NEW YORK — The auto industry is preparing to report yet another month of rapidly slowing sales — possibly the worst in decades — as the same toxic combination of the credit crunch and the careening economy continue to keep consumers away from dealerships.
“When your home prices are going down and your retirement savings are going down and the outlook for jobs . . . is becoming more problematic, you’re probably not in the mood to pull the trigger on a big-ticket purchase, even if you can get credit,” said George Pipas, Ford Motor Co.’s top sales analyst.
Automakers are scheduled to report October U.S. sales today.
The automotive website is projecting new-vehicle sales plunged 29 percent from a year ago, to 872,000. That’s the lowest figure since January 1992, Edmunds analyst Jessica Caldwell said.
Some analysts say it’s possible Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp. will surpass General Motors Corp. as the U.S. sales leader for the first time in history.
After reeling from a 32 percent drop in September sales, Toyota launched zero-percent financing on almost all of its models and could post decent sales as a result.
