Toyota and GM up, Ford down, and more bad news for Chrysler

Simply put, Thursday was not a good day for Chrysler. Just hours after reporting earlier in the day that it was going to cut 12,000 jobs as part of a cost savings effort the automaker said sales in October declined 9% , with car sales up 12% and truck sales down 14%. But Chrysler wasn't the only one whose sales figures were down in October. The AP reports that Ford's US sales fell 9.3% last month as well.

On the flip side, General Motors saw an increase in sales--3.3% for October--for the third consecutive month. While its car sales were flat compared with last October, its truck sales were up 5.8%. And Toyota reported a 4.5% sales increase for last month.

Nissan had a very strong October with an increase in sales of 13% for the month. The automaker said the increase was due largely to strong sales of its new Altima sedan and Versa subcompact. Nissan also said its new Rouge crossover was exceeding expectations, with more than 5,000 sold in its first full month on the market.