Those who have been reading my blog know that I have said many, many times before that the world already has enough vehicles to finish off what is left of the world's oil supply. In truth, we would not need single unit added to the world fleet to do it.
Aug. 1 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp.'s July U.S. sales declined as record gasoline prices damped demand for trucks and a slowing economy kept consumers away from dealer lots.
Sales fell 27 percent from a year earlier, GM said today. Ford reported a 15 percent drop, while Toyota's fell 12 percent. Honda Motor Co. said it sold 1.6 percent fewer vehicles, and Nissan Motor Co. posted an 8.5 percent increase.
Ford, GM and Chrysler LLC, more dependent on trucks than Asia-based competitors such as Honda, have led the industry's eight-month sales slide. Automakers haven't been able to meet demand for smaller, fuel-efficient cars as $4-a-gallon gasoline and a 1.9 percent second-quarter economic growth rate pinched consumers.
``The numbers I've seen look pretty bad,'' George Magliano, an auto analyst for Global Insight Inc. in New York, said in an interview. ``There is something more going on here than just the economy. I think the high gas prices are changing consumers' mindset about buying cars and they are just staying away.''
Now read that last paragraph again. Is this guy suggesting what I have been shouting into the wind for years? That it is dawning on the American auto consumer that any new vehicle he/she buys from this point forward will survive its fuel supply? Because once the public figures that one out, all hell is going to break lose.
Good Luck!
Mentatt (at) yahoo (d0t) com
1 comment:
(From the bureaucrat):
People pretty much all act the same. Today I had 4 dollars in my wallet. I restricted myself to a newspaper, two big cookies and an ice cream sandwich. Tomorrow I'm withdrawing the cash from a dividend check that will arrive tonight at the bank, and I'll have $240 to spend. People cut back when they have to .. until another wad of money comes their way, whether it be true cash, inheritance, a stimulus check, a gift or some kinda easy credit deal. They will want the trendy "dinky cars" until they find a way to pay for a bigger car. People always expand their spending to fit their income. Once they find a way, they'll start buying the big-ass vehicles again ... someday. Oil supply be damned. People don't change.
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