Low interest, no interest, rebates, old models, new models -- car dealers say all are playing a hand in keeping people buying automobiles,

despite a sour economy and the threat of war with Iraq, according to the Telegram and Gazette of Worcester, Mass.

"It's a choice, not a necessity," said Paul Taylor, chief economist for the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA). "Americans have significantly more assets than they had in the early 1990s, and they are spending them."

"People still have a love affair with cars," said Paul J. Donahue, general manager of Saturn of Worcester. "And low interest rates are driving them through the door."

Most area car dealers interviewed said they don't expect record sales this year, but they do expect strong sales to continue, according to the Telegram and Gazette. Nationally, vehicle sales are not expected to match last

year's 16.8 million, according to Taylor. But they could be close if his estimate of 16.5 million vehicles is accurate, "and that is still a strong performance."

Taylor said he believed the phenomenal growth

of SUVs in the 1990s is over and has been replaced by growth of CUVs, or crossover utility vehicles, hybrids such as the Buick Rendezvous, Nissan Murano, Toyota Highlander and Ford Escape. "We think that's an important

trend," Taylor said.