As expected, sales figures for the auto industry for the month of October continued a sickening downward plunge of 32 percent, the worst performance decline in 25 years.

From their 2007 figures, General Motors was down 45.1 percent, Ford 32 percent, and Toyota 23 percent. Daimler AG and Honda each posted a 24 percent drop with Nissan, Hyundai, and Chrysler at 31 percent down.

In a conference call reported by Automotive News, Mark LaNeve, vice president for marketing and sales at GM said, "If you adjust for population growth, this is probably the worst industry sales month in the post-WWII era. Until the credit markets open up and consumer confidence improves, the entire U.S. economy, and any industry like autos that relies on financing, will suffer."

For the entire year, the automotive industry in America is down 14.6 percent with 11.6 million vehicles sold during 10 months, a drop of 2 million from 2007. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of 10.9 million represents the lowest reported since March 1983, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. Through 2007, auto sales in the U.S. averaged 16.8 million.

Mark Templin, Lexus general manager, expressed hope that the outcome of the presidential election might have a stabilizing influence on the economy. "One issue affecting sales is uncertainty -- Wall Street, housing foreclosures, credit and the political area,'' he said. "Anything that takes uncertainty out of the market will be helpful.''