A glance at the auto industry’s upswing

• Workforce grows. During the summer, the auto industry was adding jobs at a faster pace than airplane manufacturers, shipbuilders, health care providers and the federal government. It kept adding jobs even when the national unemployment rate rose above 9 percent, Standard & Poor’s downgraded U.S. debt for the first time and the stock market tumbled.

• Smaller cars shine. Many people bought smaller vehicles in 2011 as gas prices hit a record average of $3.53 per gallon. Fuel-efficient compact cars, which have been vastly improved by automakers, are likely to unseat the midsize sedan as America’s favorite passenger car for the first time in 20 years.

• Truck demand rises. Pickups rebounded as businesses started to replace older trucks. Sales for the year were expected to rise 11 percent, and Ford’s F-Series will remain the country’s top-selling model, a title it has held for more than three decades.

• Detroit Three rebound. Ford, GM and Chrysler saw their combined share of the U.S. market increase by 200,000 cars and trucks between the end of 2010 and November 2011. The Detroit Three’s market share rose from 45.1 percent last year to 47 percent through November of last year.