• Honda Motor Co.: down 31.6 percent • Ford Motor Co.: down 30.6 percent 'In November we saw the continuation of the dramatic decline in volume for the industry. Every manufacturer is posting awful numbers and we are no exception,' said Mark LaNeve, vice president, GM North America Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing, in a written statement. GM's car sales dropped 44 percent and truck sales were off 39 percent compared with the same month last year. For the year, GM's overall U.S. sales have fallen 22.1 percent. All eight of GM's brands have seen significant sales drops in 2008; Chevrolet and Saturn have fared best, losing only one-fifth of their sales compared to last year. The redesigned Chevrolet Malibu remains one of the few stars for GM, touting a 31.3 percent sales jump for the month and a 38.5 percent sales increase for the year. Chrysler offered few highlights for its November sales other than cutting its fleet sales by 63 percent when compared to last November. Fleet sales generally hurt a vehicle's residual value over the long run. The carmaker saw each of its brands fall considerably during the month: Chrysler dropped 36 percent; Jeep fell 28 percent; and Dodge fell 23 percent. Most vehicles saw dramatic losses when compared to last November: The Dodge Caliber and Avengers were down 56 percent and 77 percent, respectively. Out of all the company's vehicles, only the Dodge Viper and Chrysler Aspen showed improved sales. Ford executives said the Dearborn automaker's sales drop was slightly better than the entire market's demise in November, which the company anticipates will be down nearly 35 percent. 'The economy continues to weaken and auto sales reflect this reality,' said Jim Farley, Ford group vice president of marketing and communications, in a news release. Auto sales for November, released today, are expected to show a drop of 36 percent from a year ago to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 10.2 million vehicles, according to Joseph Amaturo, analyst at Buckingham Research. Those sales figures would include the Big Three Detroit car makers as well as foreign companies that sell vehicles in this country. Toyota's and Honda's sales decline reflect how tough the market has become for every automaker. Only two vehicles showed positive growth for Toyota, the Toyota Sequoia and the Lexus LX, both big SUVs. Toyota's total truck sales dropped 36.1 percent, while its car sales fell 32.3 percent for the month. Even Toyota's hot-selling hybrids stumbled with Prius sales dropping 48.3 percent compared to the same month last year. Prius sales are down 9.9 percent for the year. However, Toyota reported selling nearly 230,000 hybrids this year and more than 12,000 hybrids last month. Honda showed similar results with only its redesigned large SUV Honda Pilot as the sole vehicle in its lineup showing a sales increase in November -- up 250 vehicles or 4.5 percent. However, the No. 2 Japanese automaker has weathered the economic storm better than most, in part because it does not offer a V-8 truck. Its overall sales in the U.S. have fallen only 5.8 percent for the year, and it has seen a 1.8 percent increase in car sales for the year. The dire sales figures arrive as Detroit's auto executives head to Capitol Hill this week to ask Congress for $25 billion in emergency loans to help them through the worst auto market in decades. The auto companies' sales are reeling from tough economic times, spurred by the Wall Street meltdown, the subsequent tightening of the credit market and consumers moving from larger vehicles to more fuel efficient smaller ones. Consumers remain wary of the unstable economy and have avoided purchasing new vehicles, industry experts have said. By brand, Ford sales fell 30 percent; Mercury sales dropped 41.4 percent; and Lincoln fell 8.4 percent. Volvo sales dropped 46.5 percent for the month. For the year, Ford's overall sales are down 19.7 percent. Ford said while the overall market declined, it expected to pick up some market share. However, those gains will not help Ford continue to produce as many vehicles as it has in the past. Ford announced it would cut production in the first quarter of 2009 by 38 percent from the 692,000 vehicles it produced last year during the first quarter to 430,000 for the first quarter next year. GM also announced it would scale back its first quarter production next year. GM projects it will build 600,000 vehicles during the first quarter next year, down 32 percent when compared to the 2008 figures. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Scott Burgess is the auto critic for The Detroit News. He can be reached at (313) 223-3217 or sburgessdteom.