The Fed's January interest-rate cuts kept a mediocre sales month from being even worse, but the shaky economy clearly is sending ripples of distress through a jittery auto industry.
Toyota, Nissan and Honda — typically A-list performers — had lower sales last month. And the domestic industry is slashing production.
Of the six top-selling automakers, only General Motors had higher sales — up 2.6 percent from January 2007. By contrast, industry sales declined by 2.9 percent.