Sales of small cars such as the Kia Soul, above, rose in the first half as Jeep, including the Cherokee, below, struggled.

[DaLveN @CSBD]

After six monthly declines to start the year, the industry is down 2.4 percent halfway through 2019. It's on pace to finish at slightly more than 16.9 million, which would be the first time shy of 17 million since 2014.That's still strong by historical standards. And all analyst bets are off if the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates this year, as rising auto loan rates have hurt demand."The U.S. economy continues to grow at a healthy pace. Jobs are plentiful and inflation remains low," General Motors' chief economist, Elaine Buckberg, said in a statement last week. "Auto demand was better than anticipated in the first half and we expect strong performance in the second half of the year. If the Fed cuts rates, as widely expected, lower financing costs will provide further support to auto sales."Here are some developments in the first half of 2019 and things to watch during the summer selling season and beyond.Compact crossovers cool offWhat's been the hottest segment in the industry for years is on track to shrink in 2019. Sales of compact crossovers are down 4 percent through June. It's still the largest segment in the U.S., but automakers are up against increasing competition for a pool of customers that's no longer growing, which is a potentially troublesome combination. The Nissan Rogue, Ford Escape and Jeep Compass have been the segment's biggest decliners this year.Pickups picking up steamThere's no sign of slowing momentum for pickups. Full-size pickups rose 1.5 percent in the first half of the year, with Ram taking share from most of its rivals, and the Ford Ranger and Jeep Gladiator pushing midsize pickups to a 15 percent gain.Content from Chase AutoDriving into 2025: The Future of Electric Vehicles | J.P. MorganThe car industry is undergoing a radical transformation, with most carmakers agreeing the next 10 years will bring more change than the two previous decades.read moreRam's two-truck strategy — it's still building and selling the previous generation to attract cost-conscious customers, while raking in huge profits from the higher-priced new version — has it poised to finish the year ahead of the Chevrolet Silverado for the first time. Ram nearly doubled its lead over the Silverado in June to more than 44,000. The Ford F series remains solidly in first place, but it will likely face mounting pressure in the second half of the year as the battle between Chevy and Ram intensifies."We are well on our way to selling a million pickup trucks in the United States in 2019," Mark LaNeve, Ford's vice president for U.S. marketing, sales and service, said on a conference call last week. "We haven't eclipsed a million since 2005."Subaru's successThe margins haven't been all that big lately, but Subaru has stretched its streak of year-over-year gains to 91 months as of June. If that's not impressive enough, Subaru is now the industry's largest brand that's still growing in the U.S., as all six brands with more market share posted declines in the first half of the year. It's up 5.2 percent on the year.Korean brands reboundThe Detroit 3's sales declined 3 percent in the first half. Japanese brands were down 3.5 percent, and European manufacturers dipped 1 percent. But Hyundai and Kia, the Korean brands that were struggling mightily as car sales began to plummet in recent years, are up in 2019. And Genesis, Hyundai's luxury spinoff, is the fastest-growing brand in the country, up 38 percent on the year. Hyundai mostly has the Kona subcompact crossover to thank for its resurgence. Kia's three-row Telluride has quickly put up big numbers, and the Genesis G70 is off to a fast start.Lost yearJune marked the 12th consecutive month of year-over-year declines for two brands: Chevy and Mazda. Both makes also posted their lowest sales totals in the first half of a year since 2011. The only brands that have posted negative numbers for more than a full year are Mini, Fiat and Smart.