The biggest car manufacturers reported lower sales on the U.S. market during December as the auto industry just got through its weakest year in over a decade and entered a 2008 which doesn’t look very bright either.

Ford Motor Co. fell 9 percent, while Toyota Motor Corp increased its sales to climb on the No. 2 spot in the U.S. market and put an end to Ford's 76-year claim to that title.

With gasoline prices on the rise as oil exceeded $100 per barrel and with a weak housing market, concerns that the U.S. economy could tip into recession in 2008, thus determining consumers to holdup purchases such as new cars, have risen.

Shares in GM and Ford fell to their lowest since mid-2006 even before the report of the sales results came in.

General Motors Corp’s sales fell 5 percent in December, while Toyota's sales for the same period fell just 1.7 percent. Nissan Motor Co reported a sales decline of 2.4 percent.

The only important auto producers which didn’t post sales declines were the privately-held Chrysler LLC and Honda Motor Co

Honda said its results were almost flat as the sales record was sustained by gains for its Accord and Civic sedans.

On the other hand, Chrysler said it sold about 1 percent more in December as it had an increased demand for its revamped minivans.

The 2007 sales reports show that GM and Chrysler sales were both down 6 percent and Ford posted a drop of 12 percent. The American car maker is currently in talks with Tata Motors Ltd., India’s largest auto manufacturer, and will most likely sell its U.K.-based Land Rover and Jaguar units.

The Japanese auto makers were all successful throughout 2007. Toyota sold 2.7 percent more, while Honda's sales rose 2.5 percent. Nissan had a good year to as it recovered from a slow 2006 with a 4.5 percent gain in 2007.