Mar. 4--Major carmakers said Tuesday that February was another dreadful sales month, while the federal government announced steps to deal with one reason for the decline: tight credit.

Automakers said combined sales slumped 40 percent below a year earlier, despite manufacturer discounts that averaged more than $2,900 per vehicle, as frightened consumers -- watching their homes and investments decline in value and layoffs rise -- stayed away from dealerships or switched to used cars.

"The month started poorly and things got worse," analyst Art Spinella of Oregon-based CNW Research said in an e-mail to clients.

General Motors' decline was a stunning 53 percent from February 2008, with each of its divisions sharing the pain. Ford's sales were off by 48 percent, with the steepest declines in traditional SUVs like the Ford Explorer, as well as vans, pickup trucks and the Mustang.

"The economic and competitive environment remains challenging," said Ken Czubay, Ford vice president for sales and marketing.

Chrysler -- which, like General Motors is being propped up by government loans and is requesting more -- said sales slumped by 44 percent, with its cars, especially the Sebring, its weakest performers.

Toyota said sales were off by 40 percent. Nissan's sales fell by 37.1 percent. Honda and BMW both dropped 38 percent, Mazda was off 30.4 percent and Mercedes-Benz fell 24 percent.

Subaru was the only major carmaker to report a sales gain from last year -- 1 percent -- on the strength of the Forester SUV. Kia's sales were flat and Hyundai's decline was only 2 percent, thanks to its offer for buyers to return vehicles within a year if they lose their job.

During a teleconference Tuesday, Toyota division chief Bob Carter said the company believes things will begin improving during the summer as consumer confidence improves.

"It's just a question of when during the summer we start pulling off the bottom," he said.

If February's sales level is maintained for the year, the industry will sell about 9 million new vehicles -- the lowest level since the early 1980s.

There was little good news. Carmakers said unsold inventories were declining due to production cuts. Several said sales and showroom traffic improved in February over January. Chrysler said Jeep Wrangler sales rose by 28 percent. GM noted improved sales to retail customers, as opposed to fleets, of its redesigned Malibu sedan and Chevrolet Traverse SUV.

Neither January nor February sales figures for Long Island are available yet, but the Michigan-based auto information company R.L. Polk said Tuesday that in December, new vehicle registrations were down 25 percent in Nassau and Suffolk counties from a year earlier.

As the national figures were being announced, the Federal Reserve unveiled a program aimed at boosting credit to consumers and small businesses by lending up to $200 billion to investors to buy up debt.

The weak February sales came despite deep discounting by carmakers; the auto information company Edmunds.com estimated Tuesday that the average manufacturer incentive in the United States was $2,914 per vehicle sold in February 2009, up $216, or 8 percent, from January 2009, and up $400, or 15.9 percent, from February 2008.

Not surprisingly, as vehicle sales have fallen through 2007 and 2008, vehicles on the road are getting older. Polk reported Tuesday that the average passenger car in service in the 12 months ended June 30 was 9.4 years old -- a record -- and the average truck was 7.6 years old.

"The current economic environment, coupled with high gas prices last spring and summer, has resulted in consumers delaying purchases of vehicles because their discretionary income has fallen," Polk executive Dave Goebel said in a statement.

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