GM, Toyota, Ford Have Big Sales Drop

POSTED: 7:28 am EDT August 1, 2008 UPDATED: 2:22 pm EDT August 1, 2008 DETROIT -- General Motors, Ford and Toyota announced double-digit drops in sales Friday as automakers struggled to keep up with consumers' growing demand for smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles. GM took the biggest hit, with sales falling 26.7 percent in July 2008 from July 2007. "Despite an overall weak market, there are pockets of strength," said Mark LaNeve, vice president, GM North America Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing. "Obviously, the weakness in the truck market persisted in July, yet we continue to hold share due to our fuel economy leadership in many truck segments despite dramatic competitive incentive spending increases." Overall, GM truck sales in July declined 41.5 percent. Hummer fell 61 percent. Ford announced that it sold 156,406... [read full story]