2007 U.S. car sales lowest level in decade

WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- U.S. new car sales slid to 16.1 million in 2007, the lowest level in a decade, year-end figures showed Friday.

General Motors, still ranks first in the U.S. market through it's in a heated battle with Toyota for the top spot in worldwide auto production. GM sales were down 6 percent for the year and 4.2 percent in December.

Toyota passed Ford for No. 2 in the U.S. market largely on surging sales of small cars and gas-electric hybrids, The Washington Post said. Ford's hold onto the No. 2 spot behind GM dated back 75 years.

At Ford, U.S. sales fell 12 percent from the year before and December sales were down 9.5 percent from the previous year, the research firm Autodata said.

For the year, Toyota's sales climbed 3.1 percent compared with 2006.

Chrysler's annual sales dropped 3.1 percent in 2007 but rose 0.5 percent in December.

Industry officials said they expected slower sales in the coming months because of the high price of oil and anxiety over falling home prices and increases in mortgage foreclosures.