June was the worst month yet in a miserable year for the automobile industry, as Ford, G.M. and Toyota posted double-digit declines in their sales.

In a radical shift, Japan’s staid Big Three automakers are plowing into exotic terrain, from Saharan Africa to the former Soviet Union to the scorching plains of southern India.

The world’s first hydrogen-powered fuel-cell vehicle for mass production was wheeled off a Honda assembly line in Japan.

The world’s first hydrogen-powered fuel-cell vehicle for mass production was wheeled off a Honda assembly line in Japan.

About one in five vehicles sold in the U.S. in April was a compact or subcompact car, while sales of pickups and S.U.V.’s fell sharply.

In what analysts are calling a first, about one in five vehicles sold in the U.S. was a compact or subcompact car during April, while gas was topping $3.50 a gallon.

Soaring gas prices have turned the steady migration by Americans to smaller cars into a stampede.

Despite bright spots among newer, small cars, overall vehicle sales in the United States plummeted during the month as gas prices climbed to record highs.

Despite higher sales of small cars as oil and gasoline prices climbed to records in April, automakers said that overall vehicle sales in the United States plummeted during the month.