(AP) -- Chrysler has joined other major automakers in reporting poor U.S. sales last month.

The automaker says its February domestic sales fell 44 percent.

General Motors' sales tumbled 53 percent from a year earlier, while Ford's U.S. sales fell 48 percent. Toyota's U.S. sales plunged 40 percent, while Honda's sales dropped 38 percent and Nissan's fell 37 percent.

The slide casts further doubt on the financial viability of GM and Chrysler, which need to sell cars and generate critical cash to supplement the $17.4 billion in government loans that are keeping them in business.

The auto industry is on track for its worst sales month in more than 27 years as huge rebates and low-interest financing failed to spur fearful consumers to make a major purchase.

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