Automobile Sales Slump in April, Truck/SUV Sales Plummet

**RobRich** · May 1st, 2008, 04:20 PM

On a related note, the national average for regular unleaded gasoline today reached $3.62 per gallon according to AAA.

General Motors Corp posted a 23 percent decline in sales, at the low end of analyst expectations. Sales for Ford Motor Co dropped 19 percent, which was weaker than expected.

[....]

Toyota Motor Corp saw sales fall almost 5 percent on sharp drops in SUVs and pickup trucks, like the FJ Cruiser and the Tundra, more than offsetting gains for small cars like the Yaris and the Prius hybrid.

In the United States -- the world's largest auto market -- April marked the fifth consecutive month of sales declines for Toyota, now the world's top automaker by global sales volume.

Auto sales represent one of the first monthly snapshots of U.S. consumer demand and investors have looked to the reports for evidence of whether the U.S. economy has slipped further toward recession since the start of the year.

Ford said it expected industry-wide sales would fall to the mid-14-million-unit range on an annualized basis in April, below the industry's pace of 15.2 million sales on the same basis in the first quarter and below most full-year forecasts.

Source: Retuers

**The Real Bingo** · May 1st, 2008, 04:27 PM

On a positive note, GM's stock is up 15% the last month, and Ford's is up 42% in the same time.

**osprey4** · May 2nd, 2008, 07:34 AM

"Yeah, we didn't lose as money as everyone thought we would!!!"

So GM's stock goes up? At least Ford is showing a slight profit.

**Steve R Jones** · May 2nd, 2008, 08:39 AM

So my 2005 SUV isn't going to increase in value? Shucks. I was counting on living off the proceeds...

**osprey4** · May 2nd, 2008, 09:28 AM

On the other hand, with the market share of small trucks (meaning pickups, SUVs) dropping like a stone, it might actually make financial sense to buy one. Saving several thousand off the price of a vehicle pays for a lot of gas, even at $4/gal.

**M_Six** · May 2nd, 2008, 09:58 PM

Originally Posted by osprey4

"Yeah, we didn't lose as money as everyone thought we would!!!"

So GM's stock goes up? At least Ford is showing a slight profit.

$100 million in a quarter is slight? Maybe compared to the oil companies. I wonder how much of that is due to the concessions from UAW.

**The Real Bingo** · May 2nd, 2008, 10:02 PM

Originally Posted by M_Six

$100 million in a quarter is slight? Maybe compared to the oil companies. I wonder how much of that is due to the concessions from UAW.

It is when you lost $14 billion over the last two years.

**M_Six** · May 2nd, 2008, 10:02 PM

Originally Posted by osprey4

On the other hand, with the market share of small trucks (meaning pickups, SUVs) dropping like a stone, it might actually make financial sense to buy one. Saving several thousand off the price of a vehicle pays for a lot of gas, even at $4/gal.

My thinking is moving along those lines. My X5 will be paid off in Sept. I could buy something more economical, but then I'd be back into car payments for a few years. Those car payments plus the monthly cost of fuel for that car will be much higher than just the monthly cost of fuel for the X5. Cheaper to keep the X5.

**Chuckiechan** · May 2nd, 2008, 10:08 PM

Why does anyone care? A few months ago the argument was increasing CAFE standards and taxes on SUV and trucks, as well as increasing taxes at the pump.

Now that our decisions not to drill our own oil are coming home to roost, we're crying alligator tears that auto land is dying!

You've always wanted to kill it by making it something it isn't: a vehicle for social change.

Well, now it's beginning to die because you can't run an auto business on $ 12,000 cars. The increase at GM and Ford are mostly due to layoffs due to falling volume which is good for the bottom line - plus buying more equipment uses less people.

Has it ever occurred to anyone that GM could just diversify into farming and dump auto's and the headaches that go with it? They are not legally required to do anything specific.

Cry me a river... It's all part of our economic adjustment to Democrats taking the house and senate in '06 redirecting investment decisions by evil CEO's.

**The Real Bingo** · May 2nd, 2008, 10:21 PM

Originally Posted by voogru

We need to pump our own damn oil, or someone else will.

Maybe it's a strategic thing. Let all the countries exhaust their oil resources while we still sit on 'em. Then we're the new OPEC and can decide what other countries should pay for our gas. Maybe this is being concealed under the veil of environmental sensitivity, but something tells me these politicians aren't that shrewd.