Toyota has reported its first yearly loss ever. Nissan would be better off throwing money out the window. The American public didn’t even need to buy General Motors or Chrysler products to help keep them afloat. BMW is going as far as cutting the development of the X7 in order to try to stop the bleeding. Ford’s future is uncertain. Volkswagen AG said strong sales in China helped push its total sales up 0.6% for 2008. Honda and Porsche, the two companies we all ordinarily admire, are expecting losses for their fiscal years.

So what types of cars are people buying? It looks like Ferraris. Ferrari is reporting a two percent increase in cars delivered to 6,587 in 2008. It also saw a rise in profits of 27% to $441 million during the same time. A large portion of that increase was due to America. Ferrari's U.S. sales jumped 26 percent—a greater increase than the brand saw in any other market.

There maybe a couple different reasons for this. Ferrari autos are more of an investment to many buyers; an investment that has a higher chance of a better return than on many stocks in the long run. Ferrari's one-to-one personalization program also was a major contributor, pushing sales of the brand's non-car related activities up by 28%. 

Despite the increase, Ferrari Chairman Luca di Montezemolo warned that “the economic climate in 2009 still remains very uncertain as the crisis takes its toll across the globe and it is hard to say how the situation will develop from here.”

[via Driving.ca]

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