Four years ago, anxious policymakers in Washington threw automakers a badly-needed life line. The “cash for clunkers” program, which bribed people into buying new cars, helped stave off a death spiral that had beset the auto industry.#-ad_banner-# Yet just four years later, few people even think about “cash for clunkers” anymore. Sales trends for the major automakers (and their parts suppliers) are now booming, and it’s easy to see how trends will get even stronger from here. Within a… Read More
Four years ago, anxious policymakers in Washington threw automakers a badly-needed life line. The “cash for clunkers” program, which bribed people into buying new cars, helped stave off a death spiral that had beset the auto industry.#-ad_banner-# Yet just four years later, few people even think about “cash for clunkers” anymore. Sales trends for the major automakers (and their parts suppliers) are now booming, and it’s easy to see how trends will get even stronger from here. Within a few years, sales trends are likely to meet or exceed the previous annual peaks, and share prices in this sector now have upward of 50% upside. The Long Climb Back In the middle of the past decade, the auto industry sold roughly 16 million to 17 million cars and trucks annually in North America. That figure slumped to just 10.4 million in 2009 but had rebounded to 14.4 million in 2012. This year, that figure is expected to be about 15.4 million. Read More