Ford (F) Should Continue to Whittle GM's (GM) U.S. Lead in February

Shares of Ford (NYSE: F) and General Motors (NYSE: GM) are under pressure Friday despite a sales forecast boost from a noted automotive buying website.

According to TrueCar.com, auto sales in February are expected to reach a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 14.3 million units, the highest level since May 2008.

Multi-year sales records have led the site to boost its sales forecast for 2012 from 13.8 million units prior to 14.0 million units.

Retail sales are expected to be 5.6 percent higher year-over-year and up 13.4 percent sequentially.

For U.S. sales, Ford should see a 14.1 percent jump while GM might drop 6.1 percent. Chrysler could report a massive 27.4 percent increase. Chrysler's pop, while impressive, is second to the 37 percent rise expected for Volkswagen.

While Ford will increase its market share in the U.S. to 16.4 percent, GM will continue its slide to 17.9 percent. GM posted monthly sales of 20.8 percent last February.

Finally, overall incentive spending will fall an additional 4.2 percent, TrueCar.com said. GM incentives should drop 19.3 percent while Ford's spending should be up by 15.5 percent. Hyundai/Kia will cut the most, dropping off 26.4 percent.

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