Car Cutback. (Panorama).

Caption: Automakers in Brazil--including General Motors, Ford, Volkswagen, Fiat and Renault--are paring output as car sales fall. Citing poor consumer confidence and high interest rates, manufacturers predict they will produce 1.8 million vehicles this year, some 100,000 fewer than forecast. The downturn comes on the heels of May 2001 unadjusted monthly production that was Brazil's highest in four years. Brazil's threat to fine any automakers that exceed limits on vehicle imports from Argentina could spark production cutbacks in the neighboring county.