This is decent news for the Maryland economy. State new car sales, which plunged 14 percent in September (compared with sales in September 2006), did much better in October -- falling by less than 1 percent compared with sales 12 months previously. It was the best year-over-year performance since October 2006, when new car sales rose a bit over those of October 2005. Used car sales also fell slightly in October. (We compare year-over-year figures to clean out seasonal variations. Car sales normally fall when the weather gets colder.)

So far this year Maryland new car sales have fallen 5 percent. October car sales are not yet posted on the Motor Vehicle Administration's Web site, says spokesman Jack Cahalan, because of a computer upgrade. But here are the numbers:

New cars sold: 32,965
Value: $885.7 million

Used cars sold: 59,348
Value: $516.2 million

Thanks to reader John for prompting the MVA to release the numbers (they're two weeks late) and forwarding them to me. Here is a recent column on Maryland car sales and what they might be trying to tell us.