Toyota and Honda's U.S. sales fell more than their U.S. competitors' in December, with Toyota's 37 percent decline and Honda's 35 percent drop showing the Japanese company's popular fuel-efficient models were little help as consumers steered clear of showrooms due to the dismal economy, according to AP. Ford Motor Co.'s U.S. sales fell 32 percent in December, while General Motors Corp.'s dropped 31 percent. Chrysler LLC and other automakers were to report their U.S. sales for December and 2008 later Monday. Ford's sales for 2008 fell 21 percent from a year earlier, keeping the Dearborn automaker in third place in the U.S. auto sales race, falling behind Toyota Motor Corp. for the second straight year. Toyota's 2008 sales fell 16 percent to 2.22 million, compared with Ford's 1.98 million. Detroit-based GM's 2008 sales totaled 2.95 million, down 23 percent from the year before. Honda Motor Co.'s 2008 sales fell 8.2 percent. Analysts expected auto sales industrywide to drop up to 40 percent in December as consumers remain uncertain about the economy and their jobs. The auto Web site Edmunds.com predicted sales for the full year will total just over 13 million, down 18 percent from 2007 and the lowest level since 1992. Subaru of America Inc. said its U.S. sales crept higher in 2008, poising the Japanese company to be the only major automaker with a yearly sales increase. Subaru's U.S. sales rose by 0.3 percent to 187,699 vehicles from 187,208 in 2007, as consumers snapped up its top-selling Forester and Impreza models.
