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September proved to be yet another tough month for American auto maker Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) as the company saw its U.S. sales drop by a massive 34% during the month.

The company noted that we are in the middle of an "atmosphere of caution" as the troubled economic environment, and tightening credit conditions are still taking their tolls on the automotive industry.

We will hear more troubling news later today as more auto makers release their September numbers, and analysts are expecting to hear more of the same from the other major names in the industry. Fellow Detroit auto maker General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM) is expected to announce sales dropping around 27%, while Japanese maker Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE: TM) is expected to show a sales decline of around 17%.

Today's news from the major names should really come as no surprise, since we have been hearing much of the same through most of the year. Through August, nationwide sales of vehicles was down 11.2%.

As consumers continue to express their concerns over the overall economy it is going to continue to be tough for car dealers to get shoppers into their showrooms. Bigger incentives should help a little, but until consumers start to turn more positive on the overall economy, it is going to be tougher and tougher to sell them new cars.

Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last four years working as an analyst for the online investment advisory service Investor's Observer.

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