November was another good month for automakers. According to Ward’s, more than 869,000 cars and light trucks left dealer lots, down 8.2% compared to October but 12.0% ahead of November 2009. Crunching those numbers yields a seasonally adjusted annualised rate (SAAR) of 12.26m light vehicles, the same as to October, indicating a slow but steady recovery. So far this year, sales are up 11.1%.

General Motors kicked off the reporting with a 7.5% gain driven by strong light truck sales. Year-to-date (YTD) sales of GM’s four core brands are now more than 103,000 vehicles ahead of its eight former brands.

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Ford posted the largest improvement of the Detroit automakers. Sales improved 19.1% as the Fusion set a new sales record and outsold the Corolla and Civic. Lincoln sales rose but it’s likely there are many happy people in Dearborn with the announcement of a new styling director for the brand. Mercury sales were down as the brand heads into its final month.

A year will come when the F-series isn’t the best-selling vehicle in America but 2010 won’t be that year. The Ford pickup’s uninterrupted reign now covers almost a quarter of the history of automobile production in the United States.

Chrysler made it eight months in a row, coming in 11.5% ahead of November 2009. Grand Cherokee sales broke the 10,000-unit mark. Chrysler held onto fifth place, 2,786 sales ahead of Nissan for the month.

Toyota came up short again: sales dropped 7.3% as slumping car sales dragged down a double-digit gain in light trucks. Lexus sales stumbled 1.4%.

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Honda sales jumped 16.1% as both Honda and Acura beat their 2009 figures. Nissan’s numbers were up 21.5% last month. Light truck sales were the key.

Subaru set another monthly record and an all-time annual sales record. Suzuki came up a winner for the second month in a row with a 45.7% leap. Mazda sales improved a modest 2.9%. Mitsubishi truck sales fueled its 41.2% jump.

Both Hyundai Group brands matched Subaru, setting new monthly records and achieving all-time annual sales records.

The German automakers all reported improved sales. Porsche finished the month 43.0% ahead of last November. BMW sales climbed 20.0%. Daimler was up 5.7% and Mercedes finished the month just 545 YTD sales behind BMW.

Volkswagen Group ended November ahead 22.8%. Audi had a record month and looks to be on pace to sell 100,000 vehicles in the US.

For the first time in quite a while, Saab reported improved sales. Volvo sales fell 15.6% last month. Tata brands had split results: Jaguar dropped and Land Rover improved as overall sales rose 16.6% in November.

The resurgence in light truck sales is a positive sign consumers are returning to the showroom. If December can post a gain similar to those in October and November, the industry will finish the year with about 11.7m sales. 11.5m is a done deal but 12m is too much on the Pollyanna side of optimistic.