The latest auto news, reviews, prices, product and vehicle releases. 
Of course, the Wall Street meltdown and attendant consumer credit freeze - not to mention tens of thousands of pink slips handed down in October - didn't just affect GM, or the domestic auto makers.
"You can't have an automobile industry without a functioning credit market." So said GM chief sales analyst Michael DiGiovanni, on Bloomberg radio. "This is an industry that runs on credit." That's been the case ever since the 1920s, when GMAC, one of the first automaker-owned financing companies, began to popularize the idea of buying a car "on time". Now, ironically, a dramatically weakened GMAC (which has suffered billions in losses on subprime home loans as well as losses from over-optimistic residual values on returning off-lease vehicles) is a significant factor in dragging down GM sales. GMAC followed Chrysler's captive financing arm by quitting the automotive lease market, and in October began restricting auto loans to only those customers with top credit scores (shutting out roughly 2 out of 3 buyers).
Photo Gallery: 2008 October Auto Sales - Car Sales Analysis - Automobile Magazine