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Federal bailout money may not be enough to help the nation's automakers judging from the most recent monthly sales figures.
Chrysler had the dubious distinction of posting the biggest annual sales drop with 53 percent. The Associated Press reported that the other big three automakers, Ford (F) and GM (GM), fell by a respective 32 percent and 31 percent.
However, no automaker was particularly immune from the economic climate, with faster-growing brands like Toyota (TM) and Honda (HMC) reportedly seeing respective 37 percent and 35 percent sales drops.
Still, a number of automakers did see slight improvements over their sales from the previous month, inviting speculation about whether the auto market has finally begun to recover somewhat. Another factor to watch will be gasoline prices, which have trended upward somewhat in recent weeks.
The AP report cited Global Insight's prediction that auto sales will drop to 10.3 million this year, from 13 million in 2008. Elsewhere, Edmunds.com reported that used car sales had fallen by a relatively modest eight percent in 2008, compared to new car sales, which fell 16 percent.
Edmunds also questioned whether the highly-touted incentives programs offered by automakers had really had any impact. The website noted that domestic automakers had spent ten percent more per vehicle sold in 2008, only to see their market share fall by 3.6 percent.
Automakers post dramatic sales drops
Federal bailout money may not be enough to help the nation's automakers judging from the most recent monthly sales figures. Chrysler had the dubious distinction of posting the biggest annual sales drop with 53 percent. The Associated Press reported that the other big three automakers, Ford (F) and GM (GM), fell by a respective 32 percent and 31 percent.
However, no automaker was particularly immune from the economic climate, with faster-growing brands like Toyota (TM) and Honda (HMC) reportedly seeing respective 37 percent and 35 percent sales drops.
Still, a number of automakers did see slight improvements over their sales from the previous month, inviting speculation about whether the auto market has finally begun to recover somewhat. Another factor to watch will be gasoline prices, which have trended upward somewhat in recent weeks.
The AP report cited Global Insight's prediction that auto sales will drop to 10.3 million this year, from 13 million in 2008. Elsewhere, Edmunds.com reported that used car sales had fallen by a relatively modest eight percent in 2008, compared to new car sales, which fell 16 percent.
Edmunds also questioned whether the highly-touted incentives programs offered by automakers had really had any impact. The website noted that domestic automakers had spent ten percent more per vehicle sold in 2008, only to see their market share fall by 3.6 percent.
