DETROIT (AP):

Enticed by lower gas prices, consumers started buying more trucks and sport utility vehicles in September, but even that could not stop Toyota Motor Corp. from trouncing America's Big Three.

General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group, long criticised for relying too much on trucks and SUVs for their profits, saw increased sales of those models last month, but Toyota did, too. The Japanese automaker's car sales also gained, helping the company post a 25 per cent year-over-year sales increase in September to lead all manufacturers in the U.S. marketplace. GM and Chrysler each saw their sales slip by a few percentage points, while Ford's sales were up 4.7 per cent, the automakers said Tuesday.

Low-profit

GM sold 334,025 vehicles, 3.1 per cent fewer than a year ago, but the largest U.S. automaker attributed much of the drop to its plan to wean itself of low-profit fleet sales to rental companies.

The company's car sales fell 6.4 per cent, while trucks, including pickups and SUVs, were down 0.7 per cent compared with September 2005. The numbers include the European Saab brand.

Stuttgart, Germany-based DaimlerChrysler said its overall decrease of 2.3 per cent, was mostly because of U.S. subsidiary Chrysler Group, where sales fell 3.8 per cent from 175,556 to 168,888. Sales of Mercedes-Benz vehicles rose 13.2 per cent.

At Chrysler, car sales plunged 26.6 per cent, while truck sales rose 4.3 per cent despite an air bag and seat belt recall that limited sales of the Dodge Ram pickup.

Ford's increase to 237,664 vehicles was fuelled largely by car sales, which rose 26.2 per cent, while its truck sales fell 5.5 per cent. The figures are for all Ford brands, including Jaguar, Volvo and Land Rover.

Toyota sold 222,950 vehicles in September. The company's car sales rose 18.4 per cent, while truck sales soared 34.9 per cent.

Sales of Toyota's Tundra pickup soared 74 percent at 12,609 units, but they were still far below the industry-leading Ford F-Series, with 70,822 units sold, and the Chevrolet Silverado, with 51,964.