DETROIT -- April was another dismal sales month for Ford, while Chrysler reported sales increased.

Ford, the nation's No. 2 automaker, reported sales plunged 12.9 percent last month from April 2006. The decline was led by car sales, which were off 23.6, while truck sales were down 5.7 percent.

"With April behind us, we remain focused on getting the word out about the strength of our new products, and our marketing offensive is moving into high gear," said Mark Fields, Ford's president of the Americas. "Customers are responding very positively to our new 'Ford Challenge' ads that pit Ford vehicles against the best of the competition, so we?re accelerating our plans."

Only Ford's Lincoln brand posted positive sales numbers, as Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo and Mercury were all down.

DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group saw a 1.6 percent increase.

The company says it had a strong retail month. The Jeep brand was up 29 percent due to sales of the Wrangler and Compass models.

Industry leader General Motors said its sales were down 9.5 percent from April of last year.

Toyota, which has been challenging GM for supremacy, posted a 4.4 percent drop.

Industry analysts didn't think Ford will be alone with a poor month. Most predict U.S. sales overall will be down due largely to the slumping housing market, rising consumer debt and no pent-up demand for vehicles.