• by Karl Greenberg , April 1, 2009

General Motors posted a 45% decline in sales versus March last year. The company delivered 156,380 vehicles for the month, but said 7 of its 8 brands saw total sales increases with total volume up 23% compared with February.

General Motors has also launched a program for April that, like Ford's just-launched Advantage program and Hyundai's Assurance, is intended to ameliorate the unemployment jitters among people who might buy a vehicle if they were not worried about losing it. The program, "GM Total Confidence," offers up to $500 a month in protection to those who buy this month, and then lose their income.

Edmunds.com, which says total March auto sales will be off some 42%, says the Ford and GM programs will help, but perhaps not much. "With their new programs, Ford and GM take one of the reasons that buyers may have deferred a purchase off the table," says Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl. "But, they still need to emphasize why their vehicles are worthy of consideration in the first place."

Toyota posted March sales of 132,802 vehicles, a 36.6% decrease from last March, with Toyota division down 36%. Previous hot-sellers were not spared. Sales of the once-hard-to-get Prius are off 55% in March. Scion divisional sales are off over 52%.

Nissan North America reported sales of 66,634 units last month, a 37.7% decline. Sales of Nissan Division vehicles decreased 36.2%. Volkswagen, which sold 15,720 units last month, saw volume drop "only" 19% last month, which is something to celebrate.

Honda saw sales decline 33.7% to 88,379 versus the month last year. The eponymous division saw sales drop 34.2%. Then again, last year, Honda beat most everyone else because gasoline prices were -- hard to remember now -- around $4 a gallon in some places.

"The sales decline appears particularly steep when compared to last year's strong first quarter," said John Mendel, executive vice president of sales for American Honda, in a release. We will see what coming months bring, as the company has just launched a Prius fighter, Insight, that comes in way under Prius' sticker price.

Over in Dearborn, Mich., Ford Motor posted a 41% sales decline versus March last year for its Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands. The company says its sales of 125,107, was up 30% versus February, however.

Chrysler LLC sold 101,001 vehicles last month -- a 39% drop versus 2008. Jim Press, vice chairman and president, said that the fact that the company topped 100,000 units for the first time since last fall "is encouraging, and evidence that our improved quality, improved mileage as well as value represented in Employee Pricing Plus Plus are just what the doctor ordered for recession-wary customers who are reluctant to make long-term purchases."

The company is continuing Employee Pricing Plus Plus in April by offering "Zero Financing for 48 Months." Chrysler is also offering cash discounts of up to $3,500 for 2009 model-year vehicles and free DVD players on Chrysler Town & Country or Dodge Grand Caravan.

Luxury brands fared little better, with Mercedes-Benz down 23% versus March last year. BMW and Mini saw sales decline 23%. Toyota's Lexus brand saw a whopping 50% sales drop last month. Sales of Infiniti vehicles dropped 47% last month.