March US auto sales numbers are now all out, and as expected most of the numbers came in negative territory.

Ford Motor's (NYSE:F) sales were -9% to 264,975 total US units, compared to estimates of -17.2%. Ford is actually surprising since it was the one expected to have the largest drop and may not have that much to look forward to until this summer when its 2008 Ford Taurus is reintroduced. March total sales in 2006 were also the highest month of the year in 2006.

DaimlerChrysler (NYSE:DCX) posted sales at -5%, but they were really -8% on an adjusted basis for similar number of selling days. Sales were expected to be -6.2%. Things could have been worse considering that car buyers don't know what brand they will ultimately be owning if they go for a Chrysler. If they are in a sell-off or if the brands get split up, it will be interesting to see what happens as to how they calculate sales.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) said its sales -7.7% but retail was -6.2%. Sales were expected to be -1.2%. US trucks were -11.3% and its cars were -1.4%. The bright spot for GM is its Chinese growth that Doug McIntyre discussed this morning.

Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM) was the hands-down winner at +11.8% (+7.7% adjusted for the one day extra) in sales, although estimates were expected to be +8.8%. We'll see how this does through time as trucks become more and more prevalent.

Jon Ogg is a partner in 24/7 Wall St., LLC; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Edmunds.com, the car research site, looks at industry trends each month and predicts how major car companies have done in US sales. The Edmunds data comes out the day before the car companies announce their sales data.

This March, Ford Motor's (NYSE:F) is expected to be the big loser, with sales down about 17% over the same month last year. At this rate, it would be impressive if Ford can stay in business much beyond 2007. With fuel prices up again, the company's important sales leaders like the F-150 pick-up are likely to do poorly.

DaimlerChrysler (NYSE:DCX) is expected to have another tough month at its Chrysler unit. Sales are expected to be off about 6%. That is not bad compared to Ford, but with parent Daimler trying to sell the US car unit, any drop in units tends to make the company less attractive to a potential buyer.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is expected to see sales drop only 1%. Its Saturn line of cars has been doing extremely well, and it now has more fuel-efficient crossover vehicles in its product line-up. If GM can hold its own while lowering costs, it may even show a modest profit in North America for 2007.

No one should be surprised that Toyota Motor's (NYSE:TM) sales are expected to rise in March. It is projected to have an increase of almost 9% due to the Camry and Prius, both of which get good gas mileage. Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC) sales are expected to rise 3% while Nissan Motor (NASDAQ:NSANY) is forecasted to increase 1.1%.

Of course, all of this means that Detroit's share of the US market will be down again. Soon, the Big 3 may only have a 50% share in North America.

With no turnaround in sight.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM) gave its top executives raises for the first time since 2003. They deserve every nickle.

Chief Executive Rick Waggoner got restricted stock valued at $2.8 million and 500,000 options. Product guru Vice Chairman Bob Lutz got a $1.8 million restricted stock award and 250,000 options, the same award as Chief Financial Officer Frederick Henderson, according to The Wall Street Journal (subscription required).

Executive pay is supposed to align pay with performance. Though General Motors still has loads of problems, it has out shined its rivals. I realize that given the current state of the auto industry that may not be much of a compliment.

Unlike its competitors, General Motors is profitable even though its recent quarterly results missed Wall Street expectations because of losses at its former finance unit. General Motors shares have jumped 44 percent over the past year, better than the 36 percent gain at DaimlerChrysler AG (NYSE:DCX) and the 3 percent rise at Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F).

The only problem with the awards is their timing. General Motors is going to ask for concessions from its biggest U.S. union this year, the Journal said. I can only imagine the "why should we take cuts when you got bonuses" conversations at the bargaining table.

There is some justification to that argument.

Then again, General Motors would be ill served if its top executives left in the middle of a restructuring because they got a better offer to go somewhere else.

If you regularly laugh in the face of death, eat nails for breakfast and think that only sissies need a backup parachute, than buying Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) stock is right for you.

While Ford has huge problems and is in debt up to its eyeballs, it's also working just as hard to resolve them under Chief Executive Alan Mullaly through an $11 billion restructuring plan. But what gets lost in the discussion about declining market share, union negotiations and debt is the fact that Ford makes some good cars.

Consumer Reports put the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan on its "Most Impressive" list of cars. The non-profit organization also recommended 54 percent of the Ford cars it rates, more than General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM) or DaimlerChrylser AG (NYSE:DCX). Of course, the Japanese cars dominated the rankings.

Ford is certainly not going to dig itself out of a hole anytime soon but neither are its rivals whose shares are doing much better. It's interesting that Ford's stock is down 2 percent over the past year compared with a 60 percent gain in General Motors and a 22 percent increase at Daimler. This pricing doesn't make much sense.

Ford has a lower debt-to-equity ratio than General Motors and unlike GM has a positive return on equity. DaimlerChrysler's ratios aren't available, but its shares have been surging on expectations that it was going to sell Chrysler. Plus, sales in Germany and France, key markets for Daimler, have been slipping recently.

Carl Icahn has made billions betting on companies that are out of favor with the market including our beloved corporate parent Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX). Wilbur Ross has done well with steel and private equity companies are snapping up companies that the market is turning its back on left and right.

People get rich by not following the crowd. They also don't take unnecessary risks. So, before buying a stock like Ford, think about it long and hard. Then think about it again and again. This stock isn't going to make you rich quick, but has the potential to do better than it is today.