Car and Truck Sales Fall 10.2% in October From a Year Earlier

Vehicle sales slipped again in October, the auto industry said Tuesday, making it one of the weakest months of a weak year and adding to the signs that consumers are still haunted by economic insecurity and dubious about the nation’s stumbling recovery.

The annual selling rate of domestic and imported cars and trucks, based on seasonal factors, was 12.1 million in October, down from September’s more encouraging 13.3 million. It was the lowest rate since the pace of sales started to nudge upward in May.

Americans bought about 1 million vehicles last month, 10.2% less than they did during the same period last year.

“It’s abominable,” said Thomas O’Grady, president of Integrated Automotive Resources, a consulting firm in Wayne, Pa. “There’s no improvement. A car is a big purchase, and people are just too scared.”

Southern Californians, still in shock over massive regional layoffs and tight credit, are among the country’s most hesitant consumers, dealers said.

“The national figures that come out are going to be better than what’s happening here in Southern California. We’re hit worse than the rest of the nation,” said Dick Godbold, owner of Hauter Ford in Montrose.

But dealers in the Northeast insist that they are also strong candidates for that dubious distinction.

“Invite them out to New England,” Larry Holland, general manager of Heritage Chrysler-Plymouth in Belmont, Mass., said of his West Coast colleagues. “They’re not the only ones hurting, unfortunately. I wish they were.”

The slump in Southern California is significant because Japanese brands, which have weathered the recession better than their U.S. rivals, make up more than half the market. No major auto maker has managed to post year-to-year sales gains this year, despite intensive efforts to ease consumer worries and get them into showrooms.

Even the redesigned 1992 models that began appearing in dealerships in September and October have failed to ignite a long-hoped-for sales spurt. A resigned General Motors Corp. offered 2.9% financing on its full-size sedans late last month in an attempt to get customers to notice the new models, which have drawn positive reviews from analysts and trade publications.

But Alan Reuff, owner of Walter Reuff Buick in San Fernando, said the 1992 Le Sabre hasn’t generated much business yet despite the low loan rates.

The few who do venture into showrooms, dealers say, are typically both desperately in need of a new vehicle and downright arrogant about scoring a good deal.

“They’re really trying to rake the bottom of the barrel,” he said of the average customer these days. “It’s like they’re saying, ‘I know you guys are losing your butts, and I’m going to get whatever I want.’ ”

Auto Sales Drop Seasonally adjusted annual rates for all vehicles sold in the U.S. Domestic figures include vehicles built by Japanese auto makers. The seasonal patterns predict the industry’s sales rate for a full year.

In millions of vehicles Domestic 1990 Oct.: 13.5 Nov.: 12.7 Dec.: 12.7 1991 Jan.: 11.1 Feb.: 11.8 Mar.: 12.4 Apr.: 11.2 May: 12.4 June: 12.9 July: 13.1 Aug.: 12.6 Sep.: 13.3 Oct.: 12.1 Source: U.S. Department of Commerce