AUTO INDUSTRY Cavalier, Sunfire sales surge despite overall GM slump

STAFF/WIRE REPORTS
While sales of General Motors vehicles slumped overall in October, the Lordstown-made Chevrolet Cavalier and Pontiac Sunfire were popular with buyers.
Cavalier sales surged 55 percent, and Sunfire sales were up 32 percent.
GM sold 22,499 Cavaliers last month, compared with 14,549 in October 2002. It sold 3,586 Sunfires last month, compared with 2,708 in October 2002.
So far this year, GM has sold 216,534 Cavaliers, which is a 4 percent increase. Sunfire sales stand at 36,615, which is off 36 percent. GM stopped selling a sedan version of the Sunfire a year ago.
Both the Cavalier and Sunfire are made at the Lordstown Assembly Plant.
Automakers are generally bullish on prospects for the rest of the year despite October sales that were nearly flat compared with a sluggish month a year ago.
"It's certainly not enough to dissuade us in our increasing optimism regarding the direction of the economy and the impact that will have on the industry," Paul Ballew, GM's executive director for market and industry analysis, said Monday after the world's largest automaker reported a nearly 8 percent drop in sales last month.
Domestic sales at both GM and No. 2 Ford Motor Co. declined more than predicted as a late summer sales frenzy prompted a larger-than-expected industry backlash.
Good news for some
But the slack in business was not felt uniformly. DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group, aided by heavy consumer incentives, said it had an 11 percent sales increase from a soft month a year ago.
European automakers Mercedes-Benz and BMW both had their best Octobers on record in the United States. And the domestic arms of Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. reported double-digit sales growth on the strength of a variety of new or revamped vehicles.
"Our new products are kicking in and adding volume," said Jed Connelley, Nissan's senior vice president of U.S. sales and marketing, referring to the automaker's revived Quest minivan and first full-size SUV.
GM's overall sales fell 7.7 percent from a year ago. Truck sales were off 8 percent, car sales nearly 7 percent.
Ford's domestic business fell nearly 3 percent as strong demand for its new F-150 pickup failed to offset a sharp decline in car sales.
Optimistic
Despite October sales that were below predictions of some analysts, Ford officials said they were optimistic about sales prospects as the year winds down.
"The economy is sprinting, and consumer fundamentals remain favorable," said Jim O'Connor, Ford's group vice president for North American marketing, sales and service.
Industrywide, October sales were expected to top last year's sluggish levels, when a sputtering economy and fears of a war with Iraq hurt business.
But last month's volume was forecast to be well below the levels of August and September, when the introduction of 2004 models and a barrage of incentives on '03 models sparked a summer selling craze.
The seasonally adjusted annual sales rate for October was 15.6 million units, a fraction ahead of last October but not even close to August's pace of 19 million units. The sales rate, known as SAAR, indicates what sales for the full year would be if they remained at the same pace for all 12 months.