Ballew says GM had extraordinarily strong September sales last year, making this year's results look bad. George Pipas, market analyst for Ford, says Ford increased the rebate on the 2001 Explorer because it wanted to cut back on lease deals and cheap financing on some of its vehicles. Pipas says the incentives are not connected to the Firestone tire recall. Many of the recalled tires are original equipment on Explorers, and some Ford dealers say buyers want them removed before purchasing the vehicle. Import automakers reported strong sales.
Some analysts predict slowing sales.