Auto Sales Tank, Congress Helps Out

Feb. 4 - Continued economic uncertainties have kept car and light truck buyers away from dealerships in droves. Based on January sales reports, the industry's sales have posted 15 straight months of decline, when compared to the same month of the previous year.

January's sales in the United States foretold a seasonally adjusted annual sales rate of 9.57 million, in an economy that used to generate over 16 million deliveries in 2007. Domestic automakers have posted significant incentives to spur sales, including employee-pricing, zero percent financing and thousands of dollars in additional discounts.

An apparently less recalcitrant Congress passed a measure yesterday to stimulate new car sales. The 71-to-26 vote provides a tax break that aides to Senator Barbara Mikulski (D. Maryland) say would save a couple an estimated $1,553 on a new $25,000 car.

Senate Republicans pushed through an amendment to remove a tax break for movie producers, while concerns rage over the growing price tag of the stimulus package - now estimated at $819 billion.

One of the few large automakers to post a sales increase was South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co., which posted a 14 percent gain. Hyundai credited its offer that covers a new vehicle's depreciation for customers who want to return a car because they lost their job.