DETROIT - A wave of incentive programs after the Sept. 11 attacks helped make 2001 the second-best year for auto sales in U.S. history. <br>
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Sales figures released Thursday indicated that automakers sold 17.2 million vehicles in the United States last year. That was second only to 17.4 million in 2000. <br>
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The 2001 figures also showed that trucks, including sport utility vehicles, outsold passenger cars by about 300,000 units. It marked the first time cars have been outsold by trucks. <br>
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The incentive programs are certain to cut into automakers' profits, but some analysts say the deals may have been worth it for the industry. <br>
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"Regardless of the effect on profits, the move stimulated sales and may have prevented the economy from rolling over and dying in the wake of Sept. 11," said Efraim Levy, senior automotive analyst for Standard and Poor's. <br>
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General Motors began the wave of zero- and low-interest financing offers following the Sept. 11 attacks as a way to re-ignite already floundering sales. Ford and the Chrysler Group of DaimlerChrysler AG followed suit, as did Toyota on a more limited basis. <br>
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The last of the offers is due to expire later this month, though new offers are expected from some automakers. <br>
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U.S. automakers credited incentives for sparking the late-year sales surge, though American Honda Motor Co. set nine all-time records with almost no special offers. <br>
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Toyota reported its best-ever year, selling 1.74 million cars and trucks -- a 7.5 percent increase over 2000. <br>
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The Chrysler Group of DaimlerChrysler AG said sales for the year were off less than 10 percent from 2000. GM reported a 1 percent drop from 2000. <br>
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Capping off a troubled year that included the Firestone tire controversy, the departure of chief executive Jacques Nasser and declining earnings, Ford said its sales dropped 6 percent in 2001 from a year earlier. <br>
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Passenger car sales slumped, but Ford said its F-series pickup trucks remained the best-selling vehicle in the United States for the 20th straight year. <br>
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