Friday, October 02, 2009
How's "Cash for Clunkers" looking now?
New York Times...
But it's not all bad news ... if you are Korean.
And from Autoobserver.com...After two frenzied months during the government’s cash-for-clunkers program, new-vehicle sales in the United States retreated in September...
General Motors said its sales declined 45 percent, and Chrysler reported a 42 percent drop from September 2008.
Mark LaNeve, G.M.’s vice president of United States sales, said in a conference call with reporters and analysts, "Every brand, every region of the country — it was a real post-clunker hangover..."
Sales were down 20 percent at Honda, 13 percent at Toyota and 7 percent at Nissan.Total industry sales fell 23 percent from a year ago and 41 percent from August, when the cash-for-clunkers program was halted...
"The aftereffects of Cash for Clunkers are still being felt: a significant number of September sales were pulled ahead into August, and many September shoppers left showrooms empty-handed after finding low inventories and high prices," said Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl.Gee ... and all at a cost to the public of only $4.4 billion, or $13,300 per sale generated by "the greatest stimulus program ever".
But it's not all bad news ... if you are Korean.
The best news for the month came from Hyundai, which has been gaining momentum throughout the recession. Hyundai said its sales rose 27 percent in September...
