New car and truck sales in August slowed once again, according to industry analysts, as worries over the economy threaten to drag the auto industry to its slowest sales pace so far this year.

Industry analysts are predicting August sales will run at an annual sales rate of 16.1 million vehicles, down from rates of 17.1 million in August of last year and 16.6 million last month. August sales results are due Sept. 4.

As it has all year, the worst of the decline will be felt by Detroit's Big Three. General Motors Corp. says it expects its sales to decline by less than 10 percent. Analysts expect sales at Ford Motor Co., which warned last week of lower profits for the remainder of the year and an impending restructuring, to fall anywhere from 12 percent to a sobering 20 percent.

Sales for the Chrysler side of DaimlerChrysler AG will also fall, but the comparison will be skewed by a big push the automaker made last August to sell minivans. Chrysler's decline is expected to run between 15 percent and 20 percent.

The Japanese automakers are looking at a much brighter picture. Toyota Motor Corp. is expected to report a 7.5 percent sales increase, while Honda Motor Co. Ltd. should report slightly higher sales. Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. is the only one of the Japanese Big Three expected to post a decline, with sales off 10 percent to 15 percent.

Detroit's Big Three have been seeing their market share shrink all year, hitting a low of 63.6 percent in July. Even including their foreign brands, their shares fell to 66.1 percent from 69.2 in the same month a year ago.

That trend will only get worse in the coming months, according to industry analysts. As 2002 models begin to roll into dealerships, the Big Three find themselves without any major new cars in their line-ups, which still account for about half of all sales.

GM's last high-volume new car was the Cadillac DeVille in 2000, and its next will be the Cadillac CTS sedan that goes on sale early next year as a 2003 model. Ford's only car launch in the 2002 model year, apart from the low-volume Thunderbird, is the Jaguar X-Type luxury sedan, while Chrysler has no all-new cars.

Meanwhile, Toyota is already shipping model year 2002 versions of its best-selling midsize Camry sedan to dealerships, and has a new version of its Lexus ES 300 sedan on the way as well. Nissan has begun production on its new Altima sedan, and Mitsubishi Motor Co. Ltd. has a new Lancer small car on sale.

All of these new models will only increase the pressure domestic automakers have felt in sales and pricing this year. GM, Ford and Chrysler now offer an average of more than $2,000 per vehicle in incentives.

CNW Marketing/Research has found consumers were putting foreign brands higher on their shopping lists, replacing U.S. brands. Among new-vehicle buyers of 22 different brands, Toyota is now given more consideration than Ford, according to CNW's Art Spinella. For example, among people who eventually purchased a Chevrolet, Toyota was the first alternative, pushing Ford into second place.