the year. Ford, aided by a 12 percent increase in light truck sales over July 2010, showed an overall increase of 6 percent. Ford is still 9 percent ahead of last year.

Toyota was down 23 percent from July 2010 and is down 7 percent for the year. Honda was down 28 percent month over month and now trails 2010 totals by 3 percent.

"There are people who put off vehicle purchases because of uncertainty about fuel prices, vehicle availability and the economy," said Don Johnson, head of U.S. sales for GM. "As these conditions improve in the latter half of this year, many of these buyers will return to the market."

After double-digit sales increases in the first four months, U.S. demand weakened in May, June and July because of supply shortages stemming from the March earthquake in Japan. That accompanied a sharp drop in incentives, volatile fuel prices and the sluggish economy.

Chrysler's July sales advanced 20 percent helped by several new models and a 46-percent increase in Jeep volume.

GM said its gains were driven by continued strong demand for the company’s lineup of fuel-efficient cars and crossovers, and by improving full-size pickup truck sales. Sales of the Chevrolet Cruze were above 20,000 for the fourth-straight month, delivering 24,648 units. 

"Sales of our fuel-efficient cars like the Chevrolet Cruze and our crossovers remain strong, and we’re now also seeing the seasonal lift in full-size pickups that we expected," said GM's Johnson said.

Even though it was the smallest month-to-month increase this year — 10 percent — Hyundai continued its success, up 23 percent for the year. The Hyundai-Kia Group is up 31 percent.

Volkswagen also enjoyed another stellar month, up 21 percent over last July. The Volkswagen-Audi Group is up 21 percent for the year.

Other manufacturers showing month over month gains were Nissan, 3 percent; Mitsubishi, 41 percent; Suzuki, 25 percent; Daimler, 13 percent; and BMW, 12 percent.

General Motors and Ford continue to be one-two in U.S. sales in 2011 with 1.47 million and 1.25 million respectively. Toyota is third with 943,590.