Ford Leads Drop in US Car Sales

Ford led a slide in US car sales for most firms last month, after the recent financial turmoil spooked customers. The US group sold less than 190,000 vehicles, 21% lower than at the same time last year, and much worse than the 4% fall predicted by analysts. Meanwhile, Japanese rival Toyota blamed a drop in truck sales for a 4% fall in overall vehicle sales. But General Motors bucked the trend with a 4% rise in sales, led by demand for its new lineup of vehicles.