Autodata Corp. yesterday reported a 3 percent drop in sales of cars and light trucks in December as housing woes and high fuel prices kept consumers away from showrooms, the Wall Street Journal reported today. General Motors Corp.’s vehicle sales for December fell 4.4 percent compared with the same period a year earlier, while Ford Motor Co. suffered a 8.9 percent drop. Chrysler LLC increased sales 0.5 percent, thanks to an extended year-end sale featuring heavy rebates and incentives. Toyota Motor Corp.’s vehicle sales fell 1.7 percent in December. Overall in 2007, industry sales declined 2.5 percent to 16,556,423, and most analysts expect further declines in 2008.
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A study released yesterday said that class-action lawsuits increased more than 40 percent last year fueled by troubled mortgage investments and a volatile stock market, according to the Washington Post today. Plaintiff lawyers targeted 166 companies last year, including 47 financial services businesses, which have been among the hardest hit by losses in subprime mortgages, according to the report by Stanford University and Cornerstone Research. The 2007 tally contrasts with 116 cases during the comparable period a year earlier. A separate study issued yesterday by NERA Economic Consulting drew similar conclusions. Researchers said that the increase reflected a surge in lawsuits in the last six months of the year, when the markets bounced on reports of tightened credit access and widening troubles with housing investments.