Drivers Fuel Downturn in Auto Sales

The situation facing the automakers remains grim: Buyers want gas-miser cars, and not even car-heavy Toyota has enough of those to satisfy demand. Total auto sales were down 18.3% compared with June 2007, coming in at 1.45 million, according to Autodata. Sales could have been higher, said officials at General Motors, Ford and Toyota, if the automakers had enough four-cylinder engines. Further hurting new vehicle sales, however, are falling prices for used SUVs. Ford says sales of more fuel-efficient crossovers are hurt because people who want to trade in SUVs can't, because trade-in values are too low.