Stalling? By Chris Roberts

Today is a very interesting day to create a blog about the automotive industry. August sales for the entire industry fell 21% from a year ago, reports The Wall Street Journal. The month also marks the first time General Motors reported a drop in their sales for the last 10 months, also reported by The Wall Street Journal.


However, the article, found in today’s Wall Street Journal, does not paint a grim picture. Many analysts and corporate spokesman quoted argued that the news is not all bad. They cited artificial numbers from a year ago when the “cash for clunkers” program was in full affect and the aging vehicles Americans will have to replace soon regardless of the economy.

I seem to agree with the analysts’ sentiments and look forward to a growing automotive industry in the US and abroad. I expect sales to recover and be up for a number of reasons, most notably the introduction of new 2011 and 2012 models. I personally believe in the phrase, “If you build it, they will come” from Field of Dreams when thinking about the auto industry. Last year, when the auto industry was on its knees and American auto makers were requesting bailouts, Subaru was the only company with good sales numbers as reported by LeftLaneNews.com. The reason for their success was speculated to stem from the new models they introduced. I believe this same affect will be seen in the future when other automakers introduce new vehicles with better quality and mileage standards.

This theory would also explain why Ford did not have as bad of numbers as other automakers as reported by The Wall Street Journal. Ford is only down by 11% from a year ago and I believe it is no coincidence that they have one of the newest model lineups.

New models such as the new 2011 Chevy Cruze, 2012 Chevy Malibu, 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee and 2011 Ford Explorer will help boost interest just as some Americans can no longer wait for a better economy to buy a car.