Yikes!!! The sad saga continues (or should I say, escalates)!
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> May 3 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Corp., the world's largest automaker,
> said its U.S. sales of cars and trucks fell 3.9 percent in April from the
> same month last year.
>
> Earlier, Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co., Asia's two biggest
> automakers, said U.S. sales of cars and trucks increased more than 25
> percent last month, while Ford Motor Co.'s sales declined.
>
> Toyota sold 210,466 vehicles last month, up 26 percent from a year ago.
> Nissan sold 91,621 cars and trucks, a 32 percent gain, while Ford, the
> second-biggest U.S. automaker, said sales fell 1.5 percent to 281,292.
> DaimlerChrysler AG's sales gained 8.7 percent to 225,351 vehicles >
> Gains by Toyota and Nissan were projected to lift U.S. April auto sales to
> an annual rate of 17 million cars and trucks from 16.6 million a year
> earlier, according to a Bloomberg survey of analysts and economists.
> General Motors Corp., the world's biggest automaker, was expected to
> report a sales decline and a deeper drop in market share. GM reports later > today.
>
> ``Ford and GM haven't been able to gain momentum this year and Chrysler is
> doing well with new products,'' Rebecca Lindland, an analyst with Global
> Insight in Boston, said in an interview. ``We expect the Asian automakers
> to continue to gain market share overall, taking advantage of Ford and
> GM's decline.''
>
> Hybrid Gains
>
> Toyota's gains were led by higher sales of hybrid Prius cars, which almost
> tripled to a record 11,345. The cars combine an electric motor with a
> gasoline engine.
>
> Nissan's sales were lifted by its new Infiniti M luxury sedan, introduced
> two months ago, and higher sales of light trucks, Jed Connelly, Nissan's
> North American senior president, said in an interview.
>
> ``Strong'' sales of Nissan's Altima and Sentra cars and Murano
> sport-utility vehicles helped sales gains, Connelly said.
>
> Ford said sales of the midsize Explorer sport-utility vehicle fell 15
> percent, and its large Expedition declined 20 percent. Sales of the small
> Escape SUV, which is more fuel efficient, fell 15 percent.
>
> The decline in SUV sales offset gains of full-size pickup trucks and some
> car models. Ford recorded a 1.7 gain in F-Series pickups, the
> highest-selling line of vehicles in the U.S. The automaker sold 71,367
> F-Series trucks last month.
>
> The company also had a 26 percent gain in Mustang sports cars to 19,559,
> the highest April sales of the model since 1980, Ford said in the > statement.
>
> Chrysler
>
> Chrysler sales rose 3.7 percent last year as nine new models, including
> its 300 sedan and the Grand Cherokee sport- utility vehicle, contributed
> to the first annual market share gain in five years.
>
> Chrysler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche said in March that U.S. sales and
> market share will gain again this year. Sales in the first four months of
> this year have risen 7 percent.
>
> Further sales declines for Ford and GM would put more pressure on the
> automakers to reduce costs, cut production and take other steps to avoid
> losses. Falling U.S. sales led to a first-quarter loss at GM and a 38
> percent decline in profit at Ford. Shares of each company have fallen more
> than 33 percent this year.
>
> Industrywide U.S. auto sales fell 0.4 percent in the first quarter, paced
> by 5.2 percent declines at both Detroit-based GM, the world's largest
> automaker, and Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford.
>
> GM cited falling U.S. sales, mainly SUVs, for a $1.1 billion first-quarter
> loss, its biggest quarterly loss since 1992. The company withdrew its
> earnings forecast for the balance of the year. GM shares have fallen 32
> percent this year through yesterday and are trading at 12-year lows. >
> Ford's Declines
>
> Ford's falling sales contributed to a 38 percent decline in first-quarter
> profit, to $1.21 billion. The company is now forecasting a likely
> second-quarter loss and doesn't expect to make money on its car business > this year.
>
> Chief Executive William Clay Ford Jr. said at an April 20 news conference
> that the company's ``biggest opportunity for share'' will be when three
> new mid-size car models, Fusion, Milan and Zephyr, ``hit the road.'' Those
> cars won't be in dealer showrooms until October.
>
> Toyota, the world's second-biggest automaker, is benefiting from demand
> for hybrids, Scion small cars and redesigned Avalon sedans and Tacoma
> pickups. The company also got a boost from Lexus, the best-selling luxury
> brand in the U.S. A new GS sedan went on sale in February, and deliveries
> of the Lexus RX 400h, a hybrid sport-utility vehicle, began April 18. >
> ``They've gone into this year with a tremendous amount of momentum, and
> that continues,'' said Jim Sanfilippo, executive vice president of
> Automotive Marketing Consultants Inc. in Warren, Michigan.
>
>