Fueled by six consecutive months of record sales and continuing strong demand for Honda and Acura light truck models, American Honda posted a new all-time record for the first six months of the calendar year with sales of 669,033 units, an 8.7 percent increase over year-ago results and a 11.5 percent rise over the previous best of 603,926, set in 2001, the company reported. American Honda also says it set a new June record on sales of 110,290 units for the month, up 8.7 percent over the same month last year. “We have weathered a very difficult and competitive market by playing to the strength of our products and brands,” said Dick Colliver, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. “We see some encouraging signs that the economy may be on the upswing, but the car market will remain a tough place to compete for a some time to come.” According to the company, American Honda set a new all-time record for light truck sales in June and for the first six months of 2003. Light truck sales rose 30.9 percent for the month to 43,712 units, while year-to-date results jumped 39.9 percent over year-ago records to 263,145 units, putting the company on track toward its goal of more than 500,000 light truck sales for the full year. The Honda Division posted new all-time records for total vehicle and light truck sales for the first half of 2003, along with record June sales of light truck models. Honda Division year-to-date sales rose 16.4 percent to 587,665 units, besting the previous record of 519,016 set in 2001, while June sales jumped 9.5 percent over year-ago totals to 95,932 units. All three of Honda’s established light truck models – Odyssey, CR-V and Pilot – posted record June sales, while the all-new Element continues to gain momentum since its launch in December of last year. Year-to-date sales of Honda light truck models rose 31.1 percent over year-ago totals to 235,685 units. Acura Division Acura sales rose 3.4 percent for the month to 14,358 on the strength of the highly successful MDX luxury sport-utility vehicle and the recently launched TSX sports sedan. Acura light truck sales rose 3.5 percent over year-ago results to set a new record of 27,640 units for the first six months of 2003. Total Acura sales of 81,368 are off 5.2 percent for the year.