Critical Reasoning

An automobile dealership's two car lots have produced remarkably consistent sales figures over the last four years: in each of those y ears, the new car lot has contributed 25 percent of dollar sales and 50 percent of profits, and the used car lot has accounted for the balance.

Which of the following regarding the past four y ears is most strongly supported by the statements above?

(A) The used car lot produced lower profits per dollar of sales than the new car lot produced.
(B) There is greater competition in the new car market than there is in the used car market.
(C) The total profits for the dealership have remained constant for the past four years.
(D) There is a greater selection of used cars than there is of new cars.
(E) Luxury automobiles accounted for a higher percentage of new car sales than of used car sales.

Source : PowerScore
OA=A

The first thing to watch out for is the question. Some people just read the question and see that it says "support" and think that their goal is to find an answer choice that supports the argument. However, if you read the question carefully, you will see that the statements above support one of the choices below. In other words, it is an inference question.

The argument states that there are two (and only two) car lots. Thus, whatever is not produced by one car lot must be produced by the other. Since the new car lot gives 25% of sales and 50% of profits the other (used) lot must give 75% of sales and 50% of profits. This information clearly supports answer choice (A), which indicates that the used car lot produced lower profits than did the new car lot.