U.S. auto makers, struggling against a host of economic issues, posted weak September U.S. sales with General Motors Corp. reporting a minuscule gain and Ford Motor Co. ceding ground to Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. in the race for the title of No. 2 U.S. auto maker.

GM, which saw relatively little impact from a two-day strike last week, said September light-vehicle sales edged up 0.3% from a year ago. Meanwhile, Ford posted a 21% drop, and Toyota posted a 4.4% decline.

There were 25 selling days in the month, one less than a year ago.

Generally, September auto sales were expected to be down 3% to 3.5% from a year ago, amid the credit crunch, high gas prices and housing-market weakness. Analysts said, however, that the auto makers' use of incentives may have helped to stoke demand for pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles.

The U.S. Federal Reserve's recent half-percentage point rate cut also buoyed auto makers' hopes of a sales boost, although analysts had said it was too early to see a benefit from the cut.

GM's sales of cars and light trucks stood at 334,974 in September, up from 334,025 a year earlier. Sales of light trucks rose 3.6% to 203,603, while car sales fell 4.4% to 131,371.

Mark LaNeve, GM's North America vice president for vehicle sales, said: "Our market share performance of more than 25% over the last quarter demonstrates strong consumer acceptance of our new products and the continued progress we've made in our North America turnaround strategy."

GM said its North American September production total was 323,000 vehicles, down 16% from a year ago. In the third quarter, production dropped by 30,000 vehicles, or 3%, from a year ago to 1.02 million because of the United Auto Workers strike, the company said.

GM Production Forecast Unchanged

GM kept unchanged its fourth-quarter North American production forecast at 1 million vehicles, which is 10% below the year-earlier figure.

Toyota said September sales of cars and light trucks in the U.S. fell to 213,043 amid a tough comparison with a year ago. It was the Japanese auto maker's third straight monthly sales drop.

"Given September's economic headwind, the industry saw a fair month," said Toyota Motor Sales USA Executive Vice President Jim Lentz. "The fall selling season is likely to benefit from increased stabilization and modest gains."

Last week, Toyota Executive Vice President Mitsuo Kino****a said the company would have a tough time showing a sales rise for September because of a spike of about 25% a year earlier.

Ford had September sales of 189,863, down 21%. Fleet sales dropped 62% as the company continued to slash sales to rental-car agencies; but retail sales, which exclude fleet sales, also fell -- down 15%. Passenger-car sales plunged 39% while sales of trucks and SUVs, representing Ford's most profitable business, fell 9%.

Sales of lucrative F-series pickup trucks, which have been suffering amid softer demand and increased competition, fell 21%. However, sales of Ford's "crossover" vehicles, such as the Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX, continued to do well, rising 96% in September, and up 52% for the year so far, the company said.

Sales of the Lincoln brand jumped 33%, the company said.

Meanwhile, Honda Motor Corp. posted a 9.4% increase to 127,200. Sales of the Accord, a redesigned version of which was released mid-month, jumped 26%. Truck sales rose 12%, led by a 62% surge for the CR-V SUV.

Chrysler sales numbers will be released later in the afternoon.