The all-new 2015 Audi A3 is helping the German maker to another banner year in 2014.

Overall June was another stellar month for U.S. automakers, General Motors faced positives and negatives. The automaker’s sweeping recalls managed to divert attention away from the troubles at Cadillac and its flat sales.

Despite those issues GM managed to eke out a 1% sales increase despite predictions that sales might fall under the weight of an unfavorable year-to-year comparison and the din from the recalls. But Cadillac sales increased less increasing by only one-tenth of 1%.

Meanwhile, the luxury brands from Germany and Japan continued to post sales increases. Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, Jaguar Land Rover and Lexus all reported sales hikes. Mercedes, Audi and Lexus posted double-digit increases. Among Cadillac’s rivals in the luxury space, only Infiniti and Volvo, both of which are facing challenges gaining credibility among luxury buyers, saw sales decline.

Audi and Mercedes-Benz are clearly benefiting from introduction of the new Audi A3 and the new Mercedes-Benz CLA, entry-level luxury passenger cars aimed at younger buyers. Both the A3 and the CLA sold well again in June.

Cadillac would have actually wound up in negative territory as well during June except for the timely arrival of the new 2015 Escalade, which tapped into the pent-up demand for the big utility vehicle. Escalade sales climbed by more than 80%.

Luxury SUV buyers were happy to see the 2015 Cadillac Escalade: its sales rose 80% in June.

The Escalade, however, doesn’t face much competition. In the far more competitive passenger car segments, Cadillac is taking a drubbing. Sales of both the Cadillac ATS and Cadillac CTS, the North American Car of The Year, were down by double digits in June with ATS sales dropping by 32% and sales of the CTS dropping by 10%.

Far worse from GM’s perspective perhaps is the fact that CTS is also being beaten in head-to-head competition with the Lincoln MKZ. In fact, the MKZ outsold the CTS by a substantial margin last month 2,990 units to 2,174 units, according to the sales reports. The MKZ has also outsold the CTS through the first six months of the year.

Overall, Lincoln sales dropped by 3% but Ford is optimistic about Lincoln’s chances going forward, noted Ford sales analyst Erich Merkle.

“Right now we’re getting the new MKC out there, into dealer lots, they’re still in very short supply, but when we get them out there in takes on average about 10 days to move an MKC off dealer lots. As the MKCs arrive on lots they’re being picked-up very quickly,” he said.

Lincoln’s performance was similar to that of Ford, which posted a disappointing 6% sales drop for June, despite sales of its midsized Fusion sedan increasing 14%.

Chrysler, Toyota, Subaru, Nissan and Hyundai all reported sales increases in June as the seasonally adjusted annual selling rate or SAAR for light vehicles last month was an estimated 16.6 million units, topping 16 million units for the fourth consecutive month.

“Sales in the first half of 2014 indicate a steadily recovering industry, and we expect this pace to increase as we move into the second part of the year,” said Bill Fay, Toyota division group vice president and general manager. “In June, Camry and Corolla posted double-digit gains as passenger cars showed renewed strength industry-wide.”

The 2015 Lincoln MKC was a bright spot for Lincoln last month. The newbie lasts just 10 days on dealer lots.

Chrysler reported a 9% increase last month. It was the group’s best June sales since 2007 and extended Chrysler’s streak of year-over-year sales gains to 51 consecutive months in June.

(New Hyundai Genesis can outfox speed cameras. For more, Click Here.)

New vehicles also continued to capture buyer’s attention. The all-new 2015 Chrysler 200 mid-size sedan is off to a strong start as inventory continues to build at Chrysler dealerships. It is taking dealers on average only 12 days to turn the new 200, according to Reid Bigland, Chrysler vice president of sales.

Meanwhile, sales of the new 2015 A3 boosted Audi’s sales 23% in June. Audi sales year-to-date increased 13.6% with the January through June 2014 period now standing as the best first-half sales in Audi history.

While Volkswagen of America’s sales continued to tumble, dropping 22% last month, sales of the new 2015 Golf GTI put some life into VW’s sales with its best sales performance since June 2006.

(Click Here for early details about surprising June sales results.)

“Nissan’s sales growth shows that we’ve found the right equation for success: the right vehicles plus a great group of dealers who are absolutely committed to our customers,” said Fred Diaz, Nissan’s senior vice president of Sales and Marketing & Parts and service. “Retail sales gains in June drove Nissan to its 15th monthly record in the last 16 months.”

In contrast to some of it rivals, Nissan’s increase was based on healthy sales of its passenger cars as the Versa, Sentra and Altima all registered increases in sales.

(To see the most “American” vehicles for 20114, Click Here.)

Total new-vehicle retail sales in the United States increased 6% over the first half of 2013, according to an analysis by J.D. Power.

Transaction prices for the first six months of 2014 are at record levels, averaging $29,630, an increase from $28,880 a year ago. Consumer expenditures on new vehicles through the first half of the year also are at a record high of $194 billion, a $14 billion dollar increase from the same period in 2013.

Automakers and lenders are helping buyers afford these higher prices by providing longer loan term options. Loans with term of at least 72 months account for 31.8% of retail sales in the first half of 2104, up from 30.2% in 2013, according to J.D. Power.