Vehicle Sales in U.S. Show Improvement

U.S. auto sales in the first part of November look better than results for early October -- in preliminary year-over-year comparisons -- partly because of lower gas prices and an interest in large vehicles, according to a survey by a subsidiary of J.D. Power & Associates.

New-vehicle sales were down 15% for the first 13 days of November compared with the same period a year earlier, according to Power Information Network.

In contrast, the first nine days of October showed a 33% drop compared with the same period a year before.