New Vehicle Sales Drive Off Cliff

The struggling state of the California economy remains evident in a report released this week on new vehicle sales.

During the year’s second quarter, 232,076 new cars and trucks were sold in the state, a 42.9% decline from the same period a year earlier, according to a report issued by the California New Car Dealers Association.

The California market’s decline was well above the 35.1% drop recorded nationally. However, the dealers’ association does see a light at the end of the tunnel that it does not believe to be an oncoming clunker.

It is projecting that sales for the second half of 2009 will be down only 20% compared to the same period of 2008, and that new car sales will rise during 2010.

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Transportation industry
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