Gas prices no longer seem to be as big of a factor when it comes to consumers purchasing vehicles as automobile manufacturers build more fuel efficient cars. August was a perfect example of this as gas prices rose and automakers reported sales also grew by almost 20%. According to analysts, the wide rang of fuel efficient, hybrid, and electric vehicles have made it easier for consumers to spend their hard earned money as the average car and truck on the road reaches over 10 years old. The biggest gains came from Toyota and Honda who experienced low sales last year in the wake of an earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Detroit automakers also showed substantial gains with the introduction of their high mileage car lineup. General Motors (GM) United States sales grew over 10%, driven by strong sales of the Chevrolet passenger cars like the Sonic subcompact and the Spark minicar. Ford also reported an almost 13% increase with the sales of the Focus compact car and the Escape, one of the smallest sub compact sport utility vehicles (SUV) on the market. According to analysts the strengthening industry has surpassed expectations and has helped automobile manufacturers keep inventories stable and sales incentives relatively low.