BUSINESS MEMO: FORD OVERTAKES GM

DETROIT -- Recent strikes cost General Motors Corp. its No. 1 spot in domestic vehicle sales last month, letting Ford Motor Co. come out on top for the first time in 28 years.

GM's weak performance pulled down the entire U.S. market, with sales off 9 percent in July compared with a year earlier. The world's largest automaker reported Wednesday its sales plummeted 39 percent from the year-ago level.

Ford, which reported its results last week, sold 88,673 more cars and light trucks than GM last month. As a result, GM's July market share dropped to 20 percent, compared with the 31 percent it held for the first six months of this year.

Ford captured 28 percent of the market last month, while Chrysler Corp. had 17 percent.