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This is part of a weekly series about the auto industry. Record-high oil prices and a global slowdown have contributed to a crisis in the sector, and this column will highlight some of the interesting stories that emerge as that crisis plays out.

The American car manufacturers have have grabbed most of the miserable headlines lately, but the ongoing crisis in the auto sector has hurt all producers. Case in point: Toyota (NYSE: TM) has announced that it will cut 3,000 job in Japan as the global slowdown hits home. Last week, Isuzu and Mazda made similar announcements.

And that's not the only bad news for what some consider to be the world's leading vehicle manufacturer. In the past few weeks, Toyota has announced:

• a projected 68% drop in net income for 2008
• a two-day closure of North American plants to help reduce ballooning inventory
  
• a reduction of output and the firing workers at a plant in Thailand
• the possible postponement of production at a major new factory in Mississippi.

This goes to show how bad the global recession is. Auto and truck sales are off everywhere, from Detroit to Da Nang.

Even so, not all companies are suffering equally. The news may be bad for Toyota, but it still has something the American producers do not: profits. Though Toyota's P/E is 7.7, it still has some E to talk about. General Motors (NYSE: GM), Ford Motor (NYSE: F) and Chrysler would love to have such a low P/E. It would mean they will probably still be around in a year or two.

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