Analysts think September auto sales will stay strong

Analysts think September auto sales will stay strong: Despite a record high for consumer discounts, specialists forecast a 1% drop of U.S. auto sales. September U.S. new vehicle sales will be 1.43 million, down 0.8% from a year earlier. The seasonally adjusted annualized rate for September will be 17.7 million vehicles, down from 18 million on the same basis a year earlier.

Even retails sales to consumers, which don't include multiple fleet sales to rental agencies, businesses and government, were seen declining 1.4% in September. It would be the fifth month in the past seven to show a retail sales decline.