September auto sales are the worst in a decade (Porsche sales were down 45 percent, Nissan down 37 percent, Ford down 34 percent, Chrysler down 33 percent, Toyota down 32 percent, BMW down almost 26 percent, Honda - Honda - down 24 percent, and GM down 15.6 percent). Not Good

These are September 2008 vs September 2007 stats.

Source: Autoextremist.com

Note the German and Japanese brands. This is not just a big 2.5 thing. It looks like GM's "Employee Pricing" did help them out a bit, and/or GM dumped more Buicks, Pontiacs, Impalas, Cobalts and Aveos into rental fleets than Chrysler dumped Avengers, Sebrings and PT Cruisers.

Jim

 

Crazy, sure would suck to be Porsche right now. Im surprise that gm wasnt down more, and im kinda surprised that Honda and Toyota are so high, considering their econo car sales went up when gas did. Thought that mighta saved em abit, but guess not.

 

And I think that those sales drops don't accurately reflect "segment" drops either.

I don't think they would have moved too many 7series BMW's for example last month.

 

What is a real surprise is that the F-series and especially Sierra/Silverado bumped the Camry out of #1 spot. A new car is usually not a "necessity" for most individuals, but some trucks are for businesses not involved in homebuilding. Also, the price is right on a lot of those trucks.

Jim