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U.S. auto sales have been a bright spot in an otherwise grim economy in recent months. But that trend could be turning if July auto sales are any indication.

General Motors (GM) reported a 6 percent decline in July sales, selling more than 201,000 vehicles last month, while Ford (F) posted a 4 percent drop versus a year ago, selling 173,966 vehicles. Chrysler, which Italy's Fiat holds a majority stake, sold more cars than any time during the last five years, but the automaker still fell short of some analysts' expectations.

Nissan North America said it sold almost 100,000 cars in July, or 16 percent more than a year ago. Toyota (TM) sold almost 165,000 cars in July, up 25 percent from July last year but down 7 percent from June. Honda's (HMC) July sales are expected late Wednesday. Last year Japanese automakers faced strong headwinds after a deadly earthquake and tsunami rocked the country. Strong sales from the three automakers this year have

Even brilliant people occasionally make boneheaded mistakes, and one of the world's most prominent investors appears to have made a big one.

Yesterday, Bill Gross, the bond king at bond giant PIMCO, published an analysis of of the stock market that instantly grabbed everyone's attention.

Arguing that the "cult of equities" is dying or dead (true--and, ironically, a bullish observation), Gross went on to ridicule the idea that stocks will have the same long-term returns in the future as they have had in the past--for one simple reason:

If stocks appreciate at ~7% a year forever, while GDP only grows at ~3%, the stock market will soon be worth more than the entire world.

At first blush, this seems like an obvious but profound observation, one that would make every equity strategist, scholar, and financial advisor who has ever cited the ~7% long-term stock return (after adjusting for inflation) look and feel like a moron.

Alas, it's wrong.

And after chewing through the analysis, in fact,