• MSNBC, Wednesday, May 9, 2007 11:15 AM

Analysts expect U.S. automakers to boost incentives this summer as rising gas prices and weakening real-estate prices take a psychological toll on would-be car buyers. GM fired a salvo last week when it rolled out zero-percent financing deals on 36-month loans for certain versions of its Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra. Similar incentives are expected from Ford and Chrysler.

Jesse Toprak, executive director of industry analysis at automotive Web site Edmunds.com, expects a tough summer for the big U.S. automakers, which still make a large portion of their money from selling large SUVs and trucks. They tend to be more profitable than basic midsize passenger cars--a market segment that the Big Three have largely ceded to Asian automakers like Honda and Toyota.

Toprak notes that the decline in housing has weighed on business purchases, so that contractors buying trucks have reined in their spending. And higher gas prices are keeping recreational truck buyers out of automobile showrooms. But the trend can be offset with generous incentives, he says.

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