The differences are in the hundreds of thousands of units. While auto research firms Edmunds.com and AutoPacific are both fairly optimistic on growth, they aren't close to being headlamp to headlamp
on the actual numbers. Edmunds' chief economist, Lacy Plache, said the industry would rebound by mid-decade, with the firm predicting sales reaching 15.25 million by 2014. AutoPacific sees consumer
confidence issues and the housing market as a ball and chain on auto sales' ankle, keeping sales at around 15 million units that same year. Also this week, J.D. Power & Associates lowered its estimate
for U.S. auto sales this year by about 100,000 units, to 12.9 million light vehicles.
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