[Haibundadam]

Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...7803XU20110901

Detroit automakers posted double-digit percentage gains from year-earlier sales, helped by stronger sales of newer small cars like the Chevrolet Cruze and more fuel-efficient SUVs including the Ford Escape.

But shares of both General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co closed lower, and analysts cautioned that the Detroit Three could face a payback in the months ahead as their major Japanese rivals fight to make up for lost ground.

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GM reported a sales gain of 18 percent from year-earlier levels. Ford sales were up 11 percent. Chrysler had its best August sales in four years with a 31 percent sales increase.

"The auto sales numbers were comforting. The message here is that we're not facing a double dip. On the other hand, we're not sprinting ahead either," said Paul Ballew, chief economist with insurer Nationwide. "The industry is crawling."

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Industrywide sales rose almost 8 percent from a year earlier and were up 1 percent from July. On the annualized and adjusted basis tracked by forecasters, the sales rate for August was 12.12 million vehicles.

Industrywide spending on sales incentives was almost flat in August from a month earlier, analysts said.
Many analysts expect deeper discounts in the months ahead as Japanese automakers shore up inventories and look to make up for lost ground in the U.S. market.