Events Calendar
In This Section
Energy upgrades for Summit, Stark
Job openings plunged by one-quarter last year
State Farm says it warned NHTSA on Toyota in 2007
Wholesale inventories cut 0.8 percent in December
Toyota recalls 437,000 Priuses, hybrids globally
Phones can be used to redeem Target cards
Most Read Stories
Man robbed at Tallmadge Avenue eatery
Another winter punch heading toward Ohio
Complaints against officer keep coming
Four teens restrain man, take items from his Akron home
Police: Ohio girl dies after fall into snow bank
Police: Man tries to buy crack with credit card
Cuyahoga Falls residents come home to find burning couch on balcony
Blogs:
First Bell - On Education:
No City of Akron basketball tonight
Pets:
Pet telethon re-airs
The Heldenfiles:
Chipmunks "Squeakquel" on DVD/BD March 30
Akron Zips:
Zips favored on road against MAC West leader
Tribe Matters:
Blogmail response on Hafner
Cleveland Browns:
Stallworth's contract terminated
Balanced Ledger:
QB in Browns future: another mock draft
Kent State Sports:
KSU Notes – February 9
Cleveland Cavaliers:
NBA Power Rankings from Around the Internet
Buckeye Blogging:
Buckeyes grab 18 players on signing day
Varsity Letters:
Five local gridders to play in Big33
All Da King's Men:
Palin At The Tea Party Convention
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Republican Pre-Conditions
Akron Law Café:
Law, Love and Chocolate
Car Chase:
Collector Car Hobby Loses One of the Best—Jim Roll
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Decisions Decisions: Credit Cards or Your Mortgage?
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Loucile is looking for a Lake Erie getaway in June for three kids, ages 1, 3, and 5.
Sound Check:
Talk of the Town – Top entertainment picks for the weekend
HRLite House:
OFCCP Report
Akron Gamer:
Makers of 'Castle Crashers' unveil 'BattleBlock Theater'
See Jane Style:
Do IT this week: Layering
GM sales plummet 45 percent, Ford by 30 percent in worst month in decades
By Tom Krisher
and Bree Fowler
Associated Press
Published on Tuesday, Nov 04, 2008
DETROIT: General Motors' U.S. sales in October plunged 45 percent and Ford's dropped 30 percent, as low consumer confidence and tight credit combined to scare customers away.
The results released Monday — along with drops of at least 23 percent for Toyota, Honda and Nissan — appeared to fulfill prophecies that the industry's sales as a whole will hit their worst level in decades.
Mike DiGiovanni, GM's executive director of global market and industry analysis, said the automaker expects last month was the industry's worst U.S. sales performance since 1975 with only 851,000 vehicles sold, for an annual rate of 10.7 million vehicles.
''This is clearly a severe, severe recession for the U.S. automotive industry and something we really can't sustain,'' DiGiovanni said.
GM said light-truck sales tumbled 51 percent compared with the same month last year, while demand for passenger cars fell 34 percent.
The results were less severe at Ford, which said its Ford, Lincoln and Mercury car sales were off 27 percent, while light-truck sales for the three brands were down more than 30 percent.
Overall, GM sold 168,719 vehicles, while Ford, including its Volvo brand, sold 132,278 light vehicles last month.
If GM's sales were adjusted for population growth, October would be the worst month of the post-World War II era, DiGiovanni said.
GM's total was enough to keep it ahead of Toyota for the No. 1 U.S. sales spot. Toyota, which rolled out an offer of zero-percent financing during the month, sold 152,101 vehicles,
down 23 percent from a year earlier. The drop included a 34 percent decline in light-truck demand, while car sales fell 15 percent.
Honda sales fell 25 percent to 85,864 vehicles, as truck sales fell 29 percent. But sales of cars from its Acura luxury division rose 6 percent.
Nissan North America Inc. sold 56,945 vehicles, a 33 percent drop, including a 52 percent decline in truck sales.
Ford officials said that as bad as October sales were, it's probably not the bottom.
Ford likely will announce car and crossover vehicle production cuts Friday.
DETROIT: General Motors' U.S. sales in October plunged 45 percent and Ford's dropped 30 percent, as low consumer confidence and tight credit combined to scare customers away.
Get the full article here.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
