NightBlogger

I have no pity for the Big Three. They learned nothing from the 70’s when they lost their auto share to the Japanese. You gotta ask yourself what in God’s name were these auto executives thinking. How did guys like these get appointed to run billion dollar companies only to drive them into the ground for lack of foresight. Elementary school children with corner Kool-aid stands have more financial insight. One word: Greed

Wall Street Journal
Ford Motor Co. announced cuts in production for the second time in two months and gave up on ending its losses by next year, as the scramble by all three Detroit auto makers to switch to smaller cars began to raise questions about how they’ll get enough cash to ride out the storm.

Ford said the plunge of U.S. truck and SUV sales due to record-high gasoline prices was forcing the new cuts, and even pushing back the launch of its redesigned F-150 pickup truck that once was expected to drive the company’s recovery. The moves suggest the company is bracing for a greater loss in 2008 than its $2.7 billion loss last year, and Ford said it no longer expects to break even by 2009. In the past few days, it has emerged that both Ford and General Motors Corp. are seeking ways to raise new capital, while Chrysler LLC is slashing costs to conserve cash. GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner has said the company has enough cash for 2008 but declined to elaborate beyond that. More

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — General Motors is closing four truck and SUV plants in the U.S., Canada and Mexico as surging fuel prices hasten a dramatic shift to smaller vehicles.

CEO Rick Wagoner said Tuesday before the automaker’s annual meeting in Delaware the plants to be closed are in Oshawa, Ontario; Moraine, Ohio; Janesville, Wis.; and Toluca, Mexico. He also said the iconic Hummer brand will be reviewed and potentially sold or revamped.

Wagoner said the GM board has approved production of a new small Chevrolet car at a plant in Lordstown, Ohio, in mid-2010 and the Chevy Volt electric vehicle in Detroit. More

Photo ninjapoodles

When looking at the Craigslist listing data and comparing it to U.S. Retail Gasoline Price charts, you can see that July 2007 was after the period America had to deal with $3.00 a gallon gas. Although there is some lag time in the price rises, you can see that for each bump of increase in retail gas price, Craigslist saw stronger and stronger gains in the listing growth rates. When you look at February of 2008, when gas price started to climb to the sky, the listings growth on Craigslist for cars and trucks and recreational vehicles reacted perfectly in line with the gas price increase. More