Big jump in local car sales

New vehicle registrations in L.A. County were up 43.1 percent in June from a year earlier, a somewhat surprising sign of increased local spending. OC registrations were up 52.8 percent. Year to date, L.A. registrations were up 17 percent and OC 15.4 percent. All stats from Experian Automotive. Toyota posted big increases from a year earlier (42.8 percent for L.A., 35 percent for OC).

Meanwhile,U.S. vehicle sales for July are due out early next week, and they're likely to be quite strong, despite the uncertain economic picture and only modest incentives. GM is expected to do especially well. From the Detroit Free Press:

In July, the seasonally adjusted annual rate is estimated to be 11.8 million, according to vehicle pricing Web site TrueCar.com, and 12.2 million according J.D. Power and Associates. Those estimates would make July the strongest selling month since last August when government incentives boosted the selling rate to 14.9 million. The seasonally adjusted annual sales rate indicates what sales would total for the year if demand remained constant over 12 months, adjusting for seasonal factors. It's an easy way to reference month-to-month performance.