Auto industry reports healthy February

DETROIT (AP) -- Despite soaring gasoline prices and rising interest rates, February appears to have been one of the strongest<br>months ever for U.S. sales of cars, light trucks and sport utility vehicles,

Wednesday, March 1st 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

DETROIT (AP) -- Despite soaring gasoline prices and rising interest rates, February appears to have been one of the strongest
months ever for U.S. sales of cars, light trucks and sport utility vehicles, automakers said Wednesday.

As a group, sales for General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG were up almost 9 percent from the same month in
1999. Most foreign automakers also reported sizable gains Wednesday.

With a few automakers yet to report results, industry observers estimated that the seasonally adjusted annual sales rate for the
month was just under 19 million vehicles.

That's second only to September 1986, when the rate briefly jumped to 21 million vehicles.

Why are sales so robust, especially after automakers said this year would be slower than a record-setting 1999? A few reasons
include a national economy that keeps purring along, consumers who are confident that their finances will continue to improve, and more affordable cars, thanks to rising personal incomes.

So far, surging prices at the gas pump have not been a drag on sales. At several automakers, sales gains in thirsty SUVs and
trucks outpaced gains for cars.

"The higher the gas prices go, the better sales you see, based on what's out there right now," said analyst David Healy with Burnham Securities.

GM reported a surprising 16 percent increase in sales, with trucks spiking up 21 percent and cars up 12 percent. But GM said part of that increase was because of a rush to use a $500 coupon sent to millions of current GM owners. That sales incentive expired Tuesday.

Ford said its sales were up just under 3 percent for February, with a 3 percent increase in truck sales and a 2 percent increase in cars. The results followed a trend of newer vehicles -- the Focus subcompact, the Taurus sedan and the Lincoln LS luxury sedan -- making up for drops in older products.

DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler division said its sales were up 4.6 percent. Truck sales were up 8 percent, mostly because of minivan sales; Chrysler has been offering larger rebates on its
minivans as it readies new models for later this year.

Sales at GM, Ford and DaimlerChrysler do not include their foreign brands.