Slumping Car Sales Are Latest Data to Rattle Bets on Growth

[Sanguine]

I find this interesting because I was listening to one of the economic talking-heads last week and she said to watch for the auto sales numbers - if they were down that would be a very bad sign.  Who knows?

Investment managers are tempering their postelection optimism

A soft patch in the economy is damping expectations for a stimulus-driven, postelection boom, prompting many investors to retreat from bets on growth.

The first quarter marked the weakest U.S. growth in three years, according to the initial Commerce Department reading on Friday. The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, the personal-consumption expenditures price index, dropped 0.2% in March from a month earlier, pushing annual increases back below the central bank’s 2% target, data showed Monday. Even longtime economic bright spots such as consumer spending and car sales have recently begun to fade, with sales at General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. declining sharply in April. ...

https://www.wsj.com/articles/slumping-car-sales-are-latest-data-to-rattle-bets-on-growth-1493742225

[Fishrrman]

Lower the prices of today's cars, and more folks will buy.  ;)

In 2005, when I was still working, I bought a new Toyota RAV4. I recall thinking back then, "this is the last -new car- I'm probably going to buy", half serious.

Good car, gave it to my sister 2 years ago when the Ford Explorer she had (which was also given to her) was gettin' ready to give up the ghost.

I again went shopping for another RAV.
But this time, I didn't feel like paying the price for the privilege of something new any longer (being on retirement income has something to do with it).

So I chose to go with a used "Toyota certified" vehicle. The one I bought was less than 2 years old with 7,500 miles, and comes with a 7-year or 100,000 mile warranty on the power train. Looked almost new, for $4,000+ less than a new one (which would have a shorter warranty).

My days of buying new cars are past.
I'm wondering if the one I have now could be the "last car I'll own"... ;)

[Night Hides Not]

Lower the prices of today's cars, and more folks will buy.  ;)

In 2005, when I was still working, I bought a new Toyota RAV4. I recall thinking back then, "this is the last -new car- I'm probably going to buy", half serious.

Good car, gave it to my sister 2 years ago when the Ford Explorer she had (which was also given to her) was gettin' ready to give up the ghost.

I again went shopping for another RAV.
But this time, I didn't feel like paying the price for the privilege of something new any longer (being on retirement income has something to do with it).

So I chose to go with a used "Toyota certified" vehicle. The one I bought was less than 2 years old with 7,500 miles, and comes with a 7-year or 100,000 mile warranty on the power train. Looked almost new, for $4,000+ less than a new one (which would have a shorter warranty).

My days of buying new cars are past.
I'm wondering if the one I have now could be the "last car I'll own"... ;)

Just bought a 2014 Altima at the local CarMax. Has nearly all of the bells and whistles (not that I was looking for that, but it's nice), 20K miles, paid $18K.

Only issue is my wife likes driving it, and commandeers it whenever she needs to "run an errand."