Late News.(automobile sales)(standards for cars)(Fred Adcock quits Subaru of America Inc.)

Automotive News, May, 2006 by Migliore, Greg; Stoffer, Harry; T.Kurylko, Diana

Analysts forecast April sales slide

Industry analysts expected U.S. vehicle sales for April to drop as much as 4 percent compared with April 2005. They forecast a seasonally adjusted selling rate of about 16.5 million units.

Analysts estimated that General Motors' sales could slip as much as 7 percent in April but were impressed with sales of its redesigned full-sized SUVs. Ford Motor Co. sales were predicted to decline 5 percent, as its trucks come under pressure from GM. Goldman Sachs analyst Robert Barry expected Ford to sell a significant number of vehicles into fleets again in April. The Chrysler group was expected to drop 1 to 3 percent.

Merrill Lynch analyst John Murphy predicted mid-single-digit gains for Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A....

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