DETROIT (Reuters) - The global auto market may experience an "outright collapse" in 2009 amid growing concerns around credit availability of credit and general economic stress, an influential industry tracking firm said on Thursday.

J.D. Power and Associates forecast U.S. light vehicle sales would fall to 13.2 million units in 2009 after likely settling at 13.6 million units this year, adding that a pronounced recovery is more than 18 months away.

"While the global automotive industry is clearly experiencing a slowdown in 2008, the global market in 2009 may experience an outright collapse," said Jeff Schuster, executive director of automotive forecasting for J.D. Power.

"While mature markets are being impacted more severely than emerging markets, no country or region is completely immune to the turmoil," Schuster said.

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp (NYSE:GM - News), whose shares have plunged to a 58-year low amid the market turmoil, said in a formal statement that bankruptcy protection is not an option the automaker is considering.

"Clearly we face unprecedented challenges related to uncertainty in the financial markets globally and weakening economic fundamentals in many key markets," GM said.

"But bankruptcy protection is not an option GM is considering. Bankruptcy would not be in the interests of our employees, stockholders, suppliers or customers."

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The nation's top automakers all reported another month of sharply lower sales Monday, issuing a series of October reports that are expected to show the worst industrywide auto sales in 25 years.

Although gas prices fell significantly during the course of the month, tight credit and bad economic news kept many potential buyers on the sidelines.

Mark LaNeve, the General Motors vice president in charge of sales in North America, said that when adjusted for population growth, October is likely to represent the worst month for U.S. auto sales overall since the end of World War II.

While final industrywide sales were not yet available, the seasonally-adjusted annual sales rate was poised to be below 11 million for the first time since 1983. By way of comparison, this figure was 16 million a year ago.

"Unless you had to purchase a vehicle, it was wait and see for most consumers," said David Lucas, vice president of sales tracker Autodata. "People are holding onto their money because they're unsure what the future holds."

But the CEO of auto industry sales tracker Edmunds.com said there is some hope that October may be as bad as it gets.

"The data suggests that the market hit bottom between Sept. 15 and Oct 15," said Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl. "We can anticipate more fluctuations through the election and the holidays, but It is reasonable to assume that there is some degree of pent-up demand building."

General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) is reported the larger drops among major automakers. Its U.S. sales plunged 45% in the month, worse than the forecast of a 41% drop from Edmunds.com. Unlike some of its rivals, its sales even fell from what were weak levels in September.

"We are obviously disappointed in our results, which reflect a difficult comparison with a strong year-ago October performance," said LaNeve. "More importantly, it also reflects an unprecedented credit crunch that is dramatically impacting the entire U.S. economy," he added.

It was the lowest sales total at GM since December 1970, a month that followed a strike that shut production at the nation's largest automaker.

But double-digit declines in sales were the norm, not the exception, across the industry.

Ford (F, Fortune 500) sales were down 30% from a year earlier, including the company's Volvo unit in the sales total.

While that was a bit better than the 35% drop forecast by sales tracker Edmunds.com, it marked the 11th straight month that Ford's sales fell from year-earlier levels.

Sales were also up slightly from September, which was the weakest month for the company since January 1982.

Toyota Motor (TM), which is now the No. 2 automaker in terms of U.S. sales, posted a 23% decline from year-earlier levels. That was far worse than the 16% drop forecast by Edmunds.com. This was the tenth time in the past eleven months that its U.S. sales fell from a year ago.

The declining sales were felt across all categories of autos at all three companies.

GM reported that sales of light trucks, which includes pickups and sports utility vehicles (SUVs), plunged 51%, while car sales tumbled 34% compared to a year ago.

Ford posted a year-over-year decline in sales for virtually every model it offers. The only two exceptions were the Lincoln Town Car and the Ford Flex, a newly-introduced crossover vehicle.

For its core Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands, sales of SUVs plummeted 54% from a year ago and crossover sales were off 39%. Sales of trucks and vans declined 19% while sales of cars fell 27% from a year earlier.

Toyota reported similar trends, with sales of light truck models falling more than 33% from year-earlier levels. Sales of cars dropped 16%.

Chrysler LLC, which includes the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep brands, posted a 35% drop in sales and was one of the few automakers to report a drop in sales from September.

As bad as Chrysler's sales were, they were a bit better than the 38% decline forecast by Edmunds.com. The sales were also enough for Chrysler to hold off Honda Motor and remain the No. 4 automaker in terms of U.S. sales.

Honda Motor (HMC) and Nissan (NSANY) also posted sharp drops in sales from year-earlier levels: Honda sales fell 25% and sales at Nissan plunged 33%. Both were worse than Edmunds.com's forecasts.

Experts are worried that the weak sales and tight credit could cause the U.S. automakers to run out of cash as soon as 2009. While Ford has more cash on hand that its U.S. rivals, it is forecast to report a much larger third quarter loss than it did year ago when it releases results Friday.

Chrysler has reportedly held talks with GM as well as with the Nissan-Renault alliance about a possible merger with one of those automakers. But those talks are reportedly on hold. There has been talk that GM is seeking a loan from the Treasury Department in order to help finance a deal for Chrysler

U.S. Auto Sales Tumble 32%, Paced by GM's 45% Slide (Update1)

Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. auto sales plummeted 32 percent in October in what General Motors Corp. called the worst month since 1945, as reduced access to loans and a weaker economy kept consumers off dealer lots.