The torrid October pace of U.S. auto sales came with a steep price tag for manufacturers, as the value of interest-free loans and other incentives rose 71 percent over the same month a year ago, according to industry analysts.

The average value of rebates, cheap loans, and other incentives per vehicle rose to $2,261 in October 2001 from $1,326 in October 2000, according to Reuters. As they have all year, Detroit's Big Three led the way, offering consumers an average of $2,740 per vehicle compared with $1,640 a year ago.

The Big Three's incentives rose 9 percent from September to October, continuing a year-long trend of growing discounts.

Import automakers also reluctantly sweetened the pot in October, after resisting the trend toward higher incentives for much of the year. European makes more than doubled their spending to $1,690, from $780 in October 2000, while Asian manufacturers added about $500 per vehicle for an average of $1,200.

The increase came even though many foreign car makers chose not to match the zero- and low-interest offers from Detroit.

In what must be a maddening development for the Big Three, General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG spent millions in October to promote interest-free loans on their trucks and ended up boosting truck sales of Asia-based rivals that didn't match the offer, according to Bloomberg News.

U.S. sales of light trucks built by Asia-based makers such as Honda Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. without interest-free loans rose 39 percent in October from the year-earlier October, outpacing the 30 percent gain for trucks made by U.S.-based makers with financing, according to an analysis of sales data.

October auto sales set an all-time record, hitting 1.7 million vehicles, thanks to the zero- and low-interest loans offered by General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and the Chrysler side of DaimlerChrysler AG. All three have extended their offers to mid-November in an attempt to stimulate sales.

But most analysts believe the temporary sales boost probably borrowed from the future, pulling ahead sales that would have occurred over the next few months. Industry executives estimate that 150,000 to 500,000 vehicles that would have otherwise been sold between December and April were sold off dealer lots in October instead.

Despite the record-setting sales in October, the Big Three have not changed their production estimates for the quarter, which some analysts say is a sign that car makers are bracing for sales to fall when the special financing offers end.