US auto sales expected to hit record in first 6 months

DETROIT (AP) — U.S. auto sales may be slowing, but they're still expected to set a record in the first six months of this year.

[...] low gas prices, low interest rates, enticing new vehicles and strong consumer confidence should keep them at a very high level.

Sales of its F-Series pickup — the nation's best-selling vehicle — jumped 29 percent to nearly 71,000 vehicles, or more than one every minute.

The company said short supplies of Toyota SUVs were partly to blame, along with weak sales of cars like the hybrid Prius, which sales slump 27 percent.

Volkswagen brand sales dropped 22 percent to 23,809, the victim of the company's diesel emissions cheating scandal.