Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. auto sales plunged 37 percent in November to the lowest annual rate in 26 years as the recession and Detroit automakers’ aid pleas kept buyers out of showrooms.

General Motors Corp. tumbled 41 percent, the second drop of that size in as many months. Toyota Motor Corp. fell 34 percent, the most since at least 1980, while Chrysler LLC’s 47 percent slide was the worst since at least 1981, according to research firm Autodata Corp. Deliveries fell for all major automakers.

The results showed the strain of the deepening economic slowdown and GM’s announcement last month that it may run out of operating cash in 2008. GM, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler gave Congress requests today for $34 billion in loans to survive.

“When you think of the psyche of the American consumer right now, it’s bad,” said Rebecca Lindland, an analyst with IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts. “And until we start seeing some help from the economy we are going to keep seeing months like this.”

U.S. sales slid to 746,789 cars and light trucks from 1.18 million a year earlier, extending the industry’s streak of monthly declines to 13, the longest in 17 years.

New vehicles sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 10.2 million, the lowest since October 1982, according to Autodata. That trailed October’s 10.6 million and the forecast of 11 million in a Bloomberg survey analysts and economists. The year-earlier total was 16.1 million.

GM, Ford, Chrysler

GM’s sales of cars and light trucks collapsed to 153,404 vehicles following a 45 percent decline in October for the largest U.S. automaker.

Deliveries fell for each of Detroit-based GM’s eight divisions, including 64 percent at the Hummer sport-utility vehicle unit that’s up for sale. The top-selling Silverado pickup slipped 23 percent.

GM disclosed a preliminary plan for cutting first-quarter North American output by 32 percent to 600,000 vehicles, while Ford said it would slash production in the region by 38 percent to 430,000. Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford didn’t change its fourth-quarter plans to build 430,000 vehicles.

Ford’s sales plummeted 31 percent to 123,222 units, with declines at all four U.S. brands. The biggest was 46 percent for Volvo, which Ford is considering selling.

Chrysler, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, said sales slid 47 percent to 85,260 cars and trucks. That was the steepest decline in monthly sales figures since 1981, according to Autodata of Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

Toyota, Honda, Nissan

At Toyota, only the new Sequoia and Lexus LX SUVs recorded sales gains, with every other model across the Toyota, Lexus and Scion lines falling as deliveries slid to 130,307. Honda Motor Co., Japan’s second-largest automaker after Toyota, said sales fell 32 percent to 76,233 vehicles, the lowest monthly tally since 2000.

Nissan Motor Co., Japan’s third-largest automaker, said it sold 46,605 new vehicles last month, down 42 percent.

“In terms of percentage decline, this is probably the worst month ever for the combined Japanese brands,” said Jesse Toprak, director of industry analysis for automotive-research firm Edmunds.com, in a conference call today.

Even models such as Honda’s Fit and Toyota’s Prius are suffering after selling for months at or above list prices without incentives. Sales of the Fit subcompact fell 8.4 percent, and the hybrid Prius was off 48 percent.

‘No Vehicle Is Immune’

“We’ve probably reached a point where no vehicle is immune from the ravages of the market,” said Mike Robinet, an analyst at CSM Worldwide Inc. in Northville, Michigan. “The consumer is not in a very jovial mood when it comes to opening their pocketbooks.”

The only vehicle lines to post U.S. gains were Bayerische Motoren Werke AG’s Mini and Rolls Royce brands, and Fiat SpA’s Ferrari.

Luxury European brands such as Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz fell 38 percent, while sports-car maker Porsche SE tumbled 46 percent. Gains for Mini couldn’t prevent a combined 27 percent decline for combined BMW-Mini sales. BMW is the biggest luxury- car maker.

U.S. automakers’ share of their home market decreased to 47.7 percent from 49.9 percent, while Asian brands’ share increased to 43.4 percent from 42 percent. European automakers boosted their market share to 8.9 percent from 8.1 percent.

Economic Weakness

The industry is struggling against a decline in U.S. personal spending in October of 1 percent, the most since the 2001 contraction. The drop in purchases followed a 0.3 percent retreat in September, the Commerce Department said Nov. 26.

Consumer sentiment improved in November, with the Conference Board’s confidence index rising to 44.9 from a record low 38.8 the prior month, the private New York-based research group said Nov. 25.

U.S. economic weakness provided the backdrop for GM’s Nov. 7 announcement that it would run out of cash by the end of the year without government aid.

Less than two weeks later, Ford Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally and Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli told Congress that a GM failure would ripple through the supply chain and cripple all automakers. GM CEO Rick Wagoner has said bankruptcy isn’t an option, because consumers wouldn’t buy cars from an automaker in Chapter 11.

The industry may not get a lift from an economic recovery any time soon, with Ford predicting that U.S. sales will keep declining through 2009’s first half.

The first quarter will be a “truth point,” Ford’s marketing chief, Jim Farley, said on a conference call.

“If you are any kind of astute business person, you plan for it to get worse,” said Lindland, the IHS Global Insight analyst. “There just isn’t any relief in sight and that is depressing.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Bill Koenig in Southfield, Michigan, at wkoenig@bloomberg.net; Alan Ohnsman in Los Angeles at aohnsman@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: December 2, 2008 18:35 EST