GENERAL MOTORS Cavalier top model despite drop in sales

Industrywide, analysts still predict 2001 will be the third best sales year.
VINDICATOR STAFF/WIRE REPORTS
DETROIT -- Chevrolet Cavalier sales fell 3 percent last month but still were strong enough to return the model to the top of General Motors' sales list.
GM sold 17,577 Cavaliers in September, compared with 18,059 in the same month last year. GM's total sales for the United States also fell 3 percent.
In August, the Cavalier fell from its usual ranking as GM's top-selling car. It placed sixth. Last month's results were enough to put it back at the top of the list, with about 100 more in sales than the Chevrolet Impala.
Last year's pace: For the first nine months of the year, GM has sold 174,109 Cavaliers, which is about 6 percent less than the number sold at the same time last year.
The Cavalier and its twin, the Pontiac Sunfire, are built at the Lordstown Assembly Plant.
Pontiac sales last month were 4,118, which was 41 percent less than the 7,036 sold in September of last year. For the first nine months of the year, GM has sold 56,935 Sunfires, which is about 14 percent less than the same period last year.
Other companies: Industrywide, auto sales fell 9 percent last month from September 2000 -- a record month -- but the drop was less than analysts predicted, particularly in light of a sharp drop-off after the terror attacks.
"In the United States, Main Street was not as rattled by the events of Sept. 11 as Wall Street or New York," said David Healy, an analyst with Burnham Securities Inc. "Before Sept. 11, the outlook was sales would be down about 9 percent, and that's where they wound up."
Sales have rebounded so well, especially during the last 10 days of September, that automakers and analysts are holding fast to their earlier predictions that 2001 would be the third best sales year in history.
They say sales will reach about 16.8 million vehicles industrywide, down about 1 million from last year's record.
Aside from a relatively strong economy, the U.S. automakers set out a tried-and-true bait for buyers, no-interest financing soon after the attacks.
"It seemed to be the right [stimulus] for the marketplace," said Gary Dilts, DaimlerChrysler AG senior vice president for sales.
The incentives may have increased traffic, but at a cost.
Marketing costs: Ford Motor Co. reported a 9.9 percent drop in September U.S. vehicle sales and said high marketing costs of sales incentives will cause it to miss its earnings targets for the third quarter.
GM said its sales were bolstered by strong sales of its light trucks, which were up 10.2 percent from last September.
GM said its zero-financing campaign called "Keep America Rolling" was "cost-neutral."
Numbers for GM do not reflect results from its Swedish brand, Saab.
Sales of vehicles produced by DaimlerChrysler dropped 28 percent in September compared with September 2000.
Despite the sharp falloff from September 2000, Dilts said the company's minivans, Dakota pickup trucks, and new Jeep Liberty all showed sales momentum at the end of the month. Sales increased 10 percent for minivans, 7 percent for the Dakota and 23 percent for the Liberty.