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March Auto Sales Hit the Skids

GM, Chrysler Down 19%, Toyota, Ford Dip 10%

By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff

Posted Apr 2, 2008 4:00 AM CDT

(Newser) – US auto sales plummeted last month, with GM and Chrysler's March sales diving 19%, and Ford and Toyota's down 10%, the Wall Street Journal reports. Rising gas prices, the credit crisis and fear of the future are blamed for the troubling trend. Detroit is bracing for even more bad news yet to come.

"I'd like to tell you the worst is behind us but I really can't give you that assurance," said Ford's marketing chief. An industry analyst said uncertainty about the US economy is driving down sales. "Americans are not confident about their economic future, and so they're reluctant to make big-ticket purchases," he said.

Toyota 4Runners sit unsold. Toyota's excess US capacity is the equivalent one entire idle plant.
Toyota 4Runners sit unsold. Toyota's excess US capacity is the equivalent one entire idle plant.   (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
The logo shines on the grille of an unsold 2008 sedan at a Chrysler-Jeep dealership. March auto sales slumped for the Big Three and Toyota.
The logo shines on the grille of an unsold 2008 sedan at a Chrysler-Jeep dealership. March auto sales slumped for the Big Three and Toyota.   (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Unsold 2008 F-150 pickup trucks sit at a Ford dealership. March auto sales slumped industry wide with the likelihood of worse to come.
Unsold 2008 F-150 pickup trucks sit at a Ford dealership. March auto sales slumped industry wide with the likelihood of worse to come.   (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
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