How tough was it for General Motors and Ford Motor Co. in July? Just look at how the automakers ranked by U.S. sales for the month:

1. General Motors

2. Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc.

3. Ford Motor Co.

That's right -- Toyota outsold Ford.

Also, American Honda Motor Co. outsold the Chrysler group for the month, and came within 20,161 units of overtaking DaimlerChrysler.

In June, Toyota ranked behind GM and Ford, while the Chrysler group outsold American Honda.

Analysts had expected the Detroit 3 to post a big drop in U.S. sales for July -- and they did. GM was down 22.5 percent, Ford Motor was down 34.3 percent, and the Chrysler group was down 37.4 percent.

But the comparisons with sales in July 2005 are somewhat misleading. A year ago, the Detroit 3 launched employee price incentive programs that triggered the biggest sales month in the industry's history.

That wasn't a factor for Toyota Motor Sales or American Honda. Those automakers didn't jump in on the employee pricing game, and both said their July sales this year set records for the month.

Toyota Motor's sales totaled 241,826 units, up 11.7 percent from July 2005. For the year to date, Toyota's U.S. sales are up 10.1 percent from the same period last year.

American Honda's U.S. sales in July totaled 151,804 units, up 6.0 percent from July 2005. The automaker's year-to-date U.S. sales are up 6.9 percent from last year to 893,031 units.

Japanese rival Nissan North America is having a tougher time as it awaits the arrival of new or redesigned products. The automaker's U.S. sales in July, which include the Infiniti brand, dropped 19.5 percent from July 2005 to 86,408 units. For the year to date, Nissan North America's U.S. sales are down 8.0 percent to 598,176 units.

Overall, U.S. auto sales in July totaled 1,493,329 units, down 17.4 percent from July 2005.

After seven months, U.S. auto sales totaled 9,868,617 units, down 5.0 percent from the same period last year. The seasonally adjusted annualized rate for July was 16,835,727, according to the Automotive News Data Center.

Porsche Cars North America today announced a sales record for the month of July in the United States. In the U.S., Porsche sold 3,202 new cars this past month, an increase of 14 percent compared to the previous July when sales were 2,804. The results pushed Porsche's year-to-date sales total in 2006 to 21,803, up 15 percent from last year's seven-month total of 18,930. July 31 marked the end of Porsche's fiscal year 05/06. PCNA closed the 2006 fiscal year with total North American sales of 36,669 new cars, an increase of 7 percent over the previous fiscal year when sales were 33,974. The total is the best fiscal sales result in the history of Porsche in North America. By model, Porsche sold 10,701 of its Boxsters/Cayman series (up 65 percent), 12,534 911s (up 18 percent), and 13,217 Cayennes (down 27 percent).

Hyundai Motor America announced sales of 47,205 vehicles for the month of July, improving on the one-month all-time sales record set in June. Meanwhile, subsidary Kia Motors America announced record July sales of 26,429 units, a 1.4-percent increase over the same period last year. Year-to-date sales for Kia totaled 173,007 units, a 2.3-percent improvement over the record-setting sales pace in 2005.

The BMW Group today reported a decrease of 12 percent in July North American sales for 23,611 vehicles compared to the 26,840 vehicles reported in 2005. Sales of BMW brand vehicles dropped 13.4 percent in July for a total of 20,083 compared to 23,178 reported in the same month a year ago. MINI USA reported July sales of 3,528 automobiles, down 3.7 percent from the 3,662 cars sold in July 2005. BMW brand sales were hurt by weak SUV sales, which were down 31.5 percent in July. Meanwhile, Volkswagen reported July sales of 22,627, a 5.0% increase over prior year July sales of 21,553. Golf/Rabbit sales were their highest since 2002. Lastly, Audi reported July 2006 sales of 7,005 units, down just 1.5 percent compared to year ago sales. Despite weak demand in the industry for SUVs, the new Q7 added 590 sales to Audi's total.

Nissan North America today reported sales of 86,408 units in July, which is a decrease of 16.2 percent from the prior year, when NNA posted its best sales month ever. The Nissan division saw a 16 percent decline in overall sales. The Infiniti Division posted a sales decline of 18.1 percent versus the prior year. Every Nissan and Infiniti model posted a sales decrease for the month. The new Versa subcompact experienced strong first full month, with sales of 2,856 units.

Toyota today reported its all-time best-ever monthly sales of 241,826 vehicles, an increase of 16.2 percent over July 2005. The Toyota Division posted its all-time best-ever sales month of 214,867, up 17.7 percent. The Lexus Division reported best-ever July sales with 26,959 units sold, an increase of 5.6 percent. Scion reported all-time best-ever monthly sales with 18,408 units sold. Meanwhile, American Honda announced record July results of 151,804 Honda and Acura vehicle sales, an increase of 10.2 percent over July 2005. Honda's light truck sales hit 67,853 units, up 11.0 percent for a new all-time record. The Acura Division posted July sales of 18,203, with record July sales of 3,799 units for the TSX. Another Japanese automaker — Mazda — reported a five percent increase in sales over last year, for a July total of 25,963 vehicles.

General Motors posted an overall sales decline of 19.5 percent for the month of July, compared to the same month a year ago. Buick, Cadillac, Chrvrolet, GMC, and Saab all posted double-digit declines. Saturn sales were off just 4.3 percent, and Pontiac sales were up 0.1 percent. Hummer sales were down just 2.7 percent, compared to July 2005. Overall, GM car sales were up 0.6 percent — virtually even with last year. Meanwhile, truck sales fell a whopping 28.5 percent.

Compared with July 2005, most Ford products experienced sharp declines and overall sales declined 35.7 percent. In a statement today, Ford was, nonetheless, upbeat. "We had a solid retail month in July," said Al Giombetti, president, Ford and Lincoln Mercury sales and marketing. "We are particularly encouraged by the response to our new cars, which offer distinctive styling and outstanding fuel economy. They are definitely the right products at the right time." Retail sales for the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, and Lincoln Zephyr were up 18 percent over last month. The Mustang and Ford GT were the only models to post actual sales increases over July 2005. Volvo sales were down 10 percent, Jaguar was off 15 percent, Lincoln was down 21.5 percent, Mercury fell 34.1 percent, and Land Rover — on of Ford's stronger brands — was also down considerably: 30.6 percent.

The Chrysler Group — which consists of the Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brands — today posted sales of 150,349 vehicles in the U.S., a decrease of 37 percent. Meanwhile, sister company Mercedes reported its highest July sales on record with 21,591 new vehicles sold, an increase of 4 percent over last July. The Mercedes increase was driven mostly by a massive jump in S-Class sales — 52.0% higher than the year-ago period. The SLK-Class also saw a slight uptick in sales numbers. Every other model posted a decrease in sales, with the CLK-class losing 44.9 percent.