Ford US sales drop off cliff in July.

"The weakened national economy has had the same effect on Detroit as always. It’s still true – when the nation catches a cold, Detroit catches pneumonia. "

Mayor of Detroit Kwame M. Kilpatrick
2002-2003 Budget Message

Ford Motor Co.'s sales dropped 14.4 % in August which they have blamed on declining sales as they wean themselves off low-profit sales to rental and fleet buyers.

1. Car sales fell 33.7 % 64,864 versus the same month last year.

2. Light truck sales slipped 2.3% to 152,572.

In August, sales to individual retail customers were down 13 % , but daily rental sales dropped 44 %.

Ford plan to close 16 factories by 2012 and saw sales decline 12% in the first 8 motnhs of 2007
Ford's two top-selling cars, the mid-sized Fusion and the small Focus, both saw big declines in August, with the Focus down 14.7 percent and the Fusion off 19.1 percent.

Ford have announced in a desperate sales boosting measure running through september to Oct. 1st that offers up to $1,000 (€736) cash incentives on most 2007 and 2008 models on top of all existing sales and lease offers.

No other vehicle manufacturers have posted August sales figures yet.