Montgomery Advertiser, Ala., Auto Focus Column.

Byline: Brett Clanton

Aug. 10--For some reason Americans buy fewer cars during a recession. Go figure.

So, it should come as no surprise that July sales figures for automakers with plants in Alabama are on the low side.

Hyundai, which is building a $1 billion assembly plant in south Montgomery, posted sales of 36,316 vehicles for the month of July, down from 36,744 in July 2002.

While Hyundai's U.S. sales are up 3.9 percent year-to-date, the automaker is off pace to reach its goal of selling 1 million cars a year in this country by 2010. To hit that mark, Hyundai needs to grow U.S. sales by an average of 13 percent a year by decade's end. …