• Detroit Free Press , Friday, November 2, 2007 10:30 AM

Both Ford and Chrysler revealed big sales declines yesterday that seem to put their turnaround plans on shaky ground. General Motors and the three big Japanese automakers all posted gains for October, in which sales were a little stronger than expected. Sales were up 13.1% at Nissan; 3.8% at Honda, and 4.5% at Toyota.

GM also continued to show strength, especially at retail, with a third-straight gain of total monthly sales -- increasing 3.4% compared with a year ago. GM's GMC Acadia, Cadillac CTS, Chevrolet Aveo, Cobalt and HHR all posted strong performances. Overall, truck sales were up 5.7% at GM, while car sales were off a slight 0.5%

Ford's sales were off 9.3%, making October its 12th straight month of sales declines. All of its declines all came on the car side, where sales were off 27%, largely as a result of a deliberate pullback from the discounted fleet market. For Chrysler, October sales were off 8.9%, the fifth month of a slide, even as the automaker increased sales to fleet customers. Truck sales plummeted 14.9%, and the Jeep brand was down 20.9%.

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