Math Snap

STEP 1

1. In 2002, U.S. consumers bought approximately $8.1$ million new cars.
2. In 2003, the number of new cars bought decreased by $6\%$.
3. We need to find the number of new cars bought in 2003, rounded to the nearest hundred thousand or tenth of a million.

STEP 2

1. Calculate the decrease in the number of cars.
2. Subtract the decrease from the 2002 total.
3. Round the result to the nearest tenth of a million.

STEP 3

Calculate the decrease in the number of cars by finding $6\%$ of $8.1$ million.
$$\text{Decrease} = 0.06 \times 8.1 = 0.486 \text{ million}$$

STEP 4

Subtract the decrease from the 2002 total to find the number of cars bought in 2003.
$$\text{Number of cars in 2003} = 8.1 - 0.486 = 7.614 \text{ million}$$

Round $7.614$ million to the nearest tenth of a million.
$$\text{Rounded number of cars} = 7.6 \text{ million}$$ The number of new cars bought by U.S. consumers in 2003, rounded to the nearest tenth of a million, is:
$$\boxed{7.6 \text{ million}}$$