NEW YORK (Associated Press) - Shares of automotive companies tumbled to some of their lowest levels in decades Tuesday, pulled down by worries about slumping European automotive demand and a drop in the overall market.

BMW AG, Daimler AG, General Motors Corp.'s German subsidiary Adam Opel AG and the German unit of Ford Motor Co. all announced production cuts, saying that worries about a financial crisis were prompting European drivers to put off new car purchases.

GM said its other subsidiaries in Europe were also affected, while Italy's Fiat and Renault of France said they would slow down production.

Meanwhile, worries about financial companies' balance sheets sent the Dow Jones industrials down more than 300 points in afternoon trading.

GM posted some of the day's largest losses, falling 92 cents, or 10.9 percent, to close at $7.56, their lowest price since 1954 when it dropped to $7.87, according to the Center for Research in Security Prices at the University of Chicago. The price is adjusted for splits and other changes.

Meanwhile, Ford shares dropped 77 cents, or 20.9 percent, to $2.92, after hitting a low of $3.14 earlier and marking their lowest price since 1985, when they fell to $3.06, according to the center.

U.S. shares of foreign automakers did not escape unscathed. Daimler dropped $2.14, or 5.7 percent, to $35.51. They earlier hit a new 52-week low of $35.16.