The month of August was a record reaching one in the U.S. for new-car sales.  “It was an improving economy, generous incentive spending and increased demand for trucks and sport-utilities that lifted the annualized selling pace to an eight-year high… Overall, industry sales rose to an annualized 17.5 million pace, according to researcher Autodate Corp., the fastest since January 2006.”  However, auto makers do acknowledge that the strong performance comes at the end of the summer selling season, when car companies usually tack extra rebates and discounts on vehicles, making room for new models.  Auto makers and dealers are forecasting continued strong sales for the remainder of the year.