Detroit this year has rolled out wave after wave of promotions to keep sales going in a down economy. Now, faced with bloated inventories, a sputtering economy and end-of-year targets to hit, they are fattening offers again, defying the industry tradition of trying to ratchet back on deals as the year draws to a

close, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Driving all this is the fact that auto sales have been slowing over the past few months, after a surprisingly strong showing earlier in

the year. Automakers have been slow to cut production — leaving many dealer lots heavy with unsold cars, the Journal said.