Auto majors General Motors (GM) and Ford, both of which have been struggling to accomplish turnarounds, said in separate statements on Monday 3 December that they would cut production targets for the first quarter of 2008 because of slowing sales.

GM expects to produce 950,000 vehicles from January to March, down 11 per cent from the same period in 2007. Ford plans to build 685,000 vehicles in the first quarter, a 7 per cent decline. A Ford representative said that the automaker would continue to adjust its production according to market demand in what appears to be a economy and.

GM''s sales had increased in the three previous months, and the company said November numbers were low owing to a cutback of sales to rental car companies, as well as lower inventories of full-size trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUVs). It said newer models like the Cadillac CTS and the Chevrolet Malibu sedans were selling better than expected.

For the second time this year, Detroit accounted for less than half of the United States automobile market in November. GM, which had fared the best of the three big Detroit automakers, has seen sales drop 10.9 per cent in November. Chrysler''s sales declined by 2.1 per cent, with drastically lower truck sales overturning an impressive 43 per cent rise in passenger car sales.

Of the three, only Ford managed a 1.3 per cent increase after 12 consecutive monthly sales declines. But this was because of increased lower-profit bulk sales to government and private sector fleet operators. Ford''s dealership sales were down 3 per cent in November.

In sharp contrast, all the three major Japanese automakers increased sales during November, reporting their highest sales ever for the month. The pathetic performance of American automakers is being ascribed to their heavy dependence on gas guzzling truck and SUV sales, which have taken a huge beating since oil prices hit record highs.

Detroit automakers are finding it difficult to fight both the economic environment and negative public perceptions. Consumers who want to buy a car today would see a Toyota or a Honda as a much safer bet, rather than to try a new Detroit product that hasn''t proven itself yet.

GM executives believe that when the housing market picks up - which they expect to happen in the second half of 2008 - the industry would be in much better shape and show better results that year. The company expects total US sales next year to be around 15.7 million, down from the 17 million it had planned when formulating its restructuring plan several years ago. The industry expects to sell about 16 million vehicles this year.

The slowdown has hurt the Japanese too. Toyota has reported sales declines several times this year. Toyota executives admit it could fall short of sales targets for the Tundra pickup, an important vehicle for the company. Till November, Toyota sold 177,336 Tundra pickups. Reaching its annual target of 200,000 appears unlikely. Overall, Toyota sales rose 0.3 per cent in November. The company pulled ahead of Ford this year to become the second-largest seller of vehicles in the US.

Ford is preparing to sell two of its European brands, Jaguar and Land Rover, and could announce a buyer as soon as this month. Prospective bidders include India''s Tata Group and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M).