GM posts 45% drop in sales:

Link (http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gsz39lpYrNG7OiKs3FJt6jhV6NEwD947KQ302)

GM posts 45% drop in sales:
Yes but EVERYONE is hurting BAD. (Not just GM)
*And GM still sold more cars and trucks in the USA than any other company in October

Toyota is down -23% and Ford -32%
Honda and Daimler down -24%
*Chrysler has yet to post it's October sales volume but it wont be good

And the smaller companies are REALLY hurting
Suzuki sold less than 3500 units in October (-46%) Porche less than 1500.(-51%)
Somehow Audi posted a gain of a whopping +0.3% !!! LOL

But obviously not unexpected given the current financial crisis

Here's a link to October's numbers
https://home.autonews.com/clickshare/readLink.do?CSAuthKey=sOn3sVX/SfQ-ltWFUahkyvA-0

Here's the Automotive News article

Ford, GM, Honda and Toyota sales plunge in October


Automotive News
November 3, 2008 - 12:06 pm ET
UPDATED: 11/3/08 2:14 p.m. EST



DETROIT -- Auto sales at General Motor, Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. plunged in October as the U.S. industry braced for what may be the weakest monthly sales report in a quarter century.

GM plummeted 45 percent from a year earlier. Ford sold 132,248 cars and trucks last month, down 32 percent. Toyota outsold Ford on its way to its 23 percent decline. Daimler AG and American Honda were down more than 24 percent, while Porsche, Isuzu, and Suzuki fell more than 45 percent.

The results reinforce the projections of analysts, who had said that the global credit crisis and plunging consumer confidence would contribute to the industry's 12th-straight monthly decline and the second-straight monthly year-to-year drop of more than 25 percent.

"If you adjust for population growth, this is probably the worst industry sales month in the post-WWII era," said Mark LaNeve, GM's vice president for sales and marketing.

"Until the credit markets open up and consumer confidence improves, the entire U.S. economy, and any industry like autos that relies on financing, will suffer."

No hot segments

Ford sales analyst George Pipas had projected an industrywide October decline of 20 to 30 percent. He and some analysts also had forecast sales at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 11 million. That would be the lowest since March 1983, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

"When the industry is hovering around 11 million, there are no hot segments or hot products," Pipas said today. "These are very challenging times.''

U.S. auto sales averaged 16.8 million this decade through 2007.

Ford's U.S. brands -- Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury – fell 29.2 percent. Its Volvo unit plunged 52.1 percent. Ford's comparisons factor in 5,267 Jaguars and Land Rovers from October 2007; the U.K. brands are now owned by India's Tata Motors Ltd.

Lowest since March 1983

After nine months of this year, U.S. volume was off 12.8 percent from a year earlier. Of the four biggest automakers in the United States, only two had reported monthly sales increases: General Motors in January and Toyota in April. Ford's last increase was in November 2007.

Chrysler has posted one monthly gain under its current owner, Cerberus Capital Management LP, in December. Analysts project it will report its third-straight monthly decline of more than 30 percent as Cerberus continues its effort to sell Chrysler.

Audi posts a gain

Volkswagen's Audi unit said it may be one of the few brands to have an increase for the month. It was up 0.3 percent. The VW brand dropped 7.9 percent.

"This is the toughest economy we've seen in a long time," Mark Barnes, COO of VW Group of America, said in a statement.

Jim Tidwell Ford in Atlanta sold 132 new and used vehicles in October, said Blake Dobbs, new-car sales manager. At the start of the year, the monthly average was about 250.

A 31 percent decline in average U.S. gasoline prices during the month helped trucks, he said. But one new Ford vehicle, the Flex has been a disappointment, said Dobbs.

"We ordered a bunch to help Ford out, but the price point is too high,'' Dobbs said. "We only sold two in October.''

Ford's volume dropped 36 percent in September and Toyota was down 32 percent as the industry's sales totals fell below 1 million for the first time since February 1993.

What's really newsworthy, is the fact that Ford is going to reopen their F-150 truck plant now that the price of oil has dropped (temporarily). Ford is desperate. I don't know if any of you have been to a Ford dealership for a while, but they had more trucks on the lot than a monster truck rally parking lot. Even Toyota can't give their bigger vehicles away. There wasn't a soul even looking at them. I am really wondering what they're thinking.

I am not sure that low gas prices are going to revitalize the auto industry at this point. Perhaps people have wised up, and are pinching their pennies.

WopOnTour,

Not picking on GM, just stating the facts.

What's really newsworthy, is the fact that Ford is going to reopen their F-150 truck plant now that the price of oil has dropped (temporarily). Ford is desperate. I don't know if any of you have been to a Ford dealership for a while, but they had more trucks on the lot than a monster truck rally parking lot. Even Toyota can't give their bigger vehicles away. There wasn't a soul even looking at them. I am really wondering what they're thinking.

Model changeover.

Still, I wonder how, for example, Cobalt sales are doing when compared to sales of gas guzzlers.

WopOnTour,

Not picking on GM, just stating the facts.Understood. But the WHOLE story is better than singular targeted headlines and statements IMO (and the reason why I decided to augment the data presented)
GM actually gained marketshare despite dropping 45%- go figure!
WOT