The nation's economy expanded at a respectable 3.1 percent annual pace from July through September as Americans took advantage of zero percent financing deals to snap up cars and trucks, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The rise in gross domestic product -- the nation's total output of goods and services -- marked the fourth consecutive quarter of growth after last year's recession and was significantly higher than the feeble 1.3 percent gain registered in the spring, the Commerce Department reported Oct. 31.

While business remained slow in tech, auto dealers could scarcely catch a breath throughout much of the quarter. Sales of cars and light trucks in July and August were on pace to top 18 million (Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate - SAAR), a number exceeded only in October 2001 when zero percent financing was introduced, according to the Chronicle.

The booming auto business helped push consumer

spending up at a 4.2 percent pace during the quarter. The gains in auto sales reflected the renewal of zero percent financing offers in

July. When those deals expired at the end of August, sales fell, the Chronicle said.

Dennis FitzPatrick, president of Fitzpatrick Chevrolet-Buick-Hummer in Concord, Calif., said demand was so heavy, he couldn't keep his lot stocked. "Over the summer we had great months, but in September it significantly slowed

down," he told the Chronicle. "October was better than last month, although we're not back on the track we were on in the first eight months of the year."