Car buyers: get ready for deals.

Coming soon are price cuts, an expansion of who is eligible for low-interest financing, and any other way your local car dealer can entice you into the showroom.

Yes, US auto companies are expected to roll out new efforts this week to help unload their inventory, which includes a huge fleet of 2006 vehicles. But if you're not ready in November, don't worry: The deals are likely to be around through February, since the large inventories carried by Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler could take months to scale down.

The sell-off will be felt far and wide. It will sink Detroit's hopes for a quick return to profitability, pinch the economy in the nation's heartland, and shrink orders for componentmakers around the country. As a result, economic growth will be lower than expected late this year and early next year, economists believe.

"The auto industry will contribute to a slowing economy," says Peter Morici, an economics professor at the University of Maryland in College Park. "Slower auto sales will compound the negative affects of the housing slowdown and drag down growth."

Last week, the effect of the housing slowdown became apparent when the Commerce Department said the nation's gross domestic product had slowed to a 1.6 percent growth rate in the third quarter, down from 2.6 percent in the prior quarter. The weak housing market subtracted 1.1 percentage points off the third quarter's results, according to the government's report.

The auto industry's problems selling cars were not reflected in the GDP report because unsold vehicles, that is inventory, is actually considered a positive. But if lower production rates follow, that will be a drag on the growth rates of future quarters. "The next two quarters are most at risk from the auto industry," says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com.

Mr. Morici estimates the auto industry could put a drag of about 0.5 percent in real terms on the nation's GDP early next year. "We're talking $25 billion to $50 billion that it will cost the economy," he says.

Last year, the auto industry sold close to 17 million cars and light trucks nationally. This year, it's on pace for 16.5 million, says Mr. Zandi. "They have to make sure they don't fall below the 16 million unit pace. That is the absolute lowest level they can live with and not fall into bankruptcy."

As of the end of September, it would have taken Chrysler 79 days to sell down its inventory, 76 days for General Motors, and 75 days for Ford, reports Autodata Corp. "Back in the old days, there was talk that 60 days' supply was normal," says Ron Pinelli, president of the Woodcliff Lake, N.J., company. "But that's outmoded. What matters now is how many cars are in stock because the sales rate varies tremendously."

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