Last Weekend Car Dealing Not As Slow As Expected

The Wall Street Journal reported that in the first big shopping day since last week's tragedy, car dealers around the country reported that Saturday's business was slower than normal, though not as bad as many of them had feared.

At Sonic Automotive Inc.'s 165 franchises nationwide, weekend business "appears to have been stronger than our initial expectations," said President Scott Smith. He had predicted a drop of between 15 percent and 20 percent. "People are continuing to buy automobiles. They're trying to get back to a sense of normalcy."

They went on to report, that auto-industry officials were worried by fresh signs of falling consumer confidence and rising unemployment.

Ford Motor Co. said it expects to lose production of 110,000 to 120,000 vehicles during the rest of the third quarter and warned that it won't reach the already-reduced profit target for the quarter of 10 cents a share. It is likely Ford will report a loss for the quarter. Ford officials blamed parts shortages caused by disruptions to shipping following Tuesday's terrorist attacks.

DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group said it would idle the Detroit factory that makes Jeep Grand Cherokee sport-utility vehicles in response to slow sales.

General Motors Corp. lost production at several plants last week, mainly because of parts shortages, the company said. But among the generally downbeat reports, there were some signs that consumers haven't been put off by the terrorism to the degree that had been expected.