Chrysler Group is recalling some 127,350 current model Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 vehicles in the United States and Canada due to potential problems in electrical stability control and anti-lock braking systems, the company and U.S. safety regulators said.  

Chrysler, majority owned by Fiat SpA , said it was not aware of any crashes, injuries or fires due to the issue.  

The recall affects cars from the 2011-2012 model years and produced through December 20, 2011, according to a company filing with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A fuse in the power distribution center in the vehicles may overheat and cause loss of control, increasing the risk of a crash, the filing said.  

Chrysler will fix the issue without charge. Recall notices will go out this month. 

The problem first surfaced in testing of a vehicle used as a police car in Michigan, and Chrysler then checked for the same issue with consumer-driven cars, the filing said.   

The recall affects an estimated 119,072 cars in the United States and 8,274 in Canada.  

Reuters contributed to this report. 

Updated 2:05 p.m. ET: General Motors and Ford reported slight dips in U.S. new vehicle sales for April, but GM lifted its outlook for U.S. sales this year based on encouraging signs that the broader economy will grow.

Chrysler, controlled by Italian automaker Fiat SpA , said sales rose 20 percent to 141,165 vehicles, compared with 117,225 in the same month last year. Chrysler's performance was its strongest April in four years.

And Toyota, after a tough year of earthquake-related shortages, is back.

GM now projects the U.S. auto industry will sell between 14 million and 14.5 million cars and trucks this year, up from its previous outlook of 13.5 million to 14 million.

"Over time, strength in the manufacturing sector and strong retail sales will lead to more job creation," GM sales executive Don Johnson said in a statement. "That will help more consumers put the recession behind them."

The sales declines at GM and Ford were due partly to a quirk in the calendar. April has three fewer selling days than last year, which can skew results.

Including medium and heavy trucks, Ford expects the overall industry to post an annual sales rate in the "mid-14 million" range. Chrysler Group, the No. 3 U.S. automaker, forecast an April sales rate for the industry of 14.6 million vehicles.

That would be stronger than the 14.4 million rate projected by economists, according to Thomson Reuters, and would also top the March rate of 14.4 million.

GM reported an 8 percent decline in sales, due a 25 percent drop in fleet sales, to 213,387.

Ford sales fell 5 percent to 180,350 from 189,778 a year earlier. Sales of its Escape SUV model, which is expected to be replaced later this year, fell by a fifth while Fiesta subcompact sales dropped 44 percent.

When adjusted for the fewer selling days, Ford said its April sales rose 7 percent.

Last week, executives said Ford's incentive strategy in April would contribute to a drop in its U.S. market share for the month. TrueCar.com said incentives on Ford cars and trucks fell about 10 percent, compared with a drop of 4.7 percent for the industry.

Volkswagen AG reported a 31.5 percent increase in sales.

Toyota's share of U.S. auto sales likely climbed back to a level not seen since last year's Japanese earthquake, which disrupted production. Replenished supplies and hot sellers like the new Camry sedan and Prius C subcompact drove sales, analysts say.

Auto buying site TrueCar.com predicts Toyota's U.S. market share reached 15.3 percent last month, its highest level since December 2010. That's up from a low of 12.5 percent last September, when the automaker sold 61,600 fewer vehicles than it's expected to in April.

"We knew they were going to be able to gain back part of their share this year, but they're doing it quicker than we thought. The new products are doing well," says Jesse Toprak, TrueCar's vice president of market intelligence.

Auto sales are watched as one of the earliest snapshots of American consumer demand. In recent months, sales figures have proven a bright spot in an economy that expanded at a 2.2 percent annual rate in the first quarter.

But there are mounting signs that the broader U.S. economy is losing steam. Analysts debate whether high fuel prices and warm weather boosted sales in the first quarter, potentially leading to a pullback in sales later in the year.

Ford shares were up 1 cent at $11.29 and GM shares were up 13 cents at $23.13 on Tuesday morning on the New York Stock Exchange.

Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Geoff Robins / AFP - Getty Images

The 2013 Dodge Dart is unveiled during the 2012 Detroit auto show.

Chrysler put its dark days further behind it Thursday, reporting its strongest quarterly results in 13 years.

The Auburn Hills, Mich., automaker said its net income more than quadrupled in the first quarter of 2012, rising to $473 million as U.S. sales soared.

U.S. market share increased to 11.2 percent for the first quarter, up from 9.2 percent a year ago, driven primarily by a 40 percent increase in U.S. retail sales, Chrysler said. For the first time in its history, Chrysler was the quarterly market leader in Canada with a share of 15 percent, the automaker said.

“We continue to deliver on the targets in our five-year plan and are now focused on successfully launching the Dodge Dart, a car that is a true melding of Chrysler’s and Fiat’s engineering and styling strengths,” Sergio Marchionne, Chrysler’s chairman and CEO, said in a statement.

The new Dodge Dart will be Chrysler’s first good compact car for decades, and the automaker is set to release an updated version of its top-selling Ram pickup truck.

Chrysler, now controlled by Italian auto company Fiat, came close to bankruptcy when it ran out of money at the end of 2008 after a series of business missteps. The carmaker needed $12.5 billion from U.S. taxpayers to survive.

Of the original Chrysler bailout, $11.2 billion has been repaid, and the U.S. Treasury Department says it won't recover the remaining $1.3 billion, the AP reported.

Are Chrysler’s darkest days behind it? Discuss it on Facebook.

Richard Drew / AP

The SRT Viper is unveiled at the New York International Auto Show earlier this week.

At a recent Manhattan party with faithful Viper owners, Ralph Gilles, the man responsible for the return of Chrysler's iconic sports car, described how it earned the reprieve that led to its resurrection at the New York International Auto Show this week.

It was all CEO Sergio Marchionne’s fault. After a test drive of the Viper, he winked and said, "It’s not too easy to drive, is it?” That wink was the clue for the team that was hoping to resurrect the company's discontinued Viper. The project had a chance — if the team made some significant improvements.

To start, they had to shed the Viper's kit-car image among the Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche faithful, reported Ralph Gilles, president and CEO of Chrysler's Street and Racing Technology (SRT) brand, which is responsible for the Viper. "They were very frank with us," he said of those competitors' customers. "They said it was too crude, too brutal."

This week, as the Viper roared onstage with its engine revving, the refreshed car was the hit of the show -- at least for people who weren't more focused on the debut of Nissan's new New York taxicab design. 

All the familiar parts are still there: the front-mounted V10 engine, a minimal two seats way back behind a long hood, and massive wheels. But underneath, Gilles' team toiled to tame the beast. That's because, as Marchionne observed somewhat understatedly, the old Viper did not suffer fools gladly. It would toss them into the nearest ditch at the slightest provocation.

The 2013 Viper hasn't been emasculated, however. Power has been boosted to 640 horsepower and the frame is 50 percent stiffer than before.  But the suspension has been upgraded to make the car more forgiving and easier to toss around casually on the track. Viper owners love to take their cars to the racetrack, but its unforgiving character required laser focus.

So behind its even-fiercer visage, the new Viper is more friendly, letting drivers play but with less fear of catastrophe. And there is a new, unseen backup: electronic stability control, which was never a part of the Viper's recipe before, but which is required by the government now.

The Viper team added the required stability software, but rolled it into a suite of applications that let the Viper mirror the kind of driver-adjustability common on many top racing cars. Even though there is now a computer watching over the driver's shoulder (unless you want to turn it off), the driver can feel even more like a racing hero by making adjustments to the car's systems using the computer.

In the past, acceleration runs at the drag strip were challenging. The car had so much power that it took just the right touch (and maybe a bit of luck) to match the engine speed and clutch release to launch the car as quickly as possible without accidentally vaporizing the rear tires into a cloud of rubber smoke. 

Smoky burnouts may look dramatic, but while a car is spinning its tires that way, the car in the other lane is accelerating away to win the race. The new Viper has a computerized launch control system that promises a perfect match of revs and clutch every time, avoiding any embarrassing drag strip defeats at the hands of some kid in a clapped-out Mustang.

The voluptuous bodywork is a clear return to the original car's organic shape rather than the second-generation's crisper, but less-distinctive lines. Underneath, previous Vipers suffered from less-than-premium cabin appointments, in the bare-bones tradition of the Shelby Cobra, which was the Viper's inspiration.

Today's customers demand more, so the Viper team turned to partners, such as the same company that provides seats for Ferraris, to give Viper buyers the luxurious cockpit they can find in competitive models. "The Viper has the finest interior we've ever put into a car," Gilles said.

Does returning the Viper to showrooms mean that Chrysler will rake in the dough now?  No, that’s for models like the new Dodge Dart.  The Viper has another purpose.  "This is not a car that is going to make a lot of money for us," Gilles conceded.  "It shows we still have a soul."

David Zalubowski / AP

A line of 2012 Focus sedans at a Ford dealership in the south Denver suburb of Littleton, Colo.

Updated at 2:04 p.m. ET: The auto industry looks set to ride the appeal of smaller cars to its best quarterly performance in almost four years.

Auto sales rose sharply in March, boosted by consumers with more confidence in a recovering U.S. economy who want to buy fuel-efficient cars and trucks in the face of rising gasoline prices.

Strong sales in March are the most convincing evidence yet this year of a sustained recovery in the U.S. auto sector. Analysts said unseasonably warm weather last month drew out American car shoppers. The rise in gas prices to near $4 a gallon coupled with high used car prices also prompted some consumers to buy new vehicles earlier than planned.

Ford's U.S. sales rose 5 percent from a year earlier. Ford, No. 2 in the U.S. market, reported its best March for new auto sales in five years on strong sales of small cars such as its Focus sedan and its F-Series pickup trucks.

Chrysler, No. 4 in U.S. sales, reported a 34 percent increase, led by its Chrysler brand, which had a sales increase of 70 percent.

It was the 24th consecutive month that Chrysler showed a year-on-year sales gain.

General Motors, the No. 1 automaker in U.S. and global sales, said its U.S. sales rose 12 percent in March on solid demand for cars and small crossovers that achieve 30 miles per gallon or better on the highway.

Nissan said its sales in March rose 12.5 percent, and Volkswagen said its March sales soared 35 percent -- its best U.S. March sales since 1973.

Toyota, No. 3 in U.S. sales, saw a 15 percent rise in March sales.

South Korea's Hyundai, which has the best fleet-wide fuel economy ratings in the market, said it expected to have record monthly sales.

"The current level of gas prices will further accelerate the release of pent-up demand as consumers lean towards significantly more fuel-efficient new vehicles while used prices are still strong," Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said.

Consumer confidence rose in March to its highest level since February 2011, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan reading of consumer sentiment showed.

Consumers who held off purchases during the economic downturn -- which led to the worst U.S. auto sales since World War II adjusted for population -- are returning to the market, said Edmunds.com analyst Jessica Caldwell.

In February, auto sales rose to their highest level in four years.

"Vehicle trade-in rates have achieved sustained highs in recent months, which suggests that consumers have decided that they've held on to their cars for too long," Caldwell said. "And with the average credit score for new car buyers at its lowest level since the first half of 2008, the market is clearly becoming a friendlier place for all buyers."

As sales rise, automakers are also getting more profit per vehicle. Incentives continued to trend downward in March while the average transaction prices per new vehicle rose, autos consultant TrueCar.com said on Tuesday.

Auto analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect an annualized sales rate for March of 14.74 million vehicles, which would be a rise from last March's 13.1 million sales rate. Analysts say pent-up demand, easier credit, more fuel-efficient product offerings and mild weather helped boost March sales.

Mike Jackson, chief executive of the nation's largest auto retailer, AutoNation Inc., told CNBC on Monday that the company raised its 2012 sales forecast to about 14.5 million from 14 million, based on the strongest quarter for auto sales since before the sales downturn that began in late 2008.

Incentive spending in March fell about 2 percent industry-wide, rising only for Chrysler, Nissan and Volkswagen, TrueCar.com said. Major automakers are expected to show gains on year-ago sales, led by Chrysler Group LLC, GM and Toyota Motor Corp.

"Automakers have hit the sweet spot this month with lowered incentives and double-digit sales increases, which signifies underlying strength in consumer demand," said analyst Kristen Andersson of TrueCar.com.

Truck sales continue to improve, but the improvements in car sales are relatively stronger, reflecting increased appetite for smaller, more fuel-efficient models, analysts said.

Is this a sign that the recovery is here to stay? Share your thoughts on Facebook.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

In an era of executive excess, Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne made headlines, earlier this month, when it was reported he took no compensation for his work at the U.S. automaker last year.  That was all the more impressive compared to the news, that same day, that Ford Chief Executive Alan Mulally had received $58.3 million in stock alone for 2011.

But for those wondering how deeply Marchionne might have to dig into his pockets to cover the reported $3.5 million home he recently purchased in the Detroit suburbs there’s no reason to worry.  While he didn’t get money from Chrysler he did more than okay wearing his other hat, as CEO of the U.S. maker’s Italian partner Fiat.

India Ready to Overtake Japan in Car Sales

In all, Marchionne took home 14.5 million Euros, or $18.9 million,  last year, including $3.2 million in salary and another $15.69 million in stock that vested last year.  Major companies like Ford and Fiat like to use stock as an incentive, the argument being that with enough shares an executive like Marchionne or Mulally will be motivated to maximize investor value.

(Unlike General Motors, which also went through bankruptcy in 2009, Chrysler has yet to take itself public again.  As TheDetroitBureau.com recently reported, Marchionne is indefinitely delaying the long-discussed Chrysler IPO and suggested there might not be one at all. Click Here for that story.)

Until it paid off its remaining government loans last year, was been subject to a stipulation in its federal bailout that limited what upper management could earn, senior pay being subject to approval by a government overseer.  With a third of its stock still owned by the U.S. Treasury, GM officials remain subject to that restriction.

Brands, Not Cars, Key Contends Fiat/Chrysler Exec

Marchionne declined to take either salary or bonus from Chrysler in both 2010 and 2011.  He became CEO of the U.S. maker when Fiat effectively took control of Chrysler following its emergence from Chapter 11 protection.  Fiat’s stake in Chrysler has steadily grown – from an initial 20% to the current 58.5%.  Federal filings indicate the goal is to boost that to 70% or more over the next several years.

Chrysler is recalling nearly 210,000 Jeep Liberty sport utility vehicles due to potential problems resulting from excessive corrosion that could lead to a loss of control by the driver.

Chrysler, which is controlled by Fiat , is recalling the estimated 209,724 Jeep SUVs from model years 2004 and 2005. Some may be equipped with rear lower control arms that can fracture due to corrosion caused by road salt used in certain states, according to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Chrysler is not aware of any accidents or injuries related to the issue, NHTSA said.

The recall is expected to begin by the end of April and the rear lower control arms on all affected vehicles will be replaced, according to NHTSA.

NHTSA said it opened a preliminary evaluation of the issue in April 2011 based on nine complaints about fractures due to excessive corrosion. The probe was upgraded to an engineering analysis in September 2011.

The cars affected in the recall were originally sold or are currently registered in Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Washington, D.C., according to the documents.

Reuters contributed to this report.  

In January, Fiat/Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne shifted to a more conservative strategy. And it is paying off. (AP)

The U.S. auto industry exceeded even the most optimistic expectations in February. Manufacturers collectively posted their strongest sales since 2008 as a mix of pent-up demand, rising consumer confidence – and increased loan availability – sent buyers racing back to showrooms at levels not seen since the start of the Great Recession.

Few automakers had more to crow about than Chrysler. The automaker posted an overall 40 percent increase for the month – marking its 23^rd consecutive monthly increase in demand and its strongest point since emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2009.

Only a handful of manufacturers managed to post a bigger gain than Chrysler – including Volkswagen, which sold more cars in the U.S. during February than it had at any time during the last four decades. But what was particular significant about Chrysler’s strong showing was that it still hasn’t rolled out all the small, high-mileage offerings that might take advantage of rising fuel prices. Yet even some of its biggest offerings fared well, with the flagship Chrysler 300 sedan racking up a five-fold increase in demand.

"Chrysler has some of the strongest products ever in the history of the company," said Jesse Toprak, VP of market intelligence at TrueCar.com. "They've made some strong vehicles like the Chrysler 200 and 300, along with most Jeep products, but the Dodge Dart could really help the company compete with fuel-efficient vehicles once it launches, as gas prices continue to rise."

All of the Detroit automaker’s brands saw a sales increase in February, including not only Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram, but also struggling Fiat, the reborn marque of the U.S. automaker’s Italian partner. 

Fiat made its return to the U.S. in early 2011 after a three-decade absence but found the going a lot tougher than anticipated, sales for the year coming in at barely half of its original, 50,000-unit forecast. 

“Clearly, a year ago, it was difficult to get a clear sense of where the brand would go,” Olivier Francois, Fiat’s global chief executive, said during a recent interview.  “We just didn’t know.”

In January, Fiat/Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne shifted to a more conservative strategy, downgrading by half his sales forecast for the Fiat brand for 2012.  But company officials are now optimistic that the February figures – with a 21 percent gain, their best since the brand’s re-launch – could put Fiat back on course. 

The maker is now launching a higher performance version of its little 500 model, dubbed the Abarth, that is already generating strong buzz. 

Of course, even the base Fiat 500 is well-positioned to take advantage of shifting market trends.  Small cars accounted for 23 percent of the overall U.S. market in February, up from 17.9 percent in December, reported tracking firm Edmunds.com.

“Our product portfolio now contains some of the most fuel-efficient vehicles in our company’s history driving our sales up 40 percent in February,” said Reid Bigland, head of Chrysler’s U.S. Sales and the CEO of its Dodge brand. “A few years ago higher fuel prices were a major threat to our total vehicle sales whereas today those higher prices have become far less of an issue. We now have 13 vehicles with an EPA-rated highway fuel economy of 25 miles per gallon or higher, and six of those vehicles get 31 mpg or higher.”

But as analyst Toprak, of TrueCar, pointed out, Chrysler still doesn’t have quite the high-mileage portfolio of some of its competitors,  including its cross-town rivals, which are also making significant gains in the passenger car market.  Ford, for example, saw sales of the compact Focus model double in February, and GM’s new Chevrolet Sonic generated more sales than its chief rivals, the Toyota Yaris and Honda Fit, combined.

But Chrysler could be well-positioned if, as many expect, fuel prices reach record levels mid-year.  The maker is rushing to launch its new Dodge Dart, a new compact sedan borrowing the name of an old model that was once among Chrysler’s strongest sellers.  One version of the Dart will use Fiat’s high-mileage Multi-Air engine, which generated an estimated 40 mpg combined, according to EPA testing.  That figure will likely be lower in production, however, due to the way the government recalculates its initial test results.

Nonetheless, the Dart could become a major factor in maintaining Chrysler’s momentum this year – something that will become increasingly difficult as it compares itself again stronger sales in late 2011.

Keeping the curve pointing up is already costing the maker some significant money.  According to preliminary TrueCar data, Chrysler put more cash on the hood than any other major maker in February of this year.  At $3,251, its average incentive was up 6.5 percent year-over-year – and nearly double Toyota’s average $1,789 in givebacks.

On a positive note, despite having to spend so much on rebates and other incentives, Chrysler saw a sharp surge in its average transaction price, or ATP, the amount the typical buyer actually spends once everything is factored into the equation.  The total came to $29,458 per vehicle, up 1.0% from January and a full 5.7 percent from a year ago.

That upturn suggests that in this resurgent car market there’s still plenty of room for the  bigger, less fuel-efficient models that Chrysler has long been known for.  Its Jeep Grand Cherokee, a runner-up for 2011 North American Truck of the Year, gained 47 percent, while the Dodge Charger muscle car jumped 124 percent. But one of the biggest increases in the industry came from the flagship Chrysler 300 sedan, which saw sales surge 480 percent compared to February 2011.

The strong February numbers follow Chrysler’s standout performance during the recent Super Bowl, where the maker aired a 2-minute, cinematic-style commercial narrated by Clint Eastwood. The spot – which focused on the nation’s need to pull together and move ahead – generated plenty of political controversy, especially among conservatives , but appears to have resonated with the market at large.

Whatever the reason – creative advertising, improving consumer sentiment or simply better products, Chrysler clearly had a strong month. Whether it can maintain the pace remains to be seen, but for the moment, at least, it has momentum working on its side.

Paul Sakuma / AP

Sales of the Chrysler 200 midsize sedan more than quadrupled from a year earlier, while sales of its 300 full-size sedans rose more than five times.

UPDATED 4:45 p.m.. ET: The auto industry's sales gains just keep rolling on.

Many automakers reported strong sales for February as Americans snapped up smaller cars to offset high gas prices.

Companies from Ford to Volkswagen reported double-digit increases in U.S. sales last month. Even General Motors, which pulled back on big discounts, eked out a slight gain.

The results show that industry is on pace for a third straight year of improving sales after bottoming in 2009 during the financial crisis. Carmakers see several encouraging trends. The average car on U.S. roads is now a record 10.8 years, so there is an increasing need to replace older vehicles. Credit availability is improving, bringing more people back into the market. Japanese automakers have largely recovered from last year's earthquake and now have more cars to sell. And consumer confidence rose dramatically in February, making people more likely to consider a big-ticket purchase.

Sales were strong in January, and February is looking equally good. After all major car companies report their results Thursday, analysts expect sales of 1.1 million cars and trucks for the month.

Based on those strong results, the consulting firm LMC Automotive predicts sales of 14 million this year, up from an earlier forecast of 13.8 million. Last year's sales reached 12.8 million.

Chrysler's February sales rose 40 percent from a year earlier as it sold nearly 134,000 new cars and trucks. All of its brands showed at least double-digit increases. Chrysler was helped by an easy comparison with last February, when sales were relatively low because many of its revamped models were just arriving in showrooms.

Chrysler's tiny Fiat 500 had its best sales month ever, thanks in part to rising demand for more fuel-efficient cars. But the Ram pickup also saw sales climb 21 percent. Sales of the Chrysler 200 midsize sedan more than quadrupled from a year earlier, while sales of its 300 full-size sedans rose more than five times.

Ford sales rose 14 percent, mostly on demand for the Focus compact car. Focus sales more than doubled to 23,350, making it the best February for the Focus in 12 years.

Most of Ford's other cars saw sales declines, in part because the newer Focus pulled sales from them. Ford also saw a 26-percent increase in sales of the F-Series pickup, helped by cash-back deals and other incentives.

Volkswagen sales rose 42 percent, led by the redesigned Passat midsize sedan. And Nissan sales were up 15.5 percent.

Gas prices — which are up 45 cents since Jan. 1 and now average $3.73 per gallon — are causing a pronounced shift to smaller cars.

At GM, sales of the Chevrolet Cruze compact rose 10 percent to top 20,000 for the month, while the new Chevy Sonic subcompact saw its best sales month ever at almost 8,000. The strength of those sales helped General Motors, which was expected to see sales drop, report a 1 percent increase.

Erich Merkle, Ford's top U.S. sales analyst, says small cars made up around 19 percent of industry sales in December. That rose to 21 percent in January and could go as high as 24 percent in February, he said.

Consumers continued to pay higher prices for cars in February, mainly because they're buying well-equipped small cars, according to the TrueCar.com automotive website.

Vehicles sold for an average of $30,605 last month, up almost 7 percent from a year earlier, TrueCar said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

And then there were ... more. The number of U.S. auto dealerships grew in 2011 for the first time in years.

It’s become a seeming fact of life that the number of U.S. auto dealers will steadily decline each year – with massive cuts during the industry’s recent downturn — but 2011 saw an unexpected turnaround with the dealer count actually rising for the first time in years.

New research also suggests that if the automotive recovery remains on track, 2012 could be the best year on record for American automotive retailers from a sales per showroom standpoint.

Research firm Urban Science reports the number of dealerships actually increased last year after two years of significant attrition. As of Dec. 31, 2011, there were 17,767 dealerships in the U.S., a 0.6 percent increase from 17,659 in 2010.

In a “normal” year, there is a 2 percent decline in the number of dealerships, making the rise quite significant, said Urban Science vice president John Frith.

The two largest contributors to the turnaround were Fiat, which added 135 dealerships in 2011, and Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep, which added 50 dealerships. Other OEMs also added retailers, but in smaller amounts.

On a state level, the largest increase occurred in California where 31 new dealers opened for business, In addition, New Jersey gained 10 dealerships while Ohio and Florida added nine each, and Texas added eight, according to Urban Science’s figures.

At the same time, there were a total of 29,380 franchises as of Dec. 31, 2011, a 2.4 percent decline from the 30,098 in 2010. This decline is attributed mostly to the final stages of phase-out of Ford Motor Co.’s Mercury brand last year.

(The majority of dealers now represent two or more brands, which is why there are more franchises than dealerships.)

“We have a stabilized, right-sized dealership network that has increased year-over-year for only the second time since we started this census,” said Frith. “Automakers and dealers are in a good, profitable position. To maintain that momentum and keep profitability high, they will need to resist the urge to abandon the expense controls and processes instituted the past few years.”

Based on 2011 vehicle sales of 12.8 million, Urban Science’s analysis of throughput — the average number of sales per dealership — increased approximately 10 percent year-over-year to 719 in 2011, compared with 659 in 2010.

Urban Science estimates that if vehicle sales reach 14 million sales in 2012, average sales per dealer could reach an all-time high, pushing past the old record of 784 set in 2005.

“This year, the key issue for many dealers will be figuring out how to handle a continuing sales influx,” added Frith. “This will shift more focus on ensuring that dealerships are meeting the automakers’ standards for staff, space, facility upgrades, policies and procedures.”

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By msnbc.com staff

After his “halftime, America” Super Bowl ad, in which he urges the nation to follow in Detroit’s footsteps in rising from the recession, movie actor and director Clint Eastwood appeared on CNBC Friday to discuss another big issue he thinks the country needs to focus on right now: cutting spending.

“The last couple of regimes have been putting us deep in the hole,” Eastwood said.

“It’s such a basic thing,” he continued. “Your parents always tell you … when you don’t have a dollar in your pocket, you don’t spend two dollars. And that’s a basic philosophy of life. People think you can just put if off. If you put it off you just print more money, and the money in your pocket becomes devalued, and it’s not worth as much, and eventually it comes down to zero.”

Eastwood also weighed in on the Simpson-Bowles debate, saying he was “amazed” that President Obama ignored the recommendations of the co-chairs of the Simpson-Bowles deficit reduction commission: former Clinton chief of staff Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, a former Republican senator from Wyoming.

“They came back with a recommendation, which was to exactly stop spending, and then everyone said that’s enough from you guys, go home,” Eastwood said. “I thought, that’s a waste of money, a waste of time, a waste of effort from everybody, and not very spirited for the country. I think both those gentlemen are smart and worth listing to, if you’ve gone ahead and assigned them to this project.”

Eastwood appeared in a Chrysler ad that aired during the Super Bowl last weekend.

“How do we come from behind? How do we come together? And how do we win?” Eastwood asks in the commercial, adding that “Detroit is showing us it can be done, and what’s true about them is true about all of us.”

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