FEW BUYING INCENTIVES FOR CAR PURCHASE

Automotive incentives shrank again in October, even as dealerships continue to ring up healthy sales numbers. According to Edmunds.com's True Cost of Incentives report, the auto industry spent $2,124 per vehicle in October, down 3.3 percent from September and down 1.4 percent from October 2011. Edmunds.com reported in September that incentives fell for the first time in five months, even as the auto industry produced its best monthly SAAR of the year. Just last week, Edmunds.com projected that October will deliver the second-highest monthly SAAR of the year at 14.8 million light vehicles, a figure that ultimately may be affected slightly by the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy along the Mid-Atlantic seaboard. Ford was the only manufacturer out of the top six auto companies to increase its month-to-month incentive spending in October. The Detroit automaker's incentive spending climbed 2.7 percent from September to $2,788 per vehicle. Honda's incentive spending fell the most of any major automaker, sliding 15.6 percent from September.