Despite a difficult overall market, General Motors and Ford found a receptive audience for new and redesigned vehicles in September, giving hope that their evolving lineups could win back U.S. customers, according to the Detroit Free Press.

GM reported Tuesday U.S. sales in September of 334,974, up 0.3% from the same month last year. Sales of the redesigned Cadillac CTS were up 66.8% to 6,416.

Ford's U.S. sales, hurt by slumping truck figures, dropped 20.4% to 189,037. But a redesigned Escape was a bright spot with sales increasing 10.3% to 11,132.

GM and Ford were not the only automakers helped by new products. Sales for Honda Motor Co., which launched a redesigned Accord in September, were up 9.4% to 127,000.

Nissan was up 6.7% to 94,269 thanks largely to the Altima, redesigned in late 2006. A new coupe version was added this year.

Toyota's U.S. sales fell 4.4% in September to 213,043 vehicles, marking the third straight month of declines.

Chrysler LLC's sales were down 5.4% to 159,799. The Auburn Hills automaker emphasized that Jeep brand sales were down 10.6% to 37,460 in September because of a planned fleet reduction.