October's annualized selling pace was 10.5 million, according to industry tracker Autodata, little changed from 10.8 million a year earlier.

In that flat market, Chrysler Group was a big loser, its sales down 30.4% and its share of the market plunging to 7.9%, from 11.4% last year, Autodata reported.

Chrysler Group, controlled and part-owned by Italy's Fiat Group, is to present a plan for survival and recovery today in a six-hour event for analysts and journalists.

General Motors' sales were up 4.7%, the company's best year-over-year showing in nearly two years. But in a candid interview a few days before sales were reported, GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz noted: "We're past the time when we...