11.   Ford was the only domestic automaker to post an increase in U.S. sales in the first nine months of the year.

12.   GM was the last of the Big Three domestic automakers to report quarterly earnings.

13.   High health-care costs put domestic automakers at a big disadvantage.

14.   He was the president of the Ford Motor Co. at a time when the power, pride and prerogatives of the big domestic automakers were unassailable.

15.   If the overall market was a pleasant surprise, the Big Three domestic automakers continue to come under pressure from Asian and European manufacturers.

16.   It has struggled in Europe amid competition from domestic automakers, demand for low-profit cars and a little-improved economy.

17.   Its major customers are the Detroit-based domestic automakers, but it had limited business outside North America.

18.   Japan-based automakers have fared much better and are posing strong challenges to domestic automakers, analysts said.

19.   Many financial analysts said that during his tenure, Ford Motor went from being the strongest of the Big Three domestic automakers financially to arguably the weakest.

20.   Rising interest rates could also put the brakes on these stocks, as could the declining market share of domestic automakers.