We Have Hit the Wall

The automaker's announcements today were absolutely abysmal. We knew August sales were going to be "less robust" than August 2009 sales, given the Cash for Clunkers program in 2009 which brought sales forward at that time. However, we did not expect to see August 2010 sales figures below July 2010 numbers. August is typically the strongest month for auto sales, with favorable financing schemes and dealers looking to clear out older inventory.

GM (Government Motors) reported the worst numbers of the domestic manufacturers, with total sales dropping approximately 22,000 units or 10.5%. However, the company has divested itself of some of its auto lines and this accounted for a drop in sales of approximately 40,000 units. While it may seem that GM showed improvement, vis-a-vis they made up about 18,000 units of the 40,000 units lost, sales were lower than in July. In addition, GM was not able to take advantage of a 34% drop in sales suffered by Toyota. Remember, Toyota has been subject to lawsuits and political attacks given the "stuck pedal" and "carpet entrapment" recalls. In my book if you cannot make hay while your competitors are getting waxed, you aren't operating very well yourself. Either that or the economy just plain stinks. In truth, it is probably a lot of both.

Hmmm....wonder what the impact to the GM IPO will be???

All Talk.....

Was the President's speech this evening simply a prime time "me too" response to Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally? Better yet, maybe this speech falls under Rahm's edict of "never let an [opportunity?] go to waste" when you can take credit for someone else' strategy and execution.

During the election, Obama claimed Iraq was a distraction from the primary theater, Afghanistan. During the speech, the President acknowledged the importance of Iraq. He noted that the troops served with honor and distinction, something he cannot claim to have done when he was against the surge. The speech was 19 minutes of how much we owe the troops. It only took him seven years to recognize this.

I struggle to see what the purpose of the speech was. There was no great policy initiative revealed, no concrete plans for Afghanistan, other than we will go on the offensive until next summer when we will leave. Worse yet, there is still no plan for dealing with the worst economic downturn since the 1930's....yes you read that correctly, the 1930's. (A subject for another day....)