AUTOS

Ford Sees 2% Drop in June Sales: The No. 2 auto maker continued to lag its Big Three competitors in June, reporting that U.S. sales of its cars and light trucks were down just over 2% from a year ago. The bright spot for Ford was its 1997 F-150 pickup, the redesigned model of the nation’s biggest-selling vehicle, which showed 11% growth over June 1995 sales. Overall, it was a flat month for the Big Three. Ford, General Motors Corp. and Chrysler Corp. saw their combined sales fall 1% largely because of softer demand for cars. Meanwhile, Toyota said its overall sales for June fell 6%, led by a 17% decline in car sales. That was offset by a 35% increase in truck sales. The strongest performance last month came from European auto makers, whose combined sales were up 15%. Japanese auto makers reported sales were down 2% overall.