Three top investors in the automotive industry painted a grim picture on Sunday for the sector in 2008, with one executive predicting a possible slump in U.S. sales to levels not seen in 15 years.
The weakest forecast is for a possible 9.4 percent decline. But all three -- Jerry York, an adviser to billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian; financier Wilbur Ross; and Thomas Stallkamp, a former Chrysler president -- were more pessimistic than many in the battered industry.
"While I am very negative on the autos sector over the next 12 to 18 months, I'm just not sure how bad it could be," York, a former board member of General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and chief financial officer of Chrysler, said at the Reuters Autos Summit in Detroit. "We all know housing is a debacle."
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