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Automakers have really been on a roll. Only recently Ford announced a record $2 billion quarterly profit. The problem is that the car companies' increased earnings have been driven by the cheap financing available to customers. Rising rates will stall sales of cars and trucks. Adding to the gloomy outlook, high gas prices are convincing some consumers that they should stay away from the inefficient SUVs that have padded profit margins for the past few years.

Those are all signs that suggest investors should tread carefully among the automakers. That's certainly the message Stephen Girsky is sending. The Morgan Stanley veteran is the dean of auto analysts. He leads a team of 15 analysts and associates in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Collectively, they report on 80 auto stocks. Their research also gives Girsky, 42, a unique global perspective that has helped him become the sector's most consistent stock picker. His choices returned 15 percentin 2003, and he has averaged a 23 percentannualized return over the past three years.

Right now Girsky is suggesting that investors look inside the car for moneymaking opportunities. In the quest to appeal to increasingly finicky consumers -- and the hypercompetitive environment in the U.S. and Europe is compounded by overproduction -- automakers are increasingly trying to impress car buyers with swanky interior features. Consumers, in turn, are demanding more electronic gadgets and various creature comforts such as heated seats and wood trim. Automakers feel they have no choice but to respond. A recent study by the forecasting firm CSM Worldwide predicts that in North America alone, annual spending on vehicle interiors will grow from $7.5 billion this year to $10 billion by 2009.

All that underscores the argument for Girsky's favorite stock right now: Lear (LEA, $58). Lear (which is not related to the private-jet maker) makes dozens of components that go inside passenger compartments. Its seats, door panels, and other interior components are used by most major automakers, including General Motors, Toyota, and BMW. The company, dubbed by Barron's the "king of the cabin" and ranked as one of FORTUNE's Most Admired Companies, is expected to increase revenues at a 7 percentlong-term pace and profits in the range of 10 percentto 12%. Lear is valued at just nine times 2004 estimated earnings, and Girsky considers it a serious bargain.