There are no buyers for the auto industry cars. All manufacturers are down.

[C......N......C]

People are out of work. No matter what kind of plan or what kind of models of cars there are. There are no buyers. Buyers are not sitting around waiting for a new model to catch their eye. They have no money. No plan is going to work based on sparking the interest of buyers. Is my observation wrong ?

[Kokonoe]

1. This is a great opportunity

To stop all those wasteful pensions funds, from giving away money for free.

[madrchsod]

2. nope you are not wrong

the people who have jobs will not lay out thousands over 4-5 years unless they absolutely have to. another problem...newer cars are better built and they last longer.

[KG]

3. i'd be in the market for a new used vehicle if i had a job.

[Tom Kitten]

4. no kidding!

A job would help me in buying a car, too!

[jwirr]

5. And it isn't just cars. Housing is going no where fast because who

has 20% to put down even if they have a perfect credit rating? When you couple the lack of credit/outsourcing/job loss then none of these plans are working.

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[NYC_SKP]

7. So, new member, you like "coffeebreakrants.com"? Kinda freeperish, no?

http://www.coffeebreakrants.com/node/64

My Dire Predicitios of the Obama Administration aka The Future USSA


My prediction for the USSA (United Socialist States of America) within two years of Barack Hussien Obama’s swearing in.

Taxes

* Personal income taxes for any family making over $100K will increase by at least 10%, probably more on the order of 20%.



* The FICA social security income contribution limit will be removed (a 6.2% tax increase for income above $97.5k).



* The long term capital gains tax will increase from 15% to 25%, or worse, be considered as taxable income.



* The FICA Medicare tax (now at 1.45%) will be replaced by a national health care tax that will be increase to at least 3%, probably higher.



Guns

* There will be an attempt to re-instate the Clinton AWB, however the June 2008 Supreme Court ruling may only allow them to make “assault weapon” ownership more restrictive like full auto weapons.



* There will a nationwide ban on conceal carry permits.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

14. I don't mind freepers using Obama's middle name, but ...

can't they get the spelling right? Morans.

Hint to freepers: it ain't Hussien.

:hi:

[NYC_SKP]

19. That member is no longer with us....

:hi:

:donut:

[ChoralScholar]

8. I was just thinking that the other day. Give it another few months,

and there will be a lot of nice cars to be had for peanuts.

But I'm sure they'd rather let them sit or crush them as to let someone benefit from a low price.

[Jack Sprat]

9. Probably that is the major sales problem, but.............

Don't you think that some smaller segment is waiting on some future technology changes? The Chevy Volt of 2010 and other breakthroughs like hybrid/electric vehicles are causing some to wait who otherwise might be still working and can afford something new. It's going to take some time for many to get over the shock of 4.50 gas prices. They might be more willing to buy if oil prices had not blown sky high.

I just hope the automakers make strides in eliminating gasoline as their main propellant.

[Kalyke]

18. No.

I realize many on this board think the rest of the country is just DYING to purchase hybrids or electric cars, but the fact is, they're not.

Most people want trucks or they want a mid-sized car or, hell, they don't want to pay $32,000 on something they find incredibly ugly (most green cars look like they should have a key sticking out of them).

Granted, the Volt's not all that ugly, but it's a far cry over $32,000. The Ford Fusion plug-in hybrid and the Ford Focus electric are cute and not too costly, but I don't see a major rush to purchase these cars.

You did, however, say a "smaller segment" which may be accurate.

The public at-large needs to be re-educated regarding their options, but that's hard to do in areas where there is nothing but right-wing radio yelling at them that "drill, baby, drill" will solve all our problems. :eyes:

[onethatcares]

10. it would be alot nicer to be homeless in a new cadillac than in

an old taurus, doncha think?:shrug:

[nonconformist]

11. Part of it is financing, too. Banks are being very stingy right now. nt

[KharmaTrain]

12. The Consumer Economy Is Paralyzed

Others have noted the credit crunch that is going on. Financing for big ticket items is tighter than a drum. Gone are the days of no money or 5% down. Many companies that rely on this flow of credit...for their own overhead or to help customers finance purchases...are facing a crisis.

Even with lower car prices, financing rates are still sky high...it's more economical right now to keep the old car running. In my case, I'm gonna keep my current car going until there are more alternative fuel cars on the market. All the computer toys and "sexy looks" mean zero to me...reliable, economical and as ecologically as possible transportation is.

The problem is hitting all parts of the consumer market. It's the silent debt bomb exploding as many who used to do the spending are now either trying to pay off huge debts or are scared away from purchasing by obscenely high interest rates or reduced credit lines. So you buy what you need and that's all.

Until the debt mess is cleaned up and a new credit system is established, this crunch will remain and get worse. Yes, it spells bad news for GM and Chrysler for any quick turnaround...but also for many, many other businesses that are quietly running out of cash and time.

Cheers...

[underpants]

13. WHy?

what is about to happen? (we don't really think everyone went broke at the same time do we?)

Baby boomers are at least 63 years old this year (born in '45) not only is there going to be necessarily less people to work in industries, offices, etc. there will be less people earning those incomes and less people buying the stuff that the economy has expanded to meet the demand of....think about that. This was the time to cut back on everything from a production (goods and services) stand point.

[C......N......C]

15. In addition to what you say, there were a new 5 million added

to the unemployed last year. Couple that with what you say, there are no buyers. Therefore no solution from the car companies. The CEO's are not fighting for their lives. They probably have enough money to retire now and be comfortable forever. The UAW members are fighting for their lives. They are totally dependent on the future of the car companies. Wagoner's pension is valued at $20,000,000. He had nothing at stake except to help break the union.

[Romulox]

16. The bank bailouts are the same trickle down economics Regan trotted out 30 years ago.

This country would've had a new renaissance for the common person if we had distributed the money we gave to the banks to regular people instead.

[trof]

17. My friend has a Chrysler dealership.

He's just managing to stay afloat selling used cars.
Nobody's buying new ones.

[tabbycat31]

20. I'd be in the market for a vehicle if I had a job

I think people are not making long-term commitments (ie buying a car) when they don't think their job is secure.