Auto sales shrivel amid first cut in U.S. discounts since 2013

By Keith Naughton and David Welch, Bloomberg
Automakers just paid the price for dialing back on discounts for the first time in 55 months.
Almost all major manufacturers reported declining U.S. deliveries for July, led by a 15 percent plunge at Nissan Motor Co. The industry tempered spending on incentives, snapping a streak of monthly consecutive increases that began 4 1/2 years ago, according to J.D. Power.
The sales reports cap a rough month for the auto industry, with each of Detroit’s