Despite a lackluster economy, the U.S. auto industry remains a shining star, with 2003 sales expected to exceed 16 million vehicles, according to the Dayton Business Journal.

The average number of vehicles sold in a year is 14 million, said Jim Horvath, executive director of the Dayton Area Auto Dealers Association. "Anything over and above that is a plus," he said, according to the Business Journal.

This month, Paul Taylor, chief economist for the McLean, Va.-based National Automobile

Dealers Association (NADA), upped his 2003 sales estimates by 300,000 vehicles, from 16.3 million to 16.6 million, as buyers continue to flock to dealerships and drive away in new cars.

Locally, Horvath said auto sales are on pace for another record year. A big reason the auto industry continues to boom is manufacturers' incentives -- such as rebates and low or no-interest loans, the Business Journal said.

"A lot of people in the automobile business are just waiting for the bubble to burst," said Tim White (White Family Dealerships).

As car sales continue to rev up for local dealers, those in the industry remain cautious. "After you have a good year, then an all-time top year, you figure how much longer can this go on?," Horvath said. "You can't have a world record beater year after year, yet we're

in the middle of doing that."