Auto sales worst in 25 years GM sales plunge 45% and sales for its U.S. and Asian rivals also tumble as industry records lowest sales pace since 1983.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Tight credit and worried consumers resulted in the weakest pace of U.S. auto sales in 25 years. Although gas prices fell significantly during the course of the month, they weren't enough to lure buyers back to dealer showrooms. Mark LaNeve, the General Motors vice president in charge of sales in North America, said that when adjusted for population growth, October represents the worst month for U.S. auto sales overall since the end of World War II. According to preliminary figures from industry sales tracker Autodata, the seasonally-adjusted annual sales rate plunged to 10.6 million, the worst reading since February 1983. By way of comparison, this figure was 16 million a year ago and 12.5 million in September this year. "Unless you had to purchase a vehicle, it was wait and see for most consumers," said David Lucas, vice president of Autodata. "People are holding onto their money because they're unsure what the future holds." But the CEO of auto industry sales tracker Edmunds.com said there is some hope that October may be as bad as it gets. "The data suggests that the market hit bottom between Sept. 15 and Oct 15," said Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl. "We can anticipate more fluctuations through the election and the holidays, but it is reasonable to assume that there is some degree of pent-up demand building." General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) is reported the larger drops among major automakers. Its U.S. sales plunged 45% in the month, worse than the forecast of a 41% drop from Edmunds.com. Unlike some of its rivals, its sales even fell from what were weak levels in September. "We are obviously disappointed in our results, which reflect a difficult comparison with a strong year-ago October performance," said LaNeve. "More importantly, it also reflects an unprecedented credit crunch that is dramatically impacting the entire U.S. economy," he added. It was the lowest sales total at GM since December 1970, a month that followed a strike that shut production at the nation's largest automaker. But double-digit declines in sales were the norm, not the exception, across the industry. Ford (F, Fortune 500) sales were down 30% from a year earlier, including the company's Volvo unit in the sales total. _http://money.cnn.com/2008/11/03/news/companies/auto_sales/index.htm?postversi on=2008110317_ (http://money.cnn.com/2008/11/03/news/companies/auto_sales/index.htm?postversion=2008110317) **************Life should be easier. So should your homepage. Try the NEW AOL.com. (http://www.aol.com/?optin=new-dp&icid=aolcom40vanity&ncid=emlcntaolcom00000002) _______________________________________________ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list [email protected] To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
