In some parts of the United States, the supply of Toyota Priuses is only enough for a single day’s worth of sales, but the company is estimating that full production will be back by September.

Prius sales were down 61% last month because of Toyota’s inventory issues – the lowest sales level since September, 2004. As a result, industry analysts are calling the Prius the poster-child for inventory issues.

Last year, 140,928 Toyota Prius hybrids were sold. The highest number of sales for this car was in 2007, when 181,221 units left dealerships. Only time will tell what the ultimate sales total for 2011 will be.

All totaled, Nissan Division sold 65,659 cars and trucks, an improvement over the 56,266 sold in June of last year.

Most people would consider a 17% sales uptick a good thing, but Automotive News is reporting that Nissan’s vice president for sales, Al Castignetti was disappointed by the results of his company in particular and the industry as a whole, and that he had been projecting a sales increase of 20%.

The strongest performers in Nissan’s stable were the Altima and Sentra, which saw sales increases of 23% and 31%, respectively. This is especially pleasing to Nissan since the Sentra is due for a redesign, yet managed to outsell the lower-priced Nissan Versa during the month of June. Last year, the positions were reversed, and Versa was the better selling model.

The 2011 Nissan Leaf, the carmaker’s all-electric pride and joy, was also a strong performer, with 1,708 units – 200 more than expected – delivered last month.

Other increases were seen in the Nissan Rogue (8% improvement) and the Nissan Juke, though inventory shortages hurt those cars as well.

Reports from Nissan say that Infiniti’s supply issues should end this month with the arrival of 10,000 vehicles to the United States.

The sale could raise up to $44 million, and, along with other planned repayments of debt, will cut Spyker’s outstanding loans from roughly $127 million to about $34 million, according to Victor Muller, CEO of Spyker and Chairman of Saab.

Under the terms of the deal, CPP would purchase essentially all the assets related to Spyker’s business, including trademarks and intellectual property rights.

In a conference call, Muller told the press, “Spyker’s [luxury car business] is a small fish in a large pond. Spyker would need additional funds, but to issue shares and dilute shareholders seemed like a very bad plan so we decided to divest these activities.”

Muller, who collects classic cars and made his fortune in the fashion industry, has often referred to Spyker’s luxury sportscar unit as “my baby.” The hand-made sports car has appeared in several feature films, including Basic Instinct 2, and The Pink Panther. Nevertheless, he said on Thursday, selling off the sportscar division would allow the company to, “…spread its wings without being restricted by the capital structure” of its parent company.

In May, the listed parent company will be renamed, Muller said, and will likely include Saab in its name, with a listing in Stockholm still likely.

This is not the first time Muller and Antonov have had financial dealings. It was Antonov who helped fund Spyker’s purchase of Saab, for one thing, Muller told the press. He added that he did not own shares in CPP.

Industry analysts say that Spyker needs to have a long-term strategic investor in order to meet its stated goal of making Saab into an independent, profitable, niche brand. Spyker only sold 36 cars in 2009, and has been losing money since it’s first public offering of shares in 2004.

Before GM agreed to sell Saab to Spyker last year, Antonov held 29.9 percent of the sportscar company. His stake was eventually purchased by Tenaci Capital BV, which Muller controls.

According to Martin Crum, an analyst at Amsterdam’s Effectenkantook BV, “It’s a logical step to do this, so the company can focus solely on the Saab business. Financially it’s positive as well because the debt will be reduced. It will reinforce the balance sheet and reduce the interest the company must pay.”

Earlier this year, Spyker said it was confident that Saab sales would accelerate this year.

According to a report posted under the “rumors” section of Automobile Magazine‘s blog, however, there’s a possibility that we may see a shortage of Subarus by Spring.

Here’s the deal: Both the Legacy and the Outback are built in Subaru’s plant in Lafayette, Indiana, a plant that has its employees working overtime and on weekends in order to keep up with an increasing demand for all-wheel-drive vehicles. As of February 24th, the supply for those two models was enough for about ten days, and when reporters spoke with the company, COO Tom Doll said that the company’s “biggest challenge” was to keep dealers well stocked, so that they could continue to increase sales.

When asked for confirmation of the actual number of Outbacks and Legacies in stock, Phil Porter, chairman of the Subaru National Dealer Advisory Board told representatives of industry authority Automotive News that it was impossible to say, “…because we don’t have excess inventory.”

Speculation abounds, with auto-industry bloggers all offering their opinions on the actual availability of these two Subaru models. (As the driver of a ten-year-old Forester myself, I can attest to this: Subarus are absolutely worth the money, and they live up to the hype).

So what do we know for sure? Here’s a rundown:

• Current inventory of other Subaru models is at a 30-day supply, which is half the industry standard.
• The Lafayette, IN, plant is being modified for greater production capability this April.
• In January, 2010, Subaru had already realized sales that were 28% greater than January of 2009.
• Mr. Porter believes the plant refit and resulting production increase will allow the Japanese automaker to surpass last year’s record.

One other thing we know for sure: Subaru is one company to watch over the coming months.