By Chad D. Baus

Coming off of the blast of consumers that bought into the government's Cash for Clunkers ruse, car dealers across the country knew that September was going to hit them hard. Traditionally, short term incentive programs result in "borrowing from tomorrow's sales," and dealers anticipated a return to the dismal sales numbers that have marked the rest of 2009 as soon as the government ran out of cash.

One dealer in Delaware, Ohio chose to try and ease the pain with a promotion that may have been the first of its kind in Ohio:

Modern Sporting Rifles -- based on the AR-15 platform -- Are Widely Owned by Hunters and Target Shooters and Are Not 'Assault Weapons'

The National Shooting Sports Foundation has launched a national media campaign designed to correct widespread misperceptions among gun owners and non-gun owners about AR-15-style rifles, also known as modern sporting rifles.

"The best-selling rifles in America today are those based on the AR-15 platform -- they are today's modern sporting rifles -- yet they remain America's most misunderstood firearm because of confusion caused by their cosmetic features," said Steve Sanetti, president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, trade association for the firearms industry.