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Tags: auto mews, general motors, general motors recalls, gm, history of general motors, truck

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Meltdown of US car giants
US car sales plunged in June to a 15-year low, but a month-end clearance sale helped General Motors Corp retain its No. 1 spot and steer clear of the wipeout many had feared, sending its shares higher.

Record petrol prices and declining trade-in values for big trucks and SUVs hit truck sales hard while major automakers, including Toyota, struggled to keep up with demand for some popular smaller cars and hybrids.

GM was the industry’s main surprise after a sale featuring zero percent financing for six years allowed the US carmaker to avoid losing sales leadership in the month to Toyota.

In a reversal of recent trends, Toyota trailed GM in June with a 21% sales decline, reflecting a 31% drop in sales of its trucks like the Tundra pickup.

Equally damaging, sales of Toyota’s hybrids including the market-leading Prius hybrid dropped 27% as dealer inventory ran short of demand.

The Japanese carmaker sees US vehicle sales hitting bottom this year, with a modest recovery in 2009, and a substantial rebound in US auto sales in 2010 and beyond.

“GM was better than expected, and it looks like Toyota missed a big opportunity in the month,” said Jesse Toprak, an analyst with industry-tracking website Edmunds.com.

Ford sales were down 28%, while Chrysler sales fell 36%, the weakest result in the industry. Now controlled by Cerberus Capital Management, the privately held carmaker relies on light trucks for almost 70% of its sales.

By contrast, Honda, which boasts the most fuel-efficient vehicle line-up among major carmakers, bucked the downturn and posted a 1% sales gain.

Sales for Nissan were down 18%.

Most analysts and major automakers now expect full-year US sales to end up near 15 million units, down from 16.15 million in 2007 because of the devastated US housing market, high gas prices and weak consumer confidence. Read Article
Meltdown of US car giants



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LexSucksLexSucks - 7/2/2008 4:29:06 PM
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Great news indeed!

That's what happens when you build lame cars.

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jackson63jackson63 - 7/4/2008 9:03:02 AM
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Great news.I bet you think the Taliban are just misunderstood.The Japanese murdered over 405,000 Americans if GM had not been there you would be speaking Japanese or German with very limited freedom.


I95SPEEDINGTICKETSI95SPEEDINGTICKETS - 7/4/2008 11:03:37 PM
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JACKSON63

Because the Japanese and Germans have less freedoms now than the americans right ??

You are the very definition of A COMPOUND FOOL


jackson63jackson63 - 7/4/2008 11:31:22 PM
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1955SPEEDINGTICKETS You need to read about German and Japanese freedoms prior to the USA kicking there butts.And if you have and you come to the conclusion you are the very definition idiot


truckmentruckmen - 7/3/2008 4:48:27 AM
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Looks like they will have to follow Honda's lead and produce more fuel efficient vehicles, and higher quality

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truckmentruckmen - 7/7/2008 4:24:19 AM
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Unfortunatly Hondas truck sucks! Its something that you would take skiing, although very nice and all, it's just the least manly truck ever built.


smokefreak2003smokefreak2003 - 7/7/2008 2:54:37 AM
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The US auto industry will become the big 1 instead of the big 3. Bye Bye Crapsler and Garbage Motors Corporation.

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