Bears may be roaming Wall Street, but consumers are still cruising Main Street, buying new cars and trucks at a pace that seems to defy gravity.

Amid reports of a soft stock market, mounting layoffs and flagging consumer confidence, automakers sold 1.36 million new cars and light

trucks last month. That is the second-highest February in a decade and the most in any month since September 2000.

Dr. Paul Taylor, chief economist for the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), expects March sales of more than 1.5 million, but forecasts a slower pace later this year. He

predicts a year-end total of 16.3 million for 2001.

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