2009 is Looking Like a Bumpy Year For Auto Industry

Washington DC December 31, 2008; The AIADA newsletter reported that according to Warren Brown of the Washington Post, 2009 should be as rough on Americans as 2008.

That much was made clear last week by Toyota's announcement that it expects to lose money in its core automotive business in the fiscal year ending in March. That would mark Toyota's first operating loss since 1938.

Obviously, the problem isn't product quality or desirability. It is a lack of consumers with the confidence to buy. And, in the U.S., it is the absence of an energy policy that would more sensibly lead the automobile industry and its customers to an agreement on what kinds of vehicles should be built using what kinds of fuel at what basic price.

Such a policy would introduce much-needed stability to the market and help car companies better determine what to build and sell. If what they build speaks to the realities of the market in terms of fuel costs and environmental concerns, those new-generation vehicles could ignite sales.

In the meantime, consumers are fed up, and they're just not going to buy it any longer. Until they start buying again, the car companies and the rest of the economy will be stuck in a mess.

For the complete article, click here.