Vehicle Sales Get Even Worse

Car and truck sales just keep falling:

General Motors' October U.S. sales plunged 45 percent . . . Automakers sold 838,156 vehicles in October, 32 percent fewer than the same month last year and the worst performance since January 1991 . . . The seasonally adjusted annual sales rate of 10.6 million vehicles was the lowest since February 1983. . . .

The annual sales rate in October 2007 was 16.1 million.

Chrysler's sales tumbled 35 percent, and Ford's dropped 30 percent. Toyota's sales fell 23 percent . . . and Nissan and Honda posted 33 percent and 25 percent declines, respectively.

Overall, GM sold 168,719 vehicles in October, while Ford, including its Volvo brand, sold 132,278 light vehicles and Chrysler's sales totaled 94,530 units.

If GM's sales were adjusted for population growth, October would be the worst month of the post-World War II era . . .

Detroit-based GM said its light- truck sales tumbled 51 percent compared with the same month last year, while demand for passenger cars fell 34 percent. . . .

Toyota . . . sold 152,101 vehicles. The Japanese company's light-truck sales fell 34 percent, while car sales dropped 15 percent.

The market share of the Big Three continues to decline.