There really is no room to relax in the auto industry. Like in driving, auto companies predict their own future by creating it. No time for naps, or else they’ll find themselves at the sales bottom just the way an Acura Legend floor mat finds its place in Acura cars.

Last year, Asian automakers Toyota, Honda and Nissan made it in the US market but things turned out differently much to their disadvantage this January.

“Toyota, Honda and Nissan all tried to finish big in December to make sure they ended the year well. It looks like they eased up this January,” said Edmunds.com analyst Jessica Caldwell.

Reports from Bloomberg.com said that Nissan Motor Co. and Hyundai Motor Co.’s decline in US sales led the Asian automaker’s drop in sales last month. Nissan, Japan’s third largest auto maker, declared that sales fell 7.3 percent compared to sales in 2007 while Hyundai’s sales dropped by 23 percent. Meanwhile, Honda Motor Co. lost 2.3 percent vehicle sales.

Based from assessments by auto analysts, the first half of 2008 would really be a rough road for Asian brands in the US.

“The consumers are really leveraged and it takes time to work that out,” said Mirko Mikelic who co-manages $22 billion at Fifth Third Asset Management in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

During last month’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit, it can be recalled that Japanese executives expressed confidence in gaining more market share.

“We still have the strength to beat the market,” Shigeru Hayakawa, Toyota’s chief executive officer said.

Japan’s largest automaker, Toyota announced a 5.7 percent drop in sales of its famous brands last month which was though balanced by a 2.2 percent increase in light trucks sales.

The New York-based Conference Board revealed that consumer confidence indeed slipped to almost a double-year low last month.

It’s gonna be another restless year for Asian automakers, I suppose.