In the short span of one year, car sales in the United States have come crashing down–and the change is significant. Industry giants Chrysler and General Motors sold 19 percent less automobiles in March 2008 than they did in March of 2007, according to sales reports. Ford isn’t faring much better, with sales that are down 14 percent. Meanwhile, Toyota is still hanging on with a mere 10 percent drop.
Despite seriously waning sales, the report reveals that America has yet to commit to a full carectomy; sales of smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles have remained steady, by comparison to cars that choke gallons of fuel for every mile. Financial gurus, green and otherwise, have offered foreboding predictions for automakers. This may be their worst year yet, given rising gas prices, a sinking economy, widespread foreclosures and credit defaults, and an escalating fuel crisis.
Some oil and auto industry insiders foresee a world where they’ll have to change their focus to survive, and move away from car-business-as-usual.
Could waning auto sales be a comment on America’s fading love for their cars, or are they merely a reflection of circumstance? Only time will tell, but, in the interim, perhaps a new culture of peds will evolve how Americans see cars–and cut the cord, for good.
Photo via flickr by huggs2 & Niemster.
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