With sales fueled by increased incentives including no-interest financing and cash-back offers, major U.S. automakers reported that

sales shot up for the month of December but that they were down for the year, according to the Washington Post.

General Motors Corp. turned in the strongest performance with a 36 percent increase in vehicle sales last month, compared with December

2001 sales figures. "General Motors went after sales and they captured them," said Paul Taylor, chief economist for the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA). But even with a strong finish, GM reported that sales for the year were down 1 percent from 2001.

Overall, vehicle sales are expected to be down for the year, about 16.8 million units, compared with 17.2 million in 2001.

Ford Motor Co. sales were up 8.2 percent for December, but off by 8.8 percent for the year.

Sales at the Chrysler unit of Germany-based DaimlerChrysler AG were up 0.8 percent in December but down 3 percent for 2002.

Toyota Motor Corp.'s sales increased by 2 percent last month and were up 0.9 percent overall for the year, according to the Post.

The 16.8 million sales mark for 2002 matches the forecast by NADA Chief Economist Paul Taylor. Taylor's forecasts for the past three

years, in difficult market environments, were among the most accurate of all analysts.

Taylor said that focusing on what the economy is capable of supporting and efforts by the Big Three to retain market share with incentives were key elements of the analysis. He supports that with a detailed estimate of the key elements of the entire U.S. economy.

Among the major trends in 2002, Taylor points out that crossover utility vehicles (CUVs) continued strong growth, up 22.9 percent.