High fuel prices to hit Big-3 hardest

High gasoline prices and fear of them seem to be taking a bite out of new car and truck sales in April. General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and even Chrysler Group, the only Detroit automaker performing well this year, are expected to post sales declines Tuesday when they are scheduled to report results. Through March, sales were down 5.2% at GM and 2.8% at Ford, but they were up 3.9% at Chrysler.

There have been some reports that consumers are shifting away from SUVs and into smaller vehicles with less powerful and less fuel-thirsty engines. That would be bad news for Detroit automakers, which make a lot of their money on big, powerful vehicles. More at Detroit Free Press