Good God!!! And there are those who think we can pull out of this economic free fall by the end of this year! OP, thanks for the link! -gastropod
Without a credit bubble spending boom, there will be much less spending and more saving. We will find that the world is producing waayyy too much crap.. much more than can be bought... especially with the new "mind set". With less crap produced, there will be many more job losses by those who formerly produced the excess crap. Expect (1) several years before things settle out, (2) economic activity perhaps as much as 20% below spending boom peak, (3) much higher unemployment... and worst of all.... NOT ENOUGH JOBS TO GO AROUND... the adjustment is going to be miserable for everyone (except Gummint, of course... they always get their vig.. and now it's going to be more egregious than ever)
February 2009 auto sales in total collapse at annualized sub 9 million, lower than January's numbers. Japan's auto production has all but stopped. Germany is now providing a credit for anyone who trades a 9 year or older can for a new one. tax credit coming to the US also in stimulus package, but doubt if it can save the US auto manufacturers. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...ANerc&refer=us Ford Says Industrywide Auto Sales Fell From January (Update3) Email | Print | A A A By Keith Naughton Feb. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co., the only U.S. carmaker to forgo federal government emergency loans, said industrywide U.S. auto sales fell this month from January, when the annualized rate was the lowest since 1981. âWe donât know where the bottom is,â Ford sales analyst George Pipas told reporters today in Dearborn, Michigan, where the company is based. The rate may decline to 9 million cars and light trucks, from last monthâs 9.6 million level, he said. Automakers report February sales on March 3. His comments came a day after Ford in a U.S. regulatory filing cut its 2009 forecast for industry sales by 1 million to as few as 10.5 million vehicles. The drop in consumer confidence is âof concernâ to the automaker, Pipas said. Ford expects the industry sales rate in the second quarter to improve to 10.3 million, where it was in lastâs yearâs final three months, he said. The federal governmentâs stimulus package will be a âpositiveâ for the auto industry, with the effect probably coming after next quarter, Pipas said. Industry sales totaled 13.2 million last year, the fewest since 1992, and have averaged more than 16 million this decade. Ford pulled back on incentives this month, Pipas said. For the industry, the average incentive per vehicle rose 8 percent from last month to $2,698, said Edmunds.com, a Santa Monica, California-based provider of auto information, in a report today. Incentives increased 30 percent to an average $5,566 for Chrysler LLC and 14 percent to $3,584 for General Motors Corp., while declining 2 percent to $3,430 for Ford, Edmunds.com said. Sales this month by Ford excluding those to fleet customers such as rental-car companies may drop 40 percent, Pipas said. The automaker will produce fewer vehicles in the second quarter than it did a year earlier, he said. Ford rose 2 cents to $2 at 4:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have declined 70 percent in the past 12 months.
Can't seem to find it now, but a site called "Dark Roasted Blend" had pics of miles of cars stacked up in Russia, I think it was. The cars I saw were '09 Hondas.
So, if this "back log" is the case, why are the Auto Prices not coming down 50%? I mean the dealers pay X then mark them up X2 per say. So, if the situation is as such, the Dealers' should take a "pay cut' and mark down their inventor and make 50% less than they did a year ago....a pay cut to survive but sell calls and move the product. Yes, you can get an auto loan, I was just approved for 80k by Citi Financial Auto.... However, this is not happening and I will make a educated guess that those photo's are true, but that compaired to the Population world wide, %s, not as dire as it looks. Or, the World is ending. Either way, the RICH get RICHER and the Middle Class are gona fade away. As long as you stacked your chips in the right place...then sit back and enjoy the show, it's OBAMA NATION!!!
Nice use of old RAF airfields! When you run out of land start using boats. http://moneynews.newsmax.com/streettalk/toyota_boat_charter/2009/02/25/185458.html Toyota Charters Boat to Store Unsold Cars Wednesday, February 25, 2009 11:03 AM By: Greg Brown Article Font Size Toyota has run out of space for its unsold cars. So it is putting them on a boat. The Japanese auto giant told Lloydâs List that it has chartered a 2,500-car capacity ship that will simply sit at a dock in Malmo, Sweden. âWe have space for 12,500 cars in Malmo, which acts as a distribution center for all the Nordic countries,â Toyota spokesman Etienne Plas told Lloydâs. âBut we have run out of space. We need the ship to store cars while they are waiting to be delivered. Hopefully we wonât need it for that long.â Toyota reported that its exports fell by 60 percent in January alone, like many auto exporters. Photos of cars parked at race tracks and stacked rows deep at ports are circulating around the Internet as all automakers try to deal with the fall-off in demand. Japanese exporters are closely watching the yen, which has weakened against the dollar, falling 6.4 percent this year. A Japanese recession is making the countryâs currency look less like a safe haven, but the previously strong yen had the damaging effect of making Japanese cars more expensive abroad on top of the global credit crunch and collapsing demand.
I recently moved out of New York City and need a car. I'd get something new in the smaller or compact class, Civic, Corolla, Mazda 3, etc. NONE of the dealers i've visited are willing to negotiate on price. They all have a "best price first" policy. The lots are full - no customers, and these guys aren't willing to move inventory... I haven't bought a new car in several years but before they were always willing to negotiate, bargain, etc. What's up with these guys??
Perhaps they're trying to get "all the money".. figuring that if you're buying now you are financially flush and willing to pay. Try again a bit later.. the glut of unsold will force a big sale at some point..