TheDonEffect

Economists have been saying gas prices will come back down, the housing bubble would burst because the prices are overinflated, and that over a 10 year period the market will always go up (approx 7%), of course this is historically speaking.
GM going under isn't a sign of the times, most will attest that this was foreseeable since the 90s. Simple business practice- you put all your eggs in one basket you're destined to go bust eventually- SUVs and trucks. Even Toyota put a lot of effort into SUVs and trucks despite being very successful with their cars. The gas prices shifted the market to small cars, but if our dollar drops to the point it becomes viable for companies to bring back their manufacturing, truck sales may pick back up. Times like these remind people the importance of diversification, that even though you may be hot today, tomorrow may be a different story.
I'd be concerned if Walmart (assuming it's still being run the way it is now) or GE files backruptcy. But, GM will need to be bailed out becaues of the direct and indirect (subindustries) impact they will have on our economy. Yes, we could recover from it, but only going through a really bad spot.
So you don't listen to economists on matters of money movement?
Honestly, call it a depression or recession, but as long as you understand that this is part of a cycle, a somewhat predictable and natural part of a cycle then I could care less what you call it, but if take comfort in that fact then you'll see why most economists will usually think thing's are ok when peopel say recession, and think recession while peopel think depression.

00CivicSi

Holy crap! Learn to write in sentences, even if this IS the interwebz.

Jimmies

Biggest tool ever. He's called more bottoms than doctors working delivery.

second2none

Yep, you should be open minded and listen to different economists because in the end. Most are unbiased forecast in which they are giving. By the way, walmart just announced their new CEO. GM was doomed since way back when. It was just a matter of time when everything lined up for them to be in the situation they are. When you pay more in pension and retirement healthcare than your current employee wages. You are definitely going to hit a wall sooner rather than later.

hariku821

"GM has been and continues to be a leader in delivering a broad range of
fuel-efficient vehicles to customers," said Mark LaNeve, GM North America vice
president, Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing. "In addition to the 17 models
for 2008 that achieve 30 mpg or better on the highway, many of our vehicles
either win or are strong contenders in their segments.


GM dosent only make trucks..


qutoed from.. http://www.reuters.com/article/pressReleas...008+PRN20080729

second2none

They definitely don't but then again. Its evident in their european lineup.

ts80

Well, I was an economics major in college, and here is the college text-book definition of a recession/depression.

In layman's terms (media definition...so what they mean when you hear the terms on the news or radio), a recession is a decrease in gross domestic product (GDP) for any period less than a year (some media outlets use 2 quarters as the benchmark). A depression is any period of declining GDP (not Real GDP mind you) that lasts for more than a year or 2-quarters depending on the context.

In economic terms, a recession is the period between the peak of business activity and period of recovery. It turns to a depression when Real GDP is measured up against GNP.

To oversimplify, what is the decrease of Real GDP? If it's around 10-15% it's considered a depression, if lower, it's a recession. Right now it's only at about 4-5%.

Personally, I'd stop listening to those radio shows when it's obvious they don't even know the definition of depression vs recession. The difference between depression and recession is NOT perceived severity or projected time of decreased economic activity.

hirev

it is not over for sports cars, or even muscle cars, at least for a while...and to see what we could end up driving just look at europe in general, they have it all. average people somehow get by with smaller cars that handle better and get much better mileage, we can do the same. and if as a nation we loose weight it will even be easier, even airliine seats will seem to fit better!

what i think will endure is cars like the s2000 if honda wanted it to...good size, well engineered, economical, fun to drive...cars like the mini, gti,mx5,fit,accord(they can be fun),mazdaspeed 3,civic,etc...cars with turboed 4 cyl engines or turbodeseil, etc...

what will go the way of the dynosour will be the hummer, tahoe or suburban,expedition,etc...these will be available in limited quantities but will no longer be the norm....in the end economics will dictate what most of us drive...as it does now!

i sure with honda chose to evolve the S2000 further than it has come...i could see a turbo, interior refeshen, better sound system,etc...but alas...not...perhaps what comes after, the smaller version of what we have will be indicative of what i have fortold.

the sports car is not dead...it is evolving with the economic times.

nfty

GDP? What's that really measuring when we hear it reported?

Check out: shadowstats.com sometime....

TheDonEffect

I don't get it, first you talk about them going down and now you're quoting that they have a chance... I'm confused.
And it's not that I refuse to come to terms that it's a depression, I just don't see a depression. What I see now is a market correction. What's driving all the red in our economy isn't something that we can't control, it's the market correcting from dumb people who thought they were smarter than they actually were, peopel who thought they had more money to spend than they actually had, and industries who catered to them. Now things are going back to the levels they should have been. The .com bust should've been the last correction, but the folks who were hungry to become an overnight millionaire then latched onto real estate.
Here's the thing about financial radio: they either need to make ratings to attract marketers or the shows are paid time slots to promote their business, but mask the show as a financial advice show. I listen to Ray Luchia and the Brain Trust almost everyday (author of Buckets of Money, also in the Hyundai commercial), but even I don't take every word as gospel (the guy pushes ETFs like no tomorrow, guess what, he gets a commission on them) although his Buckets of Money strategy is very sound, and he pays for his time slot. Fortunately we have Rob Black in the morning who only promotes his seminars that he donates the proceeds to charities, you could get his podcast on Itunes and if there ever was a finance radio show I;d recommend it;d be him.