Auto Sales Down In 2008

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Nine of top 10 selling vehicles experienced a decline
Posted: 7:06 PM Jan 5, 2009
Last Updated: 7:28 PM Jan 5, 2009
Reporter: WOWT
Email Address: sixonline@wowt.com

10 comments

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Auto sales were down throughout the country in 2008. Of the top 10 selling vehicles, only one saw an increase.

Here are the numbers from the U.S. Auto Industry:
Make/Model / 2008 Sales / Change
#1 Ford F-Series / 515,513 -25.4%
#2 Chevrolet Silverado / 465,065 -24.8%
#3 Toyota Camry/Solara / 436,617 -7.7%
#4 Honda Accord / 372,789 -5.0%
#5 Toyota Corolla/Matrix / 351,077 -5.5%
#6 Honda Civic / 339,289 +2.5%
#7 Nissan Altima / 269,668 -5.3%
#8 Chevrolet Impala / 265,840 -14.6%
#9 Dodge Ram / 245,840 -31.4%
#10 Honda CR-V / 197,279 -10.0%

Sales for December 2008 were especially weak for GM, Chrysler, Ford, Toyota and Honda. No word from Nissan.

Contributing to the December decline was a weak economy and news dominated by two of the big three automakers telling Congress they were on the verge of bankruptcy unless they received a government bailout loans.

GM and Chrysler will receive those loans which many hope will help boost consumer confidence.

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Comments are posted from viewers like you and do not always reflect the views of this station.

Posted by: Anonymous on Jan 7, 2009 at 06:57 AM
Hey TJ, did you even read what Dillon wrote?

Posted by: TJ on Jan 6, 2009 at 07:59 PM
Get real Dillion. If I am spending the amount of money that a new vehicle costs, I am going with the ones with the best track record...which are Japenese made. When I needed a full size truck, I did go American and purchased a Dodge Ram, I am now on the 3rd transmission already. Prior to the Dodge Ram, I owned a Chevy Silverado, and the local dealer told me after only 30,000 miles, that the quart of oil that it was burning every 500 miles was within specs, and that there was nothing he could do for me. If i didn't have so muck money wrapped up in my truck now, I would go out and buy a foreign full size. So don't preach to me how American automakers produce the same quality that the Japenese do.

Posted by: Andrew on Jan 6, 2009 at 12:13 PM
I think people like Dillon in the comments are not getting the full story. The lowest % loss was NOT foreign makers. From an AP release : "By comparison, GM (GM, Fortune 500) reported a 31% sales plunge. That allowed it to post a modest gain in market share and was better than the 39% drop forecast. The other automakers posted U.S. sales declines for the month roughly in line with forecasts. No. 2 Toyota Motor (TM) reported a 37% decline, Ford Motor (F, Fortune 500) posted a 32% drop in sales, Honda Motor (HMC) a 35% fall and Nissan (NSANY) a 31% slide." Also : Ford (F, Fortune 500), meanwhile, has successfully attacked its past quality problems. Now when you buy a Ford car or crossover you can expect the same kind of dependability that was once the hallmark of Japanese brands like Toyota and Honda, according to Consumer Reports. Let's stop living in the past and look at buying American today! Take pride.

Posted by: Keith on Jan 6, 2009 at 08:37 AM
But if the cars didn't break down, we wouldn't buy another one. Not! If I could fit into a foreign car, I'd buy one!

Posted by: Anonymous on Jan 6, 2009 at 07:00 AM
If we had a monorail, we wouldn't need cars and trucks anymore!

Posted by: Larry on Jan 6, 2009 at 04:34 AM
Honda sales are down, probably cause they can't produce them fast enough. I tried to buy a new civic a few months ago, and was told that I had to wait 3 months as there weren't any in the entire region. All they had left on the lot were used American cars that no one wanted. I agree American cars are JUNK!

Posted by: Dave on Jan 5, 2009 at 10:29 PM
I would be more likely to but form a company that took responsability for their bad choices,filed bankruptcy and restructred responsibly,than a company who is sucking tax payer money and will do notheing to fix the problems that got them into this mess.

Posted by: Anonymous on Jan 5, 2009 at 10:28 PM
good. next is to develop a light rail/streetcar plan for omaha.

Posted by: Dillon on Jan 5, 2009 at 10:24 PM
Imagine that the lowest percentage of loss was reported by foreign automakers...could that be because the US automakers make junk for cars?

Posted by: pete on Jan 5, 2009 at 09:08 PM
Maybe those cocky salesman will deal again instead of trying to screw a customer out of their last penny..I hope they will end up giving them away..