As if to underline the extent to which the U.S. auto industry has dug its own grave with its recent focus on profitable light trucks and SUVs, Honda today reported a record profit of about $1.7 billion for its first fiscal quarter.

This a day after Ford announced a record loss of $8.7 billion in the quarter.

Indeed, Honda saw its U.S. sales grow in June. For the quarter, sales were down 2.2 percent to about $26.8 billion largely due to the stronger yen.

And in Europe, Italy's Fiat, France's Peugeot-Citroen and Germany's Volkswagen all reported stronger earnings for the quarter despite the weak market, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Part of their success could be attributed to their limited exposure to the North American market where Fiat and Peugeot-Citroen do not sell cars and where Volkswagen derives only 8 percent of its sales.

General Motors, Nissan and Toyota have yet to report their second quarter earnings. Chrysler is privately owned.

- Peter C.T. Elsworth