• by Karl Greenberg , March 4, 2008

General Motors reported a 13% decline in sales in February; Ford, a 7% decline; and Chrysler, a 14% decline.

Got good news? Well, yes. As of Monday, no automaker except Mercedes-Benz (which sold 18,564 vehicles last month, a 7.3% increase over last February) had done terribly well in the U.S. last month--what with oil prices heading up, the housing crisis continuing, consumer fears of recession creeping up, and a generally dour set of economic indicators.

Honda managed to eke out positive numbers, posting a record February with sales of 115,397 Honda and Acura vehicles, an increase of 0.7% versus the month last year.

Toyota Motor Sales said it sold 182,169 vehicles, a decrease of 6.6% from last February. "Spurred in part by rising fuel prices, Toyota's fuel-efficient models and hybrids, the mainstay of our lineup, continue to show strength," said TMS President Jim Lentz. Toyota Division sold 160,892 vehicles--a 6.3% decrease. Lexus saw a 9.3% decrease from the year-ago month.

Nissan sold 86,219 units last month--a 2.9% decline. The Nissan division saw sales slip 3.2%, while the company's premium division, Infiniti was flat.

Hyundai and Kia, which have sustained an upward trajectory for years, saw losses last month. Kia sold 21,988 vehicles last month, versus 23,512 in the month last year, a 6.5% drop. Year-to-date sales are down, to 43,343.

The good news for the Big Three was that their efforts to belatedly commit resources to unibody crossovers and smaller SUVs and cars are paying off. Their sales slump reflects softer sales of truck-based SUVs. Ford said retail sales of its new Focus are up 36%. Sales of Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX crossovers were up 46% and 22%, respectively.

While General Motors' overall truck sales were down 10.2%, the company reported strong sales of certain models of its new cars. Chevrolet's Malibu car sales improved 62% last month versus February, 2007. The new Cadillac CTS saw a 71% improvement in sales last month. Chevy Cobalt sales increased 24%; Saturn Aura 21% and Pontiac G6 rose 6%. GM's crossovers showed a 15% improvement in sales versus the month last year. Chrysler's truck sales were down 23%, while car sales were up 16%, per the company.