After months of roller-coaster results, the U.S. auto industry showed signs of stability in October. Total sales of cars and light trucks were unchanged at just over 838,000 compared with October of last year, but rose 12 percent from a dismal September 2009, Autodata Corp. reported Tuesday. The results signaled that some consumers are starting to spend again and the sputtering economy is beginning to pull out of trouble. "It's ... a fairly stable kind of footing that the industry is getting under it," said Gary Dilts, a former Chrysler sales executive who is now senior vice president of global automotive operations for J.D. Power and Associates. Last month's sales, if projected for an entire year, rose to 10.5 million after slumping to...