As down years go for the U.S. auto industry, 2017 may turn out to be the best one ever.
Total sales have fallen for six consecutive months, but the market is nowhere near as gloomy as that sounds. Retail sales have slipped less than 1 percent from a year ago, with the slowdown largely a product of reductions in less-profitable fleet deliveries.
And for many automakers, especially the Detroit 3, the fact that consumers are snapping up high-margin SUVs and crossovers instead of less-expensive sedans has been a boon to their bottom lines. U.S. light-truck sales rose 4.7 percent in the first half, setting records in every month except April and heading toward a total for the year of more than 11 million, after hitting 10 million for the first time in 2016.
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