Most carmakers to post sales gains for October

October auto sales, to be reported today, are likely to show most major automakers posting gains from a year earlier.

But the growth is largely phantom: Sales for Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. were way down in October 2005, after a summer of discount incentive programs drained the buyer pool.

This year, lower gasoline prices have helped boost sales of the pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles that have been stacking up on dealers lots all summer -- although Chrysler Group dealers still appear to be up to their necks in unsold vehicles.

Industry analysts expect Chrysler to be the only one of the top six automakers to report a sales decline.

-- John O’Dell