Weak auto sales hitting northeast Indiana area hard

MARTY SCHLADEN, The Journal Gazette

mschladen@jg.net

The pain from the poorest annual auto sales in 16 years is felt particularly in northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio, where thousands of jobs depend on automakers, their suppliers and the dealers who sell their products.

Several area dealers were reluctant Monday to discuss their sales. But Lynn Meyer of Meyer Auto Sales Inc. in Monroeville said they're "not very good." Meyer and his brothers own the Chrysler dealership, which has been in business for more than 80 years.

Chrysler reported the biggest monthly decline in sales Monday when it said December sales for 2008 were off 53 percent from 2007.