Ford reports double-digit drop in vehicle sales in January

DETROIT - Sales of Ford Motor Co. vehicles dropped 12.6 percent last month compared with January 2001, the automaker reported Friday. <br> <br> Ford passenger car sales plummeted 21.7 percent while light truck sales dropped 7.6 percent. <br> <br> Bright spots for the Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker came from its foreign units. <br> <br> Land Rover sales soared by 133 percent, Jaguar saw an 88 percent increase and Volvo sold one more vehicle than it did during January a year ago. <br> <br> The Chrysler Group of DaimlerChrysler AG reported a 9 percent decline in sales compared with January a year ago. <br> <br> &#34;While we would have liked to start off the year at a higher level, we are in an intensely competitive market and have developed a strategy for all three brands to regain their momentum quickly,&#34; Gary Dilts, senior vice president sales, said in a statement. <br> <br> Subaru of America Inc. reported its 11th consecutive month of year-over-year sales increases and the best month ever for its Impreza line. <br> <br> Subaru sales were 1.8 percent higher in January than during January 2001. Sales of Impreza sedans, wagons and coupes shot up 95 percent from those during January a year ago. <br> <br> German automaker Volkswagen AG saw its U.S. sales rise by 6 percent over those during January 2001 led by a 65.2 percent increase in sales of its Passat, a January record. <br> <br> Audi of America Inc. reported a 2.5 percent bump in sales from January 2001, its best January ever. <br> <br> BMW of North America Inc. reported a 16 percent rise in sales, its best January ever`, but Porsche Cars North America Inc. saw a 27.5 percent decrease as compared with January 2001 <br>

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