DaimlerChrysler is reporting that U.S. sales of Dodge, Chrysler, Plymouth and Jeep brands were the 2nd highest in company history for the month of October. Total U.S. sales for the Dodge, Chrysler, Plymouth and Jeep brands were down 4 percent from October 1998, when deliveries of 226,179 set an all-time October record. Record SUV sales of 66,666 were up 17 percent versus last year's 59,273.

The all-new 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee posted sales of 26,989, a 47 percent increase versus last October's 19,044.

                  Month Sales    DR %    Sales CYTD    DR %   Sales MYTD   DR %      Model       Curr    Pr    Change   Curr     Pr  Change  Curr    Pr  Change                   Yr     Yr              Yr      Yr           Yr     Yr            Wrangler    7059   7783    -6%    76818   72495    6%   7059   7783    -6%      Cherokee   14359  14763     1%   137829  122101   13%  14359  14763     1%      Grand Cherokee                 26989  19044    47%   252373  185299   37%  26989  19044    47%      JEEP       BRAND     48407  41590    21%   467020  379895   23%  48407  41590    21%  

In other sales news, the Grand Cherokee was the 10th best selling vehicle in the United States for 1999 through the month of October:

  RANK VEHICLE                    1999     1998    '98 RANK %CHG   1.  Ford F-Series pickup       727,707  701,127      1   +3.8   2.  Chevrolet Silverado pickup 522,831  443,231      2  +18.0   3.  Toyota Camry               386,003  340,434      5  +13.4   4.  Dodge Ram pickup           363,418  341,765      4   +6.3   5.  Ford Explorer              353,751  352,220      3   +0.4   6.  Honda Accord               344,755  335,154      6   +2.9   7.  Ford Ranger pickup         309,135  277,455      9  +11.4   8.  Ford Taurus                306,275  317,011      7   -3.4   9.  Honda Civic                275,744  288,493      8   -4.4   10. Jeep Grand Cherokee        252,373  185,299     16  +36.2   11. Dodge Caravan              248,762  248,451     11   +0.1   12. Ford Escort                247,171  258,110     10   -4.2   13. Chevrolet Cavalier         235,289  218,520     12   +7.7   14. Pontiac Grand Am           201,600  147,521     NA  +36.7   15. Chevrolet S-Series pickup  201,349  199,350     15   +1.0   16. Ford Expedition/Bronco     194,920  182,130     19   +7.0   17. Toyota Corolla             194,018  190,952     13   +1.6   18. Ford Windstar              185,939  161,071     NA  +15.4   19. Chevrolet Blazer           184,248  183,615     18   +0.3   20. Chevrolet Malibu           183,490  185,204     17   -0.9   

Finally, there's even more good news for the Grand Cherokee, as Priceline.com announced it was the 7th best selling vehicle sold through their car-buying service:

              The October priceline.com Top 10 Cars Sold                          October                    September                          Ranking                    Ranking  Honda Odyssey               1                          4  Honda Accord                2                          1  Nissan Xterra               3                          NS  Honda CR-V                  4                          NS  Nissan Maxima               5                          6  Toyota Sienna               6                          3  Jeep Grand Cherokee         7                          NS  Honda Civic                 8                          5  Ford Expedition             9                          2  Volkswagen Passat           10                         10