DETROIT -- Ford says July sales rose nearly 1.6 percent over the same month last year as the government's wildly successful "cash-for-clunkers" program gave the automaker a significant boost, according to The Associated Press.

The Dearborn, Mich.-based company says it sold 158,354 light vehicles in July, compared with 155,866 vehicles in July 2008.

Ford attributed its July sales rise to the clunkers program, which offers owners of old cars and trucks $3,500 or $4,500 toward a new, more fuel-efficient vehicle, if they scrap their old vehicle.