December 10, 1979

General Motors Corp, in its annual economic forecast, lowers its estimate of industry's '79 sales of new autos and trucks, both domestic and foreign, to about 14.1 million units, lowest since '74 and about 1.4 million units short of GM's '78 forecast; expects foreign autos to account for about 2.3 million units; says vehicle sales in '80 could approximate those of '79; chairman Thomas A Murphy comments on outlook; says GM's capital spending in '80 and in each year in early '80s will be over $6 billion annually (S)

Special Deputy NYS Comptroller for NYC Sidney Schwartz, with 2 days remaining before Financial Control Board is to consider important modifications of NYC's 4-year financial plan, releases audit charging that city has greatly understated its deficits; audit asserts that budget gap in fiscal '82 may reach $2 billion, nearly 3 times what city officials have estimated; city Budget Director James R Brigham Jr disagrees with findings; Mayor Koch backs Brigham (S)

What will become of Lake Placid facilities after Games remains unknown despite tens of millions of tax dollars being spent on building and improving facilities; state and Federal officials comment (M)

Repr David C Treen wins election as Louisiana's 1st Republican Governor since Reconstruction, defeating Democratic opponent Louis Lambert; says he is concerned that tampering could erase his 10,000-vote margin in unofficial returns and orders campaign workers to keep round-the-clock watch on voting machines; unofficial returns show Treen with 690,325 votes and Lambert with 679,923; Treen illus with wife; in State Senate race, William Jefferson, Harvard-educated black lawyer, defeats white incumbent who had strong support among working-class blacks; incumbent male state representative loses to 23-year-old Mary Landrieu, daughter of former New Orleans Mayer Moon Landrieu (M)

issue sketch of man wanted for questioning; illus; sketch (M)