DETROIT (AP) -- Americans have been buying a lot of pickups -- and that helped fuel a big overall jump in U.S. auto sales last month.
GM's August sales rose 10 percent from a year earlier. Ford's rose 13 percent, and Chrysler saw a 14-percent increase.
Americans were drawn into dealer showrooms by model-year closeouts, low-interest financing and some appealing new models.
Pickups are traditionally the top sellers in the U.S., and they drove much of the business -- thanks in part to a recovering housing market.
Sales of Ford's F-Series trucks rose 19 percent, while Chrysler's Ram jumped by the same.
GM's pickups, the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, saw a 6-percent sales increase.
A GM economist says the overall increase was due mainly to pent-up demand, as consumers and businesses were forced to replace aging cars and pickup trucks.
Honda -- whose factories were hobbled last year by the earthquake in Japan -- reported a 60 percent increase over last August, led by the Civic compact, the CR-V and the Accord.
Volkswagen continued its staggering growth, with sales jumping 63 percent on strong demand for the Jetta and the Passat.
