As expected, early sales reports from automakers paint a dismal picture, MarketWatch reports. Ford reports a 34% drop in US sales in September compared to a year ago; Toyota’s were off 32% and General Motors’ fell 16%, AP adds. Industry-wide, sales are down almost 20% over this time in 2007, the Detroit Free Press writes.
Hyundai’s sales were off 24%, and Honda, which bucked the trend with a rise in August, says it saw a 25% decline; fellow Japanese giant Nissan plummeted nearly 37%. Analysts saw the usual suspects behind the slump: high gas prices, credit woes and general economic worries.
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