<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"  May Auto Sales Seen Strong   Despite record-high fuel prices, sales of new cars and even SUVs are expected to climb in May, Reuters reported, citing industry analysts.   Industry sales are forecast to rise about four percent for the month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 17.0 million or more, the strongest rate since December, analysts told Reuters.   May started where April left off, with slow sales across much of the country. Faced with rising inventories of unsold vehicles, automakers reacted by cranking up already high consumer incentives, particularly on big sport-utility vehicles.   GM and Chrysler are expected to post a 3- to 5-percent increase; Ford is anticipated to either be flat though an up-to-2-percent increase possible; and foreign carmakers will post a collective 1- to 3-percent gain, one analyst told Reuters.   Automakers are scheduled to report May sales on Wednesday, June 2, following the Memorial Day holiday weekend, one of the strongest vehicle sales periods of the year.   Buy an SUV, Get Cash   Automakers are adding cash incentives to boost sales of their big sport-utility vehicles, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing data from J.D. Power &amp;amp;amp; Associates&amp;#039; Power Information Network.   According to the Power Information Network, so far in the second quarter, the average customer cash rebate on an SUV has grown 17% from year-earlier levels, compared to rebate-value growth of 4% throughout the entire auto industry.   In the full-size SUV subsegment, cash rebates grew 26%, and they increased 50% on luxury-SUV models. Rebates on entry-level SUVs were up 21% in the period, while rebates on mid-size SUVs rose 15%. Automakers have also been lowering financing rates on SUV loans, the story said.   In April, several large SUV models including the , , and the saw double-digit sales declines. Automakers responded with a flood of new SUV deals. J.D. Power also is reporting that SUV sales will increase somewhat in May compared with a year earlier.   New Life for an Old Car Plant   Chrysler says it has converted the oldest operating automotive plant in the country into a modern, flexible production facility.   In order to produce the new long wheelbase Unlimited, Chrysler&amp;#039;s Toledo (Ohio) South Assembly Plant, which was built in 1942, and the Parkway Annex, which began life as a bicycle plant in 1904, were updated with new robotics, paint systems and communications technology. The upgrades were integrated to make the plant more flexible and efficient, while enabling a &amp;quot;quality build process&amp;quot; in the body and paint shops, the company said in a news release.   The plant also adopted a small-team working structure and reassigned 38 line workers to team leader positions. Each team is made up of eight employees that rotate jobs during the day. This gives employees the full picture of vehicle assembly and avoids extended repetition of tasks, Chrysler says.   By renovating many of its existing facilities, Chrysler says it is demonstrating a &amp;quot;long-standing commitment to invest in existing facilities and provide good-paying jobs in urban environments.&amp;quot; In 2003, Chrysler says it made a total capital investment of $2.4 billion in its U.S. manufacturing facilities.   SUVs Rate High for Summer Trips   Memorial Day weekend kicks off the summer vacation season and AAA is expecting an increase in road trips this year despite record high gas prices. With that in mind, the Kelley Blue Book picked 10 new vehicles for a summer road trip and then asked nearly 6,000 new car buyers which of the 10 they would most like to take a road trip in this summer. The results of the Great Road Trip Vehicles Ranked by Kelley Blue Book and car buyers are:      Rank     Choice     Percentage       1.     2004 Chevy Tahoe     22%       2.     2004 Lincoln Navigator     21%       3.     2004 Lexus LS430     17%       4.     2004 Mercedes E-Class     11%       5.     2004 Dodge Magnum     8%       6.     2004 Toyota Sienna     6%       7.     2004 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Wagon     5%       8.     2004 Hyundai XG350L     4%       9.     2004 Subaru Outback     4%       10.     2004 Mazda 3 5-door     3%     "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a10071/may-auto-sales-seen-strong/>