I wouldn't actually call this shocking news, but automakers are now officially acknowledging that the weak housing market, combined with high gasoline costs, are going to put a strain on auto sales for the year. This morning General Motors (NYSE: GM) joined the crowd.

In its conference call for investors Thursday, GM lowered its 2007 sales forecast by 100,000, down to 16.5 million. This news comes a day after its American rival Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) made similar estimate cuts. Yesterday, Ford announced that it is now also expecting just 16.5 million cars and trucks to sell this year, down from its previous estimate of around 16.8 million.

If we take a look at all automakers, the estimates range anywhere from 16.3 million to 16.7 million vehicles this year. But some industry experts feel that even the low end of that spectrum is going to be out of reach for the year.

Autodata, a firm responsible for tracking industry statistics, has said that it is expecting to see auto sales down around 16.2 million during 2007, which is over 1 million vehicles lower than the industry record set 7 years ago. In 2000, the industry sold 17.4 million cars and trucks.

The one good side to this sales impact coming from higher gasoline prices is the shift in attitude of American car makers. As buyers are continuing to shift into smaller, more fuel efficient cars, American car makers are starting to make that shift as well, and in the end this can only benefit both drivers and the planet.

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