Oct. 6--The cracks are really beginning to show.

The Goodyear plant in Gadsden shut down -- not for good, but for an entire week.

Christmas catalogs from nervous retailers are in the mail, and it's only the first week of October. Retailers are fearing for the worst holiday season in recent memory.

And Alabama's big-ticket, high profile industry -- the state's automakers -- is feeling the pain of the economy's downturn and its many permutations. From Vance to Huntsville, from Montgomery to this side of the state, Alabama's automakers have proven unable to avoid the inevitable lag in sales and credit woes that's infected nearly all car, truck and minivan companies, both foreign and domestic.

It's particularly telling that Honda, which makes Odyssey minivans and Pilot SUVs at its facility in Lincoln, has not been able to avoid the financial bloodletting. Honda is, and still is, one of the cornerstone employers for east Alabama, its reputation as solid today as it was when the plant rolled out its first vehicle earlier this decade.

September was a horrible month for the U.S. economy. Job losses were at a record pace. Friday's passage of the bailout bill couldn't stave off that bad news.

Though September wasn't a complete death-knell month for the automotive industry, it has provided a compelling snapshot of one facet of this nation's economic troubles.

As reported in Friday's Star by Business Editor Mary Jo Shafer, Odyssey sales nationwide for September were down 14 percent against the same month in 2007. Sales of the Pilot vehicle posted a worse figure -- a 16.8 percent decline. Sarah Pines, a spokeswoman for American Honda, told The Star that September was "one of the worst months in history for car and truck sales combined."

That takes a few breathless moments to comprehend.

Unlike General Motors and other American automakers, Honda's quick reaction to this global financial crisis has allowed it to remain competitive at a time when fewer Americans are buying cars and trucks and fewer Americans are qualifying for the necessary credit. Other foreign automakers have altered their production schedules and plans, as well. And most consumers have hunkered down, closeted their check books and are waiting for the turmoil to subside.

Honda has reduced a few shifts and lessened production by 10,000 vehicles until the end of October -- a cogent sign that even east Alabama's most powerful employers and manufacturers long ago began to feel the painful pinch of these tough economic times. This page has said it before, and it's worth repeating: Thus far, Honda plans no layoffs at its Lincoln plant. Be thankful for that, at least.

There's no telling where this ends. Be glad there are occasional snippets of positive news amid the dark days of recession talk. But make no mistake: Read the paper, open your eyes, and you'll see good, strong, financially secure businesses making difficult financial decisions. Some are struggling to make ends meet. The cracks in our economy are now impossible to avoid.

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