General Motors/ High Gear Media
Most auto-industry analysts and observers predict that 2o14 will top out with around 17 million new vehicles sold.
We'll find out next week when the automakers report their December sales.
Many of the new vehicles sold in 2014 were trucks. Here are David Welch and Mark Clothier from Bloomberg:
Consumers bought more pickups, minivans and sport utility vehicles than cars in every month of 2014. That's something Detroit's carmakers and their rivals haven't enjoyed since 2004 when a barrel of oil sold for less than $40. And the industry's bonanza in the world's most valuable market should continue.
Some will be horrified by this trend. Trucks and SUVs are typically lower in fuel efficiency than cars - and they generate more harmful emissions.
But for automakers, the news is fantastic. They make more money on trucks and SUVs than on cars.
It took a while, but 2014 was the year the truck came back, big time.