Gasoline prices have fallen from June's record high of $4.11 an unleaded regular gallon, but U.S. consumers are still staying away from dealerships, sales forecasters say. When August light-vehicle sales are reported Tuesday, Sept. 2, the year-over-year sales decline will be 14.4 percent, predicts Edmunds.com, an industry research firm. That compares with a 13.2 percent decline from unit sales in July 2007 and a 10.5 percent decline for the first seven months of 2008.
Continuing this year's trend, August's largest declines will be concentrated among Detroit 3 brands, said Jesse Toprak, Edmunds.com executive director of industry analysis. He forecast a 34 percent drop at Chrysler and 27.5 percent at General Motors this month.
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