The "CNN effect," with consumers staying glued to their TV sets during a war, failed to dramatically slow sales at most Southern California auto dealers over the weekend, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Still, the auto industry is facing a number of challenges this year as a weak economy, record-high gasoline prices and the effect of 18 months of vehicle rebates and other sales incentives seem to have run out of steam, the Times said.

Nationwide passenger vehicle sales fell 8 percent for the week ending March 22, said Paul Taylor, chief economist for the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA). That's about 30,000 fewer passenger vehicles than were sold the same week last year, or an average of 1.5 cars fewer sales per dealership, Taylor said.

So far, the CNN effect hasn't reached the level it did during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, when sales plunged about 30 percent in the first week or so. Some car dealers caution, though, that sales could drop substantially if the casualty count among coalition troops climbs, according to the Times.