AUTOS

Vehicle Sales Rise 7% in Early October: Double-digit percentage gains in light truck sales offset slumping passenger car sales to push domestic vehicle sales 7% higher in early October, auto makers reported. Early October truck sales were up 32.3%, while cars were down 5.7%. Cars sold at a projected annual rate of 5.8 million, the worst since mid-September. The weak results coincided with government reports on retail sales and wholesale prices that pointed to continued economic stagnancy. The gains in truck sales were skewed because truck sales by General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. were abnormally weak in early October, 1991. For the year, light truck sales are running 15.6% ahead of the year-earlier level.