Auto sales continue to zoom, especially for small SUVs

So far this year, auto sales have picked up right where they left off in 2014: They continue to improve.

Michelle Krebs, senior analyst with AutoTrader.com, said there has actually been an improving trend for the last six years. She said 2014 was a strong sales year, especially in the second half.

"We expect 2015 to be the same," she said.

Krebs said ever-lower gas prices are helping, to some degree.

"It's putting more money in consumers' pockets, because they are not spending it on gas," Krebs said, noting other contributing factors like the improving economy, cheap credit and pent-up car buyer demand. Consumer confidence, additionally, is at its highest level since 2004.

So, what are we buying?

"The biggest growth is in the small sport utility vehicles, things like the Toyota RAV4, the Honda CR-V and the Ford Escape," Krebs said. The small SUVs are especially popular in New Jersey, which is also seeing a big increase in high-end luxury sales.

Geographically, the largest growth in vehicle sales has been in the South -- the southeastern, so-called "smile states." And Texas, which has cheap gas and lots of good jobs in the oil and gas industry, has seen very strong sales as well.

Krebs said used cars are also selling well, because with people holding on to their vehicles longer, the demand for used cars may be stronger than the supply in some parts of the country.

Many analysts expect the increasing sales to keep on going, reaching a projected high in 2015 of 17 million units.

On the risk side, auto sellers worry long-term about rising interest rates which might crimp auto loan borrowing. And those mercurial gasoline prices are another factor. Prices certainly are lower right now, but observers wonder how long that will last, and whether an increase might dampen car-buying enthusiasm.