Ford, GM execs see auto industry sales stabilizing

[babylonsister]

The stimulus is working! :hide:

Ford, GM execs see auto industry sales stabilizing

By ASHLEY M. HEHER – 49 minutes ago


CHICAGO (AP) — Auto industry executives are seeing signs that the nation's automobile industry is beginning to stabilize, after months of free-falling sales that have threatened the viability of some of the sector's biggest players.

Jim Farley, Ford Motor Co.'s global marketing chief, said Wednesday that seasonally adjusted retail sales demand has held steady for the past four months. Meanwhile, the country's used car market has come "roaring back" since January.

"That shows me that credit's available," Farley said after a Ford presentation at the Chicago Auto Show. "When we're seeing the kind of growth in the used car market that we've seen in the last six weeks, that is a really important milestone for the bottoming out of the industry."

General Motors Corp.'s Ed Peper was even more upbeat.

"I think we're at rock bottom," the North American vice president for Chevrolet said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I would say we're at the bottom and stabilizing. I think it gets a little bit better each month for the rest of the year."

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http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hgmsfgIThpkrrFB5swgowv7hiZwgD969KJSO1

[DS1]

1. Honestly, if I can cobble up some extra bones with my state and fed tax refunds

I might drop down some money to get a new car.

[babylonsister]

2. We just did; got a pretty good deal, too. The truck was getting

really tired. Probably cheaper to buy a 'new' car than to fix the old one when it starts breaking down, and it would.

[SammyWinstonJack]

3. Wishful thinking. Dealerships in this city are hurting and sales are

way off. Used car salesperson my husband knows, worked 230 hrs last month and sold exactly 3 cars. This dealership (Ford) has 10 used cars out for the month, tracking maybe 30 units sold by closeout, maybe. 130 units is what they normally sell. January and Feb. are usually when sales pick up. Not this year.

[babylonsister]

4. I dunno. My DH bought

a used car at carmax and they said they sales were brisk, especially for trucks. Yea, like the price of gas won't go up.
Maybe people are buying gently used cars instead of new?