Honda Is June's Only Sales Winner

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Ford Motor (F) sales fell 27.8%, to 173,462. That was despite a "You Pay What We Pay" promotion on the 2008 F-150 pickup, to make way for a redesigned 2009 model. Even with the promotion, sales of the F-Series pickup fell 40.5% in June, to 38,789, Ford said. Last month, Ford signaled its desperation by postponing the debut of the 2009 F-150 for two months, to allow more time to sell off the leftover 2008s.

Chrysler's sales plunged 35.9% in June, to 117,457. Its "$2.99 Gas" promotion, where consumers get a card that entitles them to buy gas at that price for up to three years, no matter how high the price at the pump gets, seems to be a bust. Chrysler extended the deal, which was supposed to expire July 7, through the end of July, and also sweetened it by offering both cash incentives and the gas card. Initially, consumers could have one or the other, but not both.

According to Plan?

Nevertheless, Jim Press, Chrysler president and vice-chairman, continued to insist that wholesale shipments to dealers are going according to plan, and that lower sales to daily rental fleets accounted for much of the drop in sales at Chrysler.

The Detroit Three aren't the only ones in a tailspin. Nissan Motor (NSANY) sales fell 17.7% in June, to 75,847. Even mighty Toyota Motor (TM) is feeling the pain, with June sales down 21.4%, to 193,234.

Jim Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Sales USA, offered what passes for an optimistic forecast in the present environment—namely, that this year will be the bottom of the current auto industry cycle. "We feel 2008 is going to be the bottom, 2009 will see a modest recovery, and for 2010 and beyond will be a recovery beyond where it was in 2006-2007. The long-term fundamentals still look very strong. We just need to get past this dip," he says.

Fortunately for Toyota, its lineup remains in relatively good shape, especially in comparison with its American rivals. For Detroit, however, that dip looks more like a chasm all the time.

Henry is a reporter covering the automotive industry and automotive trends in BusinessWeek's New York office.