Reported sales figures for August show another rough 30 days for the automotive industry with Ford, sales down 26 percent to just 151,021 units, leading the company to cut production by 50,000 vehicles going into the second half of the year.

In specific genres, Ford's SUV sales dropped 53 percent as compared to the same period in 2007, with trucks down 39 percent. The Ford Focus, a compact, remained a strong seller with a 23 percent jump, while the small, recently-restyled Escape gained 17 percent.

The Escape can be selected with a four-cylinder engine and as a six-speed automatic. With that configuration, the vehicle can return as much as 28 mpg on the highway, a relatively high number in the SUV form factor.

At the same time that Ford revealed its low sales numbers, the company also adjusted its sales forecast for the year to the lower end of its original 14 million units. It should be noted that the August figures do not include statistics for Jaguar and Land Rover, which were sold to Tata Motors of India in June.

Of other automakers reporting, Nissan saw an increase of 13.6 percent. Daimler AG sold 2,420 Smart cars bringing the model's seven month sales total to 16,378. Mercedes lost 11.8 percent and Porsche 45 percent. Volkswagen gained 2.9 percent mainly due to the introduction of the diesel Jetta.