How Bad Are Auto Sales? 10 Questions and Answers

1. How bad are sales, really?
After edging up in May, sales dropped again in June below the 10 million–unit annual sales pace, which puts new vehicle sales at the slowest pace since the recession in 1958 — a downturn that forced some carmakers, notably Packard, to shut their doors for good. Meanwhile, each of the Big Six (the three domestic carmakers plus Toyota, Honda and Nissan, which together account for 75% of all vehicle sales in the U.S.) reported double-digit declines in sales. The declines ranged from 11% at Ford to nearly 42% at Chrysler. German automakers such as Volkswagen, BMW, Porsche and Mercedes-Benz also reported double-digit declines. (more)