Car dealers working to stop skid

Colorful balloons hung Monday from the showroom ceiling at North Hollywood Toyota, but there was no party going on. Kevin Modesti and Gregory J. Wilcox in the Daily News.

The balloons were attached to signs advertising the "last chance" for year-end deals as the dealer struggled to ride out the dramatic decline in U.S. auto sales.

"It's a difficult time," said general sales manager Chris Darby, who added that the dealership's 40 percent drop in December sales and 40 percent cutback in the sales staff in the past six months make this the "slowest" period he's seen in nearly a quarter-century with the Japanese company.