The car industry is looking with envy and trepidation at the biggest bottom fisher in their market: AutoZone. Last week, AutoZone posted a 20 percent jump in quarterly earnings. And don’t look at their chart. You’d wish you would have bought AutoZone instead of the auto. But it’s not the financial results that has the industry worried. Everybody who knows the industry knows that the money is in fixing cars. The average expense per car for repair and maintenance is $1,200 per year, and if you multiply that with the 250 million cars and trucks on the street in the U.S., you’ve got yourself a nice $300 billion business. No, the industry is worried about why AutoZone suddenly is doing so well: America is in love with more mature models. Read More >

OICA, the venerable “Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d’Automobiles,” better known as the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, finally got around to finishing their 2009 World Ranking of Manufacturers by motor vehicle production. This list has very little surprises for the TTAC B&B who pinned our World’s Top Ten Automakers 2009 to the wall. Yet, there are some. Let’s see … Read More >

Which? is kind of the UK version of Consumer Reports. They publish a bunch of magazines. If you want a computer, you get the latest edition of Which? Computing, if you need a vacation, you leaf through Which? Holiday, and for a car, you get – you guessed it – Which? Car. You will receive quite a shock if you do. Read More >

Prepare yourself for an increasing number of „good news“ along the following lines:

„October U.S. auto sales should be down about 6 percent from a year ago, marking the first single-digit monthly decline since May 2008, industry forecasting firm J.D. Power and Associates said on Friday.” Glad tidings, brought to you by Reuters.

Times must be really bad when single digit declines are feted as an improvement.

In reality, things stay as bad as they have been all year. In September 2008, the bottom fell out of the light vehicle market. From now on out, monthly sales will be compared to hell.

Read More >

In Finnish, August is elokuu, the “month of life.” Automakers selling vehicles in the U.S. market missed the irony, as most A) don’t speak Finnish and B) finished one of their worst sales months ever. Even company-wide sales promotions didn’t do anything to put paddles to chest. Ford asked us to “Drive One” (wouldn’t it be more effective if they asked us to “Buy One”?), and GM shared employee pricing (maybe if they threw in the employee health program… ) while Chrysler invited us to “Shop until you drive” (again, where’s the “buy” part?). Toyota and Honda aren’t showing that kind of desperation. Yet. But they still felt some pain. Let’s take a closer look at the katastrofi.

Overall, light vehicle sales dropped 15.5 percent in August, compared to August of last year. Year to date, sales are off by 11.2 percent. Car sales were down 8.5 percent for the month and 2.4 percent for the year. Truck sales took a hard hit, dropping 22.0 percent from last August and are down 19.7 percent compared to last year.

Family Sedans

The star of every GM press release: the Chevy Malibu*. The model was up 8.4 percent compared to last August and up 32.4 percent for the first eight months of this year. Although Ford’s Fusion is still up seven percent year-to-date (YTD), the model dropped 27.5 percent on the month. Chrysler’s 300 continues to circle the drain, with a 59.1 percent plunge in August. YTD. Even with four out of every ten 300s sold went to fleets so far this year, sales are down 41.3 percent. The Toyota Camry* continues its slow crawl back up from June’s drastic crop, with a 3.3 percent increase over last August; it’s managing to stay ahead of last year by just 0.4 percent. After riding above the 2007 sales line since March, the Honda Accord dropped below the line in August, with a 7.9 percent dip. However, it still remains nine percent above last year overall.

Compacts

Busting the 30 mpg barrier with the XFE didn’t help the Chevy Cobalt. August sales fell 26.6 percent for the month (it remains up 9.6 percent YTD). Ford’s Focus soared 23.4 percent ahead of last August, and is up 25.8 percent on the year. Dodge’s unlikely fleet queen, the Caliber, sank 56.8 percent. With over half Caliber production sailing with the fleets YTD sales remained 8.2 percent above last year’s level. For the first time since gas prices went crazy, the Toyota Corolla** fell below last year’s line. The sales champ dropped 3.4 percent for the month, down 1.5 percent on the year. The Honda Civic* continues to ride above last year’s line, with sales up 5.3 percent for August, up 14.7 percent year to date. Nissan’s Sentra dropped sharply from July to August. But it’s still up 1.4 percent up on last August, 4.9 percent YTD.

Subcompacts

The hot market in gas-sipping subcompacts seems to be cooling down. The Chevy Aveo finished August down 21.3 percent from the previous year, down 1.8 percent YTD. Toyota may need to check into whether or not Yaris sales are cannibalizing the Corolla. While the staid compact fell in August, its subcompact sibling jumped 20.5 percent, with a 32.4 percent increase YTD. The Honda Fit was in short supply due to the model changeover, so it was down 25.1 percent for August. The Fit’s a healthy 55.7 percent ahead of last year overall. Nissan’s Versa fell below 2007 levels for the first time this year with a 5.2 percent drop. It remains up 15.7 percent year-to-date.

Prius

Even though it remains the darling of the green scene with demand to match, Prius sales were down 4.2 percent in August, down four percent on the year. Toyota better plug in that Mississippi plant and crank out Priora STAT.

Pickup Trucks

As you could guess, the big trucks continued to take it in the shorts. Chevy’s Silverado* extended its sub-2007 trend, with sales down 17.4 percent in August and 24.8 percent YTD. Ford delayed the launch of its ’09 F-150 so it could clear the ’08 inventory. With current model sales down 41.6 percent, 25.2 percent YTD, it’s not clear if there’s enough demand/space/credit on the ground for the new truck’s success. The Dodge Boys said “what the Hell” and launched their freshened  Ram— even though they aren’t moving many ‘08s. Ye Olde Ram was down 22.7 percent for the month, down 29.0 percent YTD. Toyota’s Tundra continues to fail to meet original expectations (200k annnual units) with an eight percent drop for August and a 14.1 percent slide YTD.

Truck-Based SUVs

Employee Pricing for Everyone– or fleet sales– seems to be helping the Chevy Tahoe*. It bounced back a bit from July’s drop, ending August “just” 10.2 percent below last August. However, for the year it’s down 25.7 percent. Ford’s Explorer joins the Durango in the toilet. Sales sank 53.9 percent in August, almost as bad as Durango’s 56.8 percent drop. Explorer’s still doing better YTD, though. It’s “only” 37.8 percent below last year, compared to Durango’s 51.8 percent loss. When you’re selling in small numbers, a 1500 unit increase can equal high percentages, as illustrated by Toyota Sequoia’s 86.1 percent jump above last August and its 38.4 percent rise over last year.

CUVs

After spending four months below 2007’s sales line, the GMC Acadia jumped 25 percent above the line for August; it’s up 8.9 percent year to date. The Ford Edge edged its way up from last month, but it’s still down two percent compared with last August. So far it’s 11.7 percent ahead of last year. The restyled Toyota Highlander* doesn’t seem to be making much of an impression on the buying public; it was down 15.2 percent for August, down 8.3 percent on the year. After staying below the ’07 line for three months, the Honda’s Pilot rallied and ended August 18.6 percent above last August. Meanwhile, Pilot sales are down 16.8 percent YTD.

By Manufacturer

Last year, all five manufacturers showed an uptick from July to August. This year all but Ford did the same, but at a much lower level than last year. Compared to August of last year, GM was down 20.3 percent, down 18.1 percent for the year. Ford dropped 28.6 percent from last August and shows a 16.5 percent drop year to date. While Chrysler showed a slight upturn from last month, it’s 34.5 percent below last August and 24.2 percent below last year. The Toyota juggernaut has reversed direction, losing 9.4 percent from August ’07 and dipping 7.8 percent year to date. Honda dipped below 2007 last year and stayed there for August with a 7.3 percent loss. However, they managed to keep their head above water year-to-date, with a 1.7 percent increase.

Down the Road

Automotive News predicted sales hit rock bottom in August and would rebound from there. Then they said “never mind.” That just shows it’s almost impossible to guess what’ll happen next. There are still a lot of 2008 models on the lots with the 2009’s showing up daily. Dealers are already offering full-sized trucks for half price and as the manufacturers ramp up incentives you may see even sweeter deals than that. The last five months of 2008 are shaping up to be one hurjasti ahdistaa.

* Includes hybrid models
** Includes Matrix
All numbers are unadjusted and reflect total sales

July's temperatures may have been hotter than Hell, but U.S. new car sales were in Hell. Rising gas prices have thrown the entire American auto industry into turmoil, flooding the market with used SUVs and pickups, cratering residual values and trapping millions of consumers in light truck limbo. At the same time, automakers can't ramp-up production quickly enough on those fuel-sipping models that are leaving the lots. Incentives aren't moving the metal, but NOT increasing them would be worse. The downturn is widespread. And despite what the automakers say, it's going to get worse. Soon. For now, here's the damage report. 

Overall, U.S. light vehicle sales were down 13.2 percent from last July, down 10.5 percent overall from last year. That breaks down into a 0.3 percent drop in passenger cars and a 25.8 percent drop in truck sales. Year to date (YTD), car sales are down only 1.5 percent. But Detroit's still-truck-centric Big 2.8 are taking it on the chin, with truck sales off by 19.3 percent. 

Family Sedans

Chevy's Malibu* continues its strong showing against last year's lackluster model; up 78.6 percent in July and 37 percent YTD. Ford's Fusion also booked a healthy increase, up 13.5 percent for the month, 11.9 percent for the year. Chrysler's 300 continues its slide into the dumpster, dropping 57.6 percent below last July and 39.1 YTD. The Toyota Camry* leveled off, finishing July 1.5 percent; it's a wash YTD. Honda Accord sales continue to outpace last year, finishing the month 11.4 percent ahead and 12.6 percent better YTD.

Compacts

Compacts' popularity continue to soar. The Chevy Cobalt was up 3.5 percent, 16.4 percent YTD. The Focus is once again Ford's most popular car, racking up 15.6 percent more sales, up a full 26.2 percent YTD. The Dodge Caliber bucked the trend, dropping 9.4 percent for the month, down 1.2 percent YTD. The Toyota Corolla** increased sales by 15.9 percent, but fell down 1.3 percent YTD. The Honda Civic* was up 4.6 percent, 16.1 percent YTD. The Nissan Sentra finished the month up 16 percent, 5.3 percent YTD.

Subcompacts

The up-and-down Chevy Aveo was up 16.9 percent ahead of last July, but only 1.4 percent YTD. Toyota's Yaris showed a  6.1 percent increase for the month and a 34.1 percent jump YTD. The Honda Fit also experienced a meteoric rise. Sales were up a staggering 93.4 percent in July, 72.9 percent YTD. Nissan's Versa rose 14.4 percent above last July, up 19.6 percent YTD.

Prius

Toyota Prius ' demand continues to outstrip supply. Sales in July were down 8 percent from last July.  Annual sales are down 3.9 percent.

Pickup Trucks

And now the bad news… Chevy's Silverado* plunged 29.8 percent from last July, down 26.1 percent YTD. The Ford F-Series isn't doing quite as badly. Sales off 20.6 percent on the month, down 22.4 percent on the year. Even with dealers running half price sales, the Dodge Ram sank 27.2 percent, down 30.0 percent YTD. They're all doing better than the Tundra. ToMoCo's full-size pickup dropped 42.1 percent from last July. Sales are down 15.2 percent from last year.

Truck-Based SUVs

There's only one thing that can make pickup sales look good: SUV sales. Chevy's Tahoe* is down 35.1 percent for the month, off 27.8 percent YTD. The Ford Explorer has lost its way, finishing the month down 51.8 percent, minus 35.6 percent YTD. The biggest loser: the Durango. The Dodge Boys sold all of 384 units in July. Sales tumbled 84.5 percent, down 51.3 percent YTD. Toyota Sequoia sales continue growing, with an increase of 62.9 percent from last July, up 32.8 YTDr.

CUVs

The once and future Next Big Thing wasn't. Sales of the GMC Acadia, the best selling of the Lambdas triplets (soon to be quints), dropped  5.2 percent. Healthy sales from earlier in 2008 kept the model 6.6 percent ahead of last year. The Ford Edge continues edging down, dropping 6.5 percent. Again, it's a recent phenom; sales are up 13.8 percent YTD. Even with a hybrid model available, the Toyota Highlander* dropped to its lowest level in three years. July sales slid 23.7 percent, down 7.4 percent YTD. The Pilot made a strong "contribution" to Honda's 22 percent drop in truck sales; it was off 43 percent, down 21.1 percent YTD.

By Manufacturer

Deep breath. GM sales plunged 26.1 percent for the month, down 17.7 percent YTD. Ford had the best showing of the D3, dropping "only "17.1 percent. Year to date, they're off 14.8 percent. Chrysler didn't have a lot to start with, but they still managed to finish 28.8 percent below last July. For the year, ChryCo is down 22.8 percent. Toyota's starting to get used to the negative side of the sales ledger, falling 11.9 percent, down 7.6 percent below last year's mark. And, showing they're not invulnerable, Honda lost 1.6 percent from last July. They're still 3.2 percent ahead of last year.

Down the Road

Here come the "please God clear this lot of '08s" rebates and  incentives. While Toyota, Honda and others are selling all the small cars they can produce, GM, Ford and Chrysler can only respond to current demand with the promise of new, highly competitive small cars. They won't come on-stream in force until 2010. Meanwhile, August is going to be brutal and then… winter. What's beyond brutal?

*Include Hybrid models
** Includes Matrix

Everyone in the car biz knows that June was a catastrophic month for the U.S. new car market. Total sales dropped by 18.3 percent. The big change this time 'round: it wasn't just light trucks that took it on the chin. Car sales received some body blows, as well. If you're an auto industry exec [still] living in denial, it's best to stop here. If not, read 'em and weep. [NB: As per TTAC policy, sales numbers not adjusted for "sales days."] 

Family Cars

As SUV refugees seek car-shaped shelter, there were some big winners in June. Sales of the Chevy Malibu* rose by an astounding 73.4 percent over last June, up 31.2 percent year to date (YTD). Honda's Accord chalked-up a 37.3 percent gain for the month, up 12.9 percent YTD. Ford's Fusion finished the month 18.4 percent ahead of last June, up 11.7 percent YTD. Meanwhile… Chrysler's once-proud full-size sedan continues to tank; 300 sales dropped 61.6 percent from last June, down 36.5 percent YTD. And surprise: the Toyota Camry took a hard hit, dipping 10.8 percent below last June, posting a 0.3 percent loss for the year.  

Compacts

The Chevy Cobalt was another winner for GM, up 21.6 percent for the month and 18.5 percent YTD.  The Dodge Caliber was another loser for Chrysler, down 43.6 percent for the month and down 0.5 percent YTD. Worryingly, Ford's Focus dropped 5.5 percent in June. But it's still 27.6 percent ahead of last year. The Toyota Corolla** continues strong sales, up 15.6 percent on month. Yet it still trails last year by 3.8 percent. Honda's Civic* finished the month 9.5 percent ahead of last June and 17.9 percent ahead of last year. The Sentra didn't do as well for Nissan.  It was down nine percent on month, struggling to finish the first half of the year up 3.5 percent.

Subcompacts

Honda's fuel-efficient Fit was a big winner. Sales leaped 78.2 percent ahead of last June, finishing the semester up 67.4 percent. Nissan's Versa finished the month up 17.4 percent for June and 20.7 percent ahead YTD. GM's entry in this genre ran out gas. Sales of their Korean econobox Aveo were down 19.7 percent; down 1.7 percent YTD. Toyota's Yaris also lost ground, ending June down 7.5 percent; though staying 39 percent ahead YTD. 

Trucks

Brace yourself. Chevy's Silverado* sales tumbled by 23.7 percent on the month, 25.6 percent YTD. Dodge's Ram fell 48.1 percent in June, down 30.4 percent for the first six months.  Ford's F-Series sales dropped by 40.5 percent from June '07, ending the first two quarters down 22.7 percent. The Toyota Tundra , which had posted sales gains for the first quarter, finished the second quarter down 52.9 percent from last June; down 7.6 percent YTD. The Texas-built Tundra may soon drop below 2006's sales line.

Truck-Based SUVs

Chevy's Tahoe* showed a surprising gain from May (fleet sales?), adding about 2.5k units to the tally. finishing the month "just" 9.8 percent below last June. However, Tahoe sales are still down 26.6 percent YTD. The Dodge Durango continued its descent into oblivion, dropping a massive  67.3 percent in June, down 48.4 percent on the year.  The Ford Explorer showed an equally abysmal June, losing 52 percent from last June and 33.2 percent from last year.  Toyota's Sequoia continued its death-defying growth, surging by 25.1 percent in June, showing a 28.8 percent gain YTD.

Crossovers

The crossover bubble's burst. Thanks to a slow start last year, GMC's Acadia is up 8.5 percent on the year. But June sales fell off a cliff, down 40.1 percent from last June. Ford's Edge also dropped in June, this time by 19.9 percent. Robust sales earlier this year puts it 16.9 percent ahead of last year– for now. Toyota's woes continued, with Highlander* sales down 38.9 percent in June and 5.2 percent compared to 2007. The new Honda Pilot wasn't exactly pulling them in either; sales were down 29.8 percent for the month and 16.7 percent YTD.

Prius

Toyota's Prius dropped for the second month in a row. Due to short supplies and high demand worldwide, stateside sales are down 33.7 percent from last June. Sales drops in May and June pulled its year-to-date sales to 3.2 percent below last year. Toyota plans to produce 450k Priora in 2008; they've already sold 91.4k of them in North America alone so far this year. So look for their sales numbers to remain relatively low, in spite of growing demand.

By Manufacturer

GM's Hail Mary end-of-month 0% financing deal helped stave off a total rout. The General managed to finish June a "mere" 18.2 percent below last June's pace, down 16.3 percent for the year. Toyota's performance was June's shocker. ToMoCo ended the month 21.4 percent below June '07 (well below GM's dismal performance), dropping 6.8 percent on the year. Meanwhile, Chrysler sales fell by a staggering 35.9 percent for the month. ChryCo's trailing last year's sales by 22 percent. Ford was down 29.5 percent for June, 14.5 percent YTD. Honda managed to finish the month relatively unscathed, showing a 1.1 percent increase, with a 4.1 percent increase year to date.

Looking Ahead

July's misery may well eclipse June's. GM ran their 0% financing deal for the first week of the month, so they've up you-know-where without a you-know-what (small car?). Ford, Chrysler and Toyota are all offering incentives of varying sizes, particularly on the trucks and SUVs nobody wants. At what point will the deals become sweet enough to overcome the fuel bill? The sales numbers show we aren't there yet. As fuel prices climb, or even just hold steady, as the Fed declares that the economic gloom will extend well into '09, it's clear we're still a long way from the bottom of this combination of a violent contraction and a wholesale shift in product preference.

*Includes hybrids
** Includes Matrix

Click here for June's market share numbers 

May was a disaster for American new car sales. Practically every player in the U.S. market ended-up the month trailing last May's totals, many by a significant margin. Perhaps the most damning indicator of the industry's general direction: the F-150's sudden and precipitous drop from the top sales spot. Ford's full-size pickup wasn't just edged out; it was defenestrated by four different cars. The Civic, Camry, Accord and Corolla all mounted the Mother of All Palace Coups. With gas prices singing "the only way is up," clearly, May is only the start of a long, hot, bloody summer.

Trucks

Overall light truck sales fell 24.5 percent from last May. The Chevrolet Silverado* led the drop in pickup truck sales, down 42 percent in May, down 25.9 percent year-to-date (YTD).  The Dodge Ram slid by 37 percent for the month, 26.8 percent drop on the year. Ford's F-Series' tumble from the top of the U.S. sales chart was appropriately dramatic: down 30.6 percent in May and 18.7 percent from the first five months of last year. The Toyota Tundra turned-in its first negative month last month. May saw no respite (obviously); ToMoCo's full-sizer finished the month down 31.5 percent. Strong sales earlier in the year have kept it above the red line year to date; sales are still 8.5 percent ahead of last year.

Truck-Based SUVs

Traditional SUVs are dying, with one notable exception. Chevy's Tahoe* continues its fall from grace, dropping 39.7 percent in May, 29.9 percent YTD. The Dodge Durango has just about disappeared from view, "boasting" a 68.8 percent drop in May, down 44.2 percent for the year. The once all-conquering Ford Explorer is barely selling. Sales are down 41.2 percent in May, negative 28.7 percent for the year. Interestingly, the Toyota Sequoia is up 81.7 percent compared to last May, up 29.4 percent TYD. It's already outselling the Durango. If these trends continue, by the end of summer, Sequoia sales could easily eclipse the Explorer and Tahoe.

Crossovers

Here's news: buyers abandoning pickups and SUVs seem to be skipping CUVs and going directly to cars. The GMC Acadia lost the big Mo; sales fell for the second straight month vs. last year. Sales cratered 27.6 percent in May; excellent sales for the first three months have kept it  20.5 percent ahead for the year, though. For the first time, The Ford Edge dropped below the previous year's sales, down 2.6 percent in May. Like the Acadia, robust sales earlier this year have kept the annual sales up; the Edge finished May 26.8 percent ahead of the first five months last year. The Toyota Highlander* and Honda Pilot both finished May below May '07, down 9.6 percent and 16.5 percent respectively. The Highlander is still 1.9 percent up on last year, but so far, the Pilot is 14.4 percent below 2007.

Family Cars

The year of the car is finally here. Almost every mainstream passenger car showed increases in May. Chevy's Malibu* fell slightly from last month, but still ended up 39.1 percent ahead of May '07, up 25.7 percent YTD. The Chrysler 300 was the exception that proved the rule, finishing May down 52.9 percent, 30.7 percent YTD. (Chrysler attributed the drop to decreased fleet and rental sales.)  Ford Fusion sales were up 26.7 percent in May, up 10.5 percent YTD. May was the Toyota Camry's best month in 2007. May 2008 saw a 2.3 percent increase on that high water mark; annual sales rose 2.3 percent. The Honda Accord continued its trajectory, rising 37 percent in May, 8.3 percent YTD.

Compacts

Chrysler's bright spot: the Dodge Caliber. Sales were up 6.7 percent in May, 9.2 percent YTD. The redesigned Focus was Ford's biggest grower, jumping  53.2 percent in May, running 35.7 percent ahead of last year. Chevy's Cobalt continued its sales climb, rising 19.2 percent in May, 17.8 percent YTD. The best selling vehicle in May was… the Honda Civic*.  Civic sales were up 33.3 percent in May, 20.2 percent YTD. The Nissan Sentra finishes its third straight month of sales increases with a 9.6 percent jump May, 6.9 percent YTD.  Toyota's Corolla also had a good showing in May: up 16.8 percent. A slow start on the year means the Corolla's still trailing last year by 8.1 percent YTD.

Subcompacts

Chevy's Aveo sales dipped drastically in February and March but they've increased steadily ever since. It's up 44.3 percent from last May, up 2.3 percent YTD.  The Honda Fit made a huge jump, up 53 percent for May and 64 percent YTD. Nissan's Versa rose 14.8 percent from May 07, up 21.5 percent YTD. Toyota Yaris' sales rose 31.5 percent in May and 50.4 percent for the year to date.

Prius

The Toyota Prius turned in a shocking performance in May. In spite of soaring gas prices and consumers' increasingly "green" mindset, sales dropped 37.5 percent in May. Toyota [credibly] blames a shortage of cars on the ground. Regardless, sales are still up 3.8 percent YTD.

By Manufacturer

GM finished May 27.5 percent below last May, down 15.9 percent YTD. Chrysler was down 25.4 percent on the month, 19.3 percent on the year. Ford fared better, with "only" a 15.9 percent drop for the month, 11.2 percent drop for the year. For the fourth month this year, Toyota turned in a sales performance below the same month last year . This time, ToMoCo was off 4.3 percent for the month. They remain 3.5 percent below 2007 YTD. Honda was the only one of the "top five" automakers to finish both the month and year in the black. HoMoCo was up 15.6 percent on the month and, up 4.8 percent on the year.

Total Sales

GM, Ford, Chrysler and Toyota are closing truck plants and scrambling to convert truck lines to build cars– now that they've finally realized that truck sales aren't going to improve any time soon. As the model year starts winding down, you can count on even bigger incentives on trucks and SUVS as manufacturers try to clear out their inventories and make room for the cars everyone wants. Will they all make it to the end of the summer? Good question.

*Sales numbers include hybrid models

Union problems, soaring gas prices and a faltering economy made April the worst month for new vehicle sales since 1995. Continued production in the face of diminished demand helped maintain the manufacturer's cash flow, but it lead to the inevitable: swollen inventories. In other words, even as U.S. new car sales go down the toilet, the toilet's backing up. Fix the number 60 in your mind (the ideal number of days' supply for a new vehicle on a dealer's lot) and take a look at what's going down at your local automotive emporium.

You'd think GM's production "hiatus"– caused by the American Axle strike– would have reduced the General's truck inventory. Nope. The U.S. automaker ended April with a 109-day supply of trucks, up from the previous month's 98-day supply. The Buick Enclave's and GMC Acadia's low dealer stock (38 and 54 days, respectively) couldn't offset lingering Chevrolet Silverados (122-day supply), Tahoes (125 days), GMC Sierras (122 days) and Yukons (188 days). All four trucks were more abundant than they were during the month previous.

Ford's truck inventory wasn't quite as scarifying. A 39-day supply of Rangers and a 54-day supply of Escapes helped lower their truck inventory average to 80 days by month's end. Meanwhile, the F-Series' dealer inventory jumped from March's 97-day end-of-month supply, to April's 129 days. The Expedition's inventory rose from 67 to 98 days. Even though it's one of Ford's best-selling models, the Edge went from a 69-day to a 107-day supply. 

With Chrysler's plummeting sales, it's no surprise their inventory's up. The lame duck Dodge Ram's inventory jumped from 99 days to a 109-day supply. Dealer stock of the unloved Dodge Dakota ballooned from 73 to 110 days' supply. After starting with an 81-day supply, Jeep ended up with a 102-day stock of Grand Cherokees. The new Dodge Journey was ChryCo's sole bright spot. The CUV started April with a 130-day supply and ended with 57 days' supply on the lots. 

Of the two truck-heavy transplants Toyota fared best. They don't list inventory by model, but they finished the month with a 52-day supply of trucks, up only two days from the end of March. Nissan's numbers represent the nadir. Murano (76 days) and Rogue (82 days) clogged dealers lots the least, while Armada (203 days), Titan (232), Xterra (198) and Frontier (137) were super-abundant. 

No question: 2008 is the year of the car. As consumers left ten-foot pole marks on high profit trucks and SUVs, car inventory numbers were their best in months. The Chevrolet Aveo dropped to 65 days (from March's 113) and Cobalt finished the month at the 52-day level (down from 75). GM dealers started April with a 37-day supply of Malibus; they ended it with a 36-day supply. A 21-day supply of Impala turned into a 22-day inventory. The only real dogs were the Pontiac G6– which went from a 43- to 64-day supply–and Saab. GM doesn't break out their Swedish division's individual models, but the ostensibly Swedish brand started the month with a 77-day supply, and ended at 151.

As you might expect, Ford dealers are moving more small cars than big. The Taurus started the month at 60 days' supply and finished at 73 days. Volvo ended the month with an 88-day supply of 70-series, up 11 days.  FoMoCo stores' supply of Fusions dropped four days, starting at 52 and ending with 48. Their stock of Focus dropped by 11 days, to 43.  The 30-series Volvo ended April at a 94-day level, down from 120 days.

April was a mixed bag for Chrysler. The 300 went from a 61-day supply to 82 days, the Sebring shot from 42 days to 69 ,and Avenger finished at the 51-day level after starting at 35 days. On the other hand, Caliber's inventory dropped from 48 days to 39, Charger went from 58 days to 41 and the reportedly doomed PT Cruiser ended the month at 38 days' supply, after starting at the 50-day level. 

Toyota began April with a 51-day supply of cars and finished up with a 53-day supply overall. Nissan began with the ideal 60-day level of Sentras and ended  with a 59-day supply. Versa's inventory dropped from 53 days to 51. Altima, however, went the wrong direction, finishing at the 71-day level after starting at 48 days. Honda had a 67-day supply of Accord on the lots on April 1; on April 30 they had a 72-day supply. Civic inventory dropped from 52 days to 48 and Fit went from 27 days to 22.

The manufacturers are taking steps to adjust these inventory numbers- GM has even stopped filling orders from dealers for many of their large trucks. However, with sales down it could take months to get things leveled out. In the meantime, look for increased fleet sales and bigger incentives as The Big 2.8 and Nissan do whatever they can to clear the lots. Also look for Toyota to ramp up incentive spending gradually, balancing the need to move the metal against creating incentive-dependent customers.  

Remember back in 2004, Ford unveiled its new Focus and announced "The Year of The Car?" FoMoCo's cash cow was (and still is) a pickup truck. Clock FoMoCo's passenger car offerings four years later, and you'd be forgiven for thinking the auto show hyperbole was just that. But now it's here for real: the year of the car. In April, passenger cars outsold trucks in the U.S. new vehicle market for the first time in two decades. This is a truly amazing moment in U.S. automotive history, representing the roll-back of the SUV boom. With federal fuel economy regulations in the offing, it's unlikely that even a huge drop in gas prices can reverse the tide. Let's take a closer look at this watershed month. 

Passenger car sales rose 4.5 percent (April '07 vs. April '08). Truck sales fell by 17.2 percent. When the blood was cleaned off the carpet, U.S. new passenger vehicle sales ended-up 6.8 percent below last April's total. So far this year, car sales are down 1.5 percent and truck sales 13.4 percent, producing a 7.7 percent drop overall. That's the big picture; now let's look at a few specifics…

Pickup Trucks

The Chevy Silverado suffered a 24.7 drop from April of 2007; year-to-date (YTD) sales sank 20.8 percent. While F-Series still holds onto its "best selling vehicle" title, sales were off by 21 percent for the month, down 15.5 percent for the year. Even huge incentives and sweet deals couldn't pull the Dodge Ram out if its death spiral, finishing April 23.3 percent below last year; down 24.2 percent YTD. For the first time since the new model was introduced, the Toyota Tundra ended the month below last year; April sales slipped six percent. But they're still up 24.8 percent YTD.

Passenger Cars

The Chevy Malibu continues its sales climb, ending the month 39.5 percent above last April, 22.5 percent ahead of last year. Ford's Fusion also had a good month. Sales ascended by 22.4 percent for month, six percent on year.  Chrysler wasn't so fortunate. The 300 dropped 36.8 percent for the month, down 22.2 percent on the year. The Toyota Camry managed to stay 5.6 percent ahead of last April, 2.3 percent ahead YTD. Honda Accord sales jumped 17.5 percent for the month. But that's up just 0.2 percent for the year.

Truck-based SUVs

It's no wonder that GM is shutting down SUV production for the year. Tahoe sales finished April down a whopping 29.4 percent, trailing 27.1 percent YTD. Ford and Chrysler may want to consider following GM's lead. Explorer sales declined 38.5 percent from last April; 25 percent YTD. Dodge Durango was even worse. Sales are now so low that a difference of only 2k sales from last April resulted in a 38.5 percent drop; year to date the Durango dies by 38.6 percent. Toyota's Sequoia continues selling above last year, with a 34.4 percent gain for April and a 17.9 percent growth for the year so far.

CUVs

For the first time this year, sales of GMC's Acadia dropped below the previous year's, ending the month down 8.8 percent. However, thanks to a very strong showing in the first quarter, Acadia sales are up 43.3 percent YTD. Ford's Edge edged ahead of last April by 13.1 percent, bettering last year's sales by a whopping 37.9 percent. The Toyota Highlander was down 1.1 percent for the month, but still managed to stay 5.3 percent ahead of the first four months of 2007. Honda's Pilot went the other way, ending 1.3 percent ahead of April 2007, down 5.4 percent for the year.

Prius

It's no wonder that Toyota is thinking about expanding Prius into an entire line of vehicles. Sales are booming. We're talking about a 66.6 percent surge in April and a 22.6 percent gain over this time last year. With gas prices continuing to climb, demand for Toyota's rolling computer doesn't seem to be likely to diminish any time soon.

Total Sales

Historically, overall vehicle sales tend to dip in April. When you start the year well below the previous year, dips tend to look more like a swan dive off the ten-meter board. GM ended April 16.2 percent below last April and starts May down 13.2 percent for the year. Ford did slightly better, dropping only 12.1 percent for the month and 9.8 percent for the year. Chrysler would gladly swap places with either of them, with sales down 23.5 percent compared to April '07 and down 17.6 percent for the year. The transplants fared a bit better than the natives. Toyota finished the month 3.4 percent ahead of last April but down 3.3 percent on the year. Honda had the best showing of all, increasing 6.8 percent in April and up 1.5 percent year to date.

The Future

Next month, we'll see if GM's production cutbacks (and strikes) have any impact on their sales. Toyota's announced price increases may throw a spanner in the works. (Or not.) And Chrysler's cut-rate gasoline promotion could ignite sales. (or not.) One thing's for sure: it may be the year of the car, but for the domestics, it's not the carmaker's year. 

TTAC's monthly By The Numbers editorial tracks everything from fuel-sucking SUVs to the gas-sipping Prius. In this month's report, the sales stat were bleak almost across the board. Almost, but not quite. Economy car sales are, as you'd expect, relatively robust. To bring a little joy to readers fed-up with a steady stream of bad news, I decided to chart new car sales for subcompacts and compacts from the "Big 6:" Chrysler, Ford, GM, Honda, Nissan and Toyota. The stats run for all of '07, and year-to-date. Here's how the so-called bottom of the automotive food chain is looking, with review links and inventory levels thrown-in for good measure…

Subcompacts

Honda's Fit is giving the competition fits. Sales of Jonny Lieberman's favorite sub-compact are up a whopping 61.4 percent over last March. Annual sales are even more impressive: jumping some 77 percent over last year. Hard to believe, but the Toyota Yaris did even better on the month, clocking-in with a 70.1 percent increase. The car RF said "isn't a pig to drive" didn't do quite as well on the year, rising "only" 58.3% over the first three months. Nissan's Versa is picking-up steam too. It was up 24.6 percent for March and 20.5 percent for the year. The good news ended at Chevy dealers' doors. The Korean-built Chevy Aveo's sales were way down– a 45.6 percent drop from last March.  Annual sales of PJ's whipping post are down 19.2 percent from this time last year.

The inventory levels for these mighty mites reflect their sales show. Chevy started April with a 113-day supply of Aveos. Honda only stocked enough Fits to last 27 days, and Nissan's supply of Versas would last 53 days. Toyota doesn't break out individual models in their inventory numbers, but they started the month with a 51-day supply of cars and trucks.

Compact

Compact sales look equally robust, with a couple of surprising exceptions. The Dodge Caliber went up 10.1 percent in March and is 15.2 percent ahead of last year. Ford's Focus is in SYNC, with a 24 percent jump in March and a 23.2 percent gain over 2007 year to date.  The Honda Civic finished the month 10.2 percent ahead of last March and up 13.8 percent on last year. The compact-in-name-only Nissan Sentra had a strong showing, increasing 12.8 percent in March and 20.5 percent for the year to date.

The surprises: the Chevy Cobalt and Toyota Corolla. Both showed sales decreases in March. Sales of the car Chris Paukert called "a solid set-up man" (back in 2005) dropped 23.8 percent. The Corolla fell even further, down 26.9 percent. For the year to date, Cobalt's still holding its own, with a 14.5 percent increase over last year. Corolla's sales so far this year are down 24 percent.

As with the subcompacts, inventory levels of the compacts reflect the monthly sales. April began with a 48-day supply of Calibers and a 54-day supply of Foci on dealers' lots. Honda dealers started the month with a 52-day supply of Civic. The Sentra started the month with the ideal 60-day level. Chevy faced April Fool's Day with a 75-day supply of Cobalts. Just like with the Yaris, the inventory level for the Corolla wasn't available.

The Future

You'll see a flurry of activity in the subcompact and compact segment over the next few years, particularly from the American manufacturers. They've all but ignored these markets while chasing truck profits, with two not even playing in the subcompact segment. And now it's coming back to haunt them. With the 35-mpg CAFE standard looming on the horizon, The Big 2.8 have put their small car skates on.

Ford's decision to make SYNC an option on the Focus (rather than limiting the technology to their more expensive vehicles) and the forthcoming importation of the new Fiesta reflect this new priority. Chrysler's deal with Nissan will give them a Japanese-built small car in a couple of years; their partnership with Chery should bear fruit soon. GM's focusing a lot of attention on GMDAT, their corporate small car nexus. 

While they play catch-up, China and/or India could well send a bevy of small cars to our shores. And Toyandasan and friends aren't aren't sitting back watching by the market segment they dominate lip away. They'll keep improving their products to maintain their lead. The end result: an American small car renaissance. It is, in fact, the silver lining.

March comes in like a lion and leaves like a lamb. As far as auto sales were concerned, the month came in like a dead fish and left like… a pile of dead fish. While the raw sales numbers rose from February's levels, total sales were down by 12 percent compared to March of last year. Year to date (YTD), total sales were off by eight percent. Reflecting higher gas prices, light truck sales dropped by 17.8 percent; car sales "only" sank 5.9 percent. Here's how our individual bellwether models fared…

Pickup Trucks

Between the downturn in construction and the upturn in gas prices, truck sales were dismal. Chevrolet Silverado sales fell 23.5 percent month, down 19.6 percent year-to-date. Ford's F-Series fared worse, ending the month down 23.8 percent; annual sales were down 13.7 percent. The Dodge Ram made the worst showing, losing 31.3 percent on the month and 24.6 percent on the year. The Toyoya Tundra actually showed an increase: up 8.4 percent for the month and 39.7 percent for the year. As noted last month, the current model was new on the market last year; sales were just ramping-up.

Passenger Cars

For the most part, as expected, passenger cars fared better than trucks. The Chevrolet Malibu, was down a bit: 0.4 percent in March. But GM's last Next Big Thing's overall sales are up 16.7 percent over last year's. The Ford Fusion was one of the few models to show an increase for both the month (0.6 percent) and year (0.9 percent). Chrysler's 300 delivered the same [horrendous] performance as the Ram, cratering 29.7 percent for the month and 17.9 percent on the year. While the Toyota Camry is still ahead of last year by 1.1 percent, it finished March down 4.2 percent. Honda's jumbo-sized Accord was only 0.8 percent below last March but still down 5.2 percent year to date.

Truck-based SUVs

SUV's suffered the same fate as pickups. GM ante-penultimate Next Big Thing, the Chevrolet Tahoe, continues to lose ground, dropping 34.2 percent from last March and 26.3 for the year. The Ford Explorer gained a bit from February, but still lost 14.8 percent for the month and 20.4 percent year-to-date. The Dodge Durango continues its death spiral; 38.3 percent below March 2007 and 36.5 percent for the year so far. Surprisingly, The Totoya Sequoia's monthly sales went up 11.2 percent month. Annual sales are up 13.1 percent. However, just like last month, the raw numbers are low. So a difference of just 300 sales constitutes a high jump in the percentages. 

CUVs

CUV sales were a mixed bag in March. The GMC Acadia was still well above last year's sales stats, showing a 29.4 percent gain in March;76.6 percent ahead year to date. The Ford Edge continues its sales growth, ending the month 23.8 percent ahead of last year and up 47.2 percent for the total year. The Toyota Highlander and Honda Pilot didn't fare as well, finishing March down 7.4 percent and 29.1 percent respectively. For the year, the Highlander is up 7.3 percent while Pilot is down 7.8 percent.

Prius

With gas prices at all time highs and still climbing, Toyota's having no problems selling every Prius they can build. In March, sales of the Japanese gas – electric hybrid rose 7.7 percent month above last year. Year-to-date, they're up 8.1 percent. In March, sales of the Civic Hybrid were up 34 percent. Lexus' RX400h sales climbed by 6.7 percent. Camry Hybrid sales rose 34.7 percent (hybridcars.com reports that hybrid version of the Camry outsold the V-6 model in March).

Total Sales

The only word to describe the overall sales picture: "disaster." Whether we're talking about March or year to date, all five manufacturers were below last year's performance. GM dropped 18.7 percent compared to last March, down 10.9 percent year-to-date. Ford sales were down 14.1 percent for the month; so far they're trailing last year by 9 percent. Chrysler was a genuine disaster zone, finishing 19.4 percent below last March, down a total of 15.5 percent year for the year. Toyota's performance was surprisingly off, with a 10.3 percent drop from March 2007, down 5.6 percent on the year so far. Honda— the automaker with the lowest number of pickups and SUVs– was down 3.2 percent for March, minus 0.45 percent year-to-year.

The Future

The immediate future holds little prospect of any relief in gas prices or improvement in the economy.Truck and SUV sales– on which The Big 2.8 business still depends– will continue to fall. Small cars and smaller CUVs will continue increasing their market share. But don't expect any sales miracles. It's shaping up to be a long dry summer, sales-wise.

In February, lovers old and new turn their attention to matters of the heart. No 'bout a doubt it: automakers weren't feeling the love. Overall U.S. light vehicle sales dropped 6.3 percent in February and 5.3 percent for the year.  With precious few exceptions, sales were down across the board. And this time, the usually impervious foreign nameplates and transplants felt the pain along with their Detroit counterparts (although not quite as badly). Let's take a closer look at the love's labor lost.

Pickup Trucks

As you'd expect, as gas topped $3 a gallon, pickup truck sales tanked.  Chevy's Silverado plummeted 24.9 percent compared to last February, down 17.4 percent year-to-date. Ford's F-Series didn't suffer quite as badly, losing just 4.9 percent from last February and 6.5 percent on the year. The Dodge Ram finished the month 20.9 percent below February ‘07, dropping 19.7 percent for the year so far. Toyota's Tundra showed a 48.9 percent gain on last February. The Texas-built  pickup gained 65.6 percent on the year. However, ToMoCo was introducing the new model this time last year; sales were low for the first few months.

Passenger Cars

Chevrolet must still be having production problems with their "everyone wants one" Malibu. The new 'Bu only managed to increase sales 6.5 percent over the old model's February sales (a good January pushed sales up 29.1 percent year to date). Ford's Fusion recovered from a slow start in January, finishing February 12.1 percent higher than last year, with year-to-date sales up 1.2 percent. Chrysler's 300 continues its nosedive, down 11.6  percent in February and 10.8 percent for the year. The Toyota Camry was one of the few cars showing sales growth. The perennial sales champ finished the month up 8.6 percent, 4.6 percent ahead of last year.  The newly-renlarged Honda Accord isn't doing so well. Sales are down nine percent for the month and eight percent for the year.

Truck-Based SUVs

Truck-based SUVs… ouch. The Chevy Tahoe continues selling at sub-2007 levels, dropping 26.4 percent in February and 20.4 percent year-to-date. Sales of FoMoCo's Explorer showed roughly the same performance, declining 27.1 percent from the month last year and 23.7 percent so far this year. The Dodge Boys might want to put a bullet in the Durango's head before it embarrasses them any more; model sales sank by 39.5 percent for the month and 35.8 percent drop for the year. The recently reviewed Toyota Sequoia sales increased 13.2 percent for February and 14.3 percent for the year. But like the Tundra, the numbers compare the new model to the old– and sales volumes are so low that we're only talking about a difference of 300 trucks in February.

CUVs

Although overall crossover sales were down from January, GMC's Acadia was still up 38.5 percent for the month and 122.1 percent for the year. The Edge was Ford's bright spot, racking up a 45.9 percent increase over last February and increasing sales for the year by 66.1 percent. The restyled Toyota Highlander jumped 12.2 percent for the month and 16 percent for the year. The old-style Honda Pilot did even better, growing 24.3 percent compared to last February and  7.7 percent compared to last year.

Prius

Even though gas prices went up in February, Prius sales went down 10.9 percent.  They're still up 8.5 percent overall above last year so far, but sales were so robust in the first half of 2007 they may continue at sub-'07 levels for the next few months.  At least until gas starts climbing to the $4/gallon mark.

Total Sales

GM's turnaround must have turned around. After blowing their horn over a black January, GM turned in a Valentine-red February. They were down 12.9 percent from February of last year. So far this year, the General's down six percent from last year. Ford didn't do quite as badly, turning in a 6.7 percent drop for the month and a 5.5 percent decrease for the year .  Chrysler performed about as expected sliding 14 percent in February and 13.1 percent year to date. Even normally bullet-proof Toyota suffered in February, down 2.8 percent for the month, trailing last year by 2.4 percent. Thanks to CR-V and Civic sales, Honda managed to show growth in February, up 4.9 percent in 2008. HoMoCo finished 1.5 percent ahead year to date.

The Future

Even as new versions of the F-Series and Ram warm up in the bullpen, it doesn't look like anything will pull the truck market out of its tailspin. The CUV market will continue to grow, as Honda brings on its new Pilot and Chevy steals market share from the other Lambdas with the Traverse. In the passenger car market, attention's shifting to small cars– where Ford and Chrysler are woefully lacking and GM offers the the Korean Aveo. Add in GM's and Chrysler's supplier problems and Ford's financial difficulties and the future looks pretty bleak they're pulling the shades. Can any of them tame the shrew haunting the U.S. new car market? Watch this space.

Even before 2008 arrived, industry experts were predicting a bad, bad thing. So far, they haven't been disappointed. While January tends to be a low sales month, as everyone tries to recover from holiday overindulgence, this January was worse than expected. There were a few inexplicable bright spots (*cough* channel stuffing *cough* dealer fleet sales *cough*). Sales of the Dodge Caliber (up 25.5 percent over last January), Ford Focus (up 44.4 percent), Buick LaCrosse (up 69.3 percent) and Chevy Cobalt (up 32.9 percent) all shot up. But these four-wheeled anomalies weren't enough to salvage the month. Let's break it down… 

You'll notice we've made a few changes in the models we're tracking. Last year, we didn't include Honda because they didn't offer models in all our categories. This year we said "what the Hell" and added the Accord and Pilot to the passenger car and CUV categories. With a new crop of CUVs available, we dropped the hoary Chevrolet Equinox and DNR Chrysler Pacifica and added the ascendant GMC Acadia. We'd like to track GM's hybrid sales but, for some reason, they don't break them out of the totals. So the Toyota Prius will be our hybrid bellwether.

Pickup Trucks

As gas prices keep going up, pickup sales keep going down. The Chevrolet Silverado was down 5.9 percent from last January. The lame duck Ford F-Series continued its downward trend, ending the month 8.4 percent lower than the same month in 07. The lame lamb Dodge Ram plummeted 18.4%. The Toyota Tundra showed a 91 percent increase, but that's because the previous model was winding down in January last year. 

Passenger Cars

Instead of the Chevrolet Impala, this year we'll be tracking the new Malibu. Initial sales numbers are strong; sales are 57.9 percent above last January. Chrysler's 300 continues on slippin', slippin'; shedding 9.7 percent from last year's total. Ford Fusion sales were uncharacteristically low, dropping 12.8 percent. Camry held steady, showing a 0.4 percent increase. The Honda Accord's redesign hasn't helped it much so far; sales are down 6.8 percent from the same month last year. 

Truck-based SUVs

The mass exodus from massive SUVs continues. Chevrolet Tahoe sales dropped 12.1% from last January. The Ford Explorer ended the month 18.7 percent lower. The Dodge Durango took it on the chin, tumbling a jaw-dropping 32.8 percent. Instead of tracking 4Runner this year, we'll see if Toyota's redesign has any effect on Sequoia's numbers. For now it seems to be working. The Sequoia finished the month 15.5 percent ahead of last January.

CUVs

The current CUV poster child, the GMC Acadia, is up 335 percent from last January. That's not quite as startling as it seems. The model was introduced in January '07; production had just begun. The Ford Edge has edged the Ford Escape out of our charts. The Edge is up 94.9 percent for the same reason as Acadia. Toyota recently redesigned the Highlander, so we'll follow it instead of RAV-4. As the newish Highlander was up 19.4 percent from last January, the redesign was a good thing. Will it have legs? Honda's Pilot may not. It makes a less-than-spectacular debut on our charts, finishing the month 10.7 percent below last year's sales totals.

Prius

Is the hybrid boom going to go bust? If you assume that the Prius IS the hybrid boom– a fair assumption considering that the gas-electric sedan has no real sales competition– we're still booming. The Prius gained a whopping 37.1 percent over last January's totals. Whether sales will continue to grow remains to be seen, but this is one of the few models that's helped by rising gas prices. 

Total Sales

Anyone who looked at the business page or any automotive publication knows GM finished in the black in what was an otherwise dismal month. GM's sales were up 2.6 percent over last January's, but it must be remembered that last January was horrific for The General. Ford was down 3.9 percent and Toyota and Honda were both down 2.3 percent. Chrysler really took another head shot, starting the year 12.1 percent below last year.  

The Future

GM and Ford analysts have pretty much written off financial quarters one through three. And for good reasons: a moribund housing market killing consumer confidence, the possibility of widespread car loan defaults, rising subprime interest rates tightening consumer credit, bankrupt suppliers, rising production costs, rising gas prices and changing markets. Now more than ever, survival of the fittest are the industry watchwords. And watch we will. 

Santa left a lump of coal in the automakers' stockings this year. Even the usual Christmas sales failed to put presents under the tree. As the year drew to a close, new car and truck sales were down across the board, with carmakers jostling for the honor of doing less badly than the other guy. New Year's was a decidedly dour affair, with manufacturers clocking the housing downturn and the mortgage crisis and predicting either flat or "slightly lowered" sales in the year ahead. Translation: batten down the hatches; it's about to get rough. Ain't that the truth.

Compared to December '06, light vehicles sales sank 2.9 percent for the month, 2.5 percent for the year. The light truck market went dim, with sales four percent below last December's total. Annual truck sales dropped by 1.9 percent. Total car sales fell 1.7 percent compared for December of last year, ending the year three percent below 2006. Here's how the models we've been tracking fared at the end of the year.

Passenger Cars

Chevy's Impala plummeted 32 percent compared to last December. Robust spring sales forestalled total disaster; sales were up 7.3 percent for the year. The Chrysler 300 ended the month 38.8 percent below '06; total sales were down 16 percent from last year. Ford's Fusion was a life preserver; sales were up seven percent in December, 4.9 percent for year. Toyota's Camry showed an uncharacteristic 1.8 percent December drop, but finished the year 5.5 percent ahead of 2006. While Camry hybrid sales nose-dived 73.2 percent in December, the Prius was up 53 percent for the same period.

Pickup Trucks

After falling for four months, Silverado's sales clocked a 2.2 percent increase in December. GM's former Next Big Thing was down 2.8 percent for year. Dodge Ram sales also picked up– and finished December down 2.3 percent,  1.6 percent below 2006's totals. Ford's F-Series managed to retain it's title as "best selling truck," but only barely.  With sales down 22 percent in December, 13.2 percent for year, FoMoCo'd better hope they can hang on until the redesigned model is ready in 2009. Toyota's Tundra didn't make their goal of 200k sales in '07, but the redesigned model easily eclipsed its predecessor. Sales were up 54.1 percent in December, 57.9 percent for the year.

Truck-Based SUVs

The sun continues to set on traditional body-on-frame SUV. The Chevrolet Tahoe dropped 25.6 percent from last December, ending the year down 9.4 percent. Dodge's Durango sank a staggering 42.6 percent below last last December, some 35.6 percent off the previous year's pace. The Ford Explorer is still lost. December sales were down 18.7 percent, annual sales sank 23.1 percent. Toyota's 4Runner also lacked love, losing 16.6 percent from last December, dropping 14.9 percent overall from the previous year.

CUVs

CUVs may be the hot ticket, but older models are suffering. Ye Olde Chevrolet Equinox lost 16.1 percent of its sales from last December, finishing the year down 21.4 percent.  The soon-to-be-a-has-been Chrysler Pacifica fell an unbelievable 62.1 percent for the month, ending-up 31.1 percent below last year overall. The Ford Escape stumbled a bit, losing 8.9 percent from last December. But it finished the year with a 5.2 percent increase over 2006. Toyota's RAV-4 remains healthy, finishing the year up 0.2 percent for month and a whopping 13.6 percent for year.

New for 2007

Say what you will about cannibalization, GMC sold 7,393 Acadia mega-CUVs in December; an increase of 998 units over November. In total, GMC sold almost 73k Acadias in 2007. Ford's Edge did even better, finishing December with 13,722 sales, adding 1128 sales to November's total. Ford sold over 130k units in 2007. Jeep picked up an additional 612 Compass sales over November, putting 3,295 on the soft road in December; they sold just under 40k of the semi-Jeeps in 2007.

Total Sales

Scrooge reigned supreme in December with one minor exception. GM finished December down 4.4 percent from last December and down six percent year to date. Ford was in even worse shape, dropping nine percent for December and 11.8 percent below last year's total. Chrysler was the only automaker showing an increase over December '06: one half of one percent. For the year, Chrysler was down 3.1 percent. Toyota didn't fare as well, dropping 1.7 percent over last December, but finishing the year 3.1 percent ahead of last year.

Looking ahead

Let's just say it ain't gonna be pretty, and I'll be here to help keep your finger on the pulse.

[I'm making a few changes to illuminate overall trends. First, I'm dropping 2005's numbers to keep the charts to the current calendar year plus two. I'm adding Honda's numbers in the categories where they're a player. I'm replacing a few extinct models (e.g. Pacifica) and those that don't accurately represent that manufacturer's best efforts in their category (e.g. replacing Equinox with Acadia). I'm also thinking about adding a chart for the best-selling hybrid from each manufacturer (GM doesn't break out hybrids in their sales numbers, so they won't be included). If you have any other suggestions, let me know in a comment below.]