AUTOS

Car, Truck Sales Fall 6.7% in Early July: The decline in domestically built vehicles showed that the auto makers failed to hold the sales momentum of a late-June surge, which led to the fastest selling pace in 18 months, a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.7 million cars. The adjusted annual rate slipped to 6.4 million in early July. Ford had 1.3% higher truck sales in early July. Ford truck sales are running 16.2% ahead of last year. GM truck sales fell 8.8% in the period, leading to an overall vehicle sales decline of 13.8%. Chrysler Corp. car sales fell an estimated 32.1%, while trucks, including its popular minivans and Jeeps, were up 1.3%. The No. 3 auto maker reports its sales only monthly. The Chrysler numbers were estimated by Ward’s Automotive Reports.