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Light-Truck Sales Help Ford in October

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Times Staff and Wire Reports

Ford Motor Co. reported a 2.7% increase in U.S. sales for October as an expanded lineup of pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles enabled the No. 3 auto maker to overcome slumping car demand. Ford posted an 8.3% increase in sales of domestically produced light trucks, to 191,399 units. Contributing to the surge were combined sales of the Ford Explorer and the new Expedition and the Mercury Mountaineer, at 55,924. That marked a 34% jump from a year ago and was a Ford record for monthly sport-utility sales. Sales of North American-built cars fell 2.9% to 140,806. Ford’s total unit sales for the month were 334,590. Last week, General Motors Corp. reported that weak car sales dragged down October results by 7.7% to 399,382 units. Chrysler Corp., breaking a record for October, reported an 18.6% increase to 205,393.

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