From the “Again. Still.” files, comes word that Hyundai and Subaru are once again the sales kings in terms of month-on-month improvement. Hyundai‘s numbers jumped 47 percent compared to last August, on C4C-fueled increases in Accent, Elantra and Santa Fe sales. Even Genesis sales about doubled. Hyundai’s total sales volume topped 60k units, an all-time record for the Korean brand. Subaru‘s sales were up over 50 percent, led by the Forester’s 76 percent gain. Only the Tribeca failed to improve on last August’s sales, falling 8 percent.

Daily selling rates are playing silly buggers with some of this month’s sales results, but the numbers in the headline reflect Automotive News [sub]’s calculations on a pure monthly basis. Since both Toyota and Honda‘s official numbers are based on DSR though, they come out a bit higher. Either way, both firms saw increases in popular Cash For Clunker models, while trucks and luxury brands continued to sell slowly.

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Ford received a huge boost from Cash For Clunkers, with Fusion (+131 percent), Focus (+55.9 percent), Flex (+106.5 percent), Escape (+49.3 percent) and Ranger (+57.4 percent) seeing huge sales increases. Taurus didn’t see a big boost from its new-model rollout, logging only 3,398 units of sales, a nearly 24 percent decrease. Edge edged up by 8.9 percent and Mustang dropped by 23 percent.

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Unlike Chrysler, GM reaped substantial increases in small-car sales from Uncle Sam’s short-lived Cash For Clunkers program. And yet, Chrysler-like, the boost still couldn’t give GM a month-on-month sales increase. A 160 percent jump in Aveo sales can’t hurt; volume topped 12k units. The equally reviled (at leastin these parts) Chevrolet Cobalt was also up by 13.8 percent. The hecho en Mexico HHR up 26 percent. Malibu sales rose by 11.1 percent. The new Equinox got off to a hot start, moving 13,157 units. The last of the Pontiac G6s were hustled out the door, as volume rose nearly 26 percent to 13,133 units (Vibe up 38 percent). Otherwise? You better have plenty of room set aside in the “not so good” column.

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Even in the midst of an overstimulated car market there’s always an excuse for underperforming. Chrysler is blaming overzealous production cutbacks and dealer shortages for its 15 percent month-on-month sales decline in August. Grand Cherokee had a surprising 62 percent increase in sales compared to last August, while 300 sales improved 17 percent. Otherwise, sales were down across the board. The TTAC-slated Aspen dropped 83 percent. The long-in-the-tooth Durango dropped 86 percent. And Challenger sales continued their freefall, falling by 45 percent.

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Tear the highly practical metal roof off one the most boring big American sedans like a 1963 Olds Dynamic 88, and suddenly it becomes the key ingredient of an intensely romantic scenario: a hot summer day, a full-size ragtop, a beautiful woman to share it with, and the open road. What could be better? It’s got to be one of the top “relive the youthful automotive memories/dreams” recipes for guys my age or so. Except in my case, it’s a nightmare.

Better than what, you ask? Why, better than the previous Rubbermaid-meets-snap-together-model version, of course. Is it good enough? Somehow we aren’t feeling positive enough to predict that this will reverse the Caliber’s doomed-to-China fate. Hit the jump for the most positive spin possible on the Caliber’s improvements, courtesy of Chrysler PR.

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“The other solution is one where I can only say this is something that isn’t playing a role in the negotiations so far.” In other words, Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg ain’t gonna let GM keep Opel. “Germany, which has provided 1.5 billion euros ($2.2 billion) in loans to keep Opel afloat,” Bloomberg reports, in a common-laden style that just begs to be interrupted by attribution, “is pushing GM to accept a bid by a group led by Magna International Inc. Advisers to the U.S. carmaker, which failed to decide on a buyer for Opel at a meeting last month, have recommended the board consider seeking aid from other European governments to retain ownership of Opel, a person familiar with the discussion has said.” Sure, other EU members will rush-in to help GM keep Opel; they’re dying to piss-off the Germans to prop-up the nationalized automaker’s foreign empire. GM’s take?

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Move over corn. There’s a new sheriff in Ethanol City and his name is Watermelon. Every year, famers leave about 800 million pounds of watermelons to rot; the fabled orbs simply weren’t perfect enough for persnickety melon buyers. According to Automotive Fleet, USDA scientists in Lane, Oklahoma are converting melon juice from the abandoned fruit into ethanol. Researchers have determined that a 20-pound watermelon can yield about 1.4 pounds of sugar, which can be converted into ethanol more easily than corn. Allegedly. Common Sense Agriculture, a small biofuels company in College Station, Texas, is developing an in-field, watermelon-to-ethanol conversion machine for next season. They don’t say how much ethanol the equipment will have to produce to offset the fuel used to get to the melons, make the conversion and transport the liquid back to base. Here’s hoping this doesn’t lead to any watermelon riots, as Fourth of July and Labor Day picnickers protest a shortage of their fruit of choice.

Like Lexus, Car magazine is having a little cognitive dissonance these days. While the former has decided to build a front mid-engined supercar, the latter seems to have forgotten how to tell the difference between a photograph and a rendering. Never mind: this is the pre-Frankfurt teaser shot of the luxury brand’s hybrid compact concept. Of course, if it “looks like the LF-Ch is good to make the leap from concept drawing board to reality, that’s because it is. We hear it will translate to showroom spec with remarkably few changes in a year’s time.” Meanwhile, the model designation will please the Swiss no end.

Oh my God. You blew it up! You really did it. Damn you all to hell! Well, actually, I don’t think anyone is THAT bothered about Buick’s future these days, as the sales charts indicate. Still, it’s a shame, isn’t it, that the once-mighty doctor’s brand has become the dictionary definition of amorphous. I mean, a compact Buick? Why? During her live webchat in the FastLane, Buick/Pontiac/GMC supremo Susan Docherty offered no explanation for the company’s plans to introduce not one but two models below the LaCrosse, in both size and price. Chevy overlap? Well I never. Nor would the Old GM vet answer the question “will future production vehicles will be designed for Buick and not simply rebadges from other brands?” But the badge engineering question simply refuses to go away, for some reason. csmcars asks “Susan, GM has eliminated a lot of redundant models in its recent restructuring. Why continue to have both GMC and Chevrolet versions of so many truck models? Will GMC trucks be further distinguished from Chevy trucks? Or will Chevrolet become more of a car-focused brand?”

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Sigh. On one hand, you have to give the brains behind Moller Skycar (guess who) credit for not giving up. On the other hand, enough already. The dream of personalized airborne transportation is a fund-raising MacGuffin. The company’s latest salvo in the BS wars: Moller Skycar Goes to War! Or, as the press release puts it, “Moller is pleased to announce today that its Skycar technology has gained ground within the military for its use in high-tech, demanding battlefield applications like those in Afghanistan.” Apparently, one Lieutenant Colonel James Thomas, 304th SB, 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, recently issued white paper entitled “Winning an Asymmetric War with Skycars.” Google loves the story, but offers-up no such report or background on Col. Thomas. Still the press release, quotes from the heretofore unknown document:

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Ailing EV-manufacturer TH!NK has escaped the dark specter of oblivion. After a long period of economic struggle, investors have come up with the funds necessary to bring the former Ford subsidy out of court protection. Named investors: American battery maker Ener1 (31 percent), Finland’s Valmet Automotive production company and the Norwegian Government-backed investment fund Investinor. As you’d expect, TH!NK’s plant in Aurskog is rostat bröd, removing 85 workers from the EV-maker’s payroll. Valmet has a contract with Porsche to build the Boxter an Cayman models until 2012, after which Porsche is scheduled to move manufacturing to Magna Steyr in Austria. Meanwhile, Fisker has contracted with Valmet to produce its luxury EV Karma, with production to start early next year. So TH!NKs will be assembled alongside the Porsche Cayman and Fisker Karma for a couple of years. Great news, but Ikke selg skinnet før bjørnen er skutt (don’t sell the hide until you’ve shot the bear).