Industry watchers were looking for a good January, but nobody came close to predicting just how good it would be.

January’s seasonally adjusted annualized rate for light vehicle sales came in at 14.18 million units, beating the 14.09 million SAAR posted during the “Cash for Clunkers” bonanza in August 2009 and giving the industry its highest reading since May 2008′s 14.26 million. The SAAR is an estimate of annual sales if they continued at the same pace established in a given month.

According to manufacturers’ reports, Americans bought or leased 913,287 cars, trucks and SUVs last month, an 11.4 percent increase over January 2011. Cars were the big winners with 51.3 percent of the market, up from 47.7 percent last year. Surprisingly, given all the hype, it wasn’t small cars, but mid-size sedans that were the hottest segment.

Mazda was January’s big winner: sales soared 68.2 percent compared to January 2011 giving the Hiroshima-based automaker its best January since 1994. The Mazda2 and Mazda3 were the major drivers for the month.

Volkswagen’s American surge continued as it posted its best numbers since January 1974. Sales were up 47.9 percent thanks to the “Newest” Beetle, the Golf/GTI and the Chattanooga-built Passat. Sales of the Jetta hit a small bump but it still made the top 20 best-seller list.

Chrysler celebrated its 22nd consecutive month of improved sales in grand style as the Chrysler 200 and Chrysler 300 helped sales jump 44.3 percent. Chrysler brand sales were up 81.4 percent, the biggest gain of any brand in January. Chrysler also posted the biggest gain in market share, going from 8.6 percent share to and 11.1 percent share. The Dodge Grand Caravan was the best-selling minivan last month and the Jeep Wrangler was the best-selling traditional SUV. The Grand Cherokee outsold the Ford Explorer.

Ford was America’s favorite brand in January, beating out Chevrolet and Toyota. The F-Series pickup got started on another year at the top, outselling the combined totals of all GM’s full-size pickups. The Fusion, 2011′s top American-badged car, took a tumble and was passed by the Chevrolet Impala, Cruze and Malibu as well as the Ford Focus. Ford brand sales were up 8.3 percent but Lincoln dragged the overall results down to a 7.9 percent gain.

As expected, General Motors’ sales slipped 6.1 percent as the General chopped incentive spending last month. All four brands came up short. Chevrolet fared the best with a 1.2 percent deficit, but Cadillac sales were down sharply, falling 29.1 percent. Buick sales also fell 23.1 percent mostly due to the phase-out of the Lucerne. Sales of the Volt plug-in took a big hit because of concerns about possible battery fires. Since the government has already cleared the Volt and closed the investigation, GM is doing major damage control to try to regain sales momentum. On the flip side, the Cruze is still selling well and the Sonic is doing a good job of eclipsing its Aveo predecessor.

Toyota sales were up 7.5 percent, driven by strong results from the Yaris, Avalon and Camry. Toyota brand cars really carried the load in January as light truck sales were down and the upscale Lexus line continues to stumble. Mercedes-Benz came in over 8,000 sales ahead of Lexus in January. The new iQ and the xD help Scion sales grow 7.9 percent last month. Toyota reported its hybrid sales rose nearly 20 percent in January.

Industry analysts had predicted Honda would miss its January 2011 numbers; instead Honda came in with an 8.8 improvement as both the Honda and Acura sales were up. The revised Civic and the new CR-V were the drivers. In contrast to Toyota, Honda said its hybrid sales plunged nearly 60 percent.

Trucks were the key to Nissan’s success in January. The overall 10.4 percent improvement included a 19.9 percent rise in Nissan and Infiniti light trucks. Nissan brand car sales were up, as well, with the Altima coming in second only to the Camry in the passenger car rankings and fourth in the overall standings. The downside was a deficit reported by Infiniti brand cars, down 13.2 percent.

Among the second-tier Japanese automakers, Subaru got its rhythm back and posted a new January sales record while both Mitsubishi and Suzuki came up short. Suzuki took a major hit as sales of the Kizashi dried up.

Hyundai and Kia continued their conquest of the American light vehicle market with new January sales records. The Sonata and Elantra did the job for Hyundai and the Optima, Soul and Sorento gave Kia a nice volume boost.

Mercedes started the year with a new January sales record and captured the top spot in the luxury segment. Big jumps in sales of the C-Class and M-Class put Mercedes well ahead of BMW.

Audi earned another monthly sales record and passed Acura and Cadillac to take the No. 4 spot in the premium segment. Porsche sales were up but the improvement was limited by short supplies of the Boxster, which is due to be replaced.

Jaguar and Land Rover came in well ahead of last year as both brands posted higher sales volumes. The new Land Rover Evoque is already the brand’s second-best-selling model.

Volvo continues to grow, though it still has a way to go to reach the volumes it enjoyed before things started going wrong at Ford. Saab dealers are selling down the remaining inventory as the company is liquidated.

January did have a couple of surprises. The first was a slump in sales of full-size pickups, which have been very solid since the earliest days of the recovery. Last month, pickups accounted for 10.9 percent of all sales, down over half a point from last January’s 11.5 percent. The second was a drop of almost an entire point of market share in the luxury segment. Sales of premium vehicles as a percentage of total light vehicle sales have been gradually increasing since the financial markets began to show renewed life. While one month doesn’t make or break a trend, these segments will bear some watching.

It’s just the beginning of the year and January’s good news must be tempered by the memory of what happened to 2011′s strong start, but it appears there is some reason for cautious optimism. 2012 could come close to the 14-million-sale mark the auto industry has been hoping for. The Japanese automakers have largely recovered from last year’s assorted natural disasters and there is a lot of hiring going on in the industry, always a positive sign. More American jobs means more Americans that can afford to buy new vehicles and that’s the secret to a real recovery in the auto industry.

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